Length of your IB Economics Internal Assessment: up to 750 words. The word count of your Economics IA does not include the following:
- Labels of up to 5 words
- Diagram headings of up to 10 words
- Contents page
- Acknowledgements
- Citations (must be in the body) (Important: all definitions must be in the body of the commentary and hence, are included in the word count)
- References (must be in footnotes)
- Calculations including formulae and any equations
Another important thing: quotations from the article are included into the word count. Therefore, when referring to the article avoid quoting the whole sentence, rather than just the relevant bits. If part of a sentence is left out use: <…>. (e.g. “The company not only <…> but also increased their prices from 0.5$ to 0.75$ per unit.”)
Weight of your Economics IA: 20% of your overall economics grade
Number of commentaries that must be submitted: 3, all of which must be from a different part of the syllabus (Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, International economics and Development economics)
Article: Not older than 12 months at the time of writing and each article must be from a different source. If the article is long (e.g. includes several topics, not just economics) you can highlight the relevant bits. Here is a guide on how to find a recent article which could be used for your Economics Internal Assessment. You can also ease up your life by using one of the articles suggested by us (all of which include brief explanations of possible discussion points).
Marking: your Economics Internal Assessments are marked by your teacher(s). Afterwards a sample of commentaries is sent to the IB for moderation.
Graphs and Diagrams: this is a guide on how to score full marks for Criterion A (Diagrams) of your IA. This is a guide on how to draw professional-looking diagrams for your Internal Assessment. However, if you are really keen on drawing your diagrams by hand – it is allowed (not recommended).
Help from the teacher: your teacher is allowed to comment once on each of your Economics Internal Assessments. Therefore, make sure your first draft that you submit for your teacher’s review is as good as possible.
Coversheets: one can be found here: IB Economics IA Coversheet. It must be filled in with every single one of your Internal Assessments and handed in together.
The most important fact to keep in mind: if in doubt – always consult your teacher. We cannot stress this enough! Your teacher is the one marking your Economics Internal Assessment so make sure he is happy with what you have produced and follow his advice!
Best of luck, folks!
