HL IA Criterion C - Use of tools, techniques & theories (written report) (Top mark band 3 marks)

Most students can manage to get 2 out of 3 as their understanding and application of tools, techniques, and theories (TTTs) are satisfactory and suitable. Top tips to reach 3 out of 3 are:

1. Select TTTS that are appropriate for the problem that is being investigated - A good way to approach this is from the beginning when forming your research question (RQ). A suitably focused RQ will allow the student to narrow down the fundamental problem facing the business. This will help the student select the best TTTs to address the problem. Also, the IA should show off the student's business acumen, so ideally the TTTs selected should offer quantitative and qualitative opportunities for analysis.

2. Find the hidden implications from application of TTTs - Critical thinking skills are essential to find hidden implications from the TTTs. This will lend itself to showing skillful application to reach the top markband. My favourite way to encourage critical thinking is to use the prompts from this critical thinking cheatsheet from Future Focused Learning.

3. SWOT, fishbone analysis, and force field analysis are overused and used with poor understanding - Examiners have made it very clear that they are fed up of seeing these tools used poorly. I’ve never been a fan of using SWOT as it uses too much of the word count. But another big reason is because far too many students use SWOT (and fishbone diagrams and force field analysis) with no citations. TTTs must be used to analyse data collected for the IA. All used data must be appropriately cited. Simply using personal feelings and perceptions on what is considered to be a strength/a cause of a problem/the weighting of a driving force etc. prevents showing skillful application as required for the top markband. Can you imagine the CEO of a firm agreeing to recommendations from senior management to spend billions of dollars based largely on hunches?! Intuition is definitely an important skill in business management but ultimately hard facts (i.e. data) needs to be provided to justify recommendations and business strategies. (Plus the IA is ultimately an academic written report, so for the purposes of academic integrity, all knowledge claims must be referenced to a source).

SL IA Criterion C - Choice and analysis of data and integration of ideas (Top mark band 5 marks)

Most students can manage to get 3 out of 5 marks as they are able to make an appropriate selection of data from their supporting documents (SDs) and show evidence of satisfactory analysis. However, rarely do I see students reach the top markband. Top tips to reach 5 out of 5 are:

1. Make sure to submit the SDs with the commentary - This sounds like a basic tip but it is essential as the consequences of not following this instruction will result in zero marks for Criterion C. Make sure the SDs are submitted (uploaded) as per IB submission requirements. Hyperlinks will not be accepted or used by moderators/examiners.

2. Ensure sufficient data is selected from SDs - To pave the way to success in this criterion, it is essential to have selected quality SDs that provide a gold mine of data. Often, I see SDs that have 1 or 2 useful sentences or 2 to 3 financial figures that can be used. Add that all up and that’s usually 4 sentences and a handful of financial figures. That is a paltry sum of data to base an entire written commentary of 1,500 words. Thus, it must be emphasised again that the beginning of the IA process when searching for SDs is crucial to laying the foundations to success for Criterion C. Also, for the sake of making it easier for the examiner, please make sure data are clearly indicated in the commentary with direct/indirect quotes and citations, referring specifically to the specific SD the data were sourced from.

3. Integrate ideas like a detective - Criterion C is very easy to mark as many students forget to integrate their ideas. If I see no integration, immediately I know the student will get 3 marks at most. Gifted students will be able to integrate their ideas from their analysis throughout the main body of their commentary. However, this is not a common skill. Thus, I recommend that they have three sections in the main body, one per TTT. At the end of each section, they state a one sentence mini-conclusion to answer the RQ on the basis of that particular TTT. Then at the end of the main body, they insert a section titled “Holistic Analysis”. Here, they integrate the mini-conclusions together to form the basis of their conclusion. Students need to act like a detective. Detectives do not rely on individual clues to solve a case. They need to gather as many clues as possible and piece them together into a logical narrative to solve a case. For students, they should treat each mini-conclusion from the TTTs as an individual clue. The “Holistic Analysis” pieces all the mini-conclusions together (i.e. piecing the clue together) in order to form the basis of the conclusion (i.e. the logical narrative that leads to solving the case).

What are your top tips for Criterion C? Feel free to share them in the comments below.

All the best!