Quick Answer
A strong IB Economics IA article is recent, specific, and clearly linked to one economic issue you can analyse in depth. The best articles contain enough evidence to support explanation, diagram use, stakeholder impact, and evaluation without forcing you to cover too many concepts at once.
What You'll Learn
- Choose one article with one clearly analysable economic issue
- Recent, factual articles usually work better than broad opinion pieces
- The best articles leave room for explanation, diagrams, and evaluation
- Article choice affects the quality of the whole commentary
Why Article Choice Matters in the Economics IA
Many weak Economics IAs begin with the wrong article. If the article is too broad, too descriptive, or too opinion-driven, it becomes hard to write a focused commentary. A good article gives you enough real-world evidence to explain one or two connected economic concepts clearly and then evaluate their implications.
Pro Tip
A strong article makes analysis easier. A weak article forces you to do too much repair work before the commentary can even begin.
What to Look For in a Good Economics IA Article
The most useful Economics IA articles are usually factual, recent, and centred on a specific policy, event, or market change.
- A clear link to one area of the syllabus
- Enough detail to explain cause and effect in economic terms
- Real-world evidence, statistics, or stakeholder context
- Scope for at least one strong diagram and explanation
- A problem or policy that invites evaluation rather than simple description
Articles That Often Cause Problems
Some articles seem interesting at first but create weak commentaries because they are too vague or too wide-ranging.
- Opinion pieces with little factual evidence
- Articles covering several unrelated economic issues at once
- Very short reports with no usable detail or data
- Pieces that describe an event but offer no clear economic mechanism to analyse
- Articles so complex that they force you into summary rather than explanation
Watch Out
If you need to explain too much background just to make the article usable, it is often the wrong article.
Match the Article to the Commentary You Need to Write
A good article does not just fit the syllabus. It also fits the kind of commentary you can realistically produce in 800 words. You need enough material for definitions, theory, application, diagrams, and evaluation, but not so much that the commentary loses focus.
- 1Identify the main economic concept before committing to the article
- 2Check whether a suitable diagram can be used and explained meaningfully
- 3Look for stakeholder effects or trade-offs you can evaluate
- 4Make sure the article is recent enough and from a credible source
- 5Choose an article that supports depth rather than breadth
Common Economics IA Article Selection Mistakes
These mistakes regularly weaken Economics commentaries before the writing starts.
- Choosing an article because it sounds interesting rather than because it is workable
- Trying to analyse too many concepts from one article
- Using an article that does not support meaningful evaluation
- Ignoring whether the article provides enough evidence or context
- Picking an article that duplicates the topic focus of another commentary