Click here to explore thousands of examiner marked IA, EE and TOK exemplars!
Worried your IB coursework might be over the word count and not sure whether to trim it down or take the risk? In this post, we’ll break down whether IB examiners actually check the word count – and what happens if they do.
Do IB Examiners check the word count?
Because IB markers are compensated per marked work and receive a large number of papers to assess, they’re often very busy and don’t usually take the time to count the exact number of words. This is especially relevant in subjects like the sciences, where calculating word count is much harder due to the inclusion of data, tables, graphs, and so on. A marker will typically only count the exact number of words if, while reading the work, they get the impression that it’s over the limit. If the work seems to be within the limit, chances are they won’t check it precisely.
This is particularly true for science subjects, where counting words is time-consuming. In contrast, essay-based coursework like IAs or EEs in History, or the TOK Essay, make it much easier to assess word count – so in those cases, it’s more likely that the examiner will actually check.
So, if a student goes slightly over the word count, there’s a chance the examiner might not notice. Nevertheless, we strongly recommend that you always submit your work within the word limit and don’t rely on the hope that the examiner won’t check.
This is because if the examiner does realise the work is over the limit, it can seriously affect your grade. Examiners are not required to read anything beyond the word limit, which means – for example – they might skip your conclusion. That would mean your work gets marked as if it didn’t have a conclusion at all, which can have a catastrophic effect on your score.
Therefore, we really can’t stress enough how important it is to stay within the word limit. So although building more concise sentences and searching for redundancies in works where everything seems to be essential may be exhausting and daunting, we strongly believe that it is worth struggle.
We hope you found this post helpful. For more useful materials associated with the IB check out the wide variety of IA, EE and TOK exemplars available at Clastify and other guides available on our blog.
The Fast Track To Your
Best IB Coursework & College Essays
All content on this website has been developed independently from and is not endorsed by the International Baccalaureate Organization. International Baccalaureate and IB are registered trademarks owned by the International Baccalaureate Organization.