Guides · 21 articles
IB Internal Assessment guides
The IA is the part of your grade you control most. These guides take you through it in the order you'll need them: choosing a topic you can finish, sharpening the research question, collecting and processing data, and writing to the criteria. They cover the science IA on the current syllabus, the Maths exploration, ESS, Psychology and Global Politics, plus how to use AI without breaking the IB's academic integrity rules.
All internal assessment guides
IACan I use ChatGPT for my IB IA? A stage-by-stage workflow that stays within the rulesUsing AI in an IB IA stage by stage: what is and isn't acceptable, how to cite AI with prompt and date, and the AI log that protects you.7 min readBiologyEcology field IA for IB Biology and ESS: site, sampling, data and statsA practical walkthrough for an ecology field IA in IB Biology or ESS, from coaching real field investigations: choosing a usable site, transects vs random quadrats, confounding variables, measuring soil moisture, organising data and choosing a statistical test.5 min readBiologyGraphs for the IB IA: choosing the type, error bars, trendlines and R²Choose the right graph, label it, plot error bars that mean something, and use trendlines, R² and max/min gradients without fooling yourself.8 min readIAHow to choose an IA topic you can actually finish (any subject)A five-step process for picking an IA topic you can finish, with red flags, narrowing examples and a one-week decision plan.8 min readEnglish AHow to practise the IB Individual Oral: a rehearsal system that worksA step-by-step rehearsal system for the IB Language A Individual Oral, from coaching students through it: the structure that keeps marks, what to put on your bullet points, timed mocks and the teacher questions to rehearse.4 min readIAHow to use AI in the IB without crossing the lineWhat the IB actually says about ChatGPT and other AI tools, how to cite AI in an IA or EE, and the ways AI genuinely helps you revise, from a tutor who uses it daily with students.4 min readIAHow to write an IB IA research question (with before-and-after examples)How to turn a vague IA idea into a precise, focused research question, with before-and-after examples from real tutoring sessions, a precision checklist and the mistakes that cost marks later.4 min readBiologyIB Biology IA ideas: 25 research questions that work in a school lab25 Biology IA ideas with full research questions, ranges, controls and traps, plus how to tell whether an idea can reach the top bands.14 min readChemistryIB Chemistry IA ideas: 25 research questions with ranges, methods and safety notes25 Chemistry IA ideas from Arrhenius plots to Beer–Lambert, each with a research question, range, method and the trap to avoid.14 min readPsychologyIB Psychology IA on the new course: how to write the research proposalThe new IB Psychology IA is a research proposal, not an experiment: criteria, topic choice, ethics, design and a timeline.11 min readBiologyIB science IA criteria explained: what each of the four criteria rewardsResearch design, Data analysis, Conclusion and Evaluation: what each rewards, what keeps reports mid-band, and how to fix it.10 min readMaths AAMaths IA criteria explained: what moves you up each band in A to EThe Maths exploration criteria A to E, what moves you up each band, and fix-pairs for engagement, reflection and notation.9 min readMaths AAMaths IA topics: 36 ideas for AA and AI, each with an aim and the maths it needs36 Maths exploration ideas for AA and AI with a concrete aim, the maths involved and how hard each one is.12 min readMaths AAMaths IA with video analysis: a Tracker guide for sport and motion topicsHow to collect your own motion data for an IB Maths exploration (AA or AI) using phone slow-motion video and the free Tracker software, and how to design it so the maths has something to work with.3 min readIASources for your IB IA and EE: where to find them, how to judge them, how to cite themWhere to find credible sources for an IA or EE, a checklist for judging them, what each source should do in your report, and how to reference them.7 min readESSThe ESS IA: the six criteria, 15 research questions and how to score wellThe ESS individual investigation explained: six criteria, 15 research questions, data choices, statistics and a timeline.11 min readGlobal PoliticsThe Global Politics engagement project (formerly the engagement activity): how to plan and write itThe Global Politics IA, renamed the engagement project: choosing an issue, engaging safely, analysing with concepts, and a structure that works.10 min readChemistryUncertainties in the IB IA: absolute, percentage and propagation, with worked examplesAbsolute and percentage uncertainty, propagation rules and three fully worked IA calculations: a titration, a combustion enthalpy and an enzyme rate.9 min readMaths AAWhat a full IB maths exploration looks like: an annotated exampleA complete, annotated example of an IB Maths exploration on basketball free throws, section by section, with real-style data, a fitted parabola, a regression and an optimisation, mapped to criteria A to E so you can see what the whole thing looks like.7 min readBiologyWhat a full IB science IA looks like: an annotated example (Biology / ESS field study)A complete, annotated example of an IB science internal assessment, from research question to evaluation, with a real-style data table, graphs, statistics and a word budget per section. Built so you can see what the whole thing looks like before you start.10 min readBiologyWhich statistical test for your Biology or ESS IA? A decision guide with a worked exampleA decision table for t-tests, ANOVA, Mann–Whitney U, chi-squared and correlation, plus a worked Spearman's rank example and its write-up.8 min read