I have obscured most of the IA content. These are all different students’ IAs.
IA season is nearly over. I have reviewed a great many IAs this month.
I helped review an IA using EDTA. A tremendous amount of care went into it, and I checked the content and calculations repeatedly. The material was not easy, so I had to study quite a lot when I first saw it. Once I understood it, I began to notice problems, and more than once I struggled to find a way to resolve them. With all the calculation details included, it came to 16 pages. We then reduced it to 12 pages to finish. My role was to edit, fill gaps, and answer questions about the Chemistry along the way.
I also reviewed an IA on 3-APA and helped establish its overall format. The student recently messaged again asking me to look at the final version, so I am including it here. The idea is good and the content is challenging; I believe it could score well with the right structure. The difficulty was that I tried to bring calculations into a theory that did not really require them, which meant trying to force a quantitative component into it.
This IA is particularly memorable because it was written in one day. I guided the student from the initial idea onward. They followed each suggestion immediately, so we finished quickly, but it was exhausting. I helped a great deal with the calculations and format, and with most of the background information and analysis. Looking at it now, some details such as significant figures are still lacking. That is disappointing. Fixing one thing would mean changing everything else, and the revisions could go on forever, so I left it. I explained the Chemistry after it was written.
This student was taking SL, so the topic was fairly simple. We spent a few hours working steadily and finished the IA. But the simplicity of the idea became a concern. The student brought that idea to me, and I helped with it; near the end, they asked whether they should change it. I told them to get the format right and spend their time elsewhere. We could have changed it, but their final exam preparation was more urgent, so they could not spend more time on the IA.
This student was also taking SL. Their original idea was far too simple, so we put a lot of effort into changing it. They replaced the whole thing after writing it, which was very stressful for them.
This IA made me question the whole process after I had helped a little with the writing. It made me think more than once, “IA work is so frustrating—should I stop doing it?”
The topic was difficult, and the request was to write it from beginning to end in two or three days. I should have declined, but I did not, and then gave up after a few hours. I do not write an entire IA for a student.
I think I reviewed quite a few other IAs as well.
When you keep reviewing IAs, some stand out immediately.
They are the ones that do not follow the format at all. Well-written ones do not jump out in the same way. Haha.
When the format is right but many details need attention, it can be a real headache.
If I start finding incorrect calculations, sometimes even I throw up my hands and say, “Well… let’s just submit it.”
Ask instructors and school teachers plenty of questions and have them check things as you write.
That helps you finish faster and avoid mistakes. When teachers point out an error and correct it, students tend never to touch that part again. Strangely,
I have seen them trust that correction completely. If I write a small part for them, they do not agonize over it or spend so much time on the IA. Apart from whether the IA is good or bad, it stops them wasting so much time.
For several reasons, I think asking the teachers around you lots of questions is very important.
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