Are you looking for a simple guide on how to choose IB Internal Assessment topics? You’ve come to the right place.
The tips shared in this post should help you single out the best ideas to explore for the IB subjects that you choose, regardless of whether they’re for Standard or Higher Level.
Remember that IB is a writing intensive curriculum. The right way to stay ahead is to pick the right subjects and select the most appropriate topics that you can easily explore within the subject’s respective scope.
Key Takeaways
- IB students study 6 subjects, and one has to have a mix of Standard and Higher level subjects.
- You’ll have to write 4 to 5 Internal Assessment depending on your school’s preferences.
- Note that you’ll write an IA for the subjects you’re already studying, and you have the freedom to decide what topic to work on.
If you already have an IA topic but not enough time to write the paper, you can take advantage of our IA Writing Service and get the work done on time. We write both for SL and HL subject, making us the best platform to use if you need online help.
How to Choose IB Internal Assessment Topics
IB Internal Assessments are writing intensive, time-consuming, and challenging. In this respect, we feel it’s important to know exactly how to pick an IA topic for each of the subject you select.
Here’s what you need to do:
1. Understand that IB Stress is Normal
Here’s the deal:
IB is not an easy program. At least 7 out of 15 students drop out of the program in the first year because of the intensity of the program. Some tend to give up after a year and a half of study.
However, as challenging as the IB program is, it doesn’t mean you can’t do well in the course and earn yourself a diploma in the end.
The secret to doing well in all your IAs is to choose the right subjects, for both SL and HL, and take your studies seriously. The more you learn about each subject the more knowledge you get. And the insights you get as you continue to learn will go a long way to make a big difference.
2. Get Your Subject Selection Right
The one great thing about IBO is that they give you the freedom to choose the subjects of your choice, as long as they fall within the six subject groups.
But as much as you have the freedom of selection, it can be challenging to determine what to choose from huge list of options. Even then, you should consider your interests, strengths, and weaknesses before you choose a subject.
For example, it’s completely pointless to choose Math Analysis and Approaches if you’re not so good with calculation. And your two years in IB won’t be as interesting if you study IB History IA yet you hate taking notes.
Examples of subjects you’ll work on are as follows:
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Economics
- Psychology
- Math
- Business and Management
- Computer Science
- History
- Geography
- ESS
- Global Politics
- Design Technology
- ITGS
- Philosophy
The bottom line is this:
Merely choosing your subjects based on face value can be quite detrimental to your progress. So use your areas of interest, strengths, weaknesses, and the grading criteria to determine what subjects you can handle.
3. Start Early
The number one reason why many IB students fail their internal assessments is lateness. Given just how challenging the IB program is, procrastination is something you don’t want to have a room for at all.
If anything, waiting until the last minute to start thinking about your IA ideas, even for easy subjects, is the best way to fail.
Here’s the thing:
Internal assessments account for 20 to 25% of your final grades. So waiting until the last minute to brainstorm ideas, or waiting until your teacher ask you whether you’ve started working on your IAs, is merely a recipe for failure.
Perhaps the biggest problem with last minute rush is you put yourself in a situation where you force yourself to think of ideas fast. When you have to think of a topic quickly because you don’t have enough time left, you’re not going to come up with solid ideas for any of your IAs.
The best approach is to start early.
By thinking of basic concepts early on, it becomes easy to identify incredibly interesting topics that you can enjoy exploring, even if they’re on complex subjects such as Math, Economics, Chemistry, and Physics.
Moreover, choosing your topics early makes it easy for you to work on your IAs over the summer, and you’ll have even more time left to work on Theory of Knowledge, complete CAS hours, and write the Extended Essay.
4. Choose Interesting IB Internal Assessment Topics
Here’s the deal:
IBO gives you the freedom to choose whatever topics you would like to work on. Therefore, this is your opportunity to pick topics that interest you.
There are two advantages to choosing interesting topics, or topics that you’ve always wanted to explore:
- You’ll have an easy time conducting and developing your research throughout the course’s period.
- Writing comes easy, as you understand the topic more since it’s something you’re already passionate about in the first place.
As long as you go the subject selection right, you should have an easy time finding interesting topics that you can explore.
5. Ensure Your School Has Relevant IA Equipment
Nothing is worse than choosing a topic only to learn later that you don’t have the necessary equipment for the assignment in your school.
Keep in mind that this applies to Math and Science based IAs – and any other experimental IAs such as ITGS and Computer Science.
The lack of equipment means you’re going to have to be creative to get your results and this isn’t going to be any interesting.
So first, find out what equipment your chosen topics would need and then find out from your IB teacher if these are available at your school.