Pre-assessment checklist for the Individual Report

1 Is the report on one of the eight IR topics:

Belief Systems, Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Loss, Changing Communities, Digital World,
Family, Humans and Other Species,
Sustainable Living, or Trade and Aid?

2 Is the research question focused enough to

be answered in a 2000 word report?

3 Is the research question about an issue1

that is global in scope?

4 Is the research question answerable from

different perspectives and viewpoints?

5 Does the introduction explain the issue and

the research question?

6 Is at least one global perspective on the

issue included? Is it actually a perspective –
e.g. what a global community thinks, not just
information about the global situation? Is the
view clearly represented, (e.g. by a quote2
from a relevant person or organisation) and
relevant information to explain it?

7 Is at least one national perspective on the

issue represented? Is it actually a perspective
– i.e. what the nation thinks, not just
information about the national situation? Is
the view clearly represented, (e.g. by a quote2
from a relevant person or organisation) and
relevant information to explain it?

8 Does the report contain a balanced range3 of

different, well-supported perspectives?

9 Does the report analyse causes of the issue?

Are causes compared in a way that
establishes the most important ones to help
formulate courses of action?

1
“An issue is usually a concern or matter within a topic that causes controversy, disagreement or hardship, has causes and
consequences, and is usually a problem which can be solved with different courses of action. Within a global topic, an issue goes
beyond a local or national context.” – Coursework Handbook 2018
2
“When quoting directly, [the writer] must use quotation marks and avoid quoting extensively. Quotes count towards the word
count.” – Coursework Handbook 2018
3
For example, this might be a controversy between different global perspectives, a comparison of different national perspectives, or
inclusion of other relevant local and personal perspectives.
 10 Does the report analyse consequences of the
issue? Are consequences compared in a way
that establishes the most important ones to
help formulate courses of action?

11 Are all factual claims supported with

evidence and in-text attribution to cite their
sources?4

12 In addition to in-text attribution, is there also

a complete list of full references to sources
cited? Is it in a separate document as
required? Is the format of citations and
references suitable and consistent?5

13 If the student has included any primary

research, is this suitably referenced?6

14 Are the key7 sources of information

evaluated? Are at least three developed
evaluative points made?

15 Is a range of sources of information used?

Are they of a suitable quality?
Is a range of types of information used?

16 Are section headings used to organise the

report?

17 Are any charts or diagrams properly labelled,

integrated into the discussion, and words
within them added to the total word count?

18 Does every paragraph stay relevant to the

research question?

19 Does the report reach a conclusion which is a

clear answer to the research question? Is the
conclusion fully supported?

4
“In-text attribution: Candidates may use bracketed citations, or numbering, or in-text referencing, to indicate where they have used
sources. They must include complete references somewhere in their work, either footnotes, endnotes, or in-text references. (For
ease of reading and control of word count, numbers or brackets are more manageable).” – Examiner Report, summer 2021
5
“References: References for books or magazines should include author, date, and title of publication. References for online
materials should include at least the full url (leading to the document, not just to a website) and date of access.
The full reference list/footnotes/endnotes should be clearly linked to the in-text attribution. Candidates should use one clear,
consistent, and logical method (one set of numbers, or alphabetical order). References should be clearly organised and easy to find.”
– Examiner Report summer 2021
6
“Some candidates carry out primary research, particularly to explore different perspectives. Where they do so, they should mention
this in text; so that it is clear where/how the information has been gained. They may wish to put a note at the end of their reference
list or in a footnote, to give details such as date of interview. If candidates wish to include evidence of their primary research, such as
statistics, they can append this to the reference list, unless it is to be read and counted in the words allowed for the IR.” — Examiner
Report summer 2021
7
Most students use more than three sources of information and don’t have enough space to write evaluations of all of them, so
include written evaluations of the sources that are most important to your analysis and conclusions. Of course, you should also use
the same skills during your research to help you select all your sources, to avoid using poor-quality information.
 20 Does the report include reflection on how the
investigation has developed8 the writer’s
personal perspective?

21 Is at least one course of action proposed to

help solve the issue? Does the writer explain
who should take the action, how, and what
the impact will be.

22 Does the course of action follow from what

has been learned from the information and
analysis in the report? (E.g. aimed at the
most important cause and/or most important
effect)

23 Is the report between 1500 and 2000 words9

long (including quotes, the title, subheadings,
titles and words within charts/diagrams, but
excluding the list of works cited)? Is a word
count given?

24 Is the report written concisely to make

efficient use of the 2000 words allowed?

25 Is the report edited carefully to avoid obvious

errors?

26 Is the report written clearly to avoid

confusing the reader? Is it written
cohesively10 to make it effective and
persuasive?

8
Has the source opened your eyes to something / changed your mind / confirmed an opinion / raised a question?
9
“The strongest work … used the full available word count.” — Examiner Report, summer 2021
10
Cohesion is how the writing “sticks together” to make a whole. In a piece of writing with good cohesion one point leads to the next
in a way that steadily builds up an overall picture, story, or argument. It avoids making the reader uncomfortable with abrupt jumps
or irrelevant parts.