The Five Essential Skills

Students Need

January 9, 2026

I hope you had a long and relaxing break! 

So if you are back to school either today or in the coming weeks, I thought I would focus this week on reminding all of us about the importance of the five essential skills of IB Economics, because these five skills are not random. 

They are built directly from the skills students need to be successful in Paper 1, Paper 2, Paper 3, and the Internal Assessment. And unfortunately, at least for me, nobody told me about these in my first couple of years of teaching. So I thought as many of us IB teachers head toward the May exams and the crunch that is the second semester, I would share my take on the five essential skills of IB Economics.

Teaching this course can feel overwhelming at first. Many of us stepped into it while learning large parts of the content alongside our students. Many of us wondered whether our daily lessons were truly preparing students for the exam. 

And many of us, myself included, spent far too many early mornings practicing diagrams before sunrise. So much of the work I do now is shaped by those early years and by my desire to help teachers avoid the stress and uncertainty that come from not knowing what matters most.

Over time, I realized that the strongest IB Economics students share five core skills. When these skills are taught deliberately and consistently, everything else begins to fall into place. 

Students become more confident. Lessons become more predictable. Assessment becomes clearer. And teachers begin to feel the satisfaction that comes from knowing exactly what to emphasize each day.

Here they are.

Essential Skill One - The Language of Economics

The first skill is the language of the course. Students must learn to speak like economists. Without a strong command of economic language, nothing else works. They cannot analyze what they cannot articulate. They cannot evaluate what they cannot name.

This is why I encourage teachers to create a simple list of key terms and concepts for every unit. Hand it out on the first day. Review it constantly. Quiz them regularly. Not complicated quizzes. Five terms. No word bank. Answers in complete sentences.

It feels like sixth grade memorization, and that is exactly the point. Language acquisition comes from repetition. When students become fluent in the vocabulary of the course, they are better prepared for every part of the exam. It is one of the easiest gifts we can give them as teachers.

Essential Skill Two - The Calculations

The second skill is competence with the calculations. IB Economics is not a math course. It is a relational theory course. The goal is not the arithmetic itself but the meaning behind the numbers. Students must learn to calculate inflation or unemployment or market outcomes in a way that allows them to explain those results in written form.

The key is context. Always teach calculations in the moment they appear in the curriculum. Never in isolation. When students calculate something as part of a real economic situation, they begin to understand what the numbers show. That understanding is what earns marks on Paper 2 and Paper 3.

Essential Skill Three - The Diagrams

The third skill, and often the most transformative, is mastery of the diagrams. The diagrams are the central aspect of the course. They tell the story of the economic situation students are asked to analyze. They lead directly into the writing. And they serve as the backbone for interpretation and evaluation.

This is why I always encourage teachers to focus on the foundational diagrams first. The base diagrams are the templates from which nearly every other diagram is formed. Once students know them well, adding events or policy changes becomes intuitive. A diagram that moves from a base model to a shifted curve is simply a visual explanation of the analysis paragraph they will write next.

If students know the core diagrams with confidence, everything else becomes easier.

Essential Skill Four - The Analysis

The fourth skill is analysis. This is where the writing becomes technical. Students must explain the base diagram and the change that occurred. They must use economic language to describe how the policy, shock, or event affects the variables in the model.

Writing in IB Economics is closer to scientific writing than to narrative writing. It requires precision. It requires structure. When students learn a clear structure for explaining their thinking, their writing improves quickly. And more importantly, they begin to understand how the parts of the course connect to one another. The diagrams guide them. The language supports them. And the structure organizes their explanation.

Essential Skill Five - The Evaluation

The fifth skill is evaluation. This is the most challenging skill for students and often the most challenging for teachers to teach. Students must learn to weigh options, consider outcomes, and recognize the limitations of economic policies. They need a structure to lean on, something that helps them think in a disciplined and balanced way.

One of the simplest methods is to teach students to evaluate with two hands. On one hand, here are the strengths. On the other hand, here are the limitations. On one hand, here are the short run effects. On the other hand, here are the long run implications. This structure allows students to compare, contrast, and judge the effectiveness of a policy with clarity.

Evaluation is where the highest marks live. When students learn to evaluate well, their writing takes on a maturity that the examiners notice immediately.

Final Thoughts...

As you begin this new semester, I hope these five essential skills provide clarity and direction. If you focus on teaching at least one of these skills each day, you are preparing your students for success on the exam. And you are giving yourself a simple framework to organize your lessons and your teaching.

We are all in this together. And this wonderful course becomes far more manageable when we focus on what matters most.

Have a great weekend!

See you next week.




Opportunities to Empower IB Teachers and Students... 

Kurt and I will be doing customized Supervisor Trainings on the Extended Essays for Colegio Suizo de Mexico, Pan American School Bahia in Brazil, and Academia Cotopaxi in Ecuador in January, as well as a five-day trip to Hong Kong to work with Victoria Shanghai Academy.  

If your school would like a tailored training on the updated Extended Essay guidelines, we’d love to help—onsite at your campus or live online—just send me an email at [email protected] and we’ll work together to make it happen. 

Effectively Supervising the New Extended Essay - February 7th, 2026 - This focused and practical workshop is designed to help teachers confidently navigate the updated Extended Essay framework for the Class of 2027. Together, we’ll explore what’s changed, what’s stayed the same, and how to effectively guide students through both the Subject-Focused and Interdisciplinary pathways. 

IB Economics Online Courses  - These Online Economics Courses provide IB aligned, self-paced learning across core topics—Introduction, Microeconomics, Market Power, Macroeconomics, and The Global Economy. Each course combines clear video lessons, real-world examples, structured slides, and IB-style practice questions. Trusted by 27,000+ students world wide, these courses help students master concepts, raise grades, and feel confident in your economics journey.

IB Economics Teacher Membership - Empower yourself behind the scenes. Teaching IB Economics can be a rewarding yet challenging journey—balancing content delivery, effective writing strategies, real-world examples, and engaging lessons. This membership is here to support you every step of the way, helping you bring the curriculum to life and inspire your students.

IB Economics School Membership - The School Membership is your all-in-one solution for IB Economics. With 450+ video lessons, 1,000+ pages of materials, exclusive teacher tools, student review resources, professional development, and access for up to 100 users, it empowers teachers, supports students, and connects your school to a global IB Economics community.

IB Economics On-Demand Teacher Workshops - The On-Demand IB Economics Teacher Workshops offer practical, curriculum-aligned training at your pace. Each 3-hour course includes video lessons, strategies, and a free 30-min Q & A. Gain actionable tools, confidence, and expertise whenever and wherever you teach IB Economics.

IB Economics Teacher Resource eBooks - The IB Economics Teacher eBooks provide over 1,000+ ready-to-teach resources. You’ll get lesson-specific slides, key term glossaries, IB review questions, and exam-style practice. Each eBook (Microeconomics, Market Power, Macroeconomics, and the Global Economy) is sold individually, or get all five in a discounted bundle.




Brad Cartwright

Educator | Speaker | Workshop Leader | Course Creator 

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