Global Politics

GROUP 3
Individuals and Societies

Summary Sheet : Subject-specific
GLOBAL POLITICS

Criterion A: Focus and method (6 marks)

● Topic must be contemporary i.e. within the student’s lifetime. It should not be on
a future event.

● Explain why the topic is worthy of investigation (e.g.- How has it affected people’s
lives?)

● The RQ must be focused and not too broad.
● Demonstrate use of appropriate sources and methodological choices in research.
● Legitimate approaches to research: case studies, comparative studies, analyses

of discourse.
● Possible research techniques: interviews, media reviews, data analysis.
● Only secondary sources, or a mix of primary and secondary sources can be used.

This will depend on the level of analysis in the essay and needs to be justified.
● Use relevant, sufficient and different sources, techniques and perspectives to

critically engage with the RQ.

Criterion B: Knowledge and understanding (6 marks)

● Demonstrate understanding of the place of the topic in the broader global
political context.

● Establish links with the political issue and the political institutions/actors/theories
involved.

● Demonstrate awareness of how the context and biases can affect the issue.
● Use key concepts and terminology correctly to display understanding of the

discipline and topic.
● When needed, explain new terms and concepts.

Criterion C: Critical Thinking (12 marks)

● Critically engage with relevant sources in order to present an argument to
provide a response to your RQ.

● State your position at the beginning, support it with evidence and sources
throughout the body, and reiterate your argument in the conclusion.

This work has been summarized from the IB subject guide for convenience.

This work has been developed independently from and is not endorsed by the International Baccalaureate Organization. International Baccalaureate,
Baccalauréat International, Bachillerato Internacional and IB are registered trademarks owned by the International Baccalaureate Organization
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● The argument must be supported by the sources while also considering their
limitations.

● The conclusion must be a result of the analysis done on the selected sources.
● The essay should not be narrative or descriptive in nature. You have to display

your analytical skills.
● Personal views should not simply be stated without being supported by reference

to the research material.
● Write about conflicting views in an impartial manner.
● The conclusion should not have material not previously mentioned in the body of

the essay.
● Questions that have arisen as a result of the research and may be suitable for

further study may be included in the conclusion.
● An evaluation of the value and limitations of the sources is an integral part of

the analysis of the evidence and the development of a reasoned argument.
Integrate it into the text rather than keeping it in a separate section of the essay.
● As global politics is contested and views can be biased, pay attention to the
evaluation of sources. Avoid subjective value judgements. Evaluate using
theoretical frames of the subject.

Criterion D: Presentation (4 marks)

● You may provide a section and subsection structure to the essay with appropriate
informative headings. The subheadings should not distract from the essay.

● Graphs, charts, images or tables from sources included in essays must be carefully
selected and labelled. They should only be used if they are directly relevant to
the RQ.

● Only data that is central to the argument of the essay should be included in the
body of the essay. Any tables should enhance a written explanation and should
not themselves include significant bodies of text otherwise these words will be
included in the word count.

● A bibliography is essential. Material that is not original must be carefully
acknowledged, with specific attention paid to the acknowledgment and
referencing. This is applicable to audiovisual material, text, graphs and data
published in print and electronic sources.

● Referencing must meet the minimum standard (name of author, date of
publication, title of source and page numbers as applicable), and if not
consistently applied, work will be considered as a case of possible academic
misconduct

● Title page, table of contents, page numbers, etc must contribute to the quality
of presentation

● The examiner will not read beyond 4000 words.

This work has been summarized from the IB subject guide for convenience.

This work has been developed independently from and is not endorsed by the International Baccalaureate Organization. International Baccalaureate,
Baccalauréat International, Bachillerato Internacional and IB are registered trademarks owned by the International Baccalaureate Organization
2

Criterion E: Engagement (6 marks)
(Reflections on planning and progress)

● The assessment on this criterion is based solely on the candidate’s reflections
● Provide reflections on the decision-making and planning process undertaken
● Demonstrate how you arrived at a topic as well as the methods and approach

used
● Demonstrate your growth during the EE process, do not simply write about the

steps
● Demonstrate thinking, creativity and originality within the research process
● Reflect on:
➔ Approaches, strategies, and their relative success
➔ ATL Skills developed and its effect on you as a learner
➔ How your conceptual understanding has developed or changed
➔ Challenges faced and how you overcame them
➔ Questions that emerged emerged as a result of your research
➔ What you would do differently if you were to undertake the research again.

This work has been summarized from the IB subject guide for convenience.

This work has been developed independently from and is not endorsed by the International Baccalaureate Organization. International Baccalaureate,
Baccalauréat International, Bachillerato Internacional and IB are registered trademarks owned by the International Baccalaureate Organization
3