Hey, hope holidays have been great. I got a 97 in eco, ranking first in a top selective school so I feel like I can give some tips and tricks that might help you.
How I studied: Not going to lie, I wasn't the type of guy who'd use the textbook and make really lengthy and detailed notes. Didn't really see the point of it as you'd just be rewriting the textbook. So absolutely minimal notes from the Dixon textbook although I did read it before class and made annotations.
Instead, I read widely. I read news articles from SMH about the stage three tax cuts (for instance) on my way to school. I took the train everyday so the quiet time by myself came in handy. I also read journals from JSTOR, or other economists online. Did I like Economics? Probably but that wasn't the point. The more I read, I was able to mimic their voice so my written expression for eco became really good and hence achieving highly in essays through yr 12.
Another important tip I'd give you is start writing your essays early (start now!!). Memorising essays is hard but by the time you approach trials, you should know the structure and key examples, points heck even stats for your main paragraphs. Own the essay. By the end of yr 12 I had like 30 essays and yes it was a pain staying in libraries till 11 finishing them off, but it was still rewarding.
Write your essays using an appropriate structure. Now it varies from question, but I really liked going chronologically and applying theory. So something like monetary policy, I'd definitely do chronological and ask yourself questions like "why did the RBA increase the cash rate for the eleventh consecutive time" and then follow up "was it effective" "so what.. and what" ect. You find that with eco it's all about cause and effect and if you can master the art of being precise and expressive, 97 would come as a breeze.
Also challenge yourself with niche economic theorems, graphs that the average-good eco student would not write. Things like J curve, crowding out effect, safe haven effect, Dutch disease, Kuznets curve ect. are good to add because it shows you actually have depth to your understanding of eco.
Hope this helps. Don't stress it, stay humble and keep earnestly searching for more theorems, links between concepts. Welcome to share more.
