Which subject has the longest IA in the IB?

Most students experience the Math IA as the longest IA by page count, because mathematical explanations, working, graphs, and reflection naturally take space. However, "longest" depends on whether you're measuring pages or total time invested. Sciences can take longer in real hours because of experiments, repeated trials, data processing, and evaluation. Computer Science can take longer because building a working product includes planning, testing, debugging, and documentation. In other words, the longest IA is often the one with the most hidden work before the final draft. If you want the most accurate personal answer, compare exemplar complexity in the IB Coursework Exemplars Index (IA, EE, TOK) and match that to your schedule.

Is a longer IA always better for marks?

A longer IA is not automatically better, and in many cases it's worse. Length can dilute your argument, bury your best analysis, and tempt you into adding content that doesn't match any criterion. Examiners reward focused alignment: every paragraph should earn marks or support a criterion that earns marks. A strong IA often feels "inevitable" when you read it, because every section exists for a reason. This is why using a rubric grader early can improve quality while reducing length, because it highlights gaps that actually matter. On RevisionDojo, the Grading tools and subject-specific graders (like the IB Psychology IA Grader) help you cut what's decorative and keep what's scoring.

How do I stop my IA from expanding right before the deadline?

Expansion happens when you're uncertain, and uncertainty makes you add instead of decide. The fix is to replace guessing with a checklist: aim, method, analysis, evaluation, conclusion, and criterion coverage. First, freeze your research question and refuse to change it late unless it's truly broken. Second, run a rubric audit: identify exactly which criteria are still weak, and only write to strengthen those areas. Third, compare your draft to a high-scoring exemplar in your subject to see whether you're missing a type of evidence (like uncertainty) or just adding commentary. Finally, protect your energy by scheduling one last clean edit pass for clarity and formatting rather than adding new content. RevisionDojo helps by giving you exemplars via the Coursework Library, plus AI Chat for quick troubleshooting when you're spiraling at 1 a.m.

What if my IA is short compared to my friends?

A shorter IA is not a problem if it meets the criteria fully and communicates clearly. Many students write long because they confuse "more work" with "more marks," especially when they're anxious. A better comparison is not page count but criterion coverage: do you have enough analysis, enough evaluation, enough reflection, and enough clarity? If you want a grounded benchmark, use subject exemplars from the RevisionDojo Coursework Library and look for patterns: how many variables, how many graphs, how long the evaluation actually is. Then use a grader where available (for example, IB ESS (new) IA Grader) to check whether your short draft is actually missing marks or just efficient. AI Chat flowchart joke

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Which Subject Has the Longest IA? A Calm IB Guide

• 19 Jul 2026•11

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Which Subject Has the Longest IA? A Calm IB Guide | RevisionDojo

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Which Subject Has the Longest IA? A Calm IB Guide

• 19 Jul 2026•11

The night before a deadline, everything looks longer.

A paragraph becomes a chapter. A graph becomes a thesis. And your IA becomes a quiet, expanding universe sitting in your Google Drive.

So when students ask, "Which subject has the longest IA?" they're usually asking something more human: Which IA will cost me the most time, energy, and sleep?

This article will answer the question honestly. Not with folklore, but with the structure of IB coursework itself: page limits, what counts as "length," and why some IAs feel endless even when they're capped.

Along the way, you'll also see how RevisionDojo can shrink the chaos: using the Coursework Library to model strong exemplars, Grading tools to check your rubric alignment early, AI Chat when you're stuck, and your usual exam toolkit (Study Notes, Flashcards, Questionbank, Mock Exams, Predicted Papers, Tutors) to stop coursework from hijacking exam season.

The quick answer: "longest IA" depends on what you mean

If you mean longest by official written page limit, then the classic winner is:

IB Mathematics IA (Math AA or Math AI): typically 12-20 pages depending on what counts (students commonly cite 12-20 as the practical band used by schools and teachers).

If you mean longest by time spent, the answer often shifts:

Group 4 Sciences IA (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, ESS) can feel longest because data collection, trials, uncertainty, and processing take time.
Humanities and arts coursework can feel longest because writing, iterating, and evidence selection is slow.
Computer Science IA can feel endless because debugging doesn't respect your calendar.

So the real answer is: the "longest IA" is the one with the most hidden work.

IA length checklist (use this before you compare subjects)

Before you label a subject as having the longest IA, check these five things:

Is there a page limit or word limit? (A short limit can still require huge work.)
How much time is spent before writing begins? (Experiments, code, surveys, drafts.)
How strict is the evidence requirement? (Tables, graphs, appendices, citations.)
How many revision cycles are normal? (Teacher feedback loops matter.)
How easy is it to "know you're done"? (Some tasks have no natural finish line.)

A good strategy is to decide early whether you're optimizing for maximum marks or maximum sanity. RevisionDojo is built to support both.

Which subject has the longest IA by page count?

For most IB students, the Math IA is the clearest "longest IA" in terms of visible pages. It's designed as an exploration, which means you must show:

a clear aim and rationale
personal engagement (in the mathematical sense)
mathematical communication
correct mathematics and reflection

That structure naturally creates length: you introduce, explain, compute, interpret, and then reflect. Even when you're being concise, math needs space.

