IBDP • Economics • Written by the PrepSeven Editorial Team, reviewed by certified IB Examiners

IB Economics IA Guide: How to Score a 7

The Economics IA has a reputation among DP students for being deceptively simple — pick a news article, apply some theory, write a commentary. In practice, it’s one of the IAs where the gap between a competent, average response and a genuinely excellent one is driven almost entirely by depth of application rather than complexity of task. Two students can choose articles on very similar topics and use identical diagrams, yet score very differently, purely based on how precisely and insightfully they apply economic theory to their specific real-world evidence. This guide, from PrepSeven’s certified and former IB Economics examiners, breaks down exactly how to choose strong articles, apply theory with real depth, and avoid the mistakes that hold otherwise solid commentaries back.

What the Economics IA Actually Requires

The Economics IA consists of a portfolio of short commentaries (the exact number differs between SL and HL, and has been revised across syllabus versions, so always confirm the current requirement with your teacher), each analysing a real, recent news article through the lens of a specific economic concept, theory, and typically a diagram. Each commentary should draw a clear, well-labelled diagram relevant to the chosen theory, apply that theory precisely to the specific details of the article, and reach an evaluated conclusion or judgement about the economic issue at hand.

Choosing the Right Articles

Article selection matters more than students often expect. A strong article is recent (within the timeframe your syllabus requires), specific (detailing a particular event, policy, or market situation rather than a broad economic overview), and rich enough in economic detail to support genuine analysis rather than requiring you to invent context the article doesn’t actually provide.

• Prefer specific, dated events: a particular policy announcement, a specific company’s pricing decision, a defined market shock — rather than general commentary pieces about broad economic trends.
• Choose articles with genuine economic substance: ones that mention specific figures, market reactions, or policy mechanisms you can actually analyse, rather than articles that only gesture at economic ideas in passing.
• Diversify your concepts across your portfolio: covering different areas of the syllabus (microeconomics, macroeconomics, international economics, and development economics, depending on your specific requirement) rather than choosing very similar concepts across multiple commentaries.
• Avoid overly broad or overly technical articles: a good article should let you apply a specific taught concept clearly, not require you to significantly simplify an overly complex real-world situation or stretch a very general article to fit a specific theory.

Applying Theory With Genuine Depth

This is where the real gap between average and excellent commentaries lives. A weak commentary states the relevant theory in general terms and briefly gestures at the article without real integration. A strong commentary uses the article’s specific details as evidence within the analysis itself — referencing the actual figures, actual policy mechanism, or actual market behaviour described, and explaining precisely how the theory accounts for what’s happening in this specific case.

Using Diagrams Correctly

Diagrams are a core, heavily-weighted component of each commentary, and they need to be fully and correctly labelled — axes, curves, shifts, and any relevant equilibrium points clearly marked — and directly integrated into your written analysis rather than included as a standalone illustration. A common mistake is including a technically correct diagram that isn’t actually referenced or explained in the surrounding text, leaving the connection between diagram and argument implicit rather than explicit.

• Label all axes, curves, and shifts clearly and correctly
• Reference the diagram explicitly within your written analysis (‘as shown in Figure 1, the shift from S1 to S2…’)
• Ensure the diagram matches precisely what your written analysis describes, without inconsistency
• Choose the diagram type that’s genuinely appropriate for your specific concept, rather than defaulting to a generic supply-and-demand diagram regardless of fit

Structuring Each Commentary

1. Brief introduction: identify the article, the relevant economic concept, and the specific real-world issue you’ll be analysing.
2. Theory and diagram: introduce the relevant economic theory and present a correctly labelled diagram.
3. Application to the article: apply the theory precisely to the article’s specific details, integrating real figures and context rather than generic restatement.
4. Evaluation: discuss limitations, alternative perspectives, or the real-world complexity that a simplified diagram or theory doesn’t fully capture — this is where top-scoring commentaries distinguish themselves.

