GEOGRAPHY INTERNAL

ASSESSMENTA Guide for Students

October 10, 2016

Brandon Nascimento DP Geography Teacher I-Shou International School

brandon.n@iis.kh.edu.tw

GEOGRAPHY IA GUIDE 2

Introduction to the Geography IA…………………………………………………………..3Academic Honesty……………………………………………………………………3Ethical Guidelines……………………………………………………………………3ASSESSMENT CRITERIA…………………………………………………………3Grade Boundaries……………………………………………………………………4EXEMPLARLY IAs…………………………………………………………………4

Writing the Geography IA…………………………………………………………………..5ESSAY SECTIONS…………………………………………………………………..5Topic Sentences and Coherent Paragraphs………………………………………...7Writing About Your Research Findings……………………………………………7External Sources……………………………………………………………………...8FORMATTING………………………………………………………………………8Word Limit…………………………………………………………………………...8Use of Tables and Figures……………………………………………………………9MLA Citation: New Eighth Edition……………………………………………….10Chinese MLA Citation……………………………………………………………...13IA CHECKLIST…………………………………………………………………….14

Works Cited…………………………………………………………………………………15

TABLE OF CONTENTS

GEOGRAPHY IA GUIDE 3

The assessed part of the IA is a written report regarding fieldwork where primary information was collected.

The IA accounts for 25% of the SL Geography grade and 20% of the HL Geography grade.

Your fieldwork and IA must have a local scale of study. The data must be spatial, meaning that it can be mapped. The IB allocates 20 classroom hours to the IA. The fieldwork question must clearly and explicitly be connected to part of the DP

Geography Guide (the syllabus).

Academic Honesty

Any instance of academic dishonesty on your final IA will result in drastic consequences including you losing the right to obtain your IB Diploma. Your IA will be submitted to a plagiarism checking service, which will compare your essay to those of your peers at I-Shou International School and around the world. Though you may collaborate with your peers in collecting data, your writing, with exception of your shared research question, must be entirely your own words.

Ethical Guidelines

Data collected from people must remain entirely anonymous, or if the person’s identity is shared you must have their express written consent after they have been fully informed about how their information will be used and shared. Lastly, your fieldwork may not harm the environment, animals or humans in any way (“Ethical Practice”).

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Figure 1 shows the highest markbands for each of the seven IA criteria.

Criterion A: Fieldwork Question

and Geographic Context

3 /3

The fieldwork question is well focused with a detailed, accurate explanation of the geographic context and is related to the syllabus. A good locational map is presented.

Criterion B: Method(s) of Investigation 3 /3

There is a clear description and justification of the method(s) used for information collection. The method(s) used are well suited to the investigation of the fieldwork question.

Criterion C: Quality and Treatment of

Information Collected

5 /5 The information collected is directly relevant to the fieldwork question and is sufficient in quantity and quality to allow for in-depth analysis. The most appropriate techniques have been used effectively for both the treatment and display of information

INTRODUCTION TO THE GEOGRAPHY IA

GEOGRAPHY IA GUIDE 4

collected.Criterion D: Written

Analysis9-

10 /10

The report reveals a very good level of knowledge and understanding. There is a clear and well-reasoned, detailed analysis of the resultswith strong references to the fieldwork question, geographic context, information collected and illustrative material. The attempt to explain any anomalies in results is good.

Criterion E: Conclusion 2 /2 There is a clear conclusion to the fieldwork question,

consistent with the analysis.Criterion F:

Evaluation3/3

Methods of collecting fieldwork information have been evaluated clearly. There are valid and realistic recommendations for improvements or extensions. There may be some suggestions for modifying the fieldwork question.

Criterion G: Formal Requirements 4/4 The work is within the 2,500 word limit and meets

the other four formal requirements.

Fig. 1. Geography IA assessment criteria.

Source: IB Diploma Programme, Geography Guide: First Examinations 2011, International Baccalaureate Organization, 2011, IB Online Curriculum Centre. Accessed 20 Sep. 2016.

Table 1 below shows the component grade boundaries from May 2016. While the grade boundaries may vary from year to year, the difference is very slight.

Table 1 Grade Boundaries

Grade 1 2 3 4 5 6 7Mark Range 0-3 4-7 8-12 13-16 17-20 21-24 25-30

Source: IB Diploma Programme, “May 2016 Subject Reports: Geography,” International Baccalaureate Organization, 2016, IB Online Curriculum Centre, Accessed 3 Oct. 2016.

