How to Master IB Economics Internal Assessment
A comprehensive guide to creating an outstanding IA portfolio based on official IB requirements.
Internal Assessment
Portfolio Guide
Official Rubric
Academic Integrity
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IA Portfolio Requirements
Portfolio Overview
Your IA is a portfolio of three commentaries demonstrating your economic knowledge in real-world contexts.
Core Components
- Three Commentaries based on three different news articles.
- Each commentary must cover a different syllabus unit (Micro, Macro, Global).
- Each commentary must use a different Key Concept as its analytical lens.
Weighting & Time
- Worth 30% for SL and 20% for HL of your final grade.
- Allocated 20 hours of teaching time.
Article & Source Rules
- Different Source for Each: Each of the three articles must come from a different news source.
- Contemporary: Articles must be published no more than one year before you write the commentary.
- Published Media: Use newspapers, journals, or internet news sites. TV/radio broadcasts are not allowed.
- Individual Work: You must select your own articles. Teachers cannot provide them to the class.
Word Count: 800 Words Max
Each commentary has a strict 800-word limit. Moderators will not read past this limit.
✅ Included in Word Count:
- Main body of the commentary
- Definitions of economic terms
- Direct quotations from sources
❌ Not Included in Word Count:
- Diagrams and their headings/labels
- Tables of statistical data
- In-body citations (e.g., Smith, 2023)
- References in footnotes/endnotes
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Assessment Criteria (45 Marks Total)
How Your IA is Marked
Your teacher uses a "best-fit" model. They find the descriptor that most accurately describes your work for each criterion. It's not necessary to meet every single point in a descriptor to get that mark.
IA Rubric Breakdown
Criteria A-E are assessed for each of the 3 commentaries (14 marks each). Criterion F is assessed once for the whole portfolio (3 marks).
| Criterion | Focus | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| A: Diagrams | Relevant, accurate, correctly labelled, and fully explained diagrams. | 3 |
| B: Terminology | Appropriate use of relevant economic terminology throughout. | 2 |
| C: Application & Analysis | Applying relevant theory to the article with effective economic analysis. | 3 |
| D: Key Concept | Identifying a key concept and fully explaining its link to the article. | 3 |
| E: Evaluation | Making judgments supported by effective and balanced reasoning. | 3 |
| F: Rubric Requirements | Meeting the 3 portfolio rules: different unit, different source, and contemporary article for each commentary. | 3 |
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Academic Integrity
IB Plagiarism Policy
Official IB Requirement
"All coursework...is to be authentic, based on the student’s individual and original ideas with the ideas and work of others fully acknowledged."
Key Takeaways:
- Authentic work: Your IA must be your own original analysis.
- Acknowledge others: All sources and ideas must be correctly cited.
AI and Language Models Warning
Critical Warning About AI Usage
DO NOT copy text directly from ChatGPT or other AI. This is easily detected and is considered academic misconduct.
❌ Prohibited AI Use:
- Copying and pasting AI-generated text
- Using AI to write entire sections
✅ Acceptable AI Use:
- Brainstorming ideas or concepts
- Checking grammar and language