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IB Business Management: 
SL Internal Assessment

The IB Business Management Standard Level IA consists of a written commentary based on three to five supporting documents. The commentary is one that addresses a real issue or problem facing an organisation. It has a maximum of 1500 words and the internal assessment is worth 25 per cent of the final grade.

The IB Business Management IA

If you are taking IB Business Management standard level, you will need to produce a 1500-word written commentary as your internal assessment. The project should be based on a real business organisation and the question you are considering must be a real one facing the organisation.
The only formal piece of internal assessment that will be marked by your teacher and moderated by IBO examiners is the Internal Assessment Written Commentary. It is given a very substantial weighting in your overall IB Business Management final mark and, as such, you should devote significant time and effort in ensuring you produce the best report possible.

No student gets a good IB Business Management mark without producing a great IA. 

​The IB Business Management is marked out of 25, and the IA is worth 25 per cent of your total Business Management final score. Every extra mark you are awarded in the IA is an extra mark that you pick up in your final, overall grade. Every point is worth the effort, because every extra point you gain here has every chance of pushing you up and across into a higher grade boundary, changing you final mark from a 6 to a 7, or (heaven forbid!) a 3 to a 4.

I love you number 7!

We love the number 7 too and work hard to support you in achieving this goal, and it all starts with the IA.

The IA is 25% of your total mark

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Your final IA is worth 25 per cent of two years hard IB Business Management work!

Choosing a Research Question 

This is super important! You need a nice, tightly focused and uncomplicated research question that:
  • Is relevant to the business going forward (i.e. it must be current and not have been previously resolved or likely to be resolved by the business over the course of the project)
  • Takes the form of “Should ______________?”
  • Lends itself to a quantitative and qualitative cost/benefit analysis
  • Is a decision that involves a choice between two options “Should ______________ or ___________?”; and if not between two options, have clear, identifiable opportunity costs associated with the decision
  • You can research, answer and justify using a range of different business analytic tools, concepts and theories (at this stage only concern yourself as to whether you can incorporate financial analysis – costs and returns)
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If you want the IB Business Management 7, you WILL need to produce a great IA

Think about which analytic tools to use

Your written commentary will be better if your Research Question can be answered with financial analytic tools. Almost any business decision is going to effect (have an impact) on costs or revenue and therefore financial information needs to be analysed.

The Analytic Framework

Using the right analytic tools will lead you to the answer of your research question. Explain why you chose each tool to answer your RQ and discuss how it informs you of your actual answer.

Written Commentary - Timeline

You will get results feedback right up to, and including your final draft. You will not have access to your final grade submitted to the IBO until your official exam results are released. This means it is in your best interest to hand in the best IA draft possible. You really want to have a good idea of how many marks you're sitting on going into exams. Knowledge is Power!

Marking Criteria of the SL IA

The Ultimate  Guide to writing the 
​IB Business Management Internal Assessment
Whether you are a student looking for some guidance in attaining maximum marks in the IB Business Management Internal Assessment or a teacher trying to get that student to the next level, we have the ultimate step-by-step approach to producing amazing IAs.

Great Exemplar SL IA 1

Great Exemplar SL IA 2

Great Exemplar SL IA 3

Great Exemplar SL IA 4

Habits of successful IB Students

Nobody said it would be easy. There will be setbacks along the way. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep on moving.

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