IB Economics Internal Assessment

Whether your Internal Assessment (IA) is related to Microeconomics, Macroeconomics or Global Economy, you should be able to demonstrate your understanding of the theory and you communication skills.

What does this actually mean?

The one step that will take you closer to getting the maximum 15-marks for your IA is choosing the right article. This means:

• It should clearly fit within the topic of choice: Macro/Micro and be able to be analysed from the lense of one of the 9 concepts (Click here for article about the
• It should not be too short. If the article is too short, the IA will become speculative. Meaning you will have to say: if X happens, then Y would be the result however if A would happen, B will be the outcome. The IA will be more interesting to write and read if the article presents both a problem and a solution.
• Don’t select an article about a region / continent as it would be difficult to identify suitable policies. It’s best to select an article about a country when it comes to Macroeconomics IA.
• The commentary should relate strictly to the article, no speculation and no analysis outside of the scope of the article
• The article should present mainly facts and little to no analysis, that should be our job
• You know you found the right article for your IA if it mentions at least 3 key economic theory concepts, describes a problem and a solution without overanalysing them
• Don’t use too many big words for analysis and evaluation – best to use your own words and maybe polish wording at the end
• Lastly, make sure that the IA article written in the past 8-9 months, so that when the IA is submitted the article will be safely published within one year from submission date.

Lastly, let’s remember how the IA will be marked:

• Diagrams – 3 marks for relevant, accurate, and carefully labelled diagrams featuring appropriate explanations;
• Terminology – 2 marks for relevant terms and their definitions;
• Application and Analysis – 3 marks for using appropriate economic theories to analyze the selected news article.
• Key Concepts – 3 marks for using one of the WISE ChoICES concepts as a foundation for your analyses, as well as the ability to justify their relevance;
• Evaluation – 3 marks for providing your judgment, reasoning, and arguments regarding the situation or process the selected news article talks about.