IB Economics IA: Your Article Choice Changes Everything

You find a news article about inflation, open a blank document and start writing your IB Economics Internal Assessment. Three paragraphs later, you realise something is missing.

There is plenty of news to summarise, but very little economics to analyse.

This is where many Economics IA problems begin. Students often focus on how to structure their commentaries before asking whether their chosen articles can support meaningful economic analysis.

The IB Economics Internal Assessment requires three commentaries based on published news articles. Each commentary must connect a real economic issue to relevant theory, diagrams, a key concept and evaluation.

But not every article about the economy is suitable for that task.

A report can be current, interesting and well written while offering limited opportunities to apply economic theory. If you choose it anyway, no amount of polished writing can create the missing analytical opportunities.

This guide explains how to select three strong articles, understand the IB requirements, construct useful diagrams and write commentaries that demonstrate genuine economic understanding.

What Does the IB Economics IA Actually Require?

The Economics IA is a portfolio of three independently written commentaries based on articles from published news media.

According to the IB Economics guide for first assessment in 2022, the requirements apply to both Standard Level (SL) and Higher Level (HL) students.

Your portfolio must satisfy several conditions:

• Three commentaries: One each from Microeconomics, Macroeconomics and The Global Economy.
• 800 words maximum per commentary: Your portfolio therefore has a combined maximum of 2,400 commentary words.
• Three different sources: Each article must come from a different news source.
• Recent articles: Every article must have been published no earlier than one year before its commentary was written.
• Three different key concepts: Each commentary must use a distinct concept as its analytical lens.
• Relevant economic analysis: Commentaries must connect the articles to economic theory and demonstrate understanding of their implications.

Unit 1, Introduction to Economics, is excluded as a standalone commentary unit.

The IA contributes 30% of the final Economics grade at SL and 20% at HL.

Both levels follow the same IA portfolio requirements, even though their examinations differ.

The IB's official Economics overview confirms that students use key concepts to analyse contemporary economic issues.

The central task is not simply to explain what happened in the news. It is to explain why it happened, what economic theory predicts and what the consequences may be.

Why Your Article Choice Matters More Than You Think

Imagine selecting an article reporting that a country's economy is performing well.

The article discusses business confidence, consumer optimism and political reactions, but provides little information about the policies or economic changes involved.

What will your commentary actually analyse?

You might define economic growth, mention aggregate demand and offer general observations. However, connecting these ideas convincingly to the article could become difficult.

Now consider an article reporting a central bank's decision to increase interest rates in response to inflation.

This provides an identifiable economic intervention, relevant theory and potential consequences.

You could analyse how higher interest rates may affect borrowing, consumption, investment, aggregate demand and inflation. You could also evaluate the effects on households, businesses and economic growth.

These are hypothetical article descriptions used to illustrate the selection process, not references to specific news events.

The difference is the opportunity for analysis.

A strong Economics IA article gives you an economic mechanism to explain, not merely an economic topic to describe.

This is a practical interpretation of the IB assessment criteria, which reward relevant application, analysis and evaluation.

Five Tests for Choosing a Strong Economics IA Article

Before committing to an article, evaluate it against five questions.

1. Can you identify a specific economic issue?

Look for an identifiable change, intervention, market failure or policy decision.

A government introducing a tax, a central bank adjusting interest rates or a country imposing import tariffs may provide a clearer analytical focus than a broad report about economic conditions.

2. Can you connect it to relevant theory?

Identify the syllabus topic before writing.

For example, a proposed tax on a good associated with negative consumption externalities could allow you to examine market failure and government intervention.

If you cannot identify relevant theory, reconsider the article.

3. Can you explain the issue using an economic diagram?

The article should support a diagram showing an economic relationship or change.

You should be able to explain why a curve moves, how equilibrium changes or how a policy influences economic outcomes.

4. Is there room for evaluation?

A useful article creates opportunities to examine limitations, competing interests and possible consequences.

For example, a policy may benefit one group while imposing costs on another. Its effectiveness may also depend on economic conditions or the time period considered.

5. Does it satisfy the formal IA requirements?

Check its publication date, source and syllabus unit.

An otherwise excellent article may still be unsuitable if it is too old or prevents your portfolio from meeting the rubric requirements.

