- What the Economics IA Requires
- Economics IA Criteria and Marks
- Criterion F: Three Marks You Should Never Lose
- How to Structure an 800-Word Commentary
- What Each Commentary Must Include
- Economics IA Word Count: What Counts Towards 800
- Using Diagrams Effectively
- Strong Analysis and Evaluation
- Example Outline: A Microeconomics Commentary
- Planning the Portfolio Over the Course
- Common Economics IA Mistakes
Quick Answer
The IB Economics IA is a portfolio of three commentaries of up to 800 words each, each based on a news article published no more than a year before you write it. Each must cover a different unit (microeconomics, macroeconomics, the global economy), use a different source and use a different key concept. The portfolio is marked out of 45 and is worth 30% at SL and 20% at HL.
What You'll Learn
- Three commentaries, each 800 words maximum: moderators do not read beyond word 800
- One commentary each on Unit 2 Microeconomics, Unit 3 Macroeconomics and Unit 4 The global economy
- Every commentary needs a different news source and a different one of the nine key concepts
- Each commentary is marked out of 14 (criteria A to E), plus 3 portfolio marks for rubric requirements (criterion F)
- Same task at SL and HL: worth 30% of the SL grade and 20% of the HL grade
What the Economics IA Requires
The Economics internal assessment is a portfolio of three written commentaries. Each one takes a recent news article and explains it the way an economist would: which theory applies, what a diagram shows, which key concept frames the issue, and what the likely effects are. The task is identical at SL and HL. It follows the current Economics guide, first assessed in 2022, which applies to everyone sitting exams in 2026 and 2027. Your teacher marks the portfolio, then the IB moderates a sample from your school. The guide recommends about 20 hours of class time for the whole portfolio.
- Three commentaries, each no longer than 800 words
- Each based on an article from published news media: a newspaper, a journal or the internet, but not a TV or radio broadcast
- Each on a different unit: Unit 2 Microeconomics, Unit 3 Macroeconomics and Unit 4 The global economy (Unit 1, Introduction to economics, cannot be used)
- Each article taken from a different source
- Each article published no earlier than one year before you write the commentary
- Each commentary analysed through a different key concept
- You choose your own articles: your teacher must not hand an article to the class
Pro Tip
At both levels the IA carries the same weight as Paper 1: 30% at SL and 20% at HL. Three short commentaries written over the course count as much as a full exam paper, so treat them that way.
Economics IA Criteria and Marks
Each commentary is marked on its own against criteria A to E, for a maximum of 14 marks. Criterion F is then applied once to the whole portfolio. The maximum is 45 marks: 14 marks for each of the three commentaries plus 3. Teachers use a best-fit approach, so the top band does not require a flawless commentary, but each criterion is judged separately.
- 1Criterion A, Diagrams (3 marks): relevant, accurate and correctly labelled diagrams with a full explanation. A diagram that is included but not explained earns 1 mark at most.
- 2Criterion B, Terminology (2 marks): economic terms relevant to the article, used appropriately throughout the commentary rather than listed once at the start.
- 3Criterion C, Application and analysis (3 marks): relevant economic theory applied to the article throughout, with effective analysis of why and how the situation develops.
- 4Criterion D, Key concept (3 marks): one key concept identified and its link to the article fully explained. A concept you have already used in another commentary scores 0.
- 5Criterion E, Evaluation (3 marks): judgements supported by effective and balanced reasoning.
- 6Criterion F, Rubric requirements (3 marks, whole portfolio): 1 mark for each requirement met, covering different units, different and appropriate sources, and articles published within a year of writing.
Watch Out
Reusing a key concept is the most expensive avoidable error. Use the same concept in two commentaries and you risk losing 3 marks under criterion D. Use it in all three and you risk losing 6.
Criterion F: Three Marks You Should Never Lose
Criterion F does not test economics. It checks that your portfolio follows the rules, which makes it the easiest 3 marks in the IA. You lose a mark for each requirement you break, and the requirements apply across all three commentaries, so plan the portfolio as a set rather than one commentary at a time.
- Different units: one commentary each from Units 2, 3 and 4. Some stories touch two units, for example a currency fall that affects inflation, so state clearly which unit you are using and take your theory from that unit.
- Different and appropriate sources: three different news publications. Two articles from the same publication count as one source, even if they come from different sections.
- Contemporary articles: each article must be published no earlier than one year before you write the commentary. The date you record for writing it is what counts, so do not sit on an article for months before you start.
How to Structure an 800-Word Commentary
The IB does not prescribe a structure, so you can organise each commentary as you like. In practice, strong commentaries follow the same logic: identify the issue, model it, analyse it, then judge it. The word budgets below are a common rule of thumb, not an IB requirement. They leave about half your words for analysis and evaluation, where criteria C, D and E are earned.
- 1Introduction (about 100-150 words): name the economic issue in the article, the unit and your key concept. Use the key terms you need in context rather than writing a block of definitions.
- 2Diagram and explanation (about 150-200 words): draw the diagram that best models the event, show the change (a shift or a new equilibrium), and explain every curve, label and movement using figures from the article.
- 3Analysis (about 200-250 words): apply the theory to the article. Trace the chain of cause and effect for consumers, firms, workers or the government, and keep linking back to your key concept.
- 4Evaluation and conclusion (about 250 words): weigh the strengths and limits of the policy or event, consider stakeholders, short run versus long run and the assumptions behind your diagram, then end with a clear judgement.
Pro Tip
Many students learn the DEED structure (Definitions, Explanation, Examples, Diagram). It is a reasonable starting point, but definitions are not a criterion. Criterion B rewards terminology used well throughout, and definitions count towards your 800 words, so keep them short and spend the saved words on evaluation.
