Assessments
Internal Assessment (IA): 20% of Final Mark
IA Portfolio. Your portfolio will consist of three news commentaries. Each essay, based on a recent news article, must not exceed maximum 750 words. In the essay, you are required to use your knowledge of economics to analyze the subject matter of the article using relevant diagrams, theories and evaluation. Your commentaries will be loosely based on the following topics, although the specifics of your work will depend upon the article you choose to analyze:
Choice of News Articles
External Exams: 80% of Final Mark
SL/HL Paper 1 (1 hour 30 minutes, HL: 30% of final mark, SL: 40% of final mark)This paper is split into two sections. Section A – microeconomics, section B – macroeconomics. Within each section you are required to answer one two-part essay question from a choice of two.
Part (a) is worth 10 marks and part (b) 15. Here is an example from a past paper:
Did you notice the key difference between the two questions? Yes, it is the need for evaluation in youranswer to part (b).
Your teachers will give you further examples/exercises to look at/practise during the course.
SL/HL Paper 2 (1 hour 30 minutes, HL: 30% of final mark, SL: 40% of final mark)This paper is split into two sections.
Within each section you are required to answer one data response question, from a choice of two. Eachquestion is split into four parts:
Please see below fo/r an example question.
Your teachers will give you further examples/exercises to look at/practise during the course.
HL Paper 3 (1 hour, 20% of final mark)This paper consists assess all areas of the syllabus, with a focus on quantitative elements. You mustanswer two questions from a choice of three. Each question is worth 25 marks for a total of 50 marks available. Here is an example from a past paper:
Your teachers will give you further examples/exercises to look at/practise during the course.
Internal Assessment (IA): 20% of Final Mark
IA Portfolio. Your portfolio will consist of three news commentaries. Each essay, based on a recent news article, must not exceed maximum 750 words. In the essay, you are required to use your knowledge of economics to analyze the subject matter of the article using relevant diagrams, theories and evaluation. Your commentaries will be loosely based on the following topics, although the specifics of your work will depend upon the article you choose to analyze:
Choice of News Articles
- Each article must be a recent one – published no earlier than one year before writing the commentary.
- Each article must focus on a different syllabus section (i.e. micro, macro, international or development).
- They must be from a newspaper, a journal or the Internet. They may NOT be from TV or radio broadcasts, or podcasts. They must also be original material, i.e. unedited by anyone outside the source publication or website. In other words, articles from sites such as tutor2u or Biz\ed are not suitable.
- They must be chosen by yourself. Your teachers will teach you how to choose a news article suitable for commentary.
- They must all be from different sources – DO NOT use the same newspaper/journal/website twice. Your teachers will discuss with you from where you can find a different source for a topic that interests you.
- Although the commentaries must all be written in English, there is no restriction on the language used in the news articles. However, you need to provide an appropriate translation if the article is a non-English material.
- Try your best to find news articles which are relatively brief and do not contain any sophisticated economic analysis – tabloid newspapers are often a good starting point. Many students think that using an article from, say, the Economist, seems appropriate. It is, indeed, often difficult to make further analysis to it as the article is usually a commentary itself. Thus, it is inappropriate to write a commentary on other people's commentary.
- You do not have to use the whole article in your writing. It is literally impossible to cover too many economic issues in such a short essay. Instead, you may use an excerpt from the news article to give your essay a bit more focus.
External Exams: 80% of Final Mark
SL/HL Paper 1 (1 hour 30 minutes, HL: 30% of final mark, SL: 40% of final mark)This paper is split into two sections. Section A – microeconomics, section B – macroeconomics. Within each section you are required to answer one two-part essay question from a choice of two.
Part (a) is worth 10 marks and part (b) 15. Here is an example from a past paper:
Did you notice the key difference between the two questions? Yes, it is the need for evaluation in youranswer to part (b).
Your teachers will give you further examples/exercises to look at/practise during the course.
SL/HL Paper 2 (1 hour 30 minutes, HL: 30% of final mark, SL: 40% of final mark)This paper is split into two sections.
- Section A – International Economics
- Section B – development economics.
Within each section you are required to answer one data response question, from a choice of two. Eachquestion is split into four parts:
- Part (a) asks two short, definition-based questions worth 2 marks each.
- Parts (b) and (c) are short explanation questions (usually requiring a diagram) worth 4 marks each.
- Part (d) is a slightly longer question usually requiring a longer explanation of a concept along withapplication and evaluation.
Please see below fo/r an example question.
Your teachers will give you further examples/exercises to look at/practise during the course.
HL Paper 3 (1 hour, 20% of final mark)This paper consists assess all areas of the syllabus, with a focus on quantitative elements. You mustanswer two questions from a choice of three. Each question is worth 25 marks for a total of 50 marks available. Here is an example from a past paper:
Your teachers will give you further examples/exercises to look at/practise during the course.