IB ECONOMICS

INTERNAL
ASSESSMENT
THE FORMAL STUFF (From the IB)

HIGHER LEVEL STANDARD LEVEL

20 % of Overall IB Grade 30 % of Overall IB Grade

Important links for IA #1, Spring 2024
The first thing you will need to do in this process is to find an article that will work well for the
IA commentary.
1.​ Select three articles and meet with me to determine which one will work best for the IA.
How to select a good article, February 13. Annotated Articles (3) and meeting
with me: February 13
2.​ Using your article, complete the following worksheet in order to organize your thoughts.
(Key concepts) Page 19 of PDF
3.​ IA Due Dates:
Annotated Articles (3) and meeting with me: February 19/21
Rough Draft: February 27
Final Draft: March 18
4.​ IA Mark boundaries and IA Coversheet

Rationale:
Internal assessment in economics enables students to demonstrate the application of their knowledge and
understanding of economic theory in relation to real-world situations.

Requirements:
Both SL and HL economics students produce a portfolio of three commentaries based on articles from
published news media. Each article must be based on a different unit of the syllabus (excluding Unit 1:
Introduction to economics): Unit 2: Microeconomics, Unit 3: Macroeconomics and Unit 4: The global
economy.

Articles:
The nature of articles

The choice of an appropriate article is the most crucial aspect of writing a successful commentary. The article
used does not have to be purely economic, as the application of economic theories and concepts can be
observed in many areas. Articles without any obvious economics are sometimes the most effective, allowing
students to introduce economic analysis where it is not immediately apparent. Articles that include
substantial economic analysis, such as in The Economist, while allowable as a source, may leave little
opportunity for further analysis.

Suitable articles

Articles must be chosen from the news media: newspapers, magazines or the internet. Students need to look
for articles relating to current events, and these must be published no earlier than one year before the writing
of the commentary. The World Wide Web is a good source of articles. However, news media websites are the
only appropriate sources. The use of blogs is not allowed for internal assessment unless these are associated
with recognized news organizations. Students must take care to record correctly the actual date the article
was published, not just when it was posted on the internet. Graphic sources (for example, pictures, cartoons
and advertisements) are not to be used as source articles: these do not qualify as articles for the purpose of
this internal assessment. Students must take care not to choose articles where there is little room for their
own analysis and evaluation.

Length of articles

Shorter articles are often a good choice as they tend to be focused on just one or two economic
theories/concepts. A rough guide is approximately one full side of A4/letter-size paper (in font 10–12 with
normal line spacing) and no longer than two sides of A4/letter-size paper. It is important to note that
moderators (external examiners) will not read beyond two sides of text. Articles that are too short will not
usually provide enough interesting issues for students to analyse.
If students wish to use a long article, they must include the original article in its entirety, with the selected
part(s) highlighted. This helps students to stay focused. Students must remember that the teacher and
moderator will only read the highlighted section(s) and it is crucial, therefore, to highlight all the relevant
sections in the commentary.

Individual work on the articles and commentaries

Students must select their own articles to analyse. The teacher must not give the articles to the class or even
a single extract to a group of students. It can happen that students select the same articles by chance. This is
acceptable, provided the teacher is confident that each of the students involved came up with the article
independently. However, the teacher may require students to find alternative articles. The production of the
commentary must also be each student’s individual work and must not be prepared collaboratively with any
other members of the class. Commentaries must not be based on any articles used for class activities.

Key Concepts:
Each of the three commentaries must use a different key concept as a lens through which to analyse the
published extracts. Students will risk losing 3 marks in criterion D if they use the same key concept in two
commentaries and up to 6 marks if the same key concept is used in three commentaries.

Focus:
Each commentary must:
●​ Explain the links between the article, a key concept and economic theory taken from the unit of the
syllabus on which the article is based.
●​ Demonstrate economic insights into the implications of the article (that is, it should provide evidence
of the student’s ability to discuss current events from the point of view of an economist).

