Chemistry subject report · May 2010

May 2010 extended essay reports Page 1 © International Baccalaureate Organization 2010 CHEMISTRY 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 General comments The aims and objectives for a chemistry extended essay are set out in the guide. Essentially a student has to plan and pursue a piece of research in chemistry and communicate their findings in an accepted academic way. Clearly much of this is down to the skill, understanding and perseverance of the student but a significant amount does also depend on the quality of advice and guidance given by the supervisor. Last year (May 2009) was the first time that the essays had been written to follow the 2007 guidelines and marked according to the new criteria. This year (May 2010) th ere was a significant improvement in the quality of chemistry extended essays as students and supervisors seemed more conversant with the demands of the new criteria. However there is considerable cause for concern over the quality of supervision (possibly even the lack of supervision) that some students seem to be receiving. In some schools where the supervision was obviously done competently, all the students were able to achieve at least a satisfactory grade C with many achieving an A or B. However in o ther schools , where the ability of the students at chemistry seemed quite comparable , many of the students gained low marks through their inability to meet the criteria correctly. Failing to state the research question in the introduction and an inability to include the three basic component s of the research question, how the investigation was undertaken and the conclusion in the abstract are just two examples of where poor supervision led to the loss of unnecessary marks. The guide sets out the responsibil ities of the student, the school and the supervisor. It is not fair to place all the responsibility on the student. One of the recommendations for the school is that all supervisors receive proper training in the task