Social and Cultural Anthropology subject report · May 2010

May 2010 extended essay reports Page 1 © International Baccalaureate Organization 2010 SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY This is a supplementary report following the May 2010 session and should be read in conjunction with the May 2009 extended essay report. 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 suitability of the work was very variable, a significant proportion of essays lacked an explicit anthropological perspective or any clear evidence of social and cultural anthropology. These essays are usually awarded lower marks than those with a specific anthropological focus. It is particularly unfortunate to be unable to award higher marks for those EEs which are good and well -researched but simply do not fall within the remit of social and cultural anthropology. In many cases, though perhaps fewer than in previous years, candi dates did not refer to anthropological concepts, readings or sources, nor did they make reference to methodological issues of any kind. Many candidates seemed to assume that anthropological relevance inheres in a likely topic, and that it is not necessary to consult or to explicitly discuss anthropological sources, whether concerned with theory or with ethnography. Too many candidates consider that a superficial reference to “Anthropology” on a website provides enough expertise in the subject for an EE and consequently fail to make any significant reference to a proper anthropological reading. However, in this session the number of essays submitted for Social and Cultural Anthropology was lower than in previous sessions. This can be interpreted as probably showing that schools -or schools´ coordinators - are reading the warnings in the Extended Essay Guide, or past warning from Chief examiners, about not encouraging candidates who are not enrolled in Social and Cultural Anthropology to write essays in the sub ject. This is a positive change since it is unrealistic to expect candidates, however promising, to produce a successful EE in a subject they have no specific knowledge of. The most successful candidates