JC Economics Tuition
The Result-Proven illum.e Economics Tuition Programme
How do we teach Economics at illum.e?
Our lessons seek to engage students actively to deepen their learning. Typically, the start of each lesson would cover or review content knowledge, so that students know the material at the tip of their fingertips. A good portion of the lesson would then be dedicated to applying their knowledge to different types of questions (usually either case studies or essays). This would also include honing students’ skills (e.g. question interpretation, diagrammatic analysis, evaluation).
Just ask any of our students - they all enjoy our economics lessons and improve in their grades within the next test!
What do Econonomics tuition tutorials at illum.e look like?
Students are engaged to actively participate in discussions as that would contribute to a breadth of perspectives. Student sample responses would also be utilised to help students to critically analyse the strengths and areas of improvement, so that they can develop the examiner’s point of view and write more successful responses.
Every month, there would also be a lesson (or part of it) scheduled to discussing real-world economic issues or government policies occurring in present-day (e.g. high inflation, climate change and the Green Plan 2030). This will allow students to be aware of these issues, policies and its ramifications. They can then better appreciate how Economics is ‘alive’ and around them.
Why is illum.e's Economics Tuition the most sought after in Singapore?
In essence, the programme utilises our results-proven and highly effective pedagogy led by our award-winning economics principal tutor, Mr Sia.
Having graduated with First Class Honours from the London School of Economics (LSE) in Mathematics and Economics, and a Masters of Arts in Quantitative Methods in Social Sciences from Columbia University, Mr Sia is not only highly qualified as an expert in the field of economics, but is also a distinguished teacher.
Having won multiple awards in MOE, Mr Sia achieved his Postgraduate Diploma in Education with Distinction, and a distinction grade in teaching practice, from the National Institute of Education.
As a staunch advocate of Socratic Questioning, students leave his economics classes with thoughtful perspectives and better conceptual grasp of various economic concepts and statistics. Furthermore, Mr Sia employs personalised feedback and differentiated instruction in his lessons, ensuring that no student learning experience is one and the same.
This contrasts from other centres where tutors may not have graduated from university yet, or where there is no differentiated instruction employed by the tutor due to the large group lecture setting.
With illum.e, you can be assured that you are in safe hands, as our teachers will guide, coach, and stretch you to excel in Economics. You will leave the Economics programme with useful knowledge and analytical skills that will put you in good stead for the uncertain future.
FAQs for Economics
1. Why study Economics?
At the heart of it, Economics is the study of human behaviour and the decisions made by individuals, firms, and the government. It is a way of thinking. Weighing costs against benefits, considering the impact of a decision on others – these are all examples of how studying Economics will illuminate a student’s mind. Economics is ‘alive,’ and it is all around us in the headlines and on social media, but do we see it?
2. Is it easy to score a good grade in Economics?
Economics is considered an Arts subject, where students would need to write longer responses to case study questions or essays. As with any Arts subject, it might not be as easy to score a good grade as with science or math, where there is a correct and objective response. That said, Economics is the most science-y subject amongst the Arts, and this also aligns with it being categorised under the Social Sciences. Thus, it is also easy to score a good grade in Economics, once a student has mastered the way of thinking using the Economics lens, and is able to apply appropriate and accurate economic analysis to respond to questions set in the examinations (see also FAQ #4). In short, if you put in the effort to learn the skills and content knowledge, a good grade in Economics is very achievable.
3. Should I take H1 or H2 Economics? What is the difference between them?
Ultimately, the decision is yours, but we have laid out two key considerations below so you can make a more informed decision.
Content
There is lesser content coverage in H1 Economics compared to H2 Economics, though it is not exactly half per se. Two huge topics that are covered in H2 Economics, which are not taught in H1 Economics, are Firms and Decisions as well as Trade and Globalisation. For students who are keen to better understand the pricing decisions of firms, taking H2 Economics is a must.
Assessment
For H1 Economics, the examination comprises two case studies of 40 marks each. For H2 Economics, the examination comprises two different papers. Paper 1 is on case study questions, whilst Paper 2 is on essays. Students who wish to avoid writing essays altogether could take H1 Economics, though the rigour in applying economic analysis is still very much needed.
4. How can I excel in Economics?
Economics is not an easy subject for many JC students as it requires a certain way of thinking and thus demands a level of maturity from its students. Regardless, it is still possible to excel in Economics despite the nature of the subject. One must put in more effort to master and internalise the concepts.
Compared to secondary school where it was still possible to memorise the information and regurgitate it in the examinations, this is strongly discouraged at JC level. Most subjects (including Economics) require students to understand and grasp the various concepts.
Here are three tips how you can approach Economics at the JC level and excel in it:
1) Understand the big picture first
To excel in Economics, it is important to first look at the big picture and grasp the inter-relationships before delving into the details of specific models or theoretical concepts. Our Economics programme will help you with this.
2) Ask questions and question the assumptions
Each theoretical model has many underlying assumptions. To come up with counter-arguments easily, one could question these assumptions and ask if they hold true in the real world. For example, one common assumption in Economics is ceteris paribus (or holding all other things constant), but this is hardly true in the real world, since things are constantly in flux and different variables change all at the same time. Through questioning the various assumptions, you are also able to weigh and evaluate and arrive at a reasoned conclusion and overall stand.
3) Read widely
You need to keep abreast of real-world issues happening today, so that you can easily pull out relevant and appropriate examples to substantiate the arguments in your essay. We know that most JC students are starved for time, and so our Economics programme distils important real-world economic issues for students to understand, think and discuss.
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The illum.e-minated minds
illum.e lessons were always very useful as the teachers would explain the notes in great detail, and makes us do many timed practices. My tutor is a super understanding teacher, and responds to all my questions by even going above and beyond to mark extra assignments and giving consultations. Illum.e’s notes are informative, well-explained and the lessons enable me to get immediate feedback to improve my answering techniques. I’m super grateful that teachers at illum.e are really of the best teachers out there!
illum.e's notes provided were extremely helpful in helping me master the the basics of the English language, allowing me to try out even more advance skills to strive for even greater results. Furthermore, Mr Chia's unique views has inspired me greatly, allowing me to generate more content for my compositions, and his effective drills has allow me to experience a drastic improvement in my comprehensions. These two years have been a great experience. Thank you!
Thanks to illum.e, I managed to score A1 for my language arts at IP Year 4. I would like to thank my teacher for being a very patient teacher and believing in us – my teacher’s guidance has really helped us to improve our English abilities and boost our confidence!
Lessons at illum.e have helped to boost my confidence and interest with regards to learning English. Before coming for lessons here, English was originally my worse subject and I struggled to score well all the time.