EXEMPLARY INTERNAL ASSESSMENTS

Exemplary IAs can be found in this Google Drive folder.

GEOGRAPHY IA GUIDE 5

ESSAY SECTIONS

Criterion A: Fieldwork Question and Geographic Context

This introductory section is worth 3 out of 30 marks (10%) with a word limit of 300 words. It will assesses your fieldwork question, which must be very narrow, can be answered by collecting primary data at the local scale, and is directly related to the DP Geography Guide. Explicitly state the part(s) of the Geography Guide that the fieldwork question is related to. You should write a few related hypotheses about what you think the answers would be to the fieldwork question and for which you can test with the data you will gather. Put your hypotheses at the end of this section.

Begin this section by stating the research question and then briefly explaining the geographic context of the area where the fieldwork was undertaken. This will include explaining why the specific fieldwork location was chosen. Also explain “relevant spatial, physical, socio-economic” and other conditions of the area of investigation. You must include locational maps in this section to help illustrate the geographic context of the fieldwork investigation and the area of investigation. The locational maps must include all of the elements of a good map: a border, orientation, legend, title, and scale (BOLTS). IB Geography Moderators love to see student generated maps, whether hand-drawn, or GIS maps. It is less preferred if you use a base map, such as Google Maps, and then annotate that map. You may not simply use an unmodified downloaded map from the Internet however, as this does not demonstrate any map skills. Lastly, briefly discuss relevant geographic models, theories, and concepts that will be explored by the fieldwork investigation.

Criterion B: Methods of Investigation

This section may be 300 words long maximum and is worth 3 out of 30 marks (10%). Write a clear description of the methods used to collect your data and information. Discuss sampling techniques employed, observation techniques, time, location, equipment used, and other circumstances of data collection. Don’t critique the methods of investigation in this section of your IA. You must critique your methods of collection in the Evaluation section of your IA. Lastly, you must justify how your methods of data collection are well suited to answer your fieldwork question. Explain why you selected your methods in comparison to other methods.

Criterion C: Quality and Treatment of Information Collected

This section must be integrated into the Written Analysis section and is worth 5 out of 30 marks (17%). This criterion assesses whether the information that was collected is directly relevant to answering the fieldwork question and if it is of sufficient quantity and quality to allow for in-depth analysis. It also assess if the most appropriate techniques have been used to analyze and display the information that was collected.

You should treat and display the information collected using the most appropriate techniques. These techniques must be the most effective way of representing the type of information

WRITING THE GEOGRAPHY IA

GEOGRAPHY IA GUIDE 6

collected and must be well used. The precise techniques employed will differ depending on the nature of the fieldwork question, but may include statistical tests (including confidence limits, or statistical significance tests), graphs, diagrams, maps, annotated photographs, matrices, and field sketches. The treatment and display of material and the written analysis must be integrated within the Written Analysis section, not put into a separate section.

You need to create a wide variety of maps, graphs, diagrams, annotated photographs, and other illustrations to demonstrate your quality and treatment of the information collected. Specialized maps, diagrams and graphs are best: choropleth maps, isoline maps, GOAD maps, kite diagrams, rose diagrams, triangular graphs, etc. Any maps in your Written Analysis section of your IA must contain the same elements of a good map as with your locational maps in the Fieldwork Question and Geographic Context: border, orientation, legend, title, scale (BOLTS). Be sure to accurately title your graphs, label the axes and include the unit of measurement. Use color on your maps, graphs, diagrams, and other figures to add clarity.

All figures in your IA must be directly referenced in the body of your text and interpreted in writing. The must be given descriptive and accurate titles, descriptions and/or annotations. Use your figures to illustrate spatial patterns and trends. Remember that your figures must be interspersed throughout the Written Analysis section with each figure be systematically referenced and discussed.

Criterion D: Written Analysis

The Written Analysis word limit is 1,350 words and is worth 10 out of 30 marks (33%). “This criterion assesses the quality of the analysis of the results, referring to the fieldwork question, geographic context, information collected and illustrative material” (Geography Guide 70). You must demonstrate an excellent understanding of relevant geographic models, theories, concepts, and key terms as you explain the results from the information you collected. It is essential that you identify spatial patterns, trends and correlations in your data. Then, identify outliers, or anomalies and attempt to explain why they occurred. As you interpret your data you must explicitly refer to the figures in the body of your text. Your interpretation of your data results must be in relation to the geographic context, fieldwork question, and relevant academic concepts. Be sure to interpret and explain your results, not simply describe. Thus don’t simply state what can be seen on a graph, but explain what it means and why it occurred.

