5.1 Marking Toolkit | RevisionDojo- The EE is externally assessed against five criteria, A to E, for a total of 30 marks.
- The total mark is converted into a grade from A to E.
- Your supervisor also submits a predicted grade to the IB.
- This toolkit helps teachers mark practice essays, and helps students judge their own drafts.
| Criterion | Name | Marks |
|---|
| A | Framework for the essay | 6 |
| B |
| Knowledge and understanding |
| C | Analysis and line of argument | 6 |
| D | Discussion and evaluation | 8 |
- Markbands are applied using best fit, not by averaging strands.
- Read the whole essay once before you award any marks.
- Start at the lowest band and move up until the descriptor no longer matches the work.
- If the work sits between two bands, re-read both descriptors and choose the one that fits better overall.
- Within a band, award the higher mark if the work fully meets the descriptor and the lower mark if it only partly does.
- Applying best fit to Criterion A of a geography EE:
- The research question is clear, focused and spatial, which matches the 5–6 band.
- The structure supports communication well, which also matches the 5–6 band.
- The methods are mostly suitable, but the sampling rule is not explained, which matches the 3–4 band.
- Best fit places the work in the top band, but not fully, so it earns 5 marks.
- Mark positively by crediting what the essay does, not by deducting for what it lacks.
- Award whole numbers only.
- The top descriptors describe excellent work, not perfect work.
- Evidence for a criterion can appear anywhere in the essay, not only in the matching section.
- A high mark on one criterion does not mean a high mark on the others.
- Award zero only when the work does not reach the lowest descriptor.
- Pay attention to the command terms in each descriptor, such as explained, applied and evaluated.
- In a geography EE, maps and graphs can provide evidence for both Criterion A (structure) and Criterion C (analysis), so check them carefully for each.
- Mark your draft against each criterion before you hand it to your supervisor.
- For each criterion, write one sentence explaining why you chose that band.
- Focus your revisions on the criterion with the largest gap.
- Check Criterion D closely, because it carries the most marks.
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