Fact-Check a Claim About the IB
Use a simple evidence process to investigate DP myths, alarming advice and confident statements from other cohorts.
Rewrite the claim as a checkable sentence
Advice becomes difficult to assess when it mixes facts, personal experience, and a prediction about you. Break 'everyone needs this subject to get into a good university' into separate claims: a course requirement, an institution's preference, and an admission outcome. Each needs different evidence. Write the precise statement you want to test, the person or programme it concerns, and the year. A narrow question helps you find the right source and prevents a vague debate about whether the DP is generally easy, hard, or worthwhile.
Choose the authