Internal Assessment

Timeline

9 June: Research Proposal

Summer: Must do - Complete your fieldwork, Nice to do - Complete supplementary academic research, start draft

Return in August: Meet with your teacher to talk through your summer fieldwork and determine the final research question, then start research and writing up

12th September: First draft deadline

11th October: Final draft deadline

The Internal Assessment in Global Politics is a great opportunity to explore and to actively engage with a political issue you are interested in. Over the summer, you will complete interactive fieldwork, also known as the Engagement Activity, followed by supplementary academic reading. The 2000-word report allows you to really reflect on your experience and put it into the context of the wider field of Global Politics. It's a very flexible piece of work and invites creativity! Below is some useful information to guide you through the process.

The Criteria

While some criteria can be dealt with mostly in one part of the IA (e.g. you can get criterion A done in the introduction), keep in mind that criteria are holistic and are not linked to specific sections. Especially criteria C and D should be addressed throughout your report.

A: Identification of Issue and Justification (4 marks)

For full marks you should:

clearly identify the political issue you explored in your engagement activity (a research question is the most straightforward way of doing this)
clearly explain why the issue is of interest to you personally
clearly explain how the issue is linked to the wider context of Global Politics and maintain strong links throughout your IA

B: Explanation of Engagement Activity (4 marks)

For full marks you should:

clearly explain what you did in your engagement activity
show how your engagement activity is linked and relevant to the political issue you are analysing
make clear how your experiences in the engagement activity have added to/influenced your understanding of your chosen political issue - what did you learn from your activity?

C: Analysis of the Issue (6 marks)

For full marks you should:

explore the political issue/research question in depth
make use of GloPo tools like key concepts, theories, levels of analysis
be critical in your analysis - reflect on the agendas/biases of sources and people you interacted with
justify your arguments and back them up with research

D: Synthesis and evaluation (6 marks)

For full marks you should:

Synthesise/link back and forth between your experience and academic research - do not put them in separate sections, but refer to both throughout your analysis
Explore different perspectives and the reasoning behind these perspectives
Come to balanced and well-supported conclusions.

About the IA - looking at samples

Below are some IAs that students have completed in the past (all scored in the high 6-7 range). The IA does not have a set structure, but there are some 'key ingredients' they should all have:

An introduction in which you make clear what you did, why you did it and how that connects to a global politics issue
An analysis of your issue, paying attention to things like:
- different perspectives
- connections between actors and levels of analysis
- key concepts and theories from the course
- linkages between what you experienced and what you found in your academic research
- reflection on your experience and research process

Looking at past examples is a great idea to get a feel for the task. For each sample, you should consider the following:

Underline/Annotate
- Where the student refers to their activity
- Where the student identifies the specific issue they are investigating
- Where the student links the issue to the wider context of Global Politics
- Where the student uses tools from the GloPo course, like concepts, theories and levels of analysis
- Where the student refers to additional research
- Where the student brings in different perspectives and/or reflects on their own perspective and experience
Think about:
- How did the student’s engagement activity lead them to investigate a specific political issue?
- How do they connect their experience with more academic research?

The samples

Sample A: Biomass energy and geopolitical interests in Moldova

particularly good at: linking a local engagement activity to a global issue

Sample B: Pipeline Protest in Canada

particularly good at: using visual documentation

Sample C: Voluntourism

particularly good at: self-reflection linked to wider research

Available downloads

Further sample work from the IB

Google Sites

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