Writing a Genuine Evaluation

Evaluation is one of the most heavily rewarded and most commonly underdeveloped sections of the Economics IA. Strong evaluation goes beyond a single throwaway sentence acknowledging ‘there might be other factors’ — it genuinely engages with the real-world complexity your diagram and theory necessarily simplify, considers alternative economic explanations or stakeholder perspectives, and reaches a reasoned, evidence-based judgement rather than an unqualified assertion.

• Consider time frames: short-run versus long-run effects often differ, and acknowledging this adds real analytical depth.
• Consider different stakeholders: consumers, producers, government, and other affected parties often experience the same economic event differently.
• Acknowledge model limitations: real markets rarely behave exactly as a simplified diagram predicts, and acknowledging specific reasons why adds sophistication.
• Reach an actual judgement: rather than simply listing considerations, weigh them and state a reasoned conclusion.

Common Economics IA Mistakes

• Choosing articles with insufficient economic detail: forcing analysis to rely on assumption rather than the article’s actual content.
• Generic theory application: stating textbook theory without genuinely integrating the article’s specific figures and context.
• Poorly labelled or disconnected diagrams: diagrams that are technically correct but not clearly referenced within the written analysis.
• Weak or missing evaluation: a single generic sentence acknowledging complexity, rather than genuine engagement with limitations and alternative perspectives.
• Repetitive concepts across the portfolio: choosing very similar economic concepts across multiple commentaries rather than demonstrating breadth across the syllabus.
• Plagiarising or too-closely paraphrasing the article: failing to genuinely analyse in your own words, risking academic honesty concerns.

How PrepSeven Helps With Your Economics IA

PrepSeven’s Economics tutors are certified and former IB examiners who have marked real Economics IA portfolios and know exactly what separates generic theory restatement from genuinely sharp, article-specific application. We help students select strong articles across a diverse concept range, apply theory and diagrams with real precision, and build the kind of evaluation that consistently distinguishes top-scoring commentaries.

• Guidance selecting strong, analytically rich articles across diverse economic concepts
• Support building precise, article-specific theory application and diagrams
• Coaching on genuine evaluation that goes beyond generic acknowledgement of complexity
• Criterion-based review from examiners who’ve marked real Economics IA portfolios

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Do I need new data or a new diagram for each commentary?

Yes — each commentary in your portfolio should be built around a different article and, generally, a different economic concept, with its own diagram tailored specifically to that concept and article.

Q2. Can I reuse the same diagram type across multiple commentaries?

Using the same general diagram type (like supply and demand) is fine if genuinely appropriate to each specific concept, but your portfolio should demonstrate range across different economic theories and concepts overall, not just superficially different applications of the same single idea.

Q3. How recent does my chosen article need to be?

There’s a specific recency requirement set by the IB (commonly a defined window before your submission deadline) — always confirm the exact current rule with your teacher, since using an article outside the permitted window can affect whether it’s accepted.

Q4. What’s the biggest factor separating a good and an excellent Economics commentary?

Genuine, specific integration of the article’s real details into your theoretical analysis, combined with a thoughtful, well-reasoned evaluation — rather than generic theory restatement loosely connected to the article’s general topic.

Q5. Should I choose easy, familiar economic concepts or more advanced ones?

Choose concepts you genuinely understand well enough to apply with real depth and precision — a well-executed commentary on a comparatively simpler concept will consistently outscore a poorly-executed one attempting a more advanced concept beyond your current understanding.

Q6. How important is correct diagram labelling really?

Very important — incorrect or incomplete labelling (missing axis titles, unclear shift direction, mislabeled equilibrium points) is one of the most common, avoidable ways marks are lost, regardless of how strong the surrounding written analysis is.

Q7. Can I write about the same industry or company across multiple commentaries?

It’s generally better to diversify both your topics and your underlying economic concepts across your portfolio, since demonstrating range across the syllabus is part of what’s being assessed, rather than repeatedly applying similar analysis to very similar situations.