Criterion E: Conclusion

The Conclusion is worth 2 out of 30 points (7%) with a short 200 word limit. The Conclusion assesses your ability to accurately and concisely summarize the findings of your fieldwork and reach a conclusion regarding your fieldwork question. It is in your conclusion where you must explicitly accept or reject your hypotheses. Your conclusion should not come as a surprise to the reader though, as you should have discussed in the Quality and Treatment of Information Collected/Written Analysis section when findings were consistent, or not, with your hypotheses and offered explanations as to why. Similarly, no new information should be introduced in the conclusion; it is simply a summary. If your findings are not what you anticipate and thus you reject your hypotheses that is fine. What matters is that your conclusion accurately matches what the data shows in your Quality and Treatment of Information Collected/Written Analysis section.

GEOGRAPHY IA GUIDE 7

Criterion F: Evaluation

The Evaluation is worth 3 out of 30 marks (10%) and no more than 300 words long. The Evaluation assesses your ability to critique, or evaluate, the methods of investigation and analysis. Problems with the methodology should be discussed, such as unaccounted for variables like the weather or time, the potential for bias with survey methodology, personal bias in questionnaire responses, or other such factors that could skew the data results. Then methodological improvements should be suggested. Lastly, fieldwork extensions, further areas of study, and/or modifying the fieldwork question should also be suggested for future fieldwork investigations.

Criterion G: Formal Requirements

The fieldwork written report must meet the following five formal requirements of organization and presentation.

1. The essay is within the 2,500 word limit. 2. Overall presentation is neat and well structured: be consistent. 3. Pages are numbered. 4. In-text citations used for background information (geographic and academic context)

follow MLA conventions. 5. All illustrative material is numbered, is fully integrated into the body of the report and

is not relegated to an appendix.

Topic Sentences and Coherent Paragraphs

Topic sentences are very important in helping tired IB Moderators easily and clearly follow your analysis and thus will help improve your Criterion D: Written Analysis (10 marks) grade. A topic sentence is like a mini-thesis statement at the very beginning of each body paragraph. The topic sentence summarizes the topic of the entire paragraph and connects back to the fieldwork question. The rest of the paragraph should then be focused on explaining and providing evidence to support the topic sentence. Writing About Your Research Findings

Below are some things to keep in mind when you are interpreting and writing about your data results:

1) Don’t over generalize your results, with sweeping statements like, “clearly proves that,” or “100% accurate,” but rather, recognize anomalies, outliers, counter-trends, exceptions, etc.

2) Correlation does not mean causation. If two variables are associated with each other one may not be causing the other, rather there may be another variable causing the relationship. For example, when American spending on science, space and technology increased from 1999 until 2009 that was correlated with a nearly equal rise in suicides by hanging, strangulation and suffocation (fig. 2). This correlation does not mean that a rise in spending on science, space and technology was causing a rise in suicides by hanging, strangulation and suffocation however. Nor vice a versa. Rather, some other confounding variable must be causing the correlation between these variables, such as population growth.

GEOGRAPHY IA GUIDE 8

Fig. 2. Correlation does not equal causation.

Source: Mark Wilson, “Hilarious Graphs Prove That Correlation Isn’t Causation,” Co.Design, Fast Company, 13 May 2014, fastcodesign.com/3030529/infographic-of-theday/ hilarious-graphs-prove-that-correlation-isnt-causation, Accessed 19 Aug 2016.

3) When conducting a survey bear in mind that what people say they do, may actually be vastly different than what they actually do, because of shame, their desire to view themselves as better than are, or poor self-awareness (Driscoll and Brizee).

4) Most importantly, answer the research question with your analytical or evaluative methodology!

External Sources

Information that you did not directly gather should play a minor role in your IA. The Geography IA is not an essay based on scholarly research, like the Extended Essay is, but rather it is focused on creating primary source information and then analyzing that information. Therefore, traditional online and library “research” will play a minimal role in your IA. Your external sources will largely we limited to your introduction where you explain the geographic and academic context.