What Each Commentary Must Include
The guide lists details that must be recorded on every commentary, and most schools use a cover sheet for them. None of this counts towards your 800 words, but missing details make it hard for your teacher and the moderator to check criterion F.
- The title of the article
- The source of the article, with the date you accessed it if it is online
- The date the article was published
- The date you wrote the commentary
- The word count of the commentary
- The unit of the syllabus the article relates to
- The key concept you are using
Watch Out
Include a full copy of the article, not just a link. If it is long, which is discouraged, highlight the parts your commentary is based on. If the article is in a different language from your commentary, include the original and an accurate translation of the whole article.
Economics IA Word Count: What Counts Towards 800
Each commentary must not exceed 800 words, and moderators will not read beyond that point. Anything after word 800, often your conclusion, earns nothing. The whole portfolio is therefore 2,400 words at most, but the limit applies to each commentary separately: you cannot borrow words from one commentary for another.
- Not counted: acknowledgements and the contents page
- Not counted: diagrams, labels of five words or fewer, and diagram headings of ten words or fewer
- Not counted: tables of statistical data
- Not counted: equations, formulae and calculations
- Not counted: citations in the body and references in footnotes or endnotes
- Counted: definitions and quotations, which must sit in the body of the commentary
Pro Tip
Footnotes may be used for references only. Moving analysis or definitions into a footnote does not take them out of the word count.
Using Diagrams Effectively
Criterion A rewards diagrams that are relevant, accurate, correctly labelled and fully explained. Draw your own: a hand-drawn diagram that you scan is fine, and so is one made with software, as long as you constructed it. The best diagrams show the change described in the article, such as a supply curve shifting after a tax, rather than a static equilibrium.
- Microeconomics: indirect taxes and subsidies, price ceilings and floors, negative or positive externalities, and shifts in demand or supply
- Macroeconomics: AD/AS shifts caused by fiscal, monetary or supply-side policy, and the business cycle
- The global economy: tariffs, quotas and export subsidies, exchange rate changes, and their effects on exports and imports
- Label axes, curves, equilibria and any shift (for example S1 to S2), and use the article's real figures where you can
- Explain everything you draw in the text: an unexplained diagram caps criterion A at 1 mark
- Add a second diagram only if it adds analysis, for example the knock-on effect in a related market
Strong Analysis and Evaluation
Analysis explains why and how the theory applies to this particular article. Evaluation weighs it up and reaches a judgement. Weak commentaries summarise the article and then add a paragraph of generic pros and cons. Strong ones evaluate the specific policy or event in the article, using its own data.
- Stakeholders: who gains and who loses, and by how much? Consumers, producers, workers, the government and third parties may be affected differently
- Short run versus long run: demand often becomes more price elastic over time, so a tax may cut consumption more in later years
- Assumptions: what does your diagram assume, and does the article suggest those assumptions hold?
- Unintended consequences: shortages after a price ceiling, retaliation after a tariff, or a regressive burden from an indirect tax
- Priorities: which effect matters most, and why? Make a judgement rather than listing points
- Key concept: return to it in your conclusion, for example by judging whether the intervention improved equity or well-being
Watch Out
Stay with the article. The IB's May 2022 subject report criticised commentaries that suggested alternative government policies the article never mentioned. Evaluate what is actually happening rather than writing a policy wish list.
Example Outline: A Microeconomics Commentary
This is an illustrative plan, not a real student's work. Imagine an article reporting that a government will raise the tax on sugary drinks next year, with figures on current consumption and expected revenue.
- 1Introduction: identify sugary drinks as a demerit good with a negative consumption externality. Unit 2, Microeconomics. Key concept: intervention.
- 2Diagram: a negative consumption externality diagram, with marginal private benefit above marginal social benefit, and the tax moving output towards the socially optimal level. Explain each label using the article's figures.
- 3Analysis: how the tax raises the price, how far quantity falls given the price elasticity of demand, and how the burden is shared between consumers and producers.
- 4Evaluation: demand for habit-forming drinks may be inelastic, so consumption may fall less than hoped. The tax is regressive, which raises an equity question. Firms may cut sugar content to avoid the tax, which could help health more than the price rise itself.
- 5Conclusion: return to intervention and give a clear, conditional judgement based on the evidence in the article.
Planning the Portfolio Over the Course
Most schools spread the three commentaries across the two years, with each written soon after the unit it covers. Map all three before you start: which unit, which source and which key concept each will use. That way criteria D and F are safe from the beginning.
- 1Find and save several possible articles for the unit you are studying
- 2Check each one against the rules: unit, publication date, source and length
- 3Choose your key concept and diagram before you start writing
- 4Write a full draft. Your teacher can comment on one draft, orally or in writing, but must not edit it
- 5Revise and submit: the next version you hand in is the final one
- 6Record the date written and the word count for each commentary
Common Economics IA Mistakes
These errors cost marks every session, and almost all of them are avoidable at the planning stage. An IB Economics tutor can practise diagrams and evaluation with you against the criteria on other articles, while the commentaries stay your own work.
- Going over 800 words, so the conclusion is never read
- Summarising the article instead of analysing it
- Using the same key concept or the same news source twice
- Using an article published more than a year before the commentary was written
- Drawing a diagram and not explaining it, or explaining it without the article's data
- Opening with a long list of definitions that leaves too few words for evaluation
- Choosing an article that already contains expert economic analysis, leaving you little to add
- Evaluating policies the article never mentions
- Naming the key concept in the introduction and never returning to it