The IB DP Maths Internal Assessment (IB IA) is a notoriously tricky one to perfect, whether for IB Maths Analysis & Approaches or IB Maths Applications & Interpretations. This is also true at IB Standard Level or IB Higher Level.
However, boosting your grade on your IB Maths Internal Assessment is easier than you may think.
To start with, you have to make sure that you are familiar with the five criteria that your IB grade will be based upon:
Below are four simple tips to improve your IB marks in these specific areas:
Choosing a topic that interests you is essential to get the maximum of 3 points in the Personal Engagement criterion. Your idea does not need to be over-complicated or theoretical – in fact, the best ideas tend to be simpler, just relating a topic of IB Maths you have seen before to something in real life that is of interest to you. The key here is to choose the real-world topic before deciding on the Maths. For example, if you are a keen tennis player, you could use your knowledge of Statistics to analyse some publicly available data online.
From the list of criteria above, notice that Use of Mathematics has the highest number of marks available. To achieve the top marks in this category, you must take care to thoroughly explain every step of your working. Never assume that the reader already understands the topic of your IB Internal Assessment (IB IA).
A common misconception is that you must use challenging mathematical topics to get a high mark in your IB IA. This is not the case: the criteria state that in order to get 6 marks for Use of Mathematics, you need maths of the appropriate difficulty level to match the level of whichever course you are taking (IB Standard Level or IB Higher Level). Most importantly, you must demonstrate thorough knowledge and understanding of what your IB DP Internal Assessment is about and the concepts therein.
Having a clear and consistent structure will help to improve your IB marks in both the Presentation and Mathematical Communication criteria. There is no fixed structure that you need to follow, but a good rule-of-thumb is to have three main sections: Introduction, Main Body and Conclusion.
The introduction is a good place to include background information about the topic – why it interests you and what you are aiming to achieve in your IB Internal Assessment. The Main Body is where you will carry out the mathematics in order to answer the aim you have stated in the Introduction. Finally, in the Conclusion, summarise what you have found in the Main Body and explain how it has impacted your knowledge of the real-life topic you have chosen. Reflect on your results, including advantages, disadvantages and possible extensions to your methods and findings.
While the main bulk of reflection will be in the conclusion of your IA, this should not be the only place to reflect on your findings. An easy way to boost your marks in both Reflection and Personal Engagement is to reflect on every result throughout the IA. These reflections do not need to be long or in-depth, but rather something simple like “This result was surprising to me because…” or “This result is interesting/useful because…”. Peppering your IA with sentences like these will be sure to improve your overall marks.
In conclusion, keeping in mind the criteria at all times is the most important element in determining your IB Maths Internal Assessment grade. So, if you stick as closely to them as possible then you are sure to achieve a stellar result!