A Level Economics Paper 1 is tomorrow. First of all, don’t panic. The work you’ve put in over the past two years doesn’t disappear overnight, and the way you spend the next few hours can genuinely make a difference to how you perform in the morning. Here’s exactly what to do tonight and tomorrow morning to give yourself the best possible shot.
What’s Actually on A Level Economics Paper 1?
Just to make sure you’re focused on the right things. A Level Economics Paper 1 covers microeconomics (Markets and Market Failure). That means topics like supply and demand, elasticity, market failure, government intervention, and the behaviour of firms. Whether you’re sitting AQA, Edexcel, or OCR, Paper 1 is where your microeconomics knowledge gets tested, so make sure that’s where your attention is tonight.
Do a Quick Topic Sweep, Not a Full Revision Session
Tonight is not the time for learning new content. If there’s a topic you haven’t revised properly, trying to cram it the night before is likely to do more harm than good. It adds stress without adding much knowledge.
Instead, do a light sweep of the key topics. Flick through your notes or flashcards, remind yourself of the core diagrams, and refresh your memory on a few key evaluation points. The goal tonight is to feel calm and confident, not to cover everything from scratch.
Revisit Your Key Diagrams
Diagrams are one of the most reliable ways to pick up marks in A Level Economics, and they’re also one of the easiest things to brush up on quickly the night before. Spend 20 to 30 minutes drawing your key microeconomics diagrams from memory and checking you’ve got the labels right.
The ones most worth revisiting for A Level Economics Paper 1 are:
- Supply and demand shifts
- Price elasticity of demand and supply
- Negative and positive externalities
- Public goods and market failure
- Monopoly vs perfect competition
- Price discrimination
Draw each one, label it carefully, and make sure you can explain what’s happening and why. That alone can be worth several marks in the exam.
Remind Yourself of Your Evaluation Toolkit
The best essays in A Level Economics Paper 1 are those that properly evaluate, not the ones with content written down simply. Evaluation means questioning assumptions, considering the short run versus the long run, thinking about who wins and who loses under a policy, and acknowledging when real-world outcomes might differ from theory.
Before you go to sleep, remind yourself of a few go-to evaluation sentence starters and frameworks. Things like:
- “This depends on the price elasticity of demand…”
- “In the short run… however, in the long run…”
- “The extent to which this is true depends on…”
- “A counter-argument would be…”
Having these ready to go in the exam can push a good answer into a great one.
Get a Real-World Example Ready for Each Topic
Examiners reward students who can back up their arguments with relevant, real-world examples. Spend a few minutes tonight thinking about one strong current example you could use for each of the main microeconomics topics: a government policy, a recent market story, a well-known firm. Use websites like the Financial Times and BBC Economics News to find some very recent examples.
You don’t need dozens of examples. Two or three sharp, specific ones you’re confident using for the content in A Level Economics Paper 1 are worth far more than a long list of vague references.
The Morning of the A Level Economics Paper 1 exam
On the morning of your A Level Economics Paper 1, keep things calm and simple. Eat a proper breakfast, give yourself plenty of time to get to the exam, and avoid cramming on the way in. This tends to increase anxiety more than it helps. Also be sure that you have a bottle of water and everything you need in your pencil case.
If you want to do anything academic in the morning, a light glance over your key diagrams or a few flashcards on Study Dog is plenty. The goal is to arrive at the exam feeling settled and ready, not frantic.
In the Exam Room
When you first open the paper, take a deep breath and read each question carefully before you start writing. A few things worth remembering:
- Always define key terms early in your answer.
- Use diagrams wherever relevant and label them fully.
- Structure your essays with a clear point, evidence, explanation, and evaluation in each paragraph (PEEL structure).
- Keep an eye on the clock: don’t spend so long on one question that you run out of time for the others.
- If you get stuck, move on and come back. Don’t let one question derail the whole paper.
You’ve Got This
The fact that you’re looking up last-minute tips shows you care about doing well, and that attitude matters. Trust the work you’ve done, stay calm, and give it everything tomorrow.
If you need to brush up on any of the content or look at some practice exam questions, log into Study Dog’s Economics resources to make sure you’ve got everything covered.
Finally, best of luck! 🤞