FORMATTING

Word Limit

Section Suggested word limitCriterion A: Fieldwork Question and

Geographic Context300

Criterion B: Method(s) of Investigation 300Criterion C and Criterion D: Quality

and Treatment of Information Collected and Written Analysis

1,350

Criterion E: Conclusion 200Criterion F: Evaluation 300

GEOGRAPHY IA GUIDE 9

Total 2,450 out of 2,500

Fig. 3. Geography IA word limit.

Figure 3 provides the strongly recommended word limits for each section of the Geography IA. The following things are not included in the word limit however:

Title page Acknowledgments Contents page Titles and subtitles References Annotations less than 10 words long Footnotes—up to a maximum of 15 words each Map legends and/or keys Labels—of 10 words or less Tables—of statistical or numerical data, or categories, classes or group names Calculations Appendices—containing only raw data and/or calculations

If your IA is over the word limit you will loose marks for Criterion G: Formal Requirements (4 marks), but also other criteria as the IB Moderator will stop reading your IA once they reach 2,500 words. Furthermore, don’t try and squeeze an overly long IA into 2,500 words by putting important information into the appendix, because the IB Examiner is not required to read your appendix and likely won’t.

Appendices

Since IB Moderators aren’t required to read the appendices, nothing important should be placed in them. Only examples of translated surveys, data sheets, an interview transcript, or other representative material should be included in the appendix. Mathematical calculations, which don’t count against the word limit, should be placed in the body of the IA.

Use of Tables and Figures

You may only include maps, pictures, graphs, diagrams, tables, illustrations, or any other visual in your EE if it is directly related to the text of your IA. For photographs and other images they must have a caption and annotations with arrows pointing to specific parts of the picture. Lastly, you must reference all visuals—tables, figures and examples—in the body of your essay. All visuals are labeled with one of the following names according to The Purdue OWL:

Pictures, maps, graphs, charts, anything other than a table, or musical score is labeled as a figure (fig.).

Tables are simply labeled as tables with no abbreviation.

You should reference all of your figures, tables and examples in the body of your text. Generally the table, figure or example reference is put in parenthesis () at the end of the sentence. For example:

GEOGRAPHY IA GUIDE 10

Spearman’s Correlation Coefficient was calculated for visitors to Taiwan in 1994 to see if there was a mathematical association between the prediction of the Distance Decay model and the actual data (table 1).

Then give each figure, table and example a title just before, or after the image. All titles should be double-spaced.

Then include the full bibliographic citation immediately beneath the table, figure or example. The bibliographic citation is modified slightly however for tables, figures and examples: commas (,) are used instead of periods (.), or semicolons (;) are used instead of periods if there are any commas in the citation. As always, the citation must be double-spaced. If the illustration was created entirely by you for your IA then there will not be any bibliographic citation.

Table 1 Spearman’s Correlation Coefficient for Visitors to Taiwan by Country of Origin in 1994

Source: “Visitor Statistics for 1994,” Tourism Bureau, M.O.T.C., Republic of China, Jan. 1995, admin.taiwan.net.tw/statistics/release_en.aspx?no=7, Accessed 28 Jul. 2016.

MLA Citation: New Eighth Edition

The Modern Language Association (MLA) published a revised 8th edition MLA manual in 2016, which made big changes to MLA citation style. The changes are positive ones though, which simplify MLA style to make it more intuitive and streamlined. The changes are largely reflected on the OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab website, but the website is still in the midst of updates to reflect the 8th edition changes.

A period is still placed after the author’s name and the title of the article/website/book, but thereafter only commas are the only punctuation marks used to separate different parts of the citation like the publisher, date, URL, doi, etc. Additionally, instead of trying to analyze the different components of a website and determine which ones are relevant, all “containers” are listed sequentially in the citation from smallest to largest. “Article Titles” are still placed in quotation marks. Book titles, journal titles and websites are still put in italics, but only immediately after the author’s name. Figure 4 below shows the order of elements, containers and punctuation marks that your MLA bibliographic citations should follow:

Countries Distance # of visitors Distance Rank

# of visitors Rank

(d) Ranks Difference

d^2

Japan 2122.07 823,882 26 1 25 625S. Korea 1458.81 130,039 27 4 23 529HKG 806.64 241,775 29 3 26 676India 4380.22 8,253 21 18 3 9

1. Author.2. Title of source.3. Title of container,4. Other contributors,5. Version,6. Number,7. Publisher,8. Publication date,9. Location. (website URL or location of printing)10. Date of access. (for online sources)

GEOGRAPHY IA GUIDE 11

Fig. 4. MLA 8th edition citation order and punctuation.

