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Do word count limits really matter?


maturk

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Hello

 

I've recently been convinced that the word limits that the IB puts in the IA's and the EE don't seem to be that important in the long run. For example, this year the psychology IA's are still being assessed via a hard copy of the students work (i.e. not electronically) and therefore my teacher said that its better to be above the word limit for the IA than having to cut down valuable information. This resulted in almost 80 percent of the class to be above the word limit, some even going as far as 200-400 words above the limit. 

 

What are yall's thoughts on the word limits, are they really necessary and do you know anyone who has lost marks due to being above the limits?

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All assignments (IAs and EE) submitted is scanned to IB, who distributes the files to markers digitally. 

There are software that can turn pictures into words, then perform word counts. You better believe that IB can and does do something like this. You are always taking a risk if you exceed the word count.

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Guest SNJERIN

All assignments (IAs and EE) submitted is scanned to IB, who distributes the files to markers digitally. 

There are software that can turn pictures into words, then perform word counts. You better believe that IB can and does do something like this. You are always taking a risk if you exceed the word count.

 

I would agree with you on the fact that IB can easily convert a hard copy into a soft copy and then they check for word count. However, don't you think it is really time consuming and can even cost a lot of money to convert all these assignment and within a 1 month period ?. Therefore, I don't really think they would so far as to scan all these IAs and EEs etc. 

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All assignments (IAs and EE) submitted is scanned to IB, who distributes the files to markers digitally. 

There are software that can turn pictures into words, then perform word counts. You better believe that IB can and does do something like this. You are always taking a risk if you exceed the word count.

 

I would agree with you on the fact that IB can easily convert a hard copy into a soft copy and then they check for word count. However, don't you think it is really time consuming and can even cost a lot of money to convert all these assignment and within a 1 month period ?. Therefore, I don't really think they would so far as to scan all these IAs and EEs etc. 

 

I understand what you are saying.

But the actual assignments students turn in aren't shipped around the world. The examinations and assignments are sent to examiners through picture files and audio files. Even if your teachers aren't the one scanning them, regional coordinators will scan them. Every assessment is marked by at least 2 markers. If any of your teachers are examiners (my school had at least 2) then they can testify this. Considering how much IB is charging each school, it is very likely that they can and do indeed do all of this. Also keep in mind that not all IA's are being moderated. 

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Yes, word counts do. You automatically get docked marks if you go over and they check, which they usually can sense because the examiners/markers have seen so many assignments.

 

I have to disagree, if someone is somewhere around 0-200 words above the word limit it will be very difficult to notice by just having a "sense" due to seeing a lot of previous papers.

Has anyone actually lost marks due to being over the limit, or is it just some myth going around in this thread? It would be cool to know of a irl example.

Edited by maturk
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Yes, word counts do. You automatically get docked marks if you go over and they check, which they usually can sense because the examiners/markers have seen so many assignments.

 

I have to disagree, if someone is somewhere around 0-200 words above the word limit it will be very difficult to notice by just having a "sense" due to seeing a lot of previous papers.

Has anyone actually lost marks due to being over the limit, or is it just some myth going around in this thread? It would be cool to know of a irl example.

 

 

You don't really get feedback on your IAs, but the rules clearly state that you will lose marks if you go over. And 200 words over limit is not that hard to notice in a 1.5-2k work. Also, why risk losing marks in such a dumb way, anyway? It's perfectly possible to stay within the limit. Learn to write concisely cause at university you submit a lot of your work online and the word/page limit is there in plain sight for the marker to see. 

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Guest beyondtheimagine

 

Yes, word counts do. You automatically get docked marks if you go over and they check, which they usually can sense because the examiners/markers have seen so many assignments.

 

I have to disagree, if someone is somewhere around 0-200 words above the word limit it will be very difficult to notice by just having a "sense" due to seeing a lot of previous papers.

Has anyone actually lost marks due to being over the limit, or is it just some myth going around in this thread? It would be cool to know of a irl example.

 

 

 

It's not a myth, its a fact. 

I have never experienced this situation before but some students that I know have experienced it. 

 

A recent graudate in my school was doing her EE. And she went beyond 4,000 words, as in she added about 1,000 words, thinking that IB won't notice. She lost quite a bit of marks because of that. I'm not too sure how much it effected her mark, but it did. I remember her being quite frustrated about it. 

 

Just follow the rules, because its not worth losing any marks! Especially when it would of been preventable!

Edited by beyondtheimagine
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Yes, word counts do. You automatically get docked marks if you go over and they check, which they usually can sense because the examiners/markers have seen so many assignments.

 

I have to disagree, if someone is somewhere around 0-200 words above the word limit it will be very difficult to notice by just having a "sense" due to seeing a lot of previous papers.

Has anyone actually lost marks due to being over the limit, or is it just some myth going around in this thread? It would be cool to know of a irl example.

 

 

My teachers have in fact given us examples about how students with a perfect essay got docked marks by going around less than 20 words over. They do make random checks at times as well.

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Honestly, I agree with IB_taking_over. There's absolutely no point of including word counts in the mark scheme if they're not going to check it. I believe that in the Psych IA will dock two marks if you go even one word over. It's a word count, not a piece of advice to candidates.

 

"Your essay must have a maximum of 1600 words" not "your essay could have about 1600 words"

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Everyone has pointed out exactly what I would have said. Additionally, some rubrics even mention word count and the marking consequences if you were to exceed it. It's the easiest thing for them to mark and the easiest marks you can gain too. Also, as Gaby mentioned, a very good practice for future endeavors (whether academic or in the workplace).

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