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IB Economics HL/SL Exam Guide

This is a comprehensive guide on how to get a 7 in your IB Economics HL/SL Exams.

We will discuss the structure, time management, evaluation strategies, tips/tricks, and much more for paper 1, and paper 2.

Let’s dive right in.

Introduction

In this chapter we will answer the question: “What is the IB Economics exam?”.

We’ll also show you why the exams are so important and what you should expect.

Let’s get started.

What are the IB Economics Exams?

The IB Economics HL/SL Exams are the determining factor of your final IB Economics Final grade. Your Internal Assessment Portfolio accounts for the smaller rest.

The exams are trying to measure the four objectives proposed by the IB:

Knowledge and Understanding
Application and Analysis
Synthesis and Evaluation
Use and application of appropriate skills

Find more detail in the IB’s official subject brief.

IB Economics HL Grade Breakdown:

Paper 1 – 1h 15min – 20% of final grade
Paper 2 – 1h 45min – 30% of final grade
Paper 3 – 1h 45min – 30% of final grade
Internal Portfolio – 20h – 20% of final grade

IB Economics SL Exam Breakdown:

Paper 1 – 1h 15min – 30% of final grade
Paper 2 – 1h 45min – 40% of final grade
Internal Portfolio – 20h – 30% of final portfolio

What is the holistic approach?

In 2022 the IB introduced the ‘holistic’ approach in its IB Economics curriculum and one can expect similar curriculum changes to occur across all subjects soon.

Previously the IB would actively try to separate content in their exams.

In the new 2022 curriculum they are trying to connect content.

This means that students should focus on the interrelatedness of the content they learn. Students should also note differences, similarities, and connections in their studies.

We also encourage students to take the ‘bigger picture’ into account.

How do you study for IB Economics?

As we have previously seen, the exams are the key factor in determining your final IB Economics Grade. This means that you should put the most focus on them.

As IB Economics is very content oriented you should review and revisit material as often as possible.

We recommend the Oxford Textbook in combination with the Cambridge textbook.

If you are looking for summaries, then this is the best IB Economics summary guide.

You should also properly plan your study sessions. Make sure you understand the basics of the forgetting curve.

Practice Exams are also a great way to study. Three tips when taking practice papers:

Take paper 1, 2, and 3 on different days
Time yourself!
Ask your teacher to review your answers

Paper 1

Time: 1h 15min

Paper 1 is a complex exam.

To succeed you not only need to know the content, but also how to present it in the way the IB wants you to.

Here is everything you to know about paper 1:

What is paper 1?

The 1h and 15min long paper includes a 5min reading period in which you are allowed to read through the questions. You may write nothing during this period.

The Exam contains 3 questions that they subdivide into part a) and b).

You need to answer one of out the three questions.

The total paper contains 25 marks.

Part a) is 10 marks and part b) is 15 marks.

Part a) assessment objectives:

Knowledge and understanding
Application and Synthesis
Use and application of appropriate skills

Part b) assessment objectives:

Knowledge and understanding
Application and Synthesis
Use and application of appropriate skills
Synthesis and evaluation

This is the official IB Guide for Economics. It’s quite lengthy, but worth reading if you have the time.

Time Management

You have 75min total. The best way to allocate your time is:

25min for part a)

50min for part b)

The reason that you need so much time on part b) is that not only does it give the most points, but it’s also the most difficult question of paper 1.

This is mainly true because of the evaluation and synthesis that you need to perform.

10-Mark Question

You should start by including a diagram. This will most likely be the heart of the essay.

Don’t forget to draw, label, and title your diagram correctly.

Then you continue with your explanation. You should explain the theory, who it affects, and why it works.

While you explain the theory, use your diagram, reference back to the original question, and include necessary definitions of specific economic terms.

In order to better explain the theory, you should also include a real-life example. This doesn’t need to be an authentic example, but it can be.

15-Mark Question

You approach the 15-Mark Question the exact same way as the 10-Mark Question. Just that now you also need to include an evaluation of the theory.

Evaluation in IB Economics acronym: CLASPP

Cons and Pros: What are the advantages/disadvantages of this theory?
Long-run/Short-run: Compare the long-term effects with the short-term effects
Assumptions: What assumptions does the theory make that are unrealistic?
Alternative Solutions: What alternatives would solve the problem? Maybe they solve it even better, because …
Stakeholders: Who is affected and how? (Government, consumers, producers, by-standers, etc.)
Priorities: Who does the policy benefit the most? Maybe it’s not fair, because …

Common Mistakes

This video is for the old syllabus. However, paper 1 has barely changed, and it’s still very informative.

Paper 2

1h 45min

Paper 2 is a data response paper.

It requires a lot of writing and time management.

In this section you will learn about what the paper 2 entails, how to prepare for it, and it is structured.

What is paper 2?

Paper 2 is a data response paper.

That means that it is based on a randomly picked article about which you are required to write about.

The IB will ask you four questions per article.

You get 5min reading time and the whole paper will take 1h 45min.

Students must choose one question out of two.

Structure

There are a total of 2 question in paper 2. Both contain an article and both are subdivided into a total of 9 questions.

You only need answer one of the question – ergo you should only concentrate on one of the articles.

Each question is subdivided into a), b), c), d), e), f), and g). a) and b) are subdivided into i) and ii).

Even though the exact content or structure of each question are unknown (as the IB hasn’t released an official paper 2 for 2022 yet), we can still be sure that the following tips may still apply:

Diagrams

Diagrams are always essential to economics.

Make sure that you can fully label and draw them.

Based on previous years diagrams might determine up to 15% of your grade.

You diagrams should also be the key point of analysis when discussing the economic theory or ealuting it.

Definitions

Definitions are very important in your paper 2.

Even though the IB doesn’t explicitly require you to write definitions out word by word, it is still advisable to remember all the definitions and incorporate them as appropriately as possible.

Evaluation

Evaluation in IB Economics is always challenging, however, you can make your life easier by using command terms.

Your evaluation should look a lot like the evaluation you’ve conducted for a 15-Mark Question.

General Advice

Paper 2 is a really difficult paper. Being prepared is all that matters.

We have found a great workbook that is packed with practice IB Economics paper 2 questions and detailed answers.

The teacher that will keep an eye on you will give you following warnings:

“the time remaining is 30 minutes”
“the time remaining is 5 minutes”
“the examination is over please stop writing immediately”

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We hope you have found this guide helpful. Consider sharing it with your friends so they will be prepared too 🙂

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