Brad Cartwright

Digging Deep Into Paper 1 of 

IB Economics

 October 11, 2024

This week we’re going to take a look at Paper 1 of IB Economics.  

Not only will we look at the Context, the Essential Skills, and the Mark Scheme for Paper 1 but also I will provide you with a highly effective Writing Structure, a student-friendly Paper 1 Fact Sheet, a link to hundreds of Real-Life Examples, and even an instructional video to help build confidence. 

As we have for all three of the external assessments for IB Economics, we’re going to break it down in a way that makes it as manageable as possible to understand…. 

…and I’ll provide you with some key strategies  

Remember, the IB means what it says, and says what it means.  

Always.  

So let’s take them on their word.

The Context

It is vitally important that you understand the context in which the IB is placing students. 

It’s quite simple, they are economists.   And what do economists do?

They analyze and evaluate economic policy.  For whom?

Usually, for politicians who come to them and ask them for help.  

Look at that!

So, in all of their writing and thinking, IB Economics students are writing from the perspective of an economist—a master of economic theory—to a specific audience.  

The easiest to imagine?  

A politician.  

A president.  

A prime minister.  

A head of state. 

So remember this:

IB students are economists being asked their opinion on economic policy for a particular government.

That is their job.

That is their perspective.

In all of their answers.  On all of their assessments.

We as teachers, are therefore judging them on how well they do this.

 

The Details: What is Paper 1? 

The IB calls Paper 1, The “Essay Question”.  

I don’t really like that name because writing an effective Paper 1 answer is way more technical than writing an “essay” for History or English class.  We’ll get into this more when we discuss an effective structure for Paper 1, but for now, we’ll leave it alone.

Here’s what we need to know…

Paper 1 consists of three questions that come from all units of the syllabus.  

Students must answer one of the three questions and will have 75 minutes to do so.   

For High Level students Paper 1 is worth 20% of their composite score, while for Standard Level students it is worth 30%.  

Each question on the paper has two parts, parts (a) and (b). 

• Part (a) asks students to analyze an economic situation and is worth 10 marks.  
• Part (b) asks students to not only evaluate an economic real-life example but also provide a judgment of sound economic policy to address the situation.   It’s worth 15 marks.

Like all IB Exams, Paper 1 starts with a five-minute reading period that students can use to decide which of the three questions they will answer and time to mentally plan their approach to answering the question.

The Five Essential Skills & Paper 1

Not surprisingly, the Five Essential Skills are critical to student success on Paper 1.

Forgot what they are?  No problem.  Here they are again:

• The Language 
• The Calculations
• The Diagrams
• The Analysis
• The Evaluation

Why are they important on Paper 1?  Well, look at this snapshot:

 

 

Paper 1 is literally built to reward students for honing and perfecting four of these five skills.  

Look at that. 

Yeah, so as I repeat in every one of my IB Economics Workshops, if you are doing one of these five things in your class on any given day, you are doing the right thing.  

You are quite literally building the skills necessary for success on Paper 1.   

Clarity always brings calm.   

So trust it.

A Fact Sheet

If you’re like me—especially as you get deeper into your years of teaching in the IB—sometimes you want all of the essential information for an IB task in one document....

...that you could hand students the first time you discuss Paper 1. 

Trust me, it will continue to be relevant throughout the two-year journey.  

Well, here it is:  Paper 1 Fact Sheet.  Thank you, Sofia, for putting this together!

 

The Mark Scheme: The Audience

The mark scheme is the audience for all answers on Paper 1.  

What do I mean by that?

Well, it’s who you want to make happy. 

If you were performing a Shakespearean monologue and the lights came up in the theater and everyone in the audience was a five or six-year-old, I’m not so sure you would’ve made the audience so happy.  

Conversely, if you absolutely crushed your performance in front of three hundred professors with Ph.D.s in Shakespeare you might get a standing ovation.  

The audience matters a lot.

Well, the audience of all things IB is…

The mark scheme.  Always.

As I have repeated to my students for years...

“Make mark scheme happy.  Mark scheme make you happy.”

Try that with your students.  It works.   

So study the mark scheme.  It is literally what the IB Examiners use to assess our work.

So know it.  All of it.   

To help, here’s a nice, clean, user-friendly version of the Paper 1 Mark Scheme. 

Download it.  Study it.  Use it.  

It’s yours.

 

The Writing Structure

It’s all about the structure.  The structure needs to be built like you build a good unit—backwards. 

Backward Planning is the hallmark of great teaching, right?    

Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe transformed education with their innovative framework outlined in their classic book Understanding by Design.

Ok, well, do the same with your writing structure.  

Start with what the audience wants.

Then work backward toward a perfectly arranged writing structure.

Simple, right?

Sort of, but it takes work.  

The goal is to hand the IB Examiner a Paper 1 response on a silver platter.

One that hits the mark scheme in the most strategic way possible for both the Analysis in Part (a) and the Evaluation in Part (b).

Here’s my take:  

• Writing Structure – The Analysis - Paper 1 Part (a)
• Writing Structure – The Evaluation - Paper 1 Part (b) 

If you like them.  Take them.  Use them.   

Share them.

Both have served my students exceptionally well over the years.  

 

The Real-Life Example

What makes Paper 1 different from the other papers, is that in Paper 1 students must provide the Real-Life Example in Part (b).  

Say what?  

Yeah, students must study and remember a Real-Life Example and “bring” that with them to the exam.  

That’s hard.  For sure.   

But with a little bit of thought, you can make it easier on yourself.

First of all, nearly all Part (b) questions require that students draw a diagram.

If that’s the case, then there’s your cue!

Know a Real-Life Example for every diagram.  That’s it.

The Diagrams are your guide for so many things in this course.  

The Real-Life Examples for Paper 1 are no different.  

Where are you going to get those?

Start with the Real-Life Examples you used in your Internal Assessments and build from there.

If you need help, you may want to take a look at this collection of Real-Life Examples for IB Economics.  

That’s a link to hundreds of articles that I have curated over the years for students to find Real-Life Examples helpful to their studies in IB Economics.  

Check it out.

 

A Video for Students

Lastly, if you’re looking for a video to help you with all of the particulars of Paper 1—many of which I touched on here, you may find this helpful to you and your students.

It takes a deep look at Paper 1.

 

Well, there you have it...

A detailed look at Paper 1, broken down into smaller parts that hopefully make it more accessible for you.

I love Paper 1.   

It’s a great place for students to begin to hone the skills necessary for success throughout this course.

I hope you found it helpful.

See you next week.