Overview
The 9708 Economics examiner report is a commentary from Cambridge explaining how students performed in a specific exam session. You should use it *after* you have completed and marked a past paper to diagnose your weaknesses. By comparing your mistakes against the common errors highlighted in the report, you can gain a clear, actionable plan for improvement.
What is an Examiner Report?
Alongside the question paper and mark scheme, Cambridge publishes a Principal Examiner Report for Teachers for every exam series. This document is your direct line to the examining team. It provides a question-by-question breakdown of student performance across the globe, highlighting which questions were answered well and which proved challenging. More importantly, it explains *why*. The report details common misconceptions, frequent calculation errors, and the specific analytical or evaluative weaknesses that prevented students from reaching the higher mark bands. It is not just a list of mistakes; it is a detailed explanation of what separates a top-grade answer from an average one.
The Golden Rule: Mark First, Read Later
The single most common mistake students make is reading the examiner report too early. Reading it before you attempt a paper gives you a false sense of security; you'll recognise the pitfalls as you write, but this doesn't mean you would have avoided them under real exam pressure. The report’s true power is diagnostic. First, complete a past paper under timed conditions. Then, use our tools to [mark your paper](/mark) honestly against the official mark scheme. Only then should you open the examiner report. This transforms the report from a general document into a personalised feedback tool, allowing you to see if the common errors it describes are *your* errors.
Decoding Feedback for Essay Questions (Papers 2 & 4)
For Cambridge Cambridge exam technique, for the essay papers, the examiner report is invaluable for understanding the nuances of the level-of-response marking. The report will often comment on how students performed across the key assessment objectives: Knowledge and understanding, Application, Analysis, and Evaluation. For example, it might state that on a question about subsidies, many candidates could define a subsidy but failed to analyse its specific impact on consumers, producers, and the government, or neglected to evaluate its effectiveness compared to other policies. Use this to scrutinise your own work. Did you just define terms, or did you develop a chain of reasoning? Was your evaluation just a tacked-on final paragraph, or was it integrated throughout your argument? The report provides the blueprint for moving up the levels for [9708 Economics](/subjects/9708).
Finding an Edge in Data Response Questions (Papers 1 & 3)
For Cambridge Cambridge exam technique, while data response questions are point-marked, the examiner report offers crucial insights here too. It will frequently point out specific data interpretation errors, such as confusing a fall in the rate of inflation with deflation, or miscalculating a percentage change. These are easy marks to lose and, with the report's help, easy marks to secure in the future. The report also gives feedback on the higher-mark 'discuss' or 'assess' questions within the data response. It might reveal that students failed to use the data provided in their answer, instead writing a generic essay. This is a classic mistake; the report reminds you that every part of your answer must be rooted in the specific information given in the tables and text.
The Active Revision Loop: Re-attempt and Refine
For Cambridge Cambridge exam technique, simply reading the report is passive. To make it truly effective, you must act on its advice. After marking your paper and reading the examiner's comments, identify one or two questions where you performed poorly and where your mistakes match the common errors described in the report. Now, re-attempt that question. This time, you are armed with expert advice. Focus on avoiding the specific pitfalls the examiner highlighted. This creates a powerful feedback loop: Attempt → Mark → Diagnose with Report → Re-attempt. This active process embeds the lessons learned and turns examiner feedback into tangible improvements in your exam technique, which is far more effective than just passively reading about what other students did wrong.
Frequently asked questions
For Cambridge Cambridge exam technique, no. This is a common but counter-productive strategy. Doing so spoils the diagnostic value of the exercise, as you will be forewarned of the common traps. The best approach is to simulate the exam, make your own authentic mistakes, and then use the report to understand and correct them.
Should I read the examiner report before I do a past paper?
The report seems very general. How do I apply it to my own writing?
Connect the general comments to your specific performance. If the report says students struggled with evaluation on Question 5, and you scored low marks for evaluation on that same question, you have found your specific, actionable feedback. The report shows you that your weaknesses are often shared, and points the way to a solution.
Is the examiner report more important than the mark scheme?
Neither is more important; they are complementary tools that should be used together. The mark scheme tells you what content gets marks. The examiner report explains why students typically failed to earn those marks, highlighting the common errors and misconceptions. For a full picture, you must learn how to read the mark scheme and then use the examiner report to add context.