Math IA formatting (font size, margins, spacing, etc.)

[HirG]

I am about to finish writing my Math IA, but since I did a lot of research, I made the font quite small and made the margins and spacing shorter so that I could fit my research into the 6~12 page restriction. 

 Isnt it ok to make your font, spacing and margins however small/big you want it, as long as the page number is between 6~12? There is no set rule, would I get marked down if I cram too many words for my IA?



[kw0573]

The Math IA is not graded by length. Usually I would say 11 point font with 1.15 spacing is standard and anything smaller you should consider significant revision instead of changing the font size. Arial and other sans serif fonts are better if you are using a size smaller than 11.

Usually anything like raw data (eg long tables) do not need to be included but can be part of the appendix, if absolutely necessary. My HL IA was 5 pages long. The main issue with long IAs is that the organization is often bad and examiners cannot find the important information. Make sure every paragraph supports your overall claim and it's better to have less but highly succinct quality content than to have few good points hidden in mediocrity. 

[HirG]

Thank you.

However, for the margins, can that be as big/small as you want? Or does it have to be more than 0.5 inches or sth

[kw0573]

To be clear, there is no direct penalty for going outside the 6-12 recommended length. However, long IAs tend to be poorly organized and may result in deductions in "Communication". In case your teacher scans moderated IAs to IB, you should leave at least 0.75 in of margin on all sides.