IA's for ≤ 2025

Internal Assessment Overview (from the IB):

The individual investigation will be a single task taking about 10 hours. This time allocation includes time for consultation with the teacher to discuss the research question before the investigation is implemented, as well as time spent developing the methodology and collecting data. It should be noted that during the consultation stage, the teacher provides advice to support the student but does not tell the student what to investigate or how to carry it out. Before the final submission, teachers should also provide feedback to the student on one draft of the written report. Furthermore, any investigation used for internal assessment should be specifically designed by the student to address the assessment criteria. If a student undertakes an Extended Essay, it must not be based on the research question of the ESS internal assessment.

Purpose of the Internal Assessment (from the IB):

Internal assessment is an integral part of the course and is compulsory for all students. It enables students to demonstrate the application of their skills and knowledge, and to pursue their personal interests, without the time limitations and other constraints associated with written examinations.

The report should be 1 500 to 2 250 words long. Students should be made aware external moderators will not read beyond 2 250 words and teachers should only mark up to this limit. Figure captions, Table of Contents, titles of graphs/tables, calculations, and table headers do not count against your word limit. Headings and subheadings do.

The internal assessment investigation consists of:

• identifying an ESS issue and focusing on one of its specific aspects

• developing methodologies to generate data that are analysed to produce knowledge and understanding of this focused aspect

• applying the outcomes of the focused investigation to provide understanding or solutions in the broader ESS context.

ESS IA Criteria & RUBRIC

Internal Assessment Criteria: 30 PTS