Everything you need to prepare for the IB Economics exams: a paper-by-paper strategy for Papers 1, 2 and the HL Paper 3, a 6-week revision timeline, and unit checklists. Each topic links straight to free notes and flashcards so you can close the gaps you find.
Want to know which diagrams and concepts are most likely to appear? We've analysed past papers across every session to surface the highest-frequency topics — supply and demand shifts, elasticity, market failure, AD/AS, and government intervention recur almost every year. Revise everything, but weight your final weeks toward these high-probability areas and the diagrams that go with them.
Essential Economics Command Terms for Paper 1 and Paper 3
Economics marks are won and lost on the command term. A part (a) that asks you to 'explain' wants a labelled diagram and a clear chain of reasoning; a part (b) that asks you to 'evaluate' or 'discuss' wants both sides and a justified judgement. Match the verb to the response and you protect the easy marks.
Explain
Give a detailed, reasoned account of how or why something happens. In Economics this almost always means a clearly labelled diagram plus a step-by-step chain of analysis linking cause to effect.
Evaluate
Weigh up strengths and weaknesses to reach a judgement. Consider short vs long run, different stakeholders, magnitude, and assumptions — then commit to a justified conclusion rather than sitting on the fence.
Calculate
Obtain a numerical answer, showing the working and the correct units. Common in Paper 2 and HL Paper 3: PED, the multiplier, price floors and ceilings, tax incidence, and welfare-loss areas.
Not sure what you need on Paper 2 to push your overall grade to a 7? Use our interactive grade calculator to enter your mock or target percentages for each paper — including HL Paper 3 — and see how they translate into final IB grades based on historical grade boundaries.
What grade are you on track for?
Enter your marks per paper and see the grade boundaries you are aiming at.
Extended response. Choose one question from a choice of three (each drawn from a different syllabus unit). Every question has a part (a) worth 10 marks and a part (b) worth 15 marks — 25 marks in total. No calculator and no data; this paper rewards clear diagrams and structured analysis.
Part (a) "explain": one or two accurate, fully labelled diagrams and a tight chain of reasoning
Part (b) "evaluate/discuss": both sides, a real-world example, then a justified conclusion
Choose your question by the diagram you can draw most confidently, not just the topic name
Use a CLEUP/PEEL-style structure and define key terms early to bank the knowledge marks
Data response. Answer all parts of one question built around a real-world text and data extracts — 40 marks. A calculator is allowed. Lower-mark parts test definitions and calculations; the final part is an extended evaluation worth 15 marks that must use the stimulus.
Calculation parts: show the formula, substitute, and give units — method marks are awarded
Quote the text and data directly ("paragraph 3 states…") to anchor every point in the stimulus
Draw diagrams even when not explicitly asked — they earn analysis marks
Leave 25+ minutes for the 15-mark evaluation; it carries the most marks of any single part
Paper 3HL only1 hour 45 minutes30% (HL)
Policy paper, HL only. Answer two compulsory questions — 60 marks. It is heavily quantitative: you apply HL calculations and then write a policy recommendation. Tests the HL extension material (e.g. PED/PES, tax and subsidy incidence, the Keynesian multiplier).
Master every HL calculation: elasticities, the multiplier, price controls, tax/subsidy incidence
For the policy recommendation, evaluate at least two measures and justify your choice
Show all working — partial method marks rescue an arithmetic slip
Practise reading a diagram off a set of numbers and a numerical answer onto a diagram
Start dedicated Economics revision about 6 weeks before the exam. That gives you enough time to rebuild every core diagram from memory, lock down the key terminology, drill the HL calculations if you take Higher Level, and complete several full past papers under timed conditions.
Is IB Economics hard?+
Economics is conceptually accessible but the exams reward precision. The challenge is not difficult maths — it is drawing accurate diagrams under time pressure, using terminology correctly, and writing balanced evaluations that reach a justified judgement. HL adds the quantitative Paper 3, which demands confident calculation and policy analysis.
What topics come up most in IB Economics?+
Microeconomics dominates: supply and demand shifts, price and income elasticity, and market failure (externalities and government intervention) recur almost every session. In macro, AD/AS analysis and the trade-offs between fiscal and monetary policy are exam staples. Check our Predicted Topics page for the latest data-driven breakdown.
How do you get a 7 in IB Economics?+
Master the command terms — especially "evaluate" and "discuss" — and always finish with a justified conclusion. Draw fully labelled diagrams for every analysis point, keep a bank of current real-world examples to apply in essays, and for HL practise the Paper 3 calculations until they are automatic so the policy recommendation is where you spend your thinking time.
First topic free
Turn your Economics revision plan into results
Aimnova builds a personalised study plan around your exam date — it tracks your progress, surfaces the diagrams and topics you keep getting wrong, and schedules exactly what to review each day.