This subject report is listed under World Studies in the 2016 examination archive. The catalogue session is May 2016. The information below helps you identify the document before opening the complete PDF. Subject, year and session labels come from the archive catalogue; the original cover remains the reference if a label differs. A file is not automatically suitable for your current syllabus simply because its subject name matches.
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May 2016 extended essay reports
Page 1
WORLD STUDIES
Overall grade boundaries
Grade: E D C B A
Mark range: 0 - 7 8 - 15 16 - 22 23 - 28 29 - 36
The range and suitability of the work submitted
The range of work submitted is very large indeed. The best essays are worthy of publication
in academic journals while the weakest show candidates not discharging their obligation to
the Diploma core. The range is largely explained by two factors. The first is the effectiveness
of schools and supervisors in conveying the nature of the task: at best, candidates are well
briefed on the nature of a research essay and they rise to the task with enthusiasm; at worst
the World Studies extended essay is a dumping ground for those who cannot decide on a
particular subject. The second is the seriousness with which the task is approached by
candidates: at best candidates see it as an opportunity for academic growth and present
evidence of their learning over a long period with increasing sophistication; at worst students
recycle descriptive report-style work based on journalistic sources.
As an examiner, the motivation of students is something about which I can do little. However
the effectiveness of schools and supervisors in explaining the task will be a recurring theme of
this report. Many schools are simply letting students down by not supervising them properly.
Loss of marks on the rubric requirement is often the fault of the supervisor and examiners are
distressed and frustrated that they are in effect marking the school rather than the candidate.
As an example, nearly half of all World Studies extended essays contain no reference to the
IB academic subjects on which the study is based. This makes it difficult to judge
interdisciplinarity, which is the whole reason the World Studies extended essay was
introduced.
Candidate performance against each criterion
Criterion A: research question
A frustration this year was that examiners had to spend time finding the research question in
some essays. The formulations on the cover sheet, the title page, in the abstract and in the
introduction were not always the same. As often is the case the research
File information
Subject
World Studies
Document type
Subject report
Year
2016
Session
May 2016
Level
Not labelled in the archive
Paper
Not labelled
Examination zone
Not labelled in the archive
Language
English
File size
52 KB
Pages
5
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