Exams & syllabus
Explore the two exam formats and organize preparation across microeconomics, macroeconomics, and business and finance.
Exam formats
Round 1 · Multiple choice
Open entry · IndividualDistinguish concepts, read diagrams and practice pacing.
Round 2 · Free response
For Round 1 qualifiersMake each step of your derivation clear enough to check.
The official 2027 season page does not list the Round 2 question count. Prepare for the published response format and duration, and check current-season notices.
Syllabus areas and practice examples
Each area pairs the official scope with an original practice example. Examples are not official samples or marking schemes.
Microeconomics
Study individual and firm choices, and how markets produce outcomes.
- Demand, supply, elasticity and market equilibrium
- Consumer choice
- Firm behavior
- Noncompetitive markets, including monopoly
- Market failures
- Government interventions
- Labor market
- Game theory
Did the price change, or did preferences change?
The price of coffee falls while other conditions stay constant. Do you move along the demand curve or shift the whole curve?
A fall in the good’s own price means a movement along the existing demand curve.
If consumers instead develop a stronger preference for coffee, demand shifts right. Identify what changed before changing the diagram.
Macroeconomics
Use aggregate data and models to explain economic activity, policy and international connections.
- Macroeconomic data
- Economic growth
- Labor market
- Aggregate demand and aggregate supply (AD–AS)
- IS–LM
- Monetary and fiscal policies
- Economic fluctuations
- International economics
Does higher nominal output mean more was produced?
Nominal output rises from 100 to 110. Is this change alone enough to conclude that real output increased?
No. You must separate price changes from quantity changes.
In the simplified comparison, either a higher price or a higher quantity produces the same nominal value. A real measure removes the price effect. In policy analysis, also state the model and the short-run or long-run perspective.
Business and finance
Understand financial choices through timing, cash flows and risk.
- Financial planning
- Banking system
- Time value of money
- Saving and borrowing
- Investment, financial instruments and risk management
- Insurance
Compare money at the same point in time
Assume you receive USD 110 in one year and the annual discount rate is 10%. What is its present value today?
The present value is 110 ÷ 1.10 = USD 100.
State the timing and discount rate, then discount the future amount to today. When comparing alternatives, also check cash-flow direction and risk assumptions. These numbers are an academic illustration.
Check and review your response
This practice method works across all three areas. It is study guidance, not an official lesson sequence or marking standard.
Conditions
Identify given quantities, units and constraints. Separate stated conditions from assumptions you add.
Model
Explain why the model fits. Label axes, curves and the direction of change.
Derivation
State the relationship or formula before inserting values. Keep intermediate steps that a reader can check.
Interpretation
Answer the question in a sentence. Check signs, units and economic meaning.
Locate the gap in the concept, model, calculation or explanation and write one correction. Then change the numbers or context in another question to test your understanding.
Exam and proctoring requirements
Online, individual and proctored
Both rounds are individual online exams with technology-based proctoring. Your location must meet current-season rules.
- Use current-season instructions
- Complete the exam independently and follow academic-integrity requirements. Before the exam, check instructions for devices, connectivity, proctoring, permitted materials, check-in and submission.
- Check the year on historical handbooks
- The 2026 handbooks provide background and preparation context. Their software, permitted materials, check-in and submission requirements should not be carried over to 2027.