36 replies to this topic

[IBmonster2011]

Hi guys I know I'm new here but nonetheless I'd like to give some parting advice on the Eco Commentaries.

Firstly suggested topic areas -

1. Market structure - something on oligopolies I guess ? Search for "price fixing"
2. Unemployment - well this one's easy. But try and get a short and succinct article here without too much analysis. Just maybe someone mentioning the sectors or something like that for a line or two and the rest important data. Tips - try searching for Greece or Portugal right now and you might save yourself some time while searching for you're article.
3. Inflation - see above for unemployment, Also suggested country - India.
4.Something on trade this time again refer to points from 2 and 3 and use your common sense.
5. Market Failure - search for local deforestation or smoking or whatever floats your boat really.

Choose and 4 out of the 5.

This is a diverse group of topics and I suggest stick to these ones. DON'T DO DEMAND AND SUPPLY, its waaaay to easy.

While choosing your sources don't go to FT or the Economist. Please try and visit a regular newspaper which keeps the analysis at minimum. My personal favourite is Reuters - lovely short articles. (use them for 2,3 or 4 only though).

Structure

Summary of the passage.
Identify the economic theory (if it is unemployment then what type of unemployment is it etc....)
Analysis - who benefits look at all the stakeholders. (Include the usual evaluation stuff like short term vs long term while prioritizing your arguments, see who benefits and who doesn't etc...)
What can be done. (usually what the govt can do - example taxes .....)
Conclusion and with your mini-recommendation.

Please include your diagrams while identifying the economic theory.

Tip: DEFINE WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO PROPERLY, don't just say its an oligopoly explain what the term means!

A lot of the commentary work is free marks if you follow this, even if you suck at economics.

Nice sources IMO:
Reuters
BBC
Irish Times
The star (It's Canadian I think)
Times of India

Hope I was of any help and do correct me If I'm wrong anywhere.

I'm sorry but I'm sure you'll find the criteria elsewhere in this site so I've not posted it.

Edited by Capt'n Marth, Feb 09, 2012 - 01:09.

[eloobyloo]

Hi guys,
I'm currently writing my IA and I'm not sure what to write about the short run and long run? My article is on market failure, negative externality of production: in China, some firms are dumping chemicals into the local river... Help!

[Aditya Subramanian]

Is it only me or when writing commentaries it's really hard to get to 750 words or really hard to keep it under 750 words? As in once I start writing I cant stop

[Fais]

Realised I've submitted my IA Portfolio with sources (e.g. 'The Guardian') but not the urls, is that likely to be a problem?

[Summer Glau]

Aditya Subramanian, on Feb 14, 2012 - 20:01, said:

Is it only me or when writing commentaries it's really hard to get to 750 words or really hard to keep it under 750 words? As in once I start writing I cant stop

At times I found it was hard to get to 650 words and other times I found it hard to stay under 750 words It depended on the IA for me. To be honest if you're over/under by about 10 words they probably won't notice. It's if you're over by about 50 words that it could be a problem.

Fais, on Feb 15, 2012 - 10:33, said:

Realised I've submitted my IA Portfolio with sources (e.g. 'The Guardian') but not the urls, is that likely to be a problem?

No, I didn't submit any URLs for my online sources and it was fine. All I had was the title of the article, the name of the source, and the date the article was written.

[brofessional]

For 2013 candidates:

A note on word limit for economics IAs

The following are NOT(!!!!!!) included in the word count:

- Acknowledgments
- Contents page
- Diagrams
- Labels (of five words or fewer)
- Headings on diagrams (of 10 words or fewer)
- Tables of statistical data
- Equations, formulae, and calculations
- Citations (which, if used, must be in the body of the commentary)
- References (which, if used, must be in the footnotes/endnotes)

Note: footnotes/endnotes may be used for references only. Definitions of economic terms and quotations, if used, must be in the body of the work and are included in the word count. Please note that a citation is a shorthand method of making a reference in the body of the commentary, which is then linked to the full reference in the footnotes/endnotes.

