Before you start the IB Diploma Program, it helps to understand exactly what you’re committing to for the next two academic years.
The IB isn’t just a set of subject exams. It requires five distinct types of assessed work alongside your final examinations, each with its own format, word count, submission process, and grading system.
Here’s a clear overview of all five.
The 5 IB Assignments at a Glance
| Assignment | Word Count | Graded? | Counts Toward |
| Internal Assessments (IAs) | Varies by subject | Yes (1 to 7 per subject) | 20 to 30% of each subject grade |
| Extended Essay (EE) | 4,000 words | Yes (A to E) | Up to 3 bonus diploma points |
| Theory of Knowledge Essay | 1,600 words | Yes (A to E) | Up to 3 bonus diploma points (combined with EE) |
| Theory of Knowledge Exhibition | 950-word commentary | Yes (0 to 10) | Internally assessed |
| CAS Project | No word count | Pass/Fail | Required for diploma but not scored |
1. Internal Assessments
Internal Assessments are subject-specific pieces of work that you complete as part of each subject you study. You write one IA per subject for four to six subjects across your two years.
Your teacher marks each IA and then an IBO examiner moderates it to ensure consistency.
The Internal Assessments account for 20 to 30% of your final subject grade, depending on the subject and level (SL or HL).
The format varies significantly by subject:
- Sciences: You write a laboratory investigation report of around 3,000 words.
- History: You focus on a historical investigation using primary and secondary sources, around 2,200 words.
- Mathematics: The subject requires a 6 to 12 page exploration of a self-chosen mathematical topic.
- Psychology: You’ll do a simple experimental study replicating a published research design, 1,800 to 2,200 words.
- Economics: For Economics, you’ll write three written commentaries applying economic theory to real news articles.
- Computer Science: The subject requires software solution built for a real client, with a 2,000-word report and a video demonstration.
- Languages: The task is to complete a written task or oral assessment depending on the language course.
- Global Politics: You’ll write a 2,000-word Engagement Activity report based on direct participation with a political issue.
Because Internal Assessments make up a substantial share of your final grade, choosing a subject without understanding what its IA involves is a significant risk.
2. Extended Essay
The Extended Essay is a 4,000-word independent research project for which you choose a subject, develop your own research question, and write a structured academic essay with proper sourcing and referencing.
For the EE, your school assigns you a supervisor who meets with you in three formal reflection sessions. These sessions are a required part of the process and are documented in your Researcher’s Reflection Space (RRS).
Graded from A to EE, the Extended Essay doesn’t add a direct percentage to any subject grade. Instead, it combines with your TOK Essay score in a matrix, which awards up to 3 bonus points toward your overall IB diploma total.
3. Theory of Knowledge Essay
The ToK Essay is a 1,600-word essay responding to one of six prescribed titles released by the IBO each year. You choose one title and build a sustained, evidence-based argument in response to it.
ToK asks questions about the nature of knowledge itself, focusing on how we know what we know, what counts as evidence, and how knowledge is constructed differently across subject areas.
What you write should demonstrate that you can think critically about these questions, not just describe them.
4. Theory of Knowledge Exhibition
The ToK Exhibition is an internally assessed component introduced with the current IB syllabus.
It requires you to choose one of 35 IA prompts provided by the IBO, select three objects or artifacts from the real world, and write a commentary of up to 950 words explaining how each object connects to the chosen prompt and to the nature of knowledge.
The objects must have a genuine real-world context. They can be physical items, images, texts, or other artifacts, but they need to be actual things from the world.
5. CAS Project
CAS stands for Creativity, Activity, and Service, a required component of the IB Diploma that runs across both years of the program.
IB does not grade CAS. It is assessed it on a pass/fail basis. You cannot earn the IB Diploma without completing CAS, but it does not contribute any points to your diploma score.
The three CAS strands:
- Creativity: Arts-based activities or any creative project outside of your regular academic work. This includes music, visual art, drama, writing, design, or any activity that involves imaginative engagement.
- Activity: This can be a sport you already play, a new physical pursuit, or any sustained physical engagement that involves challenge or skill development.
- Service: The focus is on voluntary work that benefits others or the wider community. Tutoring, environmental work, community projects, and NGO involvement all qualify.
CAS requires you to complete a collaborative project that involves at least two of the three strands done in collaboration with other people.
While IB doesn’t require a fixed number of hours per strand, it expects to see consistent, meaningful engagement and genuine reflection on what you learned from each activity.
Your CAS coordinator will review your records and determine whether you’ve met the requirement.
How the Assignments Connect
It helps to see how these five assignments relate to each other and to your final diploma:
- Your IA grades are built into each of your six subject scores. They can raise or lower the grade your final exam alone would produce.
- Your EE and TOK Essay grades interact through a matrix. Two strong grades add 3 bonus points. Two weak grades risk automatic failure.
- Your TOK Exhibition is assessed separately and it contributes to your internal TOK assessment record.
- CAS sits outside the scoring system entirely. It’s a condition of receiving the diploma, not a contributor to the score.
The practical implication: managing all five simultaneously across two years is one of the most demanding aspects of the IB program.
Students who struggle tend to underestimate how much time the IAs and Extended Essay require alongside regular coursework and exam preparation.
Read our guide on how to do well in IB for strategies on managing the full workload.