Last Updated on December 8, 2022 by Hammad Hassan
Top tips for scoring a 7 in IB DP Higher level Economics
IB HL Economics has a reputation for being an “easy” 7, but it’s far from that. The IB DP Economics curriculum offers one of the most complete and challenging programs within the International Baccalaureate, despite being a highly sought-after course within IB Group 3 courses.
This blog is meant to offer the finest advice for organizing an appropriate strategy for the IB examination in order to obtain the coveted 7, and to do so:
Utilization of Diagrams –
- It is evident that diagrams play a crucial role in the IB DP Economics curriculum for students. The amount of time you can spend on your examination of the question and your ability to read over your work at the end will both greatly enhance if you can quickly design a key diagram.
- The issue with many IB students is that they would have scored higher on the analysis portion of the essay for Papers 1, 2, and even 3 if they had been able to manage their time more effectively. Students taking the IB at Level 7 must be able to draw diagrams while blindfolded!
- The IB content curriculum should be read through in its entirety, and each diagram should be practiced as much as possible. As a result, you will be ready for any diagrams that may be required in each question and be aware of which ones you still need to practice.
- Importance of IB Internal Assessments:
- Since the IB HL Economics IA accounts for 20% of your final grade, getting a strong grade will help to protect your final IB DP grade. More importantly, though, a poor grade will make it much more difficult for you to get that 7, so you shouldn’t take the IA for granted.
- A lot of students struggle with their IA and constantly ask themselves, “What is the greatest article to analyze?” You should try to read at least one newspaper article from a reputed source every one to two weeks to set yourself up for success. Pay attention to topics that have a well-defined economic theory and a thorough evaluation. Exchange rates, unemployment, and fiscal policy make excellent assessment topics because the IB DP Economics syllabus includes specific diagrams for each of these concepts.
- You may find a tone of IA commentary online to improve any areas of your IA that may be weak and to get ideas from. These give you excellent terminology, fundamental ideas, practical applications, and evaluations. The analysis part is really just a more detailed explanation of a paper 2 response.
- Tribe Topper website gives a very good 6 step method to the preparation for IA’s. A very good revision resource for the students.
- How to organize your responses and have a solid evaluation –
The basis for all IB DP Economics essays should establish a distinct framework for your responses in Papers 1, 2, and 3. To sum up:
Define every important economic phrase:
IB Economics can often feel like a foreign language because of all the new words that are being thrown at you; learn it as such! Use the terms in your comments and practice giving definitions.
Diagrams:
You can use the example in the question as a guide, and draw a diagram. It is not enough to just memorize and accurately recreate diagrams if you want to receive a high grade.
The diagrams must be understood by the students to the point where it is simple for them to illustrate modifications and explain those changes on a diagram.
Analysis:
Describe the diagram and assess the key issue, which may include advantages vs. drawbacks, short-term vs. long-term consequences, effects on stakeholders, etc.
Real-world examples should enrich your response by relating to the specific questions raised.
A succinct phrase summary should effectively and precisely address the command terms in the query.
This format is an excellent example of how IB DP students should construct their lengthy responses to questions in IB Papers 1 and 2. Applying a thorough analysis with additional information you had learned outside of the problem, such as news stories that relate to the subject, can really demonstrate to the IB examiner that you fully comprehend what you are talking about and exhibits the traits of a level 7 IB student. You should be able to reach that 7 if you follow the advice in this sentence.
- Persistence
IB Economics features a broad syllabus with many novel topics (unrelated to other IB disciplines) and an exam that includes text analysis, calculations, and essay-based solutions. Specific students may feel overwhelmed and do poorly on some topics or assignments as a result. But the secret is to keep studying and to learn from your mistakes!
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