Source: The Purdue OWL, Purdue U Writing Lab, 10 Aug. 2016, owl.english.purdue.edu/ owl, Accessed 22 Aug. 2016.

See figures 5, 6 and 7 below for examples of how to write bibliographic citations with the new 8th edition of MLA referencing.

Fig. 5. Citing a website. Mostrous, Alexi. “China Takes Control of North Sea Oil Drilling.” The Times, 23 Aug. 2016,

thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/china-takes-control-of- north-sea-oil-drilling-0p77tdqrm. Accessed 23 Aug. 2016.

Note that you should include the URL for online sources, but not the http, https, or www components.

GEOGRAPHY IA GUIDE 12

Fig. 6. Citing a video online.

Green, John. “Indus Valley Civilization: Crash Course World History #2.” Crash Course, YouTube, 2 Feb. 2012, youtube.com/watch? v=n7ndRwqJYDM. Accessed 23 Aug. 2016.

GEOGRAPHY IA GUIDE 13

Fig. 7. Citing a scholarly article.

Gilens, Martin and Benjamin I. Page. “Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens.” Perspective on Politics, American Political Science Association, vol. 12, no. 3, Sep. 2014, pp. 564-581, ProQuest, doi:10.1017/ S1537592714001595. Accessed 23 Aug. 2016.

Chinese MLA Citation

To cite Chinese language sources you must write the correct pinyin first followed by the Chinese characters for each part of the citation. You may provide an English translation in square brackets to clarify the title. Otherwise, you should follow the standard MLA citation conventions. You should use Google Translate to get the correct pinyin. You can also ask your Chinese teachers for help on writing the correct pinyin. Below are examples of how to properly cite Chinese sources in MLA taken from the UBC Asian Library.

GEOGRAPHY IA GUIDE 14

A Journal Article Li, Zehou 李澤厚. “Ji yong ji ti de Han zi: san lun Zhonghua wen hua de yuan tou fu hao” 即

用即體的漢字: 三論中華文化的源頭符號 [Chinese characters as function and form: third discussion on the source codes of Chinese culture]. Ming bao yue kan 明報月刊, 40, no. 9, Sep. 2005, pp. 78-81.

A Web Page “Chengdu Shi cheng shi guan li ju 2013 nian bu men yusuan qingkuang” 成都市城市管理局

2013年部门预算情况 [Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Urban Management 2013 Department Budget]. 成都城市管理局, Chengdu chengshi guanli ju, 11 Apr. 2013, chengdu.gov.cn/govAffairInfo/ fiscalBudget/ content.jsp?id= QVqnWpOAFdkb17fHTLrk. Accessed 13 Sep. 2013.

Book with Two Authors

Wang, Xiaobo and Li Yinhe 王小波 李银河. Ai ni jiu xiang ai sheng ming 爱你就像爱生命. Beijing: Zhaohua chu ban she, 2004.

Work in an Anthology

Wang, Yangming 王陽明. “Bazhai Duanteng xia jie yin shu” 八寨斷藤峽捷音疏 [On the victories in Bazhai and Duanteng Gorge]. Yangming quan shu 陽明全書 [Complete works of Wang Yangming]. Taibei: Zhonghua shu ju, 1985.

IA CHECKLIST

Follow this link to a checklist that you should use to assess your own Internal Assessment before you submit it.

GEOGRAPHY IA GUIDE 15

Driscoll, Dana and Allen Brizee. “Welcome to the Purdue OWL.” The Purdue OWL, Purdue U Writing Lab, 2016, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/559/. Accessed 20 Jul. 2016.

IB Diploma Programme, Geography Guide: First Examinations 2011, International Baccalaureate Organization, 2011, IB Online Curriculum Centre. Accessed 20 Sep. 2016.

---. “Ethical Practice in the Diploma Programme.” International Baccalaureate Organization, 2006, IB Online Curriculum Centre. Accessed 17 Aug. 2016.

---. “May 2016 Subject Reports: Geography.” International Baccalaureate Organization, 2016, IB Online Curriculum Centre. Accessed 3 Oct. 2016.

The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 10 Aug. 2016, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl. Accessed 22 Aug. 2016.

WORKS CITED