Maths IA criteria · 4 marks
Criterion A: Presentation
Criterion A asks one question: can a reader follow your exploration from start to finish without getting lost? It is worth 4 of the 20 marks, and it is the easiest criterion to secure — if you plan the structure before you write.
What Criterion A assesses
The organisation, coherence and conciseness of the exploration as a whole: whether it has a clear aim, develops logically, and reaches a conclusion that answers the aim — without padding.
This is our summary, not the IB's wording. The descriptors themselves, with a checklist and a self-grade sheet, are on the IA criteria page.
What the mark bands look like in practice
| Band | What the examiner typically sees |
|---|---|
| Low (1) | Some parts make sense, but the reader has to work hard: there is no clear aim, or the sections do not connect, or the conclusion is missing. |
| Middle (2) | The exploration is either reasonably coherent or reasonably well organised, but not both — for example a clear story with tables and graphs in the wrong places. |
| Good (3) | Coherent and well organised: a clear aim, a logical order, graphs and tables where they are discussed, and a conclusion that refers back to the aim. |
| Top (4) | All of that, and concise: nothing repeated, nothing irrelevant, every calculation and graph earns its place. |
Checklist for Criterion A
- A title and a clear, precise aim in the introduction (one of the most important sentences you will write).
- An introduction, a body and a conclusion — and each part links to the next.
- Written for a classmate (a peer), not for your teacher: someone who knows the course but not your topic can follow it.
- Graphs, tables and calculations appear in the order you discuss them, next to the text that uses them.
- Large data sets go in an appendix, with a summary or sample in the body.
- No repeated calculations: show one worked example, then use a table.
- Citations for every source, as footnotes on the page where you use them, plus a bibliography.
- Tables that run over a page break repeat their column headings.
- Page numbers; figures numbered and referred to in the text.
- The conclusion answers the aim you stated at the start.
Examiner tips
Write the aim first, then test every paragraph against it.
If a paragraph does not help answer the aim, it is costing you conciseness. Cut it or move it to an appendix.
Think of the IA as a formal diary.
It should read as an account of what you did and why, in the order you did it — including the decisions you changed. That naturally produces coherence.
Do not announce all the mathematics in the introduction.
Write the introduction as if you are about to start: your question, why it interests you, and how you plan to begin. Techniques should appear when they become necessary.
Length is a guide, not a target.
The IB recommends roughly 12–20 pages (double-spaced). Examiners are not counting pages, but work far longer than that is rarely concise, and work much shorter rarely has room for depth.
Weak vs strong: an example
Loses marks
“In this IA I will look at cooling. First I will use Newton's law of cooling, then differential equations, then logarithms.”
Earns marks
“My tea is always too hot at 8:05 and too cold by 8:25. The aim of this exploration is to find how long a cup of tea takes to cool from 85 °C to 60 °C in three different mugs, and whether Newton's law of cooling predicts those times accurately.”
Common Criterion A mistakes
- A vague aim such as “to investigate the Fibonacci sequence” instead of a question with an answer.
- A long history section with no mathematics.
- Graphs placed in an appendix and discussed in the body (the reader has to flip back and forth).
- The same calculation repeated ten times for ten data points.
- A conclusion that introduces new mathematics or does not mention the aim.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a Maths IA be?
The IB recommends about 12 to 20 pages, double-spaced, not counting the title page, contents, appendices and bibliography. There is no word count. Aim for the shortest exploration that fully answers your aim.
Do I need a contents page?
It is not required. A short exploration with clear headings is usually easy enough to follow without one. If you include one, keep it simple.
Should raw data go in the appendix?
Yes, if it is long. Put a summary or a sample in the body, the full data in an appendix, and refer to it. Graphs and tables you actually discuss belong in the body.