Are all six IB IAs supposed to be completed during the DP2 fall term?

No, the IB does not require every student worldwide to complete all internal assessments between September and November. Schools create their own internal calendars based on subjects, staffing, feedback time, moderation, and examination sessions. Some assessments may already have been completed in DP1, while others may continue beyond November. Treat your coordinator's calendar and subject teachers' instructions as the authoritative schedule. If six major tasks appear to be due together, ask your coordinator which deadlines are drafts, checkpoints, and final submissions.

How many IAs should I work on in the same week?

Keep no more than two IAs in deep-work mode during a normal week. Other subjects can remain active through smaller tasks such as collecting one source, organising citations, checking data, or scheduling a teacher meeting. This rotation reduces context switching while ensuring that no subject disappears for a month. Change the two priority subjects when a draft is completed, evidence is secured, or another deadline becomes more urgent. A calendar containing six equally large weekly goals is usually a warning that the plan is not realistic.

What should I do if I have not started several IAs by September?

Begin by listing the confirmed deadline, current stage, missing evidence, and next output for every subject. Tell the relevant teachers early rather than hiding the problem until a deadline is close. Prioritise tasks involving laboratories, participants, performances, recordings, or restricted sources because access may become a bottleneck. For each remaining assessment, define the smallest feasible question or focus that still satisfies the subject requirements. Your coordinator can help resolve deadline collisions, but you remain responsible for producing authentic work and following the agreed plan.

How can I balance IA writing with tests and exam revision?

Protect a small revision minimum instead of pausing exam preparation completely. Two or three weekly sessions of 25-40 minutes can maintain retrieval, calculation, vocabulary, and essay-planning skills while IAs receive the longer blocks. Use the subject connected to an IA where possible, such as revising statistical interpretation while analysing experimental data. Include one timed response or paper section each week so that pacing does not deteriorate. When an IA deadline passes, redirect its scheduled blocks toward the weakest exam topics rather than filling the time with unnecessary polishing.

Can I use AI to help with my IB internal assessments?

AI may be used only within IB guidance and your school's specific academic-integrity rules. It can be helpful for explaining a criterion, questioning your reasoning, or identifying unclear sections in a draft you wrote yourself. It should not generate the analysis, argument, reflection, or replacement paragraphs that you submit as your own work. The IB states that AI-generated material is not considered the student's own and that incorporated output must be clearly acknowledged and referenced. Keep your drafts and decision records, verify every suggestion, and ask your teacher whenever the permitted boundary is uncertain.

What should I check during the final 48 hours before an IA deadline?

Stop expanding the investigation unless your teacher has identified a serious omission that must be addressed. Confirm that the research question or aim is stated consistently and that the conclusion answers it using the evidence presented. Check calculations, units, graphs, table labels, citations, bibliography entries, page order, and any subject-specific requirements. Export the required file format, open the exported version, and inspect it for broken equations, missing images, or altered formatting. Finally, verify the file name and submission location, then submit before the final evening if your school's system allows it.

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Surviving Fall IA Season: A Realistic Timeline

IB Diploma IA and EE Season IB IA

• 2 Oct 2026•10

Surviving Fall IA Season: A Realistic Timeline

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Surviving Fall IA Season: A Realistic Timeline | RevisionDojo

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Surviving Fall IA Season: A Realistic Timeline

IB Diploma IA and EE Season IB IA

• 2 Oct 2026•10

Surviving fall IA season realistically means managing six assessment pipelines, not attempting six complete IAs at once. During the IB DP2 fall term, move each subject toward its next milestone while concentrating serious effort on only one or two high-risk tasks each week.

The September-November timeline below is adaptable because schools set their own internal deadlines. Replace the sample weeks with your confirmed dates, but preserve the sequence: clarify requirements, secure evidence, draft, receive permitted feedback, revise, and submit.

Start With Your School's Real Deadlines

The IB does not give every student one universal IA due date. Schools collect the work, teachers mark internally assessed components, and the IB moderates selected work to maintain common standards. The deadline controlling your planning is therefore the school deadline, including proposal, draft, and feedback checkpoints.

Ask each teacher four questions during the first week of September:

What is the final internal submission date?
Is there a separate draft deadline?
What feedback is permitted under this subject's rules?
What file format, naming convention, citation style, or supporting material is required?

Record the answers in one calendar. The RevisionDojo explanation of IA deadline reality explains why dates vary, while the IB's Diploma Programme assessment overview distinguishes internal from external assessment.

Build a Six-Subject IA Dashboard

Internal assessment may involve investigations, oral work, fieldwork, performances, portfolios, or other subject-specific tasks. Follow current subject instructions rather than imposing one essay structure on every course.

Subject lane	Current stage	Next visible output	School deadline	Risk level
Subject A	Topic approved	Complete pilot and revise method	Insert date	High
Subject B	Evidence collected	Produce graphs and calculations	Insert date	High
Subject C	Research incomplete	Find and annotate five useful sources	Insert date	Medium
Subject D	Outline complete	Draft core analysis	Insert date	Medium
Subject E	Full draft complete	Convert feedback into revision tasks	Insert date	Low
Subject F	Final checks	Verify citations and submission format	Insert date	Low

Risk level reflects urgency and uncertainty, not personal preference. An investigation with unreliable data may be riskier than an earlier essay because repeating data collection requires equipment or scheduled access.

