Internal assessments, or IAs, are the pieces of coursework marked by teachers and moderated by the IB. They usually count for 20% or more of a subject grade, and because they are written over weeks rather than in an exam hall, they are one of the few parts of the Diploma a student can control in advance.
This guide covers how IAs work in the most common subjects, a realistic timeline, the mistakes that cost the most marks, and the line between fair help and academic misconduct.
How much the IA counts
The format and weighting differ by subject. These are the components for some of the most commonly taken courses.
| Subject | Internal assessment | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics AA and AI | The Exploration, an individual written investigation | 20% |
| Physics, Chemistry, Biology | A scientific investigation, up to 3,000 words | 20% |
| Economics | A portfolio of three news-based commentaries | 30% SL, 20% HL |
| English A | The individual oral, 15 minutes | 30% SL, 20% HL |
A realistic timeline
Schools set their own internal deadlines, usually spread across the second half of Year 1 and the first half of Year 2 so that IAs do not all fall at once. Students also have the Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge in the same period, which is why late starts are so costly.
- Two to three months before the deadline: choose a topic and check it with the teacher, especially that it is workable at the right level.
- Six to eight weeks before: collect data or carry out the investigation, leaving time to repeat anything that goes wrong.
- Four weeks before: complete a full draft for the teacher's single round of feedback.
- Final weeks: respond to the feedback, check the criteria one by one, and proofread.
The mistakes that cost the most marks
Across subjects, the same problems appear repeatedly, and most begin at the topic-selection stage rather than in the writing.
- A topic that is interesting but too thin to support the mathematics, analysis, or argument the criteria reward.
- A topic that is too ambitious, so the student cannot carry out the work properly in the time available.
- Too little data, or data that cannot answer the research question, in science investigations.
- Reflection or evaluation added at the end instead of running through the work.
- Not reading the marking criteria until the final draft, so effort goes into things that earn few marks.
What help is allowed
IAs must be the student's own work. Teachers may give one round of written feedback on a draft, and students must acknowledge any help or sources. Having someone else write, correct, or substantially shape the work is academic misconduct and can cost the student the subject grade or the Diploma.
A tutor can still help a great deal within the rules: by teaching the subject knowledge and methods involved, explaining the criteria, helping a student judge whether a topic is workable, and practising similar skills on different material. What a tutor must not do is choose the topic for the student, write or rewrite sections, or correct the draft line by line.
How parents can help
The most useful thing parents can do is make the deadlines visible early. Ask for the school's IA calendar at the start of Year 1, note the draft and final dates for each subject, and check in on progress well before the draft is due rather than the final deadline.
If a student is stuck on a topic or lacks the subject skills the IA needs, that is the time to look for support, not in the final week when almost nothing can be changed within the rules.
Is an IA deadline coming up?
Tell us the subject, level, and deadline. We will match a tutor who can teach the skills the IA needs, within IB rules.
Request an IB tutor