A descriptive result states what the figures show. An explanation offers a possible cause. A policy preference says what should be done, and the figures alone cannot decide that.
This lesson is part of reading national economic indicators carefully. The same separation is used in stating assumptions and limitations without ideological conclusions.
What are the three layers?
Sort every sentence of an answer into one of three layers. Observed: the figures say X changed by this amount. Explained: one possible reason for the change is Y. Preferred: therefore Z should be done.
Decide from the command word which layers the question wants. “Describe” asks for the first. “Explain” adds the second. Only a question that asks for a recommendation wants the third.
Worked example: a fictional bus pass scheme
A fictional town introduces a subsidised bus pass for job seekers. Before the scheme, the town’s unemployment rate was 10%. A year later it is 8%. The labour force stayed about the same.
Observed. The unemployment rate fell by 2 percentage points, from 10% to 8%, over the year.
Explained (a possibility). Cheaper travel may have let job seekers reach more employers. A new factory that opened in the same year may also have added jobs. The figures cannot separate the two.
Preferred. “The scheme should be extended to all towns.” This depends on its cost, who pays and what else the money could do. None of that is in the table.
| Layer | Supported by the table? | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Observed | Yes | The unemployment rate fell from 10% to 8%. |
| Explained | Only as a possibility | Cheaper travel may have helped, as may a new factory. |
| Preferred | No | The scheme should be extended. |
The mistake that costs marks
The common slip is to write “the scheme worked, so it should be extended” under a question that only asked “describe the change”. The sentence is confident, but it claims a cause the data cannot prove and a choice the question did not ask for.
| Overreach | Supported rewrite |
|---|---|
| The scheme cut unemployment. | Unemployment fell from 10% to 8% after the scheme began. |
| The town should keep the scheme. | The figures alone cannot show whether the scheme should be kept. |
| The factory was irrelevant. | A factory opened in the same year and may also have contributed. |
The fix is to read the command word first and then delete any sentence from a layer the question did not ask for.
Check yourself
Sort each statement about the fictional town as Observed, Explained or Preferred.
- (a) The participation rate rose from 62% to 63%.
- (b) The rise in participation may be because more people believed jobs were available.
- (c) The council should fund more travel subsidies.
- (d) Youth unemployment fell from 15% to 12%.
Answer
(a) Observed: a figure and a change.
(b) Explained: a possible reason, marked with “may be”. It needs evidence beyond the figure.
(c) Preferred: it says what should be done, which depends on values and costs.
(d) Observed: a figure and a change for one group over a period.
What to study next
Practise all four habits in the cluster practice set. For the wider skill of writing evaluation with stated assumptions, see stating assumptions and limitations without ideological conclusions and the claim evidence and explanation revision desk.
If a teacher checking where your writing moves between layers would help, see online one-to-one Economics tuition.