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Economics essays word count (1 Viewer)

Sy123

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So the recommended words for an economics essay is 800 words according to the board of studies.

Is this just an average? If we want to aim for 18+/20, should we keep it at 800 words to be succinct or should we go to about 1000-1200 words because I usually have a lot of time remaining after doing short answers and MC, leaving about 50 minutes for each essay even though the recommended is about 35

So should I just keep to this recommendation or write more than what is recommended?
 

Drifting95

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I would aim for more so you can go into more detail just to be safe, however i did once read an exemplar response that was only 5.5-6 pages and very concise. I normally do 6-10 and this seems to be about the average for exemplar responses.

It is recommended you spend 50-60 minutes on the essay, you would be crazy not to. Not many people follow the guidelines for only 35 minutes anyway, plus it is always good to spend 5 minutes writing up a plan so your essay flows and is more logical.
 
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Spiritual Being

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Legal, sor2

all my subjects I spend 1 hour on each essay even when it says "35 minutes" (not sure about legal, but it says 35 for sor2)
 

Sy123

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Alright thanks guys, I'll try to be a bit faster at short answers then if some people are hitting an hour for each!
 

Drifting95

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on the exemplar ones in the hsc booklets they are 9-10 pages
No...

The aim of the game is to be concise, like i said exemplar responses can be as short as 6. Yes the majority are around 8-10, but claiming that ALL exemplar essays are 9-10 pages is misleading and incorrect.
 

enoilgam

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I tried to get in around 900+ for my economics essays - personally, I think that it's much harder to create and sustain a good argument with only 800 words. Ceteris paribus, I'd say that if an 800 word and 1,000 word essay each written by students of equal ability were compared, the 1,000 essay would probably score higher.
 

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