For those proceeding with the IB diploma track towards university, the sheer alienness of the coursework may seem daunting. Assessments requirements are new, mark schemes are different, even the way classes are administered may feel unfamiliar.

In this article, we focus on a specific aspect unique to the IB programme; the Internal Assessment (IA). To do well for this component, students must focus and get familiar with 3 key areas.

1. Know what they are

A typical IB diploma course consists of an external assessment and an Internal Assessment (IA). While the external assessment is often the formal examination component sat for at the end of a term and sent over to IB examiners to be graded, IAs normally remain in house; and are marked and assessed by the internal IB school teachers.

The weightage of the IA component also depends on the specific IB course undertaken. For most courses, IAs tends to take between 30-50% of the IB Diploma Mark, with external assessments taking up the rest of the weightage.

2. Familiarize with the format

To do well for this component, a good understanding of the format and what they are looking for is paramount. The thing is, these formats differ course to course. Some courses require experiment-based IAs while others allow data-based ones. The IAs for Science courses for instance, are lab sessions that account for 24% of the final mark. Economics IAs require an economic portfolio made up of 3-4 commentaries constituting roughly 20% of the final grade. IAs for English are the Oral Commentary (IOC) and Oral Presentation (IOP) that make up 30% of the final mark. And Mathematics typically require 2 written portfolios which contribute roughly 20%.

Despite specific differences, the good news is that most IAs tend to follow a written essay format. Mathematics, Economics, Humanities and the Arts certainly take this approach. That means there are scores of past IAs available online to study and model after. And therein lies the trick to tackling this ably.

3. Find the right resources

To help you along, we compiled a list of resources that past IB candidates have attempted and submitted. For each subject, note the topics chosen, why they did so, and how they approach the topic in their written essays.

Math:
1. Revision Village
2. Mr Gilmartin
3. Exam-mate
4. IB Math Resources

Economics:
1. IB Mastery
2. IB Economist
3. Studynova
4. Owl Tutors

History:
1. Owl Tutors
2. IB History

Geography:
1. Greenfield Geography
2. Owl Tutors
3. The Geographer Online

The list is certainly not exhaustive. If you know of any more and would like to contribute, please let us know in the comments below! We will curate and add them in accordingly.