On each commentary cover sheet students must record:

●​ The title of the article

●​ The source of the article (including date of access to the site if from the internet). Must include URL.
●​ The date the article was published
●​ The date the commentary was written
 ●​ The word count of the commentary
●​ The section of the syllabus to which the article relates
●​ The key concept being used

Each commentary in the portfolio is assessed individually against the internal assessment criteria. Each
student’s work is initially assessed before a sample of the work is then moderated by the IB.

Rubric Requirements:
If students do not adhere to the following requirements, they can lose marks under criterion F: Rubric
requirements.

1.​ Articles
​ Each article must be based on a different unit of the syllabus

2.​ Sources
Students must use a different source for each commentary

3.​ Contemporary articles

Students need to look for articles relating to current events, and these must be published no earlier
than one year before the writing of the commentary.

Word Limit:
Students must produce a portfolio of three commentaries. Each commentary must not exceed 800 words as
moderators will note read beyond 800 words. The following are not included in the word count:
●​ Diagrams
●​ Labels – of five words or fewer
●​ Headings on diagrams – of 10 words or fewer
●​ Tables of statistical data
●​ Equations, formulae and calculations
●​ Citations (which, if used, must be in the body of the commentary)
●​ References (which, if used, must be in the footnotes/endnotes)

Footnotes/endnotes may be used for reference only. Definitions of economic terms and quotations, if used, must
be in the body of the work and are included in the word count.

I.A. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Overview:
There are five internal assessment criteria for each commentary.

Criterion Commentary section Marks

Criterion A Diagrams 3 marks

Criterion B Terminology 2 marks

 Criterion C Application and Analysis 3 marks

Criterion D Key Concept 3 marks

Criterion E Evaluation 3 marks

Total 14 marks

There is one internal assessment criterion for the whole portfolio.

Criterion F Rubric requirements 3 marks

Each commentary is assessed individually for the first five assessment criteria (A-E) and then criterion F is applied
to the whole portfolio. The maximum for the portfolio is 45 marks (14 marks x 3 commentaries) + 3 marks = 42 + 3
marks. The assessment criteria are related to the assessment objectives.
●​ Criterion A: AO2 and AO4
●​ Criterion B: AO1
●​ Criterion C: AO2
●​ Criterion D: AO2
●​ Criterion E: AO3
●​ Criterion F: AO4

Criterion A: Diagrams
This criterion assesses the extent to which the student is able to construct and explain diagrams.

Marks Descriptor

0 The work does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.

1 Relevant diagram(s) are included but not explained, or the explanations are incorrect.

2 Relevant, accurate and correctly labelled diagram(s) are included with a limited explanation.

3 Relevant, accurate, and correctly labelled diagram(s) are included, with a full explanation.

Criterion B: Terminology
This criterion assesses the extent to which the student uses appropriate economic terminology.

Marks Descriptor

0 The work does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.

1 Economic terminology relevant to the article is included in the commentary

 2 Economic terminology relevant to the article is used appropriately throughout the commentary.

Criterion C: Application and Analysis

This criterion assesses the extent to which the student recognizes, understands and applies economic
information in the context of the article.

Marks Descriptor

0 The work does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.

1 Relevant economic theory is applied to the article with limited analysis.

2 Relevant economic theory is applied to the article throughout the commentary with appropriate
economic analysis.

3 Relevant economic theory is applied to the article throughout the commentary with effective
economic analysis.

Criterion D: Key Concept

This criterion assesses the extent to which the student recognizes, understands and links a key concept
to the article.

Marks Descriptor

Either the work does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below or the key concept
0
identified has already been used in another commentary.

1 A key concept is identified and there has been an attempt to link it to the article.

2 A key concept is identified and the link to the article is partially explained.

3 A key concept is identified and the link to the article is fully explained.

Criterion E: Evaluation
This criterion assesses the extent to which the student’s judgements are supported by reasoned
argument.

Marks Descriptor
 0 The work does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.

