IA Guidelines

I recommend that you look at your book in pages 708-712 for more on what IB says about science Internal Assessments.  Here are the basic categories and some guidelines:

Personal Engagement (2 points):  Assesses the extent to which you engage with the investigation and make it your own.  Can be seen through thinking independently, creativity, addressing personal interests, and/or presenting scientific ideas in your own way.  Even though I saw what you did in your lab, you need to make sure that your write-up explicitly demonstrates your engagement.  I am not looking for a specific section of your lab that is labeled "personal engagement", but hopefully your interest and perseverance are clear throughout.

Exploration (6 points):  Assesses the extent to which you establish the scientific context for you work, state a clear and focused research question, and use concepts and techniques appropriate to the course you are studying.  You should also address how you considered safety, environmental, and ethical issues.  In this section, I am looking for good background, focused question, defined variables, and a well thought-out methodology that explains why and how you did things, being specific!  Make sure that you clearly state how you controlled your variables.

Analysis (6 points):  Assesses the extent to which your report provides evidence that you have selected, processed, analysed, and interpreted the data in ways that are relevant to the research question and can support a conclusion.  This section includes your raw data presentation, including labels, units, and uncertainty.  You need to have qualitative data (observations) as well as quantitative data.  It also includes any data processing, including equations, a sample calculation of each, well-presented graphs, etc.  Finally, you need to have written interpretation of your data, referencing it specifically to back yourself up.

Evaluation (6 points):  Assesses the extent to which your report provides evidence of evaluation of the investigation and results with regard to the research question and wider world.  State a detailed conclusion that is described and justified and relevant to the research question.  Make a comparison to the accepted scientific context if relevant.  Discuss strengths and weaknesses of the investigation.  The weaknesses can be listed in a table as source of uncertainty or limitation, implication to the results, and realistic suggestion for improvement.

Communication (4 points):  Assesses whether the investigation is presented and reported in a way that supports effective communication of the focus, process and outcomes of the investigation.  Writing should be clear and checked for spelling, grammar, etc.  Tables should be well-organized and paper should flow clearly.  Use appropriate biological vocabulary.  Paper should be between 6-12 pages long.  There is a 1 pt penalty for going over 12 pages.