Executive Summary
The May/June 2025 series provided an excellent test of analytical and evaluative skills. Paper 1 (Multiple Choice) maintained standard structural distributions across micro and macro topics, with computational questions requiring precise applications of elasticity adjustments. Paper 2 (Structured Essays) pivoted around real-world contexts, notably the global onion supply shock and semiconductor supply elasticities, testing students' ability to link theoretical concepts to fast-moving current events.
Where the Marks are Won or Lost
- The PPC Starting Point: In Question 1(c), many candidates failed to score full marks because their diagrams did not start from a point of zero onion production. To demonstrate the initial opportunity cost of commencing a crop production line, the coordinate must initiate directly on the vertical or horizontal axis.
- Evaluating Elasticity: In Question 2, high-scoring responses cleanly distinguished between short-run (0.2) and long-run (0.8) supply inelasticities, evaluating how structural factors such as fab capacity and extraction rates of silicon bottleneck market adjustments.
- Terms of Trade vs. Current Account: A perpetual pitfall resurfaced in Section C, where students assumed an improving Terms of Trade index automatically cures a current account deficit, ignoring critical price elasticity of demand (PED) conditions.
Strategic Recommendations
To secure top-tier marks in upcoming series, focus intensively on drawing fully-labeled, pristine diagrams (especially for maximum price ceilings and PPC transitions). Avoid one-sided analytical essays; the marking scheme strictly reserves top evaluation bands (AO3) for balanced arguments that assess both perspectives before delivering a justified concluding judgment.