IB survival · 8 min read
IB final submission checklist: what to check in your IAs, EE and TOK
A checklist for each piece of coursework, where every item says exactly what to look for and why missing it costs marks.
On this page
- What are the limits for each piece of work?
- What should I check in a science IA before submitting?
- What should I check in my maths IA?
- What should I check in my Extended Essay before submitting?
- What should I check in my TOK essay and exhibition?
- How do I check academic integrity and AI citations?
- What file and format checks should I do?
Before you submit any IB coursework, check four things: it is within the word limit counted by the IB's rules, it answers exactly the question it states, every source and any AI output is cited in the text and listed at the end, and the file is the final version and follows your coordinator's upload instructions. The checklists below go component by component, and each item says what to check and why missing it costs marks.
Do this a week before your school's internal deadline, not the night before. Some fixes, such as an RPF your supervisor hasn't initialled yet, need other people.
What are the limits for each piece of work?
| Work | Limit | Marked out of |
|---|---|---|
| Biology, Chemistry or Physics IA | 3,000 words | 24 |
| ESS IA | 3,000 words | 30 |
| Maths exploration | About 12–20 pages (guidance) | 20 |
| Psychology IA (from May 2027) | 2,200 words | 24 |
| Extended Essay | 4,000 words, plus a 500-word RPF statement | 30 (34 for November 2026) |
| TOK essay | 1,600 words | 10 |
| TOK exhibition | 950 words of commentary | 10 |
What should I check in a science IA before submitting?
This covers the Biology, Chemistry and Physics scientific investigation, which has four criteria worth 6 marks each.
| Check | Why it costs marks |
|---|---|
| The report opens with the title, your candidate code, any group members' codes and the word count. No cover page or contents page is needed. | These details are required at the start of the report. |
| 3,000 words or fewer. Charts, diagrams, data tables, equations, calculations, citations, references, the bibliography and headers don't count. | A long report is usually padded with description that no criterion rewards. |
| The research question names the independent variable with its range, the dependent variable and how it is measured, in a specific context. | Research design starts from the question. A vague one caps everything after it. |
| Someone else could repeat the method from your description: controlled variables and how you controlled them, number of trials, safety, ethics and environment. | Research design rewards an explained, repeatable method. |
| Every raw data table has units and uncertainties in the headers, and decimal places that match the instrument. | Data analysis rewards correct conventions and properly considered uncertainties (see IA uncertainties). |
| Each type of calculation has one worked example; graphs have labelled axes with units, and error bars where they apply. | The moderator has to be able to follow your processing to credit it. |
| The conclusion answers the research question using your own processed data and uncertainties, and compares the result with published science, cited. | The conclusion criterion rewards a conclusion consistent with your analysis and set against accepted science. |
| Each weakness is specific, its effect on the result is explained, and each improvement fixes that weakness. | Generic weaknesses ("human error", "more repeats") score low in evaluation. |
| If you collaborated: your own research question (different independent variable, dependent variable or data subset), your own raw data and your own write-up, method included. | No two students may present the same raw data, and group reports are not allowed. |
| None of the work is reused from your EE. | The same work cannot count as both the IA and the EE. |
Your teacher comments on one draft only, and the next version is final, so this check is your last chance. The usual traps are collected in science IA mistakes.
The ESS individual investigation has six criteria for 30 marks. Check two extra things: criterion B needs a real strategy that addresses an environmental issue linked to your question, with a tension between perspectives explained; and a literature review on its own does not count as a repeatable method.
What should I check in my maths IA?
| Check | Why it costs marks |
|---|---|
| The aim is stated early and the conclusion returns to it. | Criterion A (presentation, 4) rewards an organised, coherent exploration. |
| It is concise: roughly 12–20 pages, with anything that doesn't serve the aim cut. | Criterion A also rewards concision; length doesn't earn marks. |
| Correct mathematical notation throughout: x2, not x^2; ×, not *; 2 × 10−3, not 2E-3. Variables defined, graphs and tables labelled. | Criterion B (mathematical communication, 4). |
| Your own choices are visible: why this approach, your own examples, not textbook derivations copied in order. | Criterion C (personal engagement, 3). |
| Results are interpreted as you go, and the limits of your method or model are discussed. | Criterion D (reflection, 3). |
| Every calculation re-checked, and the maths is at the level of your course. | Criterion E (use of mathematics, 6). HL is judged against a higher expectation. |
Criterion-by-criterion detail is in maths IA criteria.
What should I check in my Extended Essay before submitting?
