IA foundations
IB IA word limits by subject
Written and cross-checked by IB Diploma graduates: Alexander (41), Alejandro (40), Martina (40), Victoria (38), Martin (35), Maria (34)
· Checked against official IB guidance · Editorial policy
Confirm before you rely on this. The IB revises subject guides on a rolling basis and the exact limit — and what counts toward it — is set by your subject’s current guide and the assessment session you are entered for. Treat the table below as a starting reference.
IA word count rules (all subjects)
Most Diploma Programme Internal Assessments use a maximum word count or page guidance set in the subject guide. What counts varies: usually the argument and analysis in the body; often not raw data tables, equations, captions, references, or appendices. If a footnote contains argument rather than a citation, it usually counts. When in doubt, check the guide for your session — not a third-party blog.
| Subject | Commonly cited limit |
|---|---|
| Biology / Chemistry / Physics | 3,000 words maximumScientific investigation (first assessment May 2025). Same four criteria at SL and HL. Tables of raw data, calculations, citations, and appendices are handled per the subject guide — confirm the exact list. |
| Environmental Systems & Societies | 3,000 words maximumIndividual investigation (first assessment 2026; course now SL and HL). |
| Sports, Exercise & Health Science | 3,200 words maximumScientific investigation format (first assessment 2026), aligned to the sciences model. |
| Mathematics AA / AI | 12–20 pages (no fixed word count)Exploration IA — assessed on mathematical quality, not length. |
| Psychology | 2,200 words maximumResearch proposal IA (first assessment May 2027) — plans an investigation; does not report experiment results. |
| Economics | 3 × 800 words (commentaries)Each commentary max 800 words; plus a 300-word rationale for the portfolio. |
| History | 2,200 wordsHistorical investigation — all sections combined. |
| Geography | 2,500 wordsFieldwork report. |
| Business Management | 1,800 words maximum (SL & HL)Research project; supporting documents are separate from the word count. |
| Global Politics | 2,000 words (report)Engagement project written report (HL adds a separate recommendations section). |
| Language A (Lang & Lit / Literature) | HL essay 1,200–1,500 wordsThe oral component has no word count. |
| Language B | No written IAThe individual oral is assessed live, not by word count. |
| Visual Arts | Comparative study 10–15 screensPlus the process portfolio; screen counts, not words. |
| Computer Science | ~2,000 words (documentation)Computational solution documentation; program code and appendices are separate. |
Biology, Chemistry & Physics — 3,000 words (FA 2025)
The current scientific-investigation IA (first assessment May 2025) uses four criteria × 6 marks (24 marks total, 20% of the final grade). SL and HL share the same rubric. The investigation has a 3,000-word maximum— not an open-ended page count with no cap.
Business Management — 1,800 words
The Business Management research project (SL and HL) must not exceed 1,800 words. Moderators stop reading beyond that point. Supporting documents sit outside the word count. Business Management IA guide →
What usually does not count
- Title page, acknowledgements, contents page
- Tables of raw data and processed data
- Calculations, equations, and mathematical working
- Labels, captions, and figure/table titles
- In-text citations, footnotes used only for references, and the bibliography
- Appendices (which examiners are not obliged to read)
The exact list is subject-specific. If a footnote contains argument rather than a reference, it usually counts.
What happens if you go over the IA word limit?
Subjects with a hard maximum (Business Management, Psychology, History, Economics commentaries, Geography, and others) instruct examiners to stop at the limit. Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, first assessment 2025) use a 3,000-word maximum on the investigation — content beyond it is not assessed. Moving essential analysis into an appendix does not preserve marks.
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What counts toward the IB IA word limit?
Generally: the main body of your writing. Generally not: the title page, contents, tables of raw data, calculations and equations, labels and captions, citations and the bibliography, and appendices — but the exact list is subject-specific. Biology, Chemistry, and Physics (first assessment 2025) use a 3,000-word maximum on the scientific investigation; Business Management uses 1,800 words. Always confirm in your current subject guide.
What happens if my IA is over the word limit?
For subjects with a strict maximum (Psychology, History, Economics, Business Management, Geography, and others), examiners or moderators are instructed to stop at the limit — anything after it is not marked. For Diploma sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, first assessment 2025), the investigation has a 3,000-word maximum; content beyond it is not assessed. Do not hide analysis in appendices to dodge the cap.
Do appendices count?
Content that is essential to the argument should be in the body, and examiners are not required to read appendices. Putting analysis in an appendix to dodge the word count does not work — it just means that analysis is not marked.
Is there a minimum word count?
No formal minimum, but an IA far below the guidance almost always means the analysis or evaluation is too thin to reach the top mark bands.
What is the Biology, Chemistry, or Physics IA word count for 2025?
The current scientific-investigation IA (first assessment May 2025) has a 3,000 words maximum for Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. SL and HL use the same criteria. See each subject guide for what counts toward the limit.
What is the Business Management IA word count?
The Business Management research project must not exceed 1,800 words (SL and HL). Moderators stop reading beyond 1,800 words.
Sources & verification
Primary-source references used to verify key assessment facts on this page. Last source check: September 22, 2026.
Word-count rules are assessment-component specific and can change with a new subject guide. Where a row is a starting reference rather than a direct quotation, the page tells you to confirm it against the guide for your exam session.
- IB — Biology in the Diploma ProgrammeCurrent Biology curriculum page and first-assessment-2025 subject brief.
- IB — Chemistry guide (first assessment 2025)Primary subject guide for the current scientific-investigation assessment model.
- IB — Physics guide (first assessment 2025)Primary subject guide for the current scientific-investigation assessment model.
- IB — Business Management guide (first assessment 2024)Primary subject guide for the Business Management internal assessment.
- IB — current curriculum updatesUsed to distinguish current and upcoming assessment sessions such as ESS, SEHS, Psychology, Computer Science and Visual Arts.
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