You do not need an article with dozens of statistics. You need enough relevant information to apply theory accurately and make reasoned judgements.

Choosing Articles for All Three Commentaries

Your three articles must represent different syllabus units.

The following examples are possible directions rather than prescribed topics or verified news events.

Commentary 1: Microeconomics

Consider an article about a government introducing an indirect tax to discourage consumption of a product with negative externalities.

Relevant analysis could include market failure, consumer and producer behaviour, taxation and welfare effects.

An appropriate key concept might be intervention.

Your diagram could illustrate the negative externality and explain how taxation may affect market outcomes.

Commentary 2: Macroeconomics

Consider an article discussing an interest rate increase intended to reduce inflation.

Relevant theory could include monetary policy, aggregate demand, inflation and economic growth.

A possible key concept is economic well-being.

Your diagram could show the effects of contractionary monetary policy through aggregate demand and aggregate supply.

Commentary 3: The Global Economy

Consider an article describing a newly introduced import tariff.

Relevant analysis could include protectionism, imports, domestic producers, consumer welfare and trade efficiency.

A possible key concept is interdependence.

A tariff diagram could demonstrate the effects on domestic production, consumption, government revenue and welfare.

These examples are illustrative. Your final analysis must reflect what your chosen published articles actually report.

Each article must be selected independently and must allow meaningful engagement with its relevant syllabus unit.

The Article Recency Rule Students Often Misunderstand

One of the easiest requirements to overlook concerns publication dates.

The IB Economics guide states that articles must have been published no earlier than one year before the writing of the commentary.

Notice the reference point: the date the commentary was written, not the date of the final examination.

For example, if you write a commentary in October 2026, the article generally needs to have been published in October 2025 or later, within the corresponding one year window.

An article published more than a year before your commentary does not satisfy the requirement simply because the economic issue remains relevant.

Each commentary should also record:

• Article title and source
• Article publication date
• Date the commentary was written
• Commentary word count
• Relevant syllabus unit
• Selected key concept
• Website access date, if the article was accessed online

Keep a copy of the complete original article for the portfolio. If a lengthy article is used, the IB guide instructs students to highlight the sections on which the commentary is based.

Economics IA Diagrams: What Actually Earns Marks?

Diagrams are not decorative additions to an Economics IA.

They are part of the assessed economic reasoning.

The IB's Economics examiner instructions explain that a single diagram can receive full marks under Criterion A if no additional diagram is necessary and the diagram is sufficiently relevant and explained.

There is no requirement to include multiple diagrams simply to make a commentary appear more substantial.

A useful diagram should be accurate, correctly labelled, relevant to the article and fully explained.

Suppose your article concerns an increase in interest rates.

An aggregate demand and aggregate supply diagram might help demonstrate how reduced consumption and investment could lower aggregate demand.

However, drawing the curve shift is not enough.

You need to explain the economic reasoning connecting the policy to the diagram and the predicted consequences.

Avoid generic textbook diagrams that are not adapted to the article.

The examiner guidance also distinguishes economic diagrams from charts copied directly from news articles. A published statistical chart is not automatically a suitable economic theory diagram.

For more guidance, read IB Economics Diagrams: Score What Examiners Want.

How to Connect the Key Concept to Your Commentary

The IB Economics syllabus identifies nine key concepts:

Scarcity, choice, efficiency, equity, economic well-being, sustainability, change, interdependence and intervention.

You must select a different key concept for each commentary.

Simply mentioning a concept does not establish a meaningful connection.

For example, suppose your article discusses subsidies for renewable energy.

You select sustainability as your key concept.

A weak connection would merely state that renewable energy supports sustainability.

A stronger discussion would examine how the subsidy could change production incentives, encourage cleaner energy use and potentially reduce environmental costs.

You could then consider fiscal costs, possible unintended effects and whether the policy would achieve its intended outcomes.

The concept becomes part of the analysis rather than a label attached to it.

Under Criterion D, the IB assesses how fully you explain the connection between the selected concept and the article.

Reusing a key concept across commentaries risks losing the marks available for that criterion in the repeated commentary.

A Practical Structure for Each 800 Word Commentary

The IB does not prescribe one universal paragraph structure for all Economics IA commentaries.

However, the assessment criteria make clear what your writing must accomplish.

