Edexcel A-Level Economics A · 25-mark guide
Edexcel Economics 25-mark essay: how the 16 + 9 marks work, with a rewrite
An Edexcel A-Level Economics A 25-mark essay is marked on two separate grids: 16 marks for knowledge, application and analysis (four levels) and 9 marks for evaluation (three levels). You write four per exam series: one on Paper 1, one on Paper 2 and two on Paper 3, each chosen from two questions.
Checked against Pearson’s 9EC0 specification and the June 2024 Paper 1 mark scheme — October 2026
How the 25 marks are split
The mark scheme gives each essay two marks and adds them: one for knowledge, application and analysis (KAA, out of 16) and one for evaluation (out of 9). You will often see the 25 split as 4 knowledge / 4 application / 8 analysis / 9 evaluation. That is a common teaching shorthand, not how Pearson’s mark schemes grade the essay.
Knowledge, application and analysis (16), in plain words
Evaluation (9), in plain words
Our plain-English summary of Pearson’s level structure, not Pearson’s wording. The 2024 mark scheme also notes that analysis can be credited as evaluation and the other way round, so a well-argued point is not wasted if it sits in the “wrong” part of your essay.
Your evaluation budget
Evaluation is 9 of the 25 marks, a little over a third. In a 30-minute essay that means roughly 20 minutes building analysis and 10 minutes evaluating it. Spending half the essay on “however” points risks capping your KAA mark, because the chains that earn it never get developed.
| Part | Marks | Rough time |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | — | 3 min |
| Two or three developed analysis chains (KAA) | 16 | 17 min |
| Evaluation of those chains + judgement | 9 | 10 min |
Each paper is 2 hours for 100 marks, about 1.2 minutes a mark, so around 30 minutes for a 25-mark essay. The split is our suggestion, not a Pearson rule.
Worked example: one paragraph, two levels
Our practice question: Evaluate the likely effects on consumers of a merger between two of the UK’s largest supermarket chains. [25]
If two supermarkets merge they will have more market power. This means they can raise prices, which is bad for consumers. However, it depends on whether the government allows the merger.
Why it stays low: a two-step chain (more power, higher prices) with no mechanism and no context, then a generic “it depends” with nothing behind it.
The merger would raise concentration in an already oligopolistic market. With one fewer close rival, demand for the merged firm’s groceries becomes less price elastic, so it can raise prices further above marginal cost and consumer surplus falls, most of all in towns where the two chains were each other’s nearest competitor.
However, the merged firm may win purchasing economies of scale from suppliers, and if some of that saving is passed on, prices could fall instead. How much is passed on depends on how contestable the market stays: the growth of discounters such as Aldi and Lidl limits how far prices can rise. The regulator matters too: the Competition and Markets Authority blocked the Sainsbury’s and Asda merger in 2019 because it expected prices to rise. So the effect on consumers is likely to be negative where local choice disappears, and smaller where discounters are close by.
The one change: the analysis now runs through to consumers with a mechanism (elasticity, price above marginal cost), and the evaluation weighs a counter-effect against named conditions and evidence before reaching a judgement.
Levels shown are our own illustrative reading of the two ladders above, for one paragraph. A full essay needs two or three chains like this. The question and answers are written by Markaroo; they are not from a Pearson paper.
Where 25-mark marks are lost
- Two-step chains. “Higher costs, so higher prices” sits in KAA Level 2. Add the mechanism and carry it through to the effect the question asks about.
- Generic examples. The top KAA level asks for precise knowledge in context. Name the market, the firm type or the data, not “a company”.
- “It depends” on its own. Evaluation Level 1 is generic comment. Say what it depends on and which way it pushes the answer.
- One-sided judgement. Evaluation Level 3 weighs different viewpoints. One counter-point is not balance.
- Over-spending on evaluation. KAA is 16 of the 25 marks. Develop the analysis first.
25-mark essay questions
How is the Edexcel Economics 25-mark essay marked?
On two grids that are added together: knowledge, application and analysis out of 16 (four levels) and evaluation out of 9 (three levels).
Is the 25-marker split 4 knowledge, 4 application, 8 analysis, 9 evaluation?
That split is common teaching shorthand, but Pearson’s mark schemes grade the essay as 16 marks for knowledge, application and analysis together plus 9 for evaluation, not as four separate pots.
How many 25-mark essays are there in Edexcel Economics A?
Four per exam series: one on Paper 1, one on Paper 2 and two on Paper 3, one in each section. Each time you choose one question from two.
How long should I spend on an Edexcel Economics 25-marker?
Each paper is 2 hours for 100 marks, about 1.2 minutes a mark, so around 30 minutes per 25-mark essay, including a short plan.
Can Markaroo mark my Edexcel Economics essays?
Yes. Each answer is marked against Edexcel’s levels for its question type, with a mark, the reason for it and the one change that moves it up, and you can attempt past papers in the app. The free plan includes 2 written answers marked free.