How to Approach Each Question Type ❮ 37- Have the last laugh with a well-drawn graph. There are some points that require an
explanation (i.e., “Describe how.. .”). Not all free-response questions require a graph,
but a garbled paragraph of explanation can be saved with a perfect graph that tells the
reader you know the answer to the question. This does not work in reverse. - If I say draw, you better draw, Tex. There are what readers call “graphing points,” and
these cannot be earned with a well-written paragraph. For example, if you are asked to
draw the AD/AS scenario described above, certain points will be awarded for the graph,
and only the graph. A delightfully written and entirely accurate paragraph of text will
not earn the graphing points. You also need to clearly label graphs. You might think
that downward-sloping line is obviously an aggregate demand curve, but some of those
graphing points will not be awarded if lines and points are not clearly, and accurately,
identified. - Give the answer, not a dissertation. There are some parts of a question where you are asked
to simply “identify” something. For example, “Identify the equilibrium real rate of interest.”
or “Identify a point in the production possibility graph that reflects an inefficient use of
resources.” This type of question requires a quick piece of analysis that can literally be
answered in one word or number. That point will be given if you provide that one word or
number whether it is the only word you write or the fortieth that you write. For example,
you might be given a table that shows combinations of inflation rates and unemployment
rates. One part of the question asks you to identify the unemployment rate that corre-
sponds to full employment in the economy. Suppose the correct answer is 4%. The point
is given if you say “4%,” “four percent,” and maybe even “iv%.” If you write a 500-word
Magna Carta concluding with “4%,” you will get the point, but will have wasted precious
time. This brings me to... - Welcome to the magical kingdom. If you surround the right answer to a question with
a paragraph of economic wrongness, you will usually get the point, so long as you say
the magic word. The only exception is a direct contradiction of the right answer. For
example, suppose that when asked to identify the unemployment rate at full employ-
ment, you spend a paragraph describing how trade agreements are unfair and therefore
are subject to import quotas and that the exchange rate between the unemployed and
the production possibility frontier means the answer is four percent. You will get the
point! You said the unemployment rate is 4%, and “four percent” was the magic word.
However, if you say that the answer is four percent, but that it is also five and on
Mondays it is 7%, you have contradicted yourself and the point will not be given. - Marginally speaking. This point is made in the first two chapters of review in this book,
but it bears repeating here as a valuable test-taking strategy. In economics, anything
that is optimal, or efficient, or rational, or cost minimizing, or profit maximizing can be
answered by telling the reader that the marginal benefits must equal the marginal costs.
Depending upon the situation, you might have to clarify that “marginal benefit” to the
firm is “marginal revenue,” or to the employer “marginal revenue product.” If the ques-
tion asks you why the answer is four, there is always a very short phrase that readers look
for so that they may award the point. This answer often includes the appropriate marginal
comparison. - Identify, Illustrate, Define, Indicate, and Explain. Each part of a free-response question
includes a prompt that tells you what the reader will be looking for so that the points
can be awarded. If the question asks you to “identify” something, you may need only