All Social and Cultural Anthropology guides

Anthropology IA Criteria Guide

Move from observation to method, then show how your analysis and reflection earn the stronger bands.

The criteria below cover the 26-mark SL task. HL uses a separate 33-mark rubric, with an 800-word critical reflection and a 1,600-word main report and evaluation. Choose your level in the grader to use the matching criteria.

Assessment criteria

What each criterion measures, how many marks it carries, and what stronger evidence usually looks like.

Criterion names, marks and mark bands follow the IB subject guide. The band descriptions are our own summaries, so check your subject guide for the exact wording.

Criterion A: Observation and report (4 marks)

How organized and detailed the observation report is, and how well it discusses the context of the observation.

Stronger evidence
The report is organized and detailed, and the context of the observation is discussed at least partly.
Early-stage evidence
The report has organization or detail, but lacks one of them, and says little about the setting of the observation.

Criterion B: Methodological and conceptual extension of initial fieldwork (6 marks)

How well you choose, describe, and justify a second research method linked to a key or inquiry-specific concept and to your first observation.

Stronger evidence
A second method is described and explained, its fit with a concept and the first observation is clear, and that connection is justified and discussed.
Early-stage evidence
A second method is identified, its fit with a concept and the first observation is only partly shown, and its choice is barely justified.

Criterion C: Second fieldwork data collection and analysis (4 marks)

How soundly the data from the second method is analysed in relation to the concept and the method.

Stronger evidence
Relevant data is analysed soundly against the concept and method; minor inconsistencies do not weaken it.
Early-stage evidence
Data is analysed against the concept and method only superficially, and irrelevant or inconsistent data weakens it.

Criterion D: Critical reflection of fieldwork research, methods and concepts/area of inquiry (12 marks)

How critically you compare the two methods, discuss your position as researcher, and reflect on what fieldwork taught you.

Stronger evidence
Critical reflection: a balanced, detailed comparison, clear discussion of your position and its effects, and explicit discussion of what fieldwork taught you.
Early-stage evidence
Reflection is superficial: the methods are barely compared, your position as researcher is only mentioned, and the fieldwork process is described rather than discussed.

Mark bands

Want to know where your IA sits in these bands? Upload your draft and get a mark for each criterion.

Grade my IA

How to build it

Most weak drafts fail on order, not on ideas.

  1. 1

    Frame the observation

    Define the setting, the people, and the anthropological idea you are observing before you write anything else.

  2. 2

    Choose the second method carefully

    Explain why the follow-up method extends the observation and how it improves the quality of the fieldwork data.

  3. 3

    Analyze with concept in view

    Keep the data tied to the key concept or area of inquiry so the writing stays analytical rather than descriptive.

  4. 4

    Reflect on the research process

    Discuss your position as a researcher, the limits of the method, and what the fieldwork process actually taught you.

Before you submit

  • The observation context is clear and specific.
  • The second method is justified, not just named.
  • Analysis stays connected to the key concept or area of inquiry.
  • Reflection covers researcher position, ethics, and what was learned.

Quick wins

  • State the anthropological concept in the opening paragraph and return to it throughout.
  • Use short fieldwork evidence notes before turning them into full analysis paragraphs.
  • Add one explicit reflection sentence at the end of every major section.

Turn Anthropology Fieldwork Into A Stronger Draft

Marksy grades your anthropology IA against the rubric, highlights weak reflection or analysis, and shows exactly what to improve before submission. The result includes a mark for every criterion, evidence from your draft, and the changes to make first.

Grade My Anthropology IASee Pricing
  1. 1

    Upload your IA draft as a PDF

  2. 2

    Get a mark and feedback for every IA criterion

  3. 3

    Revise and grade the new version

A mark for every criterion
A mark for every criterionSee where the draft is now, criterion by criterion.
Comments on your sentences
Comments on your sentencesEach comment points at the passage it is about.
What to fix first
What to fix firstConcrete next edits instead of "improve your analysis".