At a glance
- Weighting
- 20% at SL and HL, AA and AI
- Total marks
- 20, across five criteria
- Length
- About 12 to 20 pages
- Marked by
- Teacher, moderated by the IB
- Applies to
- Exams up to November 2028; the new courses from 2029 use different criteria
The five criteria and what each rewards
| Criterion | Marks | What the moderator looks for |
|---|---|---|
| A: Presentation | 4 | A clear aim, a logical structure, a conclusion, and nothing irrelevant |
| B: Mathematical communication | 4 | Correct notation, defined variables, labelled graphs and tables, no calculator syntax such as 2^x written as 2x |
| C: Personal engagement | 3 | Your own choices and thinking: why this question, what you tried, what you decided |
| D: Reflection | 3 | Critical comment on results, methods, assumptions and limitations, throughout and not only at the end |
| E: Use of mathematics | 6 | Relevant, correct mathematics at the level of the course, with understanding shown; HL is judged against more demanding descriptors |
| Total | 20 | Worth 20% of the final grade |
Weak topics and how to sharpen them
| Weak starting point | Why it struggles | Sharper question |
|---|---|---|
| The golden ratio in nature | Descriptive, widely copied, little mathematics of your own | How closely do the spiral angles in a sunflower head I photographed fit a Fibonacci-based model? |
| Football statistics | A topic, not a question | Can a Poisson model predict the number of goals per match in one league season? |
| Calculus in architecture | Too broad; the mathematics is borrowed | Which polynomial or trigonometric model best fits the profile of a specific building, and what volume does it give? |
| Climate change | Huge, with data you cannot control | Is a linear or exponential model a better fit for one city's recorded annual mean temperature, and what does each predict? |
These are illustrations of shape, not topics to copy. Your teacher must approve your topic, and the best ones come from something you actually care about.
Choosing a topic that can score well
Start from an interest, not from a list of famous topics. A sport you play, a game you like, a dataset from your own life or a shape you can measure all give personal engagement something real to show. Then ask what mathematics from your syllabus could answer a question about it. If the answer is only arithmetic or a single graph, the Use of mathematics criterion will cap the mark, especially at HL.
Test the idea before committing. Can you state the question in one sentence? Is there a clear method, for example a model to fit, an integral to evaluate, a probability distribution to test or an optimisation to solve? Can you finish it in about 12 to 20 pages? Will it let you comment on assumptions and limitations? If you can answer yes to all four, the topic is workable.
AA explorations often lean on calculus, proof, series or complex numbers. AI explorations often lean on modelling and statistics with real data. Either style is allowed in either course, but the mathematics must match the level of the course you are taking.
A realistic timeline
- Explore ideas and discuss two or three with your teacher. Schools set their own deadlines, often with a proposal in DP1.
- Collect data or set up the problem, and do a short trial of the mathematics to check the topic works.
- Write a full first draft. Teachers usually give feedback on one draft, so make it complete and use the feedback well.
- Revise: tighten structure, fix notation, add reflection where you made decisions, and cut anything that does not serve the aim.
- Submit the final version with a bibliography, acknowledging every source, tool and dataset.
Common mistakes that cost marks
- Explaining textbook mathematics at length instead of applying it. Moderators reward your use of the maths, not a lesson on it.
- Calculator notation (x^2 written as x2, * for multiplication, E for powers of ten) and undefined variables.
- Reflection only in the final paragraph. Short, critical comments where you made choices earn more.
- Personal engagement claimed rather than shown. 'I was very interested' earns nothing; your own data, decisions and extensions do.
- Pages beyond about 20. Examiners are not expected to read material well past the guidance, and padding lowers Presentation.
How one-to-one lessons help with the exploration
A tutor who teaches IB Maths helps in the ways the IB allows: brainstorming topics from the student's interests, checking whether a question has enough mathematics for the course level, teaching any technique the student needs but has not met yet (for example a regression method, an integration technique or a probability distribution), and explaining what each criterion rewards using published guidance.
The tutor does not write, edit or rewrite any part of the exploration. The IB requires the work to be the student's own, and the student should tell their teacher about outside support. Lessons build the student's ability to do the mathematics and judge their own draft, which is also the best preparation for the exams.
Academic integrity
Using someone else's exploration, an online template or AI-generated text as your own can lead to no grade in the subject and can put the whole Diploma at risk. Cite every source and keep your notes and drafts as evidence of your process.
Common questions
How many pages should the IB Maths IA be?
The guidance is about 12 to 20 pages, including graphs and tables. Bibliography and appendices are outside that. Going well beyond 20 pages usually hurts Presentation rather than helping.
Is the IA different for AA and AI, or for SL and HL?
The same five criteria and 20 marks apply to both courses and both levels. The difference is in Use of mathematics: HL work is judged against more demanding descriptors, so it needs mathematics at HL level to reach the top marks.
Does the IA change with the new maths courses?
The new maths courses are first assessed in 2029 and use different internal assessment criteria. Students sitting exams in 2027 or 2028 follow the five criteria on this page.
Can my child use data from the internet?
Yes, if it is cited and the analysis is their own. Data they collect themselves often shows personal engagement more clearly, but a well-chosen public dataset is fine.
How much do IB Maths lessons cost with LiveTutor?
$15 a lesson, the same flat rate for every subject and level, on a weekly plan of 1 to 5 lessons billed monthly. Lessons are 60 minutes, one to one and online, and the first lesson is a free trial.
Sources
Dates and figures on this page come from these official and published sources. Always confirm deadlines on the official page before acting on them.