Internal Assessment How to write a good one

Internal Assessment How to write a good one? Dr. Dina Taher IA Guidelines 2007

What is an IA? An internal Assessment in Economics is a written commentary based on an economics article that you have chosen. The article you choose should allow you to explain and analyze economic events. Ø For Economics SL, your IA represents 25% of your total IB score. Ø For Economics HL, your IA represents 20% of your total IB score. Dr. Dina Taher IA Guidelines 2007

What to do? Pick an article that will allow you to use what we have learned in class. – For your first IA, you mostly need to find an article that will allow you to use the concepts of supply/demand, elasticity, and market failure. – In your internet search, it would be useful to search for the price of a commodity. • price of coffee, price of oil, price of cocoa, etc. Dr. Dina Taher IA Guidelines 2007

Where can I find an article? • You may use proquest: Your article has to be – Account name: 0 XBSH 869 Q – Password: xxxx recent. 6 months is the • You might browse the economist, or business maximum allowed range! today in the school’s library. Ask Ms. Sahar • You could buy the Ahram Weekly (on Thursdays), there is a section on the Economy. • If you are unsure, you could show me the article you like and I will let you know if it is appropriate. Dr. Dina Taher IA Guidelines 2007

Then What? Once you have picked an article, you need to analyse it. If your article is about a change in the price of a commodity, ask yourself: ü Why did the price change? ü Can I use a supply and demand diagram to explain what happened? ü By how much did quantity change? ü Who was affected by price change? Dr. Dina Taher IA Guidelines 2007

Your IA Write an economics commentary of 650 -750 words, where you explain and analyse what happened in the article you have picked. In your commentary, you should: ü ü Define economic terms Explain economic theory Use and explain graphs Evaluate • Can you detect contradictions/limitations between economic theory and the real world problem at hand. • Are there winners and losers • Is there any bias in the way the article was written • Can you predict what will happen in the future based on what happened in this article? Dr. Dina Taher IA Guidelines 2007

Assessment There are 5 IB Criteria on which your commentary will be assessed: – A: word limit+ IAs cover more than 3 sections of syllabus. [2 marks] – B: 4 different sources + appropriate use of diagrams. [4 marks] – C: Economic terms are used and are defined correctly. [5 marks] – D: Theory explained and applied [5 marks] – E: Evaluation [4 marks] Dr. Dina Taher IA Guidelines 2007

Format • Title Page • Article – If the article is long, you need to highlight the sections you use • Commentary – Number your pages and write your name as a header on the top RHS of each page Dr. Dina Taher IA Guidelines 2007

Title Page Economics Commentary Number: HL number 1 Title of extract: Gasoline Demand Accelerates As Katerina Price Surge Wanes Source of Extract: The Wall Street Journal Date of extract: 5/ 11 / 2005 Word count: 735 Date the commentary was written: day/month/year Section of the syllabus to which the commentary relates: Section 2. 1, 2. 2, 2. 4 Candidate Name: Dina Taher Candidate Number: 0654 -000 Dr. Dina Taher IA Guidelines 2007

Help!! • I cannot choose an article for you, but for your first IA, you could show me the article and I will tell you whether it is appropriate or not. • You will get feedback on the first version and will be allowed to make changes once. • The second version you submit will be your final version. – Your IB Score will be based on this version. Dr. Dina Taher IA Guidelines 2007

Good Luck! Dr. Dina Taher IA Guidelines 2007