1 Judgements are made that are supported by limited reasoning.

2 Judgements are made that are supported by appropriate reasoning.

3 Judgements are made that are supported by effective and balanced reasoning.

Criterion F: Rubric requirements

This criterion assesses the extent to which the student meets the three rubric requirements for the
complete portfolio.

●​ Each article is based on a different unit of the syllabus.

●​ Each article is taken from a different and appropriate source.
●​ Each article was published no earlier than one year before the writing of the commentary.

Marks Descriptor

0 The work does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.

1 One rubric requirement is met

2 Two rubric requirements are met.

3 Three rubric requirements are met.

 IB ECONOMICS
INTERNAL
ASSESSMENT
THE INFORMAL STUFF (TIPS & HINTS)

WORD COUNT:

The maximum word count for each commentary is 800 words. It is vitally important to write as close as
possible up to this limit i.e. 799 words! In order to maximize your marks, you will have to do a lot of
things – write an introduction and conclusion, draw one or two diagrams, explain and describe each one,
define some economic terms and concepts that you are using, directly refer to the article etc. All of this
takes up a lot of your word count! For this reason, make sure you use as much of your word count as
possible.

USING RESPECTABLE SOURCES:

Your article sources must be news media sources, containing the latest news about an economics issue.
Remember: you cannot use the same source for more than one commentary. Each source should be
different for each commentary.

[Link] Huge collection of current news stories from sources around the world
[Link] UK-based but with world-wide news stories
[Link] List of news web sites from different African countries. Especially
useful for Section 5 or for other commentaries where you want something about the “majority world”
[Link]/ Links to news websites in English based in just about every country you
have ever heard of.
[Link] The Times (subscription only).
[Link] The Independent
[Link] The Guardian
[Link] The New York Times (subscription through AIS-R)
[Link] Reuters
[Link] The Daily Telegraph (subscription only)
[Link]
[Link]

Also be warned. Some of the above news sources allow you to view an article once, but the next time
you login you are asked to subscribe to the publication, and you cannot see the article again. If you see a
good article, therefore, copy and paste it into another document straight away! This list is not all
inclusive. There are plenty of other good resources out there but this should provide you with a starting
point.

DIAGRAM RULES:

1.​ Diagrams should be large – around one-third of a page in size.

2.​ Always label the axes appropriately – eg “Price of Cars” , not just “Price” and “Quantity of Oil
(Barrels per Year) ” not just “Quantity”.
3.​ Indicate the equilibrium points with dotted lines to the axes, with notation on the axes such as
Q1 to Q2 or AD1 to AD2
4.​ You must use ARROWS to indicate the direction of any change i.e. a shift in a curve, an increase
or decrease in price.
5.​ Do not confuse Macro and Microeconomics in your labeling! Eg it is ” Price” in Microeconomics
and “Price Level” in Macroeconomics.
 6.​ Most of your diagrams should be dynamic not static (i.e. they are illustrating some process of
economic change). In other words curves must shift, prices change etc.
7.​ Do not BEGIN or END your commentary with a diagram. They must be located in the main body
of the commentary.
8.​ Always explain and describe your diagrams, with explanations / descriptions coming AFTER the
diagram. You must refer to specific lines and points AND you must use the diagram labels!
9.​ Label your diagrams “Diagram 1”, “Diagram 2” or “Figure 1”, “Figure 2” etc so that you can easily
refer to them in your analysis.
10.​Don’t use color in your diagrams. The IB often ends up seeing them in black and white.