Edited by brofessional, Feb 25, 2012 - 19:33.

[Trololol Marf]

brofessional, on Feb 24, 2012 - 18:13, said:

A note on word limit for economics IAs

The following are NOT(!!!!!!) included in the word count:

- Acknowledgments
- Contents page
- Diagrams
- Labels (of five words or fewer)
- Headings on diagrams (of 10 words or fewer)
- Tables of statistical data
- Equations, formulae, and calculations
- Citations (which, if used, must be in the body of the commentary)
- References (which, if used, must be in the footnotes/endnotes)

Note: footnotes/endnotes may be used for references only. Definitions of economic terms and quotations, if used, must be in the body of the work and are included in the word count. Please note that a citation is a shorthand method of making a reference in the body of the commentary, which is then linked to the full reference in the footnotes/endnotes.

That is for 2013 candidates. The word count includes labels and descriptions in diagrams candidates sitting the May or Nov exams this year.

[nadiar]

for candidates doing the may exams this year; does footnotes count in the word count if they are definitions of terms?

[The Economist]

nadiar, on Feb 25, 2012 - 21:46, said:

for candidates doing the may exams this year; does footnotes count in the word count if they are definitions of terms?

Yes, they do.

[wireman]

Hi, I'm doing Economics HL.

I'm currently writing a commentary about rising air fares due to increased demand. Although the first impression one gets is that it's pretty basic, considering its just a simple supply demand PED PES thing. Although the commentary is basically that, I have included other stuff that goes away from the basic 'price increasing due to increased demand coupled with limited supply'

My question was : Is this too basic a topic for an Economics HL student?

[Stein]

Shreyas, on Mar 07, 2012 - 13:19, said:

Hi, I'm doing Economics HL.

I'm currently writing a commentary about rising air fares due to increased demand. Although the first impression one gets is that it's pretty basic, considering its just a simple supply demand PED PES thing. Although the commentary is basically that, I have included other stuff that goes away from the basic 'price increasing due to increased demand coupled with limited supply'

My question was : Is this too basic a topic for an Economics HL student?

My first IA was on supply & demand/Price Controls and I got a 94 on it (my teacher didn't convert it into IB scores for us but I think it's a 6...) Anyways, most of the microeconomics topics are a bit "basic" because it is so early in the course. As long as you are demonstrating that you understand the topics, then you should be fine. Good luck!

[timtamboy63]

Fais, on Feb 15, 2012 - 10:33, said:

Realised I've submitted my IA Portfolio with sources (e.g. 'The Guardian') but not the urls, is that likely to be a problem?

Have you footnoted/referenced the articles|? I believe you need to.

[ro_1293x]

How do you guys manage to fit a GOOD commentary within 750 words? I find it nearly impossible sometimes to fit everything I want to say (mostly for analysis/evaluation) into such a small limit, and my teacher includes EVERY WORD in the word limit meaning everyime I write P1 or Q1 on a diagram, my word limit it shot to hell.

My portfolio is supposed to be finalized tomorrow and I have a ridiculous teacher and my 3rd and 4th commentaries (development and international trade, respectively) are not at all impressive in my opinion. I can't afford to get less than a 6 in my portfolio and my teacher is useless.

How do you guys fit SO much into an evaluation? Do you spare on the more obvious details about the situation itself? Or less terms used? AGHHH!

[A_JYG]

Question: Do we have to put our candidate name and candidate number on the header?

[timtamboy63]

Yep. Also make sure its on your cover page.

[brofessional]

Hi,

When I make reference to the article, should I quote (in quotation marks) the sentence/the group of words I'm referring to or should I just put the sentence into my own words?

Thanks,
brofessional

[Summer Glau]

brofessional, on Apr 21, 2012 - 14:01, said:

Hi,

When I make reference to the article, should I quote (in quotation marks) the sentence/the group of words I'm referring to or should I just put the sentence into my own words?

Thanks,
brofessional

You can do either one, but I usually just paraphrased the article since it takes up less words and I get to the point faster.

You could also use a signal phrase like "The article states..."