Pre-assessment checklist for the Individual Report

1 Is the report on one of the eight IR topics: Belief Systems, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Loss, Cha
nging Communities, Digital World, Family, Humans and Other Species, Sustainable Living, or Tra
de 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 repr
esented, (e.g. by a quote2 from a relevant person or organisation) and relevant information to ex
plain it?

7 Is at least one national perspective on the issue represented? Is it actually a perspective – i.e. w
hat the nation thinks, not just information about the national situation? Is the view clearly repres
ented, (e.g. by a quote2 from a relevant person or organisation) and relevant information to expla
in 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?

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 cite
d? Is it in a separate document as required? Is the format of citations and references suitable an
d consistent?5

13 If the student has included any primary research, is this suitably referenced?6

1 “An issue is usually a concern or matter within a topic that causes controversy, disagreement or hardship, has causes and consequences, and is u
sually a problem which can be solved with different courses of action. Within a global topic, an issue goes beyond a local or national context.” – Co
ursework Handbook 2018
2 “When quoting directly, [the writer] must use quotation marks and avoid quoting extensively. Quotes count towards the word count.” – Course
work Handbook 2018
3 For example, this might be a controversy between different global perspectives, a comparison of different national perspectives, or inclusion of o
ther relevant local and personal perspectives.
4 “In-text attribution: Candidates may use bracketed citations, or numbering, or in-text referencing, to indicate where they have used sources. The
y 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 incl
ude 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 logic
al 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; s
o 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 ref
erence list, unless it is to be read and counted in the words allowed for the IR.” — Examiner Report summer 2021
 14 Are the key7 sources of information evaluated? Are at least three developed evaluative points m
ade?

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 t
hem 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 conc
lusion fully supported?

20 Does the report include reflection on how the investigation has developed8 the writer’s person
al perspective?

21 Is at least one course of action proposed to help solve the issue? Does the writer explain who sh
ould 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 i
n 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, title
s and words within charts/diagrams, but excluding the list of works cited)? Is a word count give
n?

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 cohesively 10 to make it ef
fective and persuasive?
A

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 ev
aluations of the sources that are most important to your analysis and conclusions. Of course, you should also use the same skills during your resear
ch to help you select all your sources, to avoid using poor-quality information.
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 tha
t steadily builds up an overall picture, story, or argument. It avoids making the reader uncomfortable with abrupt jumps or irrelevant parts.