Student Strategy
The 2026 IB IA Checklist by Subject: What to Fix Before You Submit
A practical 2026 IB IA checklist by subject, covering science, maths, business, economics, history, geography, psychology, computer science and languages.
Overview
A practical 2026 IB IA checklist by subject, covering the final checks students should make before submitting coursework.
A practical 2026 IB IA checklist by subject, covering the final checks students should make before submitting coursework. Most weak IAs do not collapse at the sentence level. They collapse earlier, when the student accidentally writes the wrong kind of coursework for the subject. A Chemistry IA becomes a neat description of a reaction. A History IA turns into a timeline. A Business IA collects tools but never makes a decision. A Math IA shows calculations without enough mathematical curiosity. The writing may be tidy. The problem is deeper. The piece is not behaving like an IB internal assessment in that subject. This 2026 IB IA checklist is built for that final, slightly brutal pass before submission. Use it once when your draft feels “basically done.” Use it again after your teacher gives feedback. Keep your official subject guide beside you, because exact requirements, markbands and school deadlines still come from the IB and your school. This article is the practical layer: the questions that catch the mistakes students usually notice too late. The universal IB IA checklist Every IB IA needs a focused research question, a method that fits the question, evidence that answers it and analysis that earns the conclusion. That sounds obvious until you read drafts closely. Many IAs have a question in the title, a different question in the method and a third question hiding inside the conclusion. Start there. Read only your research question and your conclusion. Ignore everything between them. Does the conclusion answer the question you actually asked? If the answer is “sort of,” your IA needs tightening. Then read your evidence. Every graph, quote, calculation, photograph, interview, source and table should have a job. If something is only there because it took effort to produce, cut it or connect it properly. IB examiners do not reward suffering. They reward controlled thinking. Science IA checklist: Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Sports Science A science IA should investigate a relationship, pattern or effect with enough control that the result means something. It should not feel like a class practical dressed up with a longer title. Your research question should name the independent variable, dependent variable and system. “How does concentration affect rate?” leaves too much fog. “How does hydrochloric acid concentration affect the initial rate of reaction with magnesium at 25°C, measured by hydrogen gas production over 60 seconds?” gives the investigation a shape. Now check the method. Could another student repeat it without asking you questions? If not, the method is still living in