Advice for IB Math IA - Proof reading

Hello all, in this post I will be talking about proof-reading tips on Math IA report here.

Now, the most common mistake is a student assembling the report in order of how he/she had done his/her research and thus populating the report in a chronological order. That may work for some but sometimes that may not be the most logical order to populate the report.

One should always craft the report with the audience in mind. So the report ought to end the introduction with a question, introduce necessary problem context and required background mathematical techniques, solve the problem and analyse the result critically from a Math perspective.

Things to note:

1. Notations, new concepts should always be defined at the onset;

2. Content beyond the syllabus should always have footnote citation when they are first introduced;

3. Page numbers;

4. Appropriate section headers;

5. Have a quick introduction and conclusion for each section to remind the reader where we are in the report.

Remember the grader is your customer, not the other way round. You should not think the the grader will give you his/her fullest attention and read every single word in the report even if you have put in loads of effort into the project. Worse still, I have seen students doing loads of research but failed to populate the results accordingly.

Think through how best it is to present your work to engage the reader and follow your ideas, thoughts in the exploration process and you will be on your way to a 7! Remember a good IA is half the battle won!

Alvin

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