The unit is taught well, with a very constructive approach to learning basic macroeconomics. Each topic smoothly flows onto the next topic and the lecturer is easy to understand.. The unit does not require extensive maths or actuarial knowledge as it is mainly basic economic theory which will be examined.

The lectures are integral to performing well in the unit. Taking concise notes on what the lecturer says about each topic is of utmost importance because student’s answers to exam questions should be in line with the lecturer’s thinking/approach to a topic. Students should be listening out for key relationships between topics, thought flows for a certain topic and links between topics. 

The lecture slides are available on moodle complete with all annotations the lecturer makes during the lecture and released straight after the lecture. They are by no means a substitute for listening to the lecture itself.

The tutorials can either be in person or via zoom and attendance is recorded but holds no weighting to the final mark. It is important to attend tutorials as students will need to present their country analysis activity at some point in the semester. In these tutorials, the tutor provides exam-style answers to weekly questions and allows for discussion on topics covered in the lecture. It is recommended to complete tutorial questions before the tutorial to get the most out of class.

In the country analysis activity, students are required to answer one of three application style questions relating to a country which is allocated to them. There is both a written and presentation component to this assessment, so students must be comfortable with presenting to a large group in order to score well. The topics covered in the assessment mainly relate to central banks and open market operations, money supply and macroeconomic policy. This is a purely written assignment with research components, so students will not be required to use any special software to complete the activity.

For the quizzes throughout the unit, all follow the same exam style structure where students are required to  draft up their answers for one out three questions which will be randomly allocated to them. To ensure that students score well, it is wise to draft up answers for all three possible questions so that they are not caught off guard in the assessment.

The final exam consists of a multiple choice section and a written component. The written component is weighted more heavily than the MCQ’s because the questions are higher order application questions. Students must be comfortable with the latter parts of the unit to score well in the final exam, as many of the application style questions require preliminary knowledge from weeks 1-4 combined with the harder topics in weeks 7-11. The exam is a closed book exam, so it is recommended to plan each answer before writing up the final answer. Luckily, the moodle tests throughout the semester prepare students very well for how questions in the exam will be structured.

The most important thing to do in order to score well in this unit is to establish what the cause and effect relationships are in each topic. The way to do this is by listening to the lecturer and writing down what the causes are for a topic and how that topic is influenced by them (eg: if expenditure increases from variable x, if unemployment decreases from variable y etc). Consistently doing this on a week by week basis will ensure that you are developing a strong understanding of the topics taught.