paper-3-guidance

What Is Examined in the Edexcel A Level Economics Paper 3?

• This paper is focused on Microeconomics and Macroeconomics from all four Themes 

• The paper’s duration is two hours

• The total number of marks available is 100

• Paper 3 represents 30% of the qualification total

• It is made up of two sections:

Section A

• Section A contains Question 1, which is subdivided into 5 sub-questions worth a total of 50 marks

• You must answer all questions from 1(a) to 1(c) and then either 1(d) or 1(e)

• The breakdown for Question 1 is:

  • 1a: 5 marks: points marked question requiring you to show knowledge application and analysis (KAA). No evaluation is required. 5 marks for KAA

  • 1b: 8 marks: points marked question requiring you to show knowledge application, analysis, and evaluation. 8 marks for KAA, 2 marks for Evaluation

  • 1c: 12 marks: Levelled-marked question: 8 marks for KAA, 4 marks for Evaluation

• Select either 1(d) or 1(e): 25 marks: Levelled-marked questions: 16 marks for KAA, 9 marks for Evaluation

• The 25 marks questions typically involve detailed application of knowledge, analysis, and evaluation to complex microeconomic and macroeconomic issues, requiring a deep understanding of microeconomic and macroeconomic theory

• They may ask you to evaluate microeconomic and macroeconomic factors, policies, outcomes, causes, effects, and implications. The questions will have a global, national, market, or business context, requiring you to apply your own examples with the extracts and/or data provided to the specification content in Themes 1, 2, 3, and 4

Section B

• Section B contains Question 2, which is subdivided into 5 sub-questions worth a total of 50 marks

• You must answer all questions from 2(a) to 2(c) and then either 2(d) or 2(e)

• The breakdown for Question 2 is:

  • 2a: 5 marks: points marked question requiring you to show knowledge application and analysis (KAA). No evaluation is required. 5 marks for KAA

  • 2b: 8 marks: points marked question requiring you to show knowledge application, analysis, and evaluation. 8 marks for KAA, 2 marks for Evaluation

  • 2c: 12 marks: Levellled-marked question: 8 marks for KAA, 4 marks for Evaluation

• Select either 2(d) or 2(e): 25 marks: Levelled-marked questions: 16 marks for KAA, 9 marks for Evaluation

• The 25 marks questions typically involve detailed application of knowledge, analysis, and evaluation to complex microeconomic and macroeconomic issues, requiring a deep understanding of microeconomic and macroeconomic theory.

• They may ask you to evaluate microeconomic and macroeconomic factors, policies, outcomes, causes, effects, and implications. The questions will have a global, national, market, or business context, requiring you to apply your own examples with the extracts and/or data provided to the specification content in Themes 1, 2, 3, and 4