If you want to see how high-scoring work is shaped, use RevisionDojo's Coursework Library to browse IA exemplars across subjects, including math explorations and science reports: IB Coursework Exemplars Index (IA, EE, TOK). It's one of the fastest ways to understand what "enough" looks like.

For math-specific inspiration and modeling, these are especially useful:

Which IA feels longest in the sciences?

A science IA is rarely "long" because of pages. It's long because reality fights back.

A Biology, Chemistry, Physics, or ESS IA often includes:

planning and pilot trials
controlled variables and method refinement
messy data that needs cleaning
uncertainty processing and evaluation
rewriting the same section because your conclusion doesn't match your aim

Even if your final report is within a relatively tight cap, the process can be huge.

If you're doing ESS, RevisionDojo's grader is a strong reality check early in the draft phase: IB ESS (new) IA Grader. It helps you see which criteria you're under-serving before you add more pages that don't earn marks.

For sciences, the Coursework Library is also your shortcut to sanity. Instead of guessing how much analysis is "enough," you can compare your work to exemplars like:

The goal isn't to copy. It's to calibrate your sense of proportion.

Which IA feels longest in Group 3 and Group 1?

Students often underestimate these because they assume "writing = straightforward." But writing is only straightforward when you already know what you think.

Many Group 3 tasks and language assessments can feel like the longest IA because:

the evidence selection takes ages
you can always add "one more source"
clarity requires rewriting, not just adding

What helps here is not producing more words. It's producing better structure.

RevisionDojo's AI Chat can be surprisingly helpful at the "blank page" stage: ask it to pressure-test your research question, propose an outline aligned to criteria, or suggest what kind of evidence would actually score. Then you can switch back into exam mode revision with Study Notes, Flashcards, and Questionbank practice without letting coursework swallow everything.

If you want a broader "system" for balancing coursework and exams, this piece frames it well: RevisionDojo App: The Smarter Way to Prep for IB Exams.

The hidden champion: the Computer Science IA

If you're in IB Computer Science, you already know why this gets mentioned.

The CS IA is not about pages. It's about building something that works.

Debugging can stretch time in a way that no word count can control. A tiny bug can cost three hours. A feature you thought was "small" becomes a week. And the documentation becomes a second project.

If you want to see what real projects look like at different score bands, use: IB Computer Science IA Exemplars.

The better question: what makes an IA become "too long"?

The IB rarely rewards length. It rewards alignment.

An IA becomes "too long" when:

You add explanation that doesn't earn criterion marks
You include data you never interpret
Your evaluation repeats your conclusion
Your exploration becomes a diary instead of an argument

This is why the fastest way to shorten an IA is to grade it early.

RevisionDojo's rubric-based Grading tools are built for that moment: when your draft is complete enough to judge, but early enough to change.

Examples:

When you treat the rubric like a checklist, your IA stops expanding.

How to manage the longest IA without losing exam season

Here's a simple plan that works across subjects, especially if your IA is eating your revision time.

Make your IA "small enough to finish"

Pick a question that can be answered in the time you actually have, not the time you wish you had. If you can't describe your method in 5-7 sentences, it's probably too big.

Use RevisionDojo's AI Chat to shrink scope. Ask: "What is the smallest version of this question that still meets the criteria?" Then commit.

Use exemplars to calibrate length

Instead of asking classmates how long their IA is (they will either exaggerate or lie), use exemplars.

Start with the hub: IB Coursework Exemplars Index (IA, EE, TOK). Find 2-3 exemplars near your subject and compare:

number of graphs
depth of evaluation
how concise the introduction is

You'll notice something comforting: top work is often calmer, not longer.

Run a rubric audit before you add pages

Before you write more, check whether you've already met the criteria.

Use RevisionDojo's graders where available (ESS, Psychology, DT, and more). It's like turning on headlights before you keep driving.

Protect your revision loop

Coursework is important, but exams still matter. Keep your baseline exam routine alive:

Study Notes for fast clarity
Flashcards for daily recall
Questionbank for practice under mark-scheme logic
weekly Mock Exams and Predicted Papers to train timing

If you need a full system, this is a strong framework: Top Students Don't Study Like You Think (IB Edition).

Closing: the longest IA is the one you don't control

So, which subject has the longest IA?

By page count, math usually wins. By total hours, sciences and computer science often take the crown. But in practice, the longest IA is the one that keeps expanding because you're working without a compass.

Give yourself the compass.

Use exemplars to see what "enough" looks like. Use grading tools to catch gaps early. Use AI Chat to unblock decisions quickly. Then return to the exam loop: Study Notes, Flashcards, Questionbank, Mock Exams, Predicted Papers, and Tutors when you need a real human to help you lift the ceiling.

If your IA is taking over your life, don't just write more. Tighten the aim, align to the rubric, and let RevisionDojo carry the heavy structure so you can keep your momentum toward the exams.

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