A Realistic September-November Timeline

This plan assumes some preliminary work began in DP1. If all six tasks remain at topic selection in September, speak to your coordinator because school-level prioritisation may be necessary.

September: Diagnose and Secure Evidence

Use weeks 1-2 for an honest audit. Confirm deadlines, read the criteria, locate your files, and classify each task as planning, evidence, analysis, drafting, feedback, or finalisation.

Choose two priority lanes. Priority 1 should be the nearest deadline or greatest practical uncertainty. Priority 2 should be able to progress without competing for the same resources.

During weeks 3-4, secure anything difficult to obtain later, including experimental data, permissions, sources, recordings, approved questions, fieldwork, and software access. Pilot complicated methods before committing to them.

By the end of September, aim for:

Two subjects with evidence collected or firmly underway
Two subjects with approved focuses and detailed outlines
One subject with a complete or nearly complete draft
One later-deadline subject in maintenance mode

RevisionDojo's guide to the overall IA timeline provides a useful planning reference, but your school's calendar remains authoritative.

October: Analyse First, Then Draft

October is the main production month. Do not perfect introductions while calculations, interpretation, textual analysis, or evaluation remain unfinished. Build the intellectual core first because substantial weaknesses usually appear there.

Period	Deep-work priority	Secondary progress	Maintenance tasks
October weeks 1-2	Subjects A and B: analysis and first drafts	Subject C: evidence and outline	Citations and file organisation
October weeks 3-4	Subjects C and D: analysis and drafting	Subjects A and B: feedback response	Small checks for E and F

Schedule three 60-90 minute IA blocks weekly. Two should serve the deep-work subjects, while the third handles bounded tasks such as graphs, references, captions, or source records. Avoid changing subjects within a block.

Define each session by its output, such as “calculate uncertainty and produce two labelled graphs,” rather than “work on Chemistry.” The RevisionDojo IA planning guide explains this milestone-based approach.

November: Revise, Submit, and Protect Revision

By November, the earliest subjects should be leaving drafting mode. Sort teacher comments into major, medium, and minor revisions. Resolve problems with focus, method, evidence, analysis, or evaluation before adjusting formatting.

Use November in two waves:

Weeks 1-2: revise and finalise Subjects A and B; complete drafts for C and D.
Weeks 3-4: submit the first wave; revise C and D; move E and F toward their next checkpoints.

Reserve the final 48 hours for quality assurance rather than new ideas. Check citations, labels, units, terminology, file names, page order, and whether conclusions follow from the evidence.

Keep Coursework and Exam Preparation Separate

A workable week might include:

Monday: 60-90 minutes on Priority IA 1
Tuesday: 25-40 minutes of retrieval and exam questions
Wednesday: 60-90 minutes on Priority IA 2
Thursday: current content and test revision
Friday: 30 minutes of IA administration and planning
Weekend: one 90-minute IA block, one timed practice section, and protected rest

Maintain at least two short exam-focused sessions weekly. The purpose is not intensive final preparation, but preventing DP1 knowledge from fading. RevisionDojo's guide to integrating IAs and revision explains how Flashcards and Questionbank sessions can maintain continuity.

Common Planning Mistakes

Treating every IA as equally urgent spreads attention too thinly. Keep two tasks in active production while giving the others small maintenance actions.

Confusing activity with output produces hours of rereading and formatting. Define what each block will create: a graph, annotated source set, rewritten evaluation, or completed section.

Waiting for perfect data or a perfect question wastes September. Pilot early, consult your teacher, and narrow the investigation while changes remain manageable.

Assuming unlimited teacher feedback is risky because permitted guidance varies between assessments. Confirm the rules before expecting multiple feedback rounds.

Sacrificing sleep generally weakens analysis and slows writing. If repeated late nights are necessary, reduce other commitments or ask the school to help prioritise deadlines.

Use Feedback Without Losing Ownership

Feedback should identify weaknesses, not supply replacement writing. Keep dated drafts, raw data, source notes, calculations, and records of major decisions. These materials support authentication and help you explain your process.

The IB requires authentic work and proper acknowledgment of sources. Its Academic Integrity Policy warns against unauthorised editing or assistance. If you use AI, follow school rules and remember that incorporated AI output must be transparently acknowledged and referenced, as explained in the IB's statement on artificial intelligence.

RevisionDojo's IB Coursework Grader can offer criterion-based formative feedback on a genuine draft. Verify suggestions against the subject criteria and revise independently. It is not an official grade or a replacement for your teacher.

Conclusion

Surviving fall IA season requires controlled rotation. Confirm school dates, keep two high-risk subjects active, assign every block a measurable output, and preserve short exam-revision sessions.

RevisionDojo can support this structure without taking ownership of your work. Use the IB Study Planner for milestones, Coursework Grader for draft diagnosis, and Questionbank or Flashcards to maintain exam knowledge.