FINAL CHECKS ON ECONOMICS COMMENTARY SUBMISSION:

Prior to submitting your commentary, use this checklist to ensure that you have done everything that
you need to do to maximize your marks:-

1.​ Have I included a cover sheet and does it have all the required information?
2.​ Have I included the article?
3.​ Have I highlighted the relevant paragraphs in the article if it is more than a page long?
4.​ Does my commentary start with an opening paragraph and finish with a concluding paragraph?
5.​ Have I included one or two diagrams in the commentary?
6.​ Are they described / explained in detail and fully labelled?
7.​ Have I defined (in the body of the text, not in the footnotes) some specialist economic terms
used?
8.​ Have I incorporated quotes and / or ideas from the news article?
9.​ Have I utilised economic theory that we have done in class in the commentary to explain /
analyse the situation described in the article?
10.​Have I tried to give my own views / opinions about the situation described in the article? Are
they mentioned, especially in the concluding paragraph?
11.​Are my views and opinions backed up by relevant evidence (from the article, or another source)?
12.​Is the word count no more than 800 words?
13.​Is the article that I used different from my other two commentaries?

CONSIDERATIONS FOR EVALUATION (CLASPP):

A clasp is something that holds things together. But (spelled with 2 P’s) it’s also an acronym for the 6
types of evaluation we can use in IB Economics. Use at least 3 of these. It is highly recommended that
you use Stakeholders and Assumptions every time and then include a third one of your choice. If you
can do even more then that’s better. The IB cares a lot about stakeholder effects and assumptions is
impressive because it shows that you really understand the basis of the theory.

Conclusions
 ●​ This is where you synthesize the insights of the diagram, where you're explaining the (potentially
simplistic) insights of the theory and the diagram you presented above.
●​ What can we conclude from the theory that you’ve explained in your analysis?
●​ What is the basic relationship between the aspects that you compared in your diagram? (i.e. In
general, what happens to price and consumption when the price ceiling is introduced?)

Long-term and short-term effects

●​ Some effects of policies aren't evident for quite a while and sometimes the short-term effects
are good, while the long-term effects can be bad.
●​ Is the change good in the short-term, but over in a few years it could have undesirable
consequences? Over time many suppliers may move out of the industry, as they have an
insufficient either willingness or ability to sell for the amount dictated by the price ceiling.
●​ Could the policy be really hard on people in the short-run, but it fixes the long-term problem?
●​ Could this policy fix one problem, but create another?

Assumptions
●​ What does the diagram (the standard economic thinking) assume is true, but often might not be.
●​ Are there some assumptions being made, that the theory depends on that may not hold true?
This is the same as “ceteris paribus” --the assumption that all other things are being held equal,
when in fact they might not stay constant. Explain what might change and how that would effect
your analysis.
●​ Are there weaknesses in the theory? What is unrealistic about the theory?
●​ Does the theory rely on people acting rational (i.e. trying to maximize their own best interests or
utility) when in reality that may not be how people behave?

Stakeholders
●​ What effects would this policy have on the government, consumers, producers and the rest of
society? Suppliers may suffer, while consumers benefit from a price ceiling, as long as suppliers
continue to provide the goods.
●​ Policies (i.e. price ceilings) are often made with particular stakeholders in mind, so are there
undesirable effects on other parties (i.e. price increases for consumers)?
●​ Is the policy great for some groups, but bad for others?
Priorities
●​ Each policy benefits some more than others (as we explore in stakeholder effects). With
priorities we notice which groups benefit more and we can infer who the policy is created to
benefit.
●​ Discussing the priorities of a society, or the government is also a good way to keep things in
perspective. A policy like subsidizing schools is probably good for families, good for the
long-term macro economy, but perhaps unfair for taxpayers who don’t have children. New
policies should reflect the true priorities of the society.
●​ Is there an important normative (i.e. values aspect) that the policy change is assuming?
Pros and Cons
●​ Finally, pros and cons is where we try to notice any additional good or bad things about the
policy, which we haven't mentioned yet.
●​ What are the advantages and disadvantages of this policy?
●​ What are the costs and the benefits of this policy?
●​ What are the arguments for and against this policy? This one is to double-check that you haven’t
left anything worth mentioning.

Exemplar IA

Portfolios Micro IA Marks

Portfolio A Examiner comments A ●​ Marks 14/14

Portfolio B Examiner Comments B ●​ Marks 11/14

Portfolio C Examiner Comments C ●​ Marks 11/14