This is for the new model, assessed from May 2027. If you submit in November 2026, use your supervisor's old rubric and RPPF instead (what changed in the EE).
| Check | Why it costs marks |
|---|---|
| 4,000 words or fewer by the IB's rules, and your conclusion ends before the limit. | Examiners stop reading at 4,000 words (see EE word count). |
| The research question appears word for word in the introduction and is answered in the conclusion. | Criterion A judges the question and whether the essay is built to answer it. |
| Nothing your argument needs is in an appendix or a footnote. Footnotes that aren't references count towards the limit. | Examiners are not required to read appendices. |
| Your name, your school's name and your supervisor's name are not on the essay. Follow your coordinator's title-page instructions. | The EE is marked externally, and school guidance asks for no identifying details. |
| Every source is cited where you use it and listed in the bibliography, in one consistent style. | Referencing is judged in criterion A; missing citations are an academic integrity problem. |
| Interdisciplinary essays: the two subjects and the framework match what you registered. | You chose the framework at registration. If your focus has drifted, talk to your supervisor before you submit. |
| The RPF statement is 500 words or fewer, in the same language as the essay, and your supervisor has initialled and dated the form. | A blank or missing RPF scores 0 for criterion E, and so does a statement in a different language. |
| The version you upload is the one you handed in before the viva, unchanged. | The final version must not change after the viva voce. |
For a criterion-by-criterion read-through, use the checklist at the end of EE criteria explained.
What should I check in my TOK essay and exhibition?
TOK essay
- The title is from your session's list and copied exactly. Titles change every session and must be used as worded. Rewording it, even slightly, means answering a different question.
- 1,600 words or fewer. Examiners stop reading at the limit. Quotations count; references, the bibliography and visuals don't.
- Every paragraph answers this title. The essay is marked as a whole out of 10, so a well-written essay on a nearby question won't reach the top. Read only your topic sentences: do they make an argument about the title?
- Examples are specific and counterclaims are real. A named case you can analyse beats a general "in science, theories change".
- Your planning and progress form (TK/PPF) is complete, with the three interactions with your teacher recorded. It isn't marked, but your teacher needs it.
TOK exhibition
- Three objects. Using only two caps the mark at 6 out of 10, and one object caps it at 3.
- One IA prompt for all three objects, shown in the title and copied exactly from the list of 35 in the guide.
- Each object is specific and already exists. "A photograph of my grandmother's 1970s passport" works; "passports" doesn't. You can't create an object for the exhibition. Digital objects are fine.
- Each object has an image and a typed commentary that identifies it, gives its real-world context, links it to the prompt and justifies why it is there.
- 950 words or fewer of commentary in total, with sources cited.
More on choosing objects in the TOK exhibition guide.
How do I check academic integrity and AI citations?
- Every quotation and paraphrase is cited in the text and listed in the bibliography. Paraphrasing without a citation is still plagiarism.
- Any AI-generated text, image or graph you used is marked as AI output, cited in the text with quotation marks, includes the prompt you gave and the date it was generated, and appears in the bibliography. Leaving any of that out is academic misconduct.
- No assessed writing was produced by AI. The IB does not count AI output as your work, even when it is cited (see AI in the IA).
- Nothing was written in one language and machine-translated into the language you are submitting in.
- In language acquisition subjects, no rewriting tools. Basic spelling and grammar checkers are allowed where language itself is not being assessed; ask your teacher if you're unsure.
- Your data are real and yours. Falsifying data is misconduct, even to "fix" one anomalous trial. Report the anomaly and discuss it instead.
- You can explain every sentence, calculation and choice. Your teacher must have seen the work develop and you must be able to explain it; work they doubt cannot be submitted.
What file and format checks should I do?
File type, file naming, upload route and internal deadlines are set by your coordinator, not by this checklist, so check your coordinator's instructions first. Then:
- Export the final file and open it on a different device. Check that equations, symbols (°, ±, cm³, subscripts, Greek letters) and graphs survived the export.
- Make sure it is the final version, not a draft with comments, tracked changes or highlighting still in it.
- Read every graph and image at normal zoom. If the axis labels are blurry, the moderator can't credit them.
- Put everything that is marked inside the file. Don't rely on a link to carry content.
- Check the word count you state matches the file.
- Keep copies of the final file, your raw data and your research notes. Your teacher may ask for them, and they help if your work is ever questioned.
- Upload early. A file that won't open at 23:50 on deadline day is a problem only your coordinator can solve.
Questions students ask
Do I need a cover page for my Biology or Chemistry IA?
No. The report starts with the title, your candidate code, the codes of any group members and the word count. A cover page and a contents page are not required.
Can my teacher read my IA more than once before I submit?
In the sciences your teacher gives advice on one draft only, without editing it, and the next version is the final one. The EE works the same way: your supervisor comments on one draft.
Do references count towards IB word limits?
No. Citations, references and the bibliography are excluded from the word count in the science IA, the Extended Essay and the TOK essay.
What happens if I go over the word limit?
In the Extended Essay, the TOK essay and the new Psychology IA, examiners stop reading at the limit, so anything after it earns nothing. For other components, check your subject guide with your teacher.
