Unlike the Extended Essay, SL students choose a research question that enables them to use tools, theories and techniques related to the SL syllabus only (see page 73 of the syllabus / guide, bullet point 1). The requirements of the written commentary and the assessment criteria.

Hence, students must only use the tools, theories, and techniques explicitly mentioned in the syllabus, such as the ones listed here.

Note that the use of relevant tools, theories, and techniques also requires students to use relevant Business Management terminology (e.g. growth and evolution, stakeholder perspectives, budgets, sources of finance, training and development, and so forth).

However if for whatever reason, a student does use HL only content, they cannot be penalised for this due to the "positive marking" rule. Nevertheless, there is absolutely no expectation that they use any HL content and doing so does not impress moderators.

A common example of this is when students use the extended marketing mix (Unit 4.6 HL Only). However, notice that in Unit 4.1 SL students also need to know the differences between the marketing of goods and services. Hence, it is acceptable for SL students to apply the extended marketing mix if this is appropriate to the title question of the written commentary.

Yes, the student must ensure you use proper citation and referencing. This is a formal aspect of the IB's guidelines on academic integrity - all IB World Schools must have an academic honesty (academic integrity) policy. If students do not reference their work, issues about the authenticity of their work may be raised.

The SWOT analysis, if used, must come primarily from the 3 to 5 supporting documents.

There is no stipulated number of tools, theories and/or techniques for the IA. What is important is that students use the tools, theories and / or techniques that are most relevant to the research question and which help to develop the analysis in the written commentary.

Yes. As the teacher, you need to be able to authenticate the work (which is rather challenging and unrealistic without the documentary evidence). The external moderator also needs to see this evidence.

The supporting documents need to be uploaded separately from the written commentary on IBIS. The 3 - 5 supporting documents must be merged into a single document (preferably as a PDF document) for electronic upload/submission to the IB (on IBIS or Managebac).

Note that it may not be necessary to include a supporting document in its entirety - for example, if a student only refers to the financial accounts from the company's annual report, there is no need to scan the entire document. Students should, however, highlight the relevant sections of the supporting document used to demonstrate appropriate selection and use of information and data.

Yes, they should. This helps to show the teacher and moderator which part(s) of the supporting documents has/have been used, and helps reinforce application skills for the student. This is important for assessment criteria B and C:

• Criterion B - Choice and application of business tools, techniques and theories (5 marks)
• Criterion C - Choice and analysis of data and integration of ideas (5 marks)

Moderators will not read entire supporting documents, but look out for relevance and purpose - so highlighting these parts from the SD are highly useful.

The SL IA should be based on secondary data sources, but can be supported by primary research. These can include:

• Questionnaires
• Observation checklists
• Analysis of local competitors
• Interviews (with transcripts)
• Focus groups
• Position / Perception mapping.

However, these must to fit-for-purpose. Ask students why they intend to use primary research and how it helps to answer the research question. If there really is no value added in using primary sources, advice students to avoid doing so. The SL Internal Assessment has been designed so that students can score top marks by using only secondary data sources. In most cases, it is far easier to use only secondary sources.

Teachers should not annotate the Internal Assessment - as this can be distractive and influence the moderator. Instead, the comments that justify your marks awarded for each assessment criterion should be entered into IBIS as part of the upload process. If in doubt, speak to your DP Coordinator about this process at your school.