Philosophy · IA Philosophical analysis
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Write a top-mark Philosophy IA.

A step-by-step frame for the IB Philosophy Internal Assessment — a philosophical analysis of a non-philosophical stimulus. Choose a rich stimulus, draw a genuine philosophical issue from it, and argue it rigorously — clarifying concepts, building a case, engaging counter-arguments and evaluating — with the four assessment criteria built in.

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How it's marked. Out of 25, across four areas: expression; knowledge & understanding of the philosophical issue; analysis of the stimulus; and argument & evaluation. The IA is a philosophical analysis of a non-philosophical stimulus of about 2,000 words.
The rule that defines a strong IA: Draw a genuine philosophical issue from a non-philosophical stimulus, then argue it rigorously with counter-arguments and evaluation — clarifying concepts and analysing the stimulus closely, never merely describing it.
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IB Philosophy IA help, examiner-written

The IB Philosophy Internal Assessment is a philosophical analysis of a non-philosophical stimulus — a film, advert, photograph, poem, song, news story or artwork — of about 2,000 words. You identify a genuine philosophical issue or question that the stimulus raises, then explore it rigorously: clarifying the key concepts, constructing an argument for a position, engaging the strongest counter-arguments and objections, and evaluating toward a reasoned conclusion. This examiner-written frame walks you through the method step by step — choose a rich stimulus that genuinely raises a philosophical issue, frame the precise question it provokes, analyse the stimulus closely as the springboard for that issue, build your argument, take the strongest objections seriously, and reach an evaluated conclusion. Each step is paired with the assessment criteria, worked good-and-bad examples and the traps that cost marks, and your draft exports to DOCX or PDF.

How the Philosophy IA is marked

The IA is marked out of 25 across four areas: expression (clear, organised, precise philosophical writing); knowledge and understanding of the philosophical issue(s); identification and analysis of relevant material from the stimulus; and development and evaluation — the quality of the argument. Top-band responses draw a genuine, focused philosophical issue out of the stimulus, clarify the key concepts, argue a defensible position, engage the strongest counter-arguments rather than ignoring them, and reach a reasoned, evaluated conclusion.

The stimulus, the philosophical issue & the argument

The whole IA grows from the relationship between the stimulus and a precise philosophical issue. The stimulus must be non-philosophical, yet genuinely raise an issue you can argue — about concepts, justification or values such as identity, knowledge, freedom or justice. Treat the stimulus as a springboard: analyse the specific feature that raises the issue rather than summarising the work, then build a rigorous argument that engages real counter-arguments and ends in genuine evaluation, keeping the stimulus in play as a test case throughout.

Free to start · examiner-written

The Philosophy IA tool is free to start: the planning sections are free, and the later sections are a one-time unlock per tool. Sign in to save your work and sync it across devices.