IA Report Preparation - Support Resources

From the IB Guide

Students should produce one report of their investigation. The report must not exceed 2,500 words.
Word limit: The following are not included in the word count.
  • Title page
  • Acknowledgments
  • Contents page
  • Titles and subtitles
  • References
  • Footnotes—up to a maximum of 15 words each
  • Map legends and/or keys
  • Labels—of 10 words or less
  • Tables—of statistical or numerical data, or categories, classes or group names
  • Calculations
  • Appendices—containing only raw data and/or calculations
All the main text is included in the word count, including the research question, analysis, conclusion and evaluation, as well as all annotations over 10 words and any footnotes over 15 words. A very limited use of appendices is acceptable and, if appendices are used, these should contain only examples of materials that have been used or are representative of the material used, such as a data sheet or a translation of a questionnaire. It should not include all materials used, for example, every survey or questionnaire completed. Further, it should not include secondary information.

Where work is over the limit, teachers and moderators are advised to stop reading and students are likely to not gain as many marks under criteria such as E and F.

Emphasis: The emphasis of the written report must be analytical and include focus on the method(s) and technologies (if any) employed for information collection, its treatment and analysis. A purely descriptive report and/or a long theoretical introduction must be avoided.
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Format: Students are advised to use the following guidelines to format their reports, which will ensure that the reports fulfill the requirements of the criteria. The fieldwork written report must meet the following requirements of organization and presentation.
  • The work is concise and within the 2,500-word limit.
  • Overall presentation is well structured, with pages numbered.
  • All illustrative material is fully integrated into the body of the report and is not relegated to an appendix.
  • Figures such as maps, diagrams and tables are numbered and referenced in the text.
  • References used for background information follow standard conventions. (Guidance on referencing is given in the earlier section on secondary information.)

Visuals Support
Website: How to choose the best chart for your data
Website: Excel chart formatting tips
Tips: Visual map making
Picture

    Article: Trump shows fake hurricane map

Visual Creation Tools
Visuals Website: Resource to support the use of visuals in schools

Map Making

Website: Geographic Maps
Map Creator: Snazzy Maps
Website: Google Earth
Video: Google spreadsheet to map in 2 clicks
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Image Creation/ Manipulation Tools

Website: Piktochart
Website: Pixlr Editor
​Web Tool : GIMP
​Website: Noun Project - Icons for everything


Analysis

References & Citations

Picture

   NIST Library: Tools for creating a bibliography
   IB Guide: Effective citing & referencing

Additional Resources

Authenticity: Did I plagiarize infographic