Based on the IB 2023 math subject report, there are some general suggestions I would like to give for math HL students:
- Don’t write about big data because it easily contains 150-200 pages of attachment.
- There are so many IAs about volume, rotation area, and projectile motion.
(I am not saying you can’t do that, but it probably won’t get a high grade)
- Don’t try something that is way beyond metric space. Personally, I would say the level around statistics (regression analysis) and probability theory is appropriate.
- Fractals, the golden ratio is so easy, it doesn’t meet IA’s difficulty.
- Focus on Math
To be specific, for example, for the introduction
- Aim: What are you going to explore and investigate in this IA?
- Reason: Why do you want to do this IA?
- Plan of action: If you do something related to statistics, how are you going to collect the data(how are you going to achieve your aim)
For both SL and HL,
The IB Examiner’s Report mentions a tendency for students to present complex mathematical concepts and equations without knowing how to apply them correctly or even without a clear purpose for their research. In fact, students can avoid this problem even before they write the essay.
The first part is a simple tick-box
These are a few essential questions to ask yourself when writing the first part:
- Is the purpose of the quest clear and unambiguous for anyone reading?
- Are key terms, main variables and constraints (if needed) defined?
- Have you given a step-by-step action plan and explanation of how you will explore your question/objective? (Include a description of data collection)
Don’t over-engineer your personal engagement!
You can ask yourself more of the following questions:
- Have initial experiments been conducted to ensure your exploration is meaningful?
- After completing your goal, did you further your goal by testing the equations against other variables as well?
- How were the final results manipulated to analyze them further?
Adding something new and unique levels of complexity is critical.
*Some IA topics you can go with for HL and SLs:
- Game theory
- Nash equilibrium
- Markov chain prediction model
- Algebra and Number Theory
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