Paper 1: how to structure IB Economics essays that score

Format, timing and weighting

Paper 1 is the extended-response essay paper, sat by both SL and HL. You get 1 hour 15 minutes plus 5 minutes of reading time. There are three questions, each on a different part of the syllabus, and you answer only ONE.

Every question splits into part (a) worth 10 marks and part (b) worth 15 marks, so one essay is 25 marks. Paper 1 counts for 30% of the SL grade and 20% of the HL grade.

Match your time to the mark split: roughly 25 minutes on part (a) and 45 to 50 minutes on part (b), leaving a few minutes to plan and check. The 15 marks in part (b) are where grades are won, so never leave it unfinished.

How examiners award marks

Papers are marked with level descriptors (markbands), not a tick per point. Part (a) rewards AO1 knowledge and understanding and AO2 application and analysis. Part (b) rewards AO2 and AO3 synthesis and evaluation.

To reach the top band you must define terms accurately, draw and fully explain a correct diagram, apply theory to a real-world example, and, in part (b), evaluate. A labelled diagram that you actually refer to in the text is close to mandatory for the top band of part (a).

In part (b), a specific real-world example and genuine evaluation are what separate the top band from the middle.

Structuring the 10-mark part (a)

Command terms are usually 'explain' or 'using a diagram, explain'. Open by defining the key terms in the question. Draw one accurate diagram, label every axis and curve, and show the change with arrows.

Then explain the mechanism step by step, referring to the diagram, for example 'as AD shifts right from AD1 to AD2, the price level rises from P1 to P2'. A short real-world example lifts the answer even though part (a) does not formally require evaluation.

Do not evaluate in part (a). There are no marks for it there, and it wastes time you need for part (b).

Structuring the 15-mark part (b)

Command terms are 'evaluate', 'discuss', 'examine' or 'to what extent'. Structure: define terms, draw a diagram if it adds value, build two or three developed analytical points applied to a real-world example, then evaluate and reach a supported conclusion.

Evaluation is not a bolt-on paragraph. Weave judgement through the answer, then commit to a clear stance at the end.

A useful checklist is CLASPP: Conclusions (reach one and justify it), Long-run versus short-run, Assumptions the theory relies on, Stakeholders who win and lose, Priorities (what matters most here), and Pros and cons. You do not need all six; develop the two or three that genuinely apply.

Building a real-world example bank

The single biggest lever on Paper 1 is a bank of real-world examples you can deploy fast. Organise it by syllabus section.

Microeconomics: a specific tax such as the UK sugar levy, a subsidy, a price control such as rent controls in Berlin, a minimum wage change. Macroeconomics: a rate decision by a central bank such as the US Federal Reserve or the European Central Bank, a fiscal stimulus, an episode of high inflation such as Argentina. The global economy: US-China tariffs, an exchange rate movement, a trade bloc such as the EU or ASEAN.

For each example store four facts: what happened, roughly when, the numbers involved, and the mechanism it illustrates. Two or three sentences is enough. Aim for one strong example per major topic so any question has a ready match.

Common Paper mistakes

Answering more than one question: you only get credit for one, so extra answers waste time.

A diagram with no explanation, or an explanation with no diagram. The markband wants both, linked together.

Evaluation that just says 'it depends' with no decision. Name the condition it depends on and reach a conclusion.

A vague or invented real-world example. Examiners reward specific, real events with real detail; 'for example a country' scores little.

Ignoring the command term: 'evaluate' needs judgement, 'explain' needs mechanism. Answer the verb asked.

How this is examined

• Part (a) is out of 10 and part (b) out of 15, so split your 1h15 roughly 25/45 minutes and never leave part (b) unfinished; the 15 marks decide the grade.
• For the top band of part (a) you almost always need a correctly labelled diagram that you refer to in the text, not one you draw and ignore.
• Part (b) top band needs a specific real-world example plus real evaluation with a justified conclusion; 'it depends' with no decision caps you in the middle band.
• You answer only ONE of the three questions; read all three first and pick the one where your example bank is strongest.

Key terms

aggregate demandaggregate supplyprice elasticity of demandexternalitymarket failure