As young adults preparing for university studies or entry into the workforce, DP students both enjoy the freedom and bear the responsibility of studying a course that emphasises independence and self-reliance. DP students are, appropriately, less dependent on the steady intervention of teachers and parents checking to make sure that lessons are understood and assignments are completed on time. On the other hand, DP students experience a set of emotional pressures—the pressure to perform on summative assessments, the stress of the university admission process and time pressures—exerted by a system that can be seen to reward the individual’s end result over the work (individual or collective) required to get there.
For academic honesty, this can mean that the student bears the the sole responsibility should a case of academic misconduct arise. Thus, in all learning and produced work, students must develop the positive behaviours needed to demonstrate clearly that they complete their work carefully, honestly and authentically.
In their EE in particular, DP students develop research skills and study habits that are needed to demonstrate academic honesty in more formal ways than would be appropriate to expect of younger learners. DP students investigate and evaluate the usefulness of a greater variety of resources, and incorporate and reference them. This level of rigour can present a challenge to students who certainly know right from wrong, but who may not possess the organisational and self-management skills to demonstrate clearly that their work meets a formal standard of academic honesty.
Students may sometimes be tempted to plagiarise work because they are unable to cope with the task that has been set for them. They may recognise content that is relevant but may not be able to paraphrase or summarise, for example. It is essential that students consider these skills and ensure that their behaviour is honest and clear on the sources used and information referenced.
"The process of refining the writing through editing drafts is something I'll really take with me"
Always write down the details of the source that information is taken from - e.g. book title, website address, etc.
When taking notes, always put work into your own words straight away to ensure that you are not accidentally including someone else's work in your essay.
Do not use AI to do your work for you. If you use AI at any point, such as to re-explain a concept to help you understand, make a clear note to yourself that you've used it and then rewrite it in your own words.
Reference your work as you write it, clearly labeling the author of the source. Learn how to reference properly to ensure that you are accurately identifying the source of the information. Check the Harvard Referencing page on this website.
Whilst looking at exemplar essays may be helpful in terms of structure, be vigilant to ensure that sections of the work are not copied and reproduced.
Submit your essay to an online plagiarism and AI checker to ensure personalised writing and not copied text.
Stick to deadlines as a failure to do so could put more pressure on you - being rushed is not an excuse for cheating or plagiarising. It can also be seen that this can give you a unfair advantage and would need to be reported to the IB.
Don’t share your assignments with others. If classmates have a question, try to help them, but copying your EE won’t teach them anything and you might be accused of academic dishonesty as well.
You are responsible for your own learning. It will mean far more to you to produce your own individual EE and gain full value and credit for the work.