What is the Internal Assessment?

Your internal assessment (IA) is an individual project you will be working on throughout the year.  It is 25% of your overall grade within your IB exams. 

Your goal during this investigation is to explore a specific piece of the topics we will cover in ESS and then apply your results to a "broader environmental and/or societal context" (Environmental systems and societies guide 2015). This means you will collect data about a local problem and then apply your results to the global issue and see what conclusions you can draw. 

Deadlines

Disclaimer: Dates are subject to adjustment.
Date
Assignment Due
August 31, 2017
Context/Topic for Internal Assessment
September 15, 2017
Initial Research Question
September 29, 2017
Outline of methodology
November 30, 2017
Rough Draft of IA
February 15, 2018
Final Draft of IA
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How long will this take?

Overall, this investigation should take you about 10 hours including time to:
  1. discuss your research question and methodologies with me
  2. discuss the IB animal experimentation policy (Note: You CANNOT design any experiment that will harm or stress animals of any type...I would avoid using animals at all in your IA.)
  3. doing the actual  investigation
  4. consultation time with me about your progress
  5. feedback on one draft
Note: ​​The amount of time it takes to write up the report is NOT included within the allotted 10 hours - that is additional. 

What should it look like?

Your IA is a 1, 500 to 2,250 word written report.   To successfully complete this report, you must: 
  • identify a specific aspect within an ESS issue (the context)
  • develop your procedures to create data concerning your topic
  • analyze your data in order to produce knowledge and understanding
  • apply what you learned to a broader or global context in order to find solutions to ESS issues (the application)
Helpful hints: 
  • The examiner (and I) will stop marking after 2,250 words and you will lose points for communication
  • you can use quantitative data, qualitative data, primary and/or secondary data, statistical analysis, mapping techniques

Heads Up

  • You can't use the same research question for your ESS IA and your extended essay. If you wish to do an extended essay related to ESS, it must be a different topic. 
  • All of the work must be your own. However, you can use data collected from a third party as long as the database is properly cited and you have a unique research question. 
  • It is NOT my job to give you a research question or tell you what to do...this is a personal investigation because it should matter to you. 
  • I am required to check your work for academic dishonesty. If I feel you have not completed your own work, I will not grade it. Please be authentic and honest. 
  • If you happen to be dishonest and I miss it, but the IB grader catches it, ​you may lose your diploma. 

Animal Experimentation Policy
animal_experimentation_policy.pdf
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File Type: pdf
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IA Exemplars