Internal assessment details—SL and HL

Weighting: 30% (SL), 20% (HL)

Economics students need to produce a PORTFOLIO
which includes 3 commentaries.
❏ Unit 2: Microeconomics
❏ Unit 3: Macroeconomics
❏ Unit 4: The global economy
Internal assessment - Article
❏ The articles may be from a newspaper, a journal or the internet,
❏ Must NOT be from television or radio broadcasts.
❏ A relatively lengthy article is discouraged, the student must highlight the
section(s) of the article upon which the commentary is based.
❏ Articles used must have been published no earlier than one year
before the writing of the commentary.
❏ The article on which the commentary is based should, where possible, be
in the same language as the commentary. If an extract in another
language is used, the student must provide an accurate translation of the
whole article. Students must also include the original article in their
portfolio.
❏ The most suitable news articles do not have explanation, analysis and evaluation and just report the economic
event with enough details and numbers to allow good application of the economic theories learned.
Internal assessment - Word Limit
❏ Students must produce a portfolio of three commentaries. Each commentary must not exceed 800 words.

❏ Note: Moderators will not read beyond 800 words for each commentary.

❏ The following are not included in the word count.

● Acknowledgments
● Contents page(index)
● Diagrams
● Labels - of five words or fewer
● Headings on diagrams—of 10 words or fewer
● Tables of statistical data - (avoid to use)
● Equations, formulae and calculations.
● Definitions of economic terms and quotations, if used, must be in the body of the work and are included in the word count.
● Citations (which, if used, must be in the body of the commentary) - Please note that a citation is a shorthand method of
making a reference in the body of the commentary, which is then linked to the full reference in the footnotes/endnotes.
● References (which, if used, must be in the footnotes/endnotes)Please note that footnotes/endnotes may be used for
referencing purposes only. (See next 3 slides)
Difference between Citation and Reference
Example
Example
Internal assessment - Key Concept
❏ Each of the three commentaries must use a different key concept as a lens through which to analyse the published extracts.

❏ 9 Key concepts - Refer IB Economics Guide

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).
Presentation of the commentary - Formatting guidelines

❏ Each IA should include……..

● 1st page -
● the title of the article
● the source of the article (including date of access to the site if from the internet)
● the date the article was published
● the date the commentary was written
● the word count of the commentary
● the unit of the syllabus to which the article relates
● the key concept being used
● 2ND PAGE - News article
● 3RD PAGE - The commentary (ALWAYS BEGIN ON NEW PAGE)
● LAST PAGE - A references page.(optional)
Eco IA - Structure of commentary
1. A one-sentence introduction to the article content and the key concept.
(what is the article about and which key concept will be used as a lens in the analysis? Avoid lengthy introductions)
● No need to define all economic terms, but economic terminology should be used appropriately throughout the article.
● The key economic terms related to the article and analysis should have a definition.
● An explanation of the links between the key concept, the theory and the article content
2. Appropriate diagram/diagrams should be included with a complete explanation to illustrate the change/issue & must be applied to
the context.
The diagrams should be appropriate to explain the issue covered in the commentary. The following elements should be included in the
diagram:
● Full title for the diagram
● All lines and curves on the diagram should be clearly labelled and applied to the context of the article.
● All intersections and connections to the axes on the diagram should be labelled to make later reference easier
● Important areas on the diagram can be shaded.
● If the exact numbers are included in the article and are able to be used, those can be used as labels on the diagram. If not, the
commonly used labels P1, P2, Q1, Q2, etc. can be used.
3. You can also analyse a solution to the issue, so you would then have:
● An explanation of the solution in the article using relevant terminology
● A diagram with a complete explanation to illustrate the solution, appropriate links drawn between the key concept and the economic
theory of the topic
IA commentary structure
4. Evaluation -
What is the CLASPP approach to evaluation in economics? (REFER NEXT SLIDE)
● Every article is about a problem, for example:
● Sometimes the article points out several methods by which the government tries to solve the problem.
Pick one and evaluate it
● If a solution is not mentioned, choose your own, but it should be one that is most likely to be effective.
In economics we use the CLASPP approach to evaluation.
More about the CLASPP approach will be explained below.
Finally, highlight the assumptions behind the theory so that you can explain its limitations.
(For example, one of the major assumptions in economics is the 'ceteris paribus' assumption – all other things being held the same. Is this
assumption applicable in reality? When an economic event such as changing demand due to increase in incomes occurs, is it possible to hold all
other external factors equal? It is not possible to decide whether demand has changed due to increase in income or also due to increase in
consumer confidence. Or maybe demand increased due to consumer expectations of rising prices of this good or service. So it is not possible to
really determine to what extent the increase in income has affected the change in demand.)
IA commentary structure
Conclusion: What can we conclude from the theory (that you’ve explained in your analysis)? Is it applicable or are there
factors in the real-world situation that contradict the theory?

Long-term and short-term effects: What is the effect of the change in the short term? If it is good in the short term, will it also
be good in the long term? Will it have any undesirable consequences in the long term? Will the policy be hard on people in the
short run but suitable to fix a problem in the long run? Will the policy fix one problem but create another?

Assumptions: What are the assumptions being made that are behind the economic theory? Are these assumptions applicable
in the real-world situation being discussed? For example,. the assumption of ‘ceteris paribus’ – the assumption that all other
things are being held equal – is it possible in real-world situations to apply this assumption and to ensure that 'other things are
being held equal'? What are the weaknesses of the theory? Is there anything unrealistic about the theory being applied to the
situation in question?

Stakeholders: What effects would the policy (for example, an indirect tax) have on the government, consumers, producers
and the rest of society? Policies (such as price ceilings) are often made with particular stakeholders in mind, so are there
undesirable effects on other parties (such as price increases for consumers)? Is the policy great for some groups, but bad for
others?

Priorities: What are the priorities of the society? For example, a policy like subsidising schools is good for families, and good
for the long-term macroeconomy, but bad for taxpayers who don’t have children.

Pros and cons: 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 the arguments against this policy?
IA commentary structure
5. A suitable conclusion
The conclusion should flow naturally from the arguments in the evaluation but also should be tentative. It
should not be more than one or two sentences and should also include the changes in efficiency of resource
allocation.

Source of all the information in PPT : IB website & Kognity.

Formatting guidelines

❏ Line spacing - 1.5 for article & commentary (both)

❏ Font style such as Book Antiqua/TIMES NEW ROMAN
❏ Font size 12
❏ Numbered pages
❏ Portrait orientation
ASSESSMENT
CRITERIA
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