Lanterna Education's Economics IA structure guide recommends organising writing around the article's context, underlying economic problem, relevant policy or mechanism, evaluation and conclusion.

A practical approach is to organise your commentary into four parts.

Introduction and context

Briefly identify the article's economic issue and explain the theory you will apply.

Use relevant terminology accurately without spending excessive words defining basic concepts.

Economic analysis

Develop your economic reasoning using the article, appropriate theory and diagram explanations.

Explain causal relationships rather than repeating information from the news report.

Evaluation

Consider the strengths, limitations and consequences of the economic changes or policies being examined.

Support your judgements using economic reasoning and the article's context.

Conclusion

Bring together your central economic argument and the most significant evaluation.

Your conclusion should follow from your analysis rather than introduce unsupported claims.

The exact word allocation will depend on the article and the complexity of the theory.

The word limit is strict. As the official examiner instructions state:

"Examiners will not read beyond 800 words for each commentary."

Certain elements, including diagrams, qualifying diagram labels, statistical tables, equations and references, are excluded from the word count under the guide's specified conditions.

Definitions and quotations included in the commentary count towards the limit.

How the Economics IA Is Marked

Each commentary is assessed using five criteria, with a sixth criterion applied to the complete portfolio.

Criterion	Focus	Marks
A	Diagrams	3
B	Terminology	2
C	Application and analysis	3
D	Key concept	3
E	Evaluation	3

Each commentary can receive 14 marks.

Across three commentaries, that produces 42 marks. Criterion F, covering portfolio rubric requirements, contributes another 3 marks.

The complete Economics IA is therefore assessed out of 45 marks.

Criterion F concerns using articles from different syllabus units, different sources and within the required publication period.

These requirements deserve attention before writing begins.

You can produce a thoughtful commentary and still lose portfolio marks through avoidable article selection errors.

Common Economics IA Mistakes to Avoid

Several mistakes can weaken otherwise promising work.

Choosing an article with little economic theory: A news report may be interesting without providing enough material for analysis.

Summarising instead of analysing: Retelling the article demonstrates comprehension, but does not necessarily demonstrate economic reasoning.

Using unexplained diagrams: Correct curves and labels are important, but the explanation must connect the diagram to the article.

Treating the key concept as a heading: The selected concept must influence the reasoning throughout the commentary.

Writing evaluation as a list: Advantages and disadvantages need explanation, context and supported judgement.

Ignoring portfolio requirements: Repeated news sources, repeated concepts or outdated articles can compromise the assessment.

You can examine publicly available examples through resources such as Clastify's Economics IA collection, but use examples to understand analytical approaches rather than reproduce someone else's work.

A Better Workflow for Completing Your Economics IA

Instead of writing immediately after finding an interesting headline, follow a structured process.

First, identify the syllabus unit and economic issue you want to investigate.

Next, collect several recent articles from suitable news publications. Compare their analytical potential before selecting one.

For each promising article, identify the relevant theory, a possible diagram, an appropriate key concept and two or three evaluation opportunities.

Check the publication date and verify that the article does not conflict with your other portfolio choices.

Only then begin planning the commentary.

After drafting, compare your work directly against Criteria A to E.

Ask whether your diagram is explained, your economic terminology is precise, your theory genuinely applies to the article and your evaluation produces reasoned judgements.

Finally, check the word count and portfolio requirements before submission.

For a broader approach to managing coursework deadlines, read Stop Chasing IA Deadlines: A Two Year Plan That Works.

You can also strengthen your understanding of relevant topics through the Koncepts IB DP Economics subject hub, which organises the HL and SL syllabus across the main units.

Your Economics IA Starts Before the First Sentence

The best Economics IA preparation begins with a question that comes before any writing:

Does this article actually give me something meaningful to analyse?

A strong article creates opportunities to demonstrate economic understanding. It connects clearly to theory, supports appropriate diagrams, provides scope for evaluation and satisfies the IB's formal requirements.

Once those foundations are secure, structuring the commentary becomes easier.

You know which mechanism to explain, which diagram to use, which key concept to develop and which consequences deserve evaluation.

The goal is not to find the most dramatic economic headline.

It is to choose three articles that allow you to think, analyse and evaluate like an economist.

Make those decisions carefully, and your Economics IA will have a much stronger foundation before you write its first paragraph.