IB GLOBAL POLITICS E N G A G E M E N T A C T I V I T Y : W ... · S T R U C T U R I N G T H E R E P...

P O L I T I C A L E N G A G E M E N T A C T I V I T Y : W R I T I N G T H E R E P O R T

I B G L O B A L P O L I T I C S

W W W . G L O P O I B . W O R D P R E S S . C O M

Ben Fugill UWC Costa Rica

2018

ContentsIntroducing the report and assessment criteria

Structuring the report

Criterion A: Identification and justification

Criterian B: Explanation of the engagement

Criterion C: Analysis of issue

Criterion D: Synthesis and Evaluation

Command terms

Final thoughts

1 . 2. 3. 5 7. 9 11 12.

www.glopoib.wordpress.com

At the heart of experiential education are three key

elements: Content, experience and reflection

Morten Asfeldt

Using this guide

This booklet provides guidance on writing the report component of your Political Engagement IA

for Global Politics.

There is no prescribed structure for the report so you are free to

structure your report in a way that you feel best helps meet all

of the assessmemt criteria.

However, you are reminded that the PEA Internal Assessment is

worth 20% of your final grade for Global Politics(25% at SL) so it is

something you should take seriously and try to produce the

best report possible.

Equally, it is worth remembering that, while the engagement and

complementary research are also compulsor components of

this IA - and it will be impossible to produce a successful report

without having completed these two components - the report is

the only component that is formally assessed

CREDIT: Guiding Questions for each criteria provided by Chiel

Mooij, UWC Maastricht.

T H E R E P O R TP O L I T I C A L E N G A G E M E N T A C T I V I T Y I A

As you know, there are three

components to this internal

assessment: Complementary research;

the engagement and the written report

of 2,000 words

The written report is the only part which

is formally assessed so it is important to

to get it right and make sure you you

are hitting all of the criteria as set out in

the subject guide

F O U R A S S E S S M E N T C R I T E R I A

Your report will be assessed against

four different criteria:

1. Identification of issue and justification

(4 marks)

2. Explanation of engagement (4 marks)

3. Analysis of issue (6 marks)

4. Synthesis and evaluation (6 marks)

Writing a successful report means that

you must consider how you structure

your work to ensure you consider all

four criteria.

Whilst there will be a certain amount of

description required in order to explain

what you did on your engagement you

must be careful to ensure that your

report is primarily analytical and

evaluative rather than descriptive if it is

to successfully meet the IB criteria

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S T R U C T U R I N G T H E R E P O R TP O L I T I C A L E N G A G E M E N T A C T I V I T Y I A

There is a word limit of 2,000 words for

the report. This is not as much as it may

seem so it is important that you avoid

waffle or saying something that is not

directly related to the assessment

criteria.

N O P R E S C R I B E D S T R U C T U R E

The IB do not prescribe a particular

structure for your PEA report. However,

feedback from IB moderators for this

component indicate that the report

must be seen as holistic.

This means you should not simply

divide your report up in to four different

sections based on the four different

criteria.

A good guiding principle is ensure your

report is divided into paragraphs rather

than sections.

Remember that your report must be

largely analytical and evaluative in

nature and must synthesise what you

learnt through your engagement with

what you found out through your

complementary research

Remember, the overall word limit for

your repor is 2,00 words so keep it

concise and to the point


Was the organisation effective? Had the

holistic criteria been turned into

separate sections (which goes against

the nature of the criteria)?

- Was the word count stated on the

report?

- Was referencing done correctly and

did the report include a bibliography?

GUIDING QUESTIONS

C R I T E R I O N A : I D E N T I F I C A T I O N A N D J U S T I F I C A T I O NP O L I T I C A L E N G A G E M E N T A C T I V I T Y I A

Key questions to consider:

Is there a clear explanation of why this

particular political issue and

engagement are of interest to the

student?

Is there a clear link between the

engagement and political issue on one

hand and the course content on the

other hand?

W I L L T H E E X A M I N E R B E A B L E T O A N S W E R Y E S T O T H E S E Q U E S T I O N S ?

TOP LEVEL DESCRIPTOR FOR

CRITERION A

The political issue explored through

the engagement is clearly and

explicitly identified. There is a clear

explanation of why this engagement

and political issue are of interest to the

student. There is a clear link between

the engagement and political issue on

one hand and the course content on

the other

If you cannot answer 'yes' to these

questions then how will the examiner

be able to?


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GUIDING QUESTIONS:

CRITERION A

- Was the political issue clearly identified and specific enough for a 2000 word report? - Was the engagement connected to the political issue and both of them to course content? - Was the personal interest explained (beyond ‘I have always been interested’ or ‘this sparked my interest’)?

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'Was the engagement connected to the political issue and both of

them to course content?'

C R I T E R I O N B : E X P L A N A T I O N O F E N G A G E M E N TP O L I T I C A L E N G A G E M E N T A C T I V I T Y I A


Is the description of the engagement

and what the student actually did clear

and relevant for their chosen political

issue?

Is there a clear explanation of the ways

in which the student's experiences

informed his or her understanding of

the political issue?

I F T H E A N S W E R T O T H E S E Q U E S T I O N S I S N O T H E N Y O U R R E P O R T I S N O T R E A D Y


CRITERION B

The description of the engagement

and of what the student actually did is

c;lear and relevant for their chosen

political issue. There is a clear

explanation of the ways in which the

student's experiences informed his or

her understanding of the political issue

If you cannot answer 'yes' to these

questions then how will the examiner

be able to?


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GUIDING QUESTIONS: CRITERION B

- Did you provide insight into your actual experiences (beyond ‘I interviewed…’), reflecting on how you approached the engagement (preparing for the interview, reflecting on answers or non-verbal communication)? - Were lessons learnt shared and were these relevant for the political issue? - Did you show insight into your engagement throughout the report?

WHAT DID YOU DO? WHY IS IT RELEVANT? WHAT DID YOU LEARN?

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C R I T E R I O N C .A N A L Y S I S O FI S S U E P O L I T I C A L E N G A G E M E N T A C T I V I T Y I A


To what extent does the student

analyse the political issue?

To what extent does the student justify

his or her main points?

T H E S E A R E T H E Q U E S T I O N S T H E P E R S O N R E A D I N G Y O U R R E P O R T W I L L B E A S K I N G T H E M S E L V E S


CRITERION C

The political issue is explored in depth,

using the key concepts of the course

where relevant, and the response

contains clear critical analysis. All, or

nearly all, of the main points are

justified.

This means you must also consider

these question carefully when writing

your report



GUIDING QUESTIONS:

CRITERION C

- Was the analysis of the political issue descriptive or analytical? Did you accept the information provided through the engagement (or additional sources) at face-value or did you approach it more critically? - Did you make explicit course connections, through the use of concepts, theories or other prescribed content? - Did you provide justification for the use of data, course concepts and theories? If you stated, ‘from a realist perspective..’ or ‘this is an example of soft power’, did you show insight into where your understanding of these course connections came from? - Did you use additional sources throughout the report?

DID YOU USE ADDITIONAL SOURCES THROUGHOUT THE REPORT? 8


GUIDING QUESTIONS:

CRITERION D

- Did you show synthesis between engagement and additional academic sources throughout the report (which is expected) or only in the final section or not at all? - Were findings from engagement cross-referenced with additional sources and vice versa? - Did you explore the political issue from different perspectives, either through the engagement or through additional academic sources (e.g. theoretical perspectives)? - Was the conclusion consistent with the findings in the report and was it focused on the original political issue?

WERE FINDINGS FROM ENGAGEMENT CROSS-REFERENCED WITH ADDITIONAL SOURCES AND VICE VERSA?

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C R I T E R I O N D . A N A L Y S I S A N D E V A L U A T I O NP O L I T I C A L E N G A G E M E N T A C T I V I T Y I A


To what extent does the student

synthesise his or her experience and

research in the discussion of the

political issue?

To what extent does the student show

evidence of evaluation, underpinned by

his or her experiences and adequate

research, to allow multiple perspectives

on the political issue?

T H E S EQ U E S T I O N SM U S T G U I D EW H A T Y O UI N C L U D E I NY O U RR E P O R T

TOP BAND DESCRIPTOR

The student's experiences and more

theoretical perspectives are

synthesised so that an integrated and

rich treatment of the political issue

ensues. Conclusions are clearly stated,

balanced and consistent with the

evidence presented. There is evidence

of evaluation of the political issue from

multiple perspectives



What do we mean by...Analysis and Justification? In this case, analysis means you have broken down the political issue in order to bring out the essential elements; identified parts and relationships between different parts and and interpreted information to help reach a conclusion. Justifying your main points means saying why you think these points are worth making and using supporting evidence to back up what you are saying

Synthesis and Evaluation Synthesis, in the context of your Political Engaement Activity, means that you have considered

what you have learnt through carrying out your engagement and compared it to what others have said about the same political issue. To put it in simple terms, you are comparing the

results of your enagement with the results of your engagement. Do they both tell you the same thing? If not, why not? Do different people have different views? If so, why do they have

different views? Evaluation refers to you making judgements about the views of others - assessing the

strengths and weaknesses of their arguements and ideas

Conclusion Come to a decision. You set out to explore a political issue when you began this project. Say - but keep it brief - exactly what it is you have achieved and found out

REMEMBER TO CHECK THE GLOBAL POLITICS SUBJECT GUIDE

COMMAND TERMS

Sentence Starters: My findings as a result of my engagement contrast with the theory developed by...

Support for this view can be found in the work of...

An alternative perspective can seen in...

The work of X supports / contradicts this view...

The weaknesses / strengths of this arguments can be summarised as....

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Some final thoughts...

You must connect your analysis to the key concepts of the Global Politics course. Not only must you connect your analysis to the course concepts, but you must do so

in a way that shows you understand those concepts

You must use complementary sources (properly cited in a consistent and recognised format) throughout your report. This is an academic report and you are therefore expected to use academic sources as evidence to support the points you make in your report

You must make it clear where the points you are making come from. Are they a result of your engagement? Are they are a result of your complementary

research? Are they your own thoughts and conclusions? If it is not obvious where your points come from it is unlikely you will be given

credit for them,

It may seem like an awful lot but 2,000 words is actually very few in which to hit all of the criteria expected by the IB. Draft and redraft your report as many times as necessary. Be brutal. If you can't say exactly how something is helping you to meet the criteria then get rid of it. Cut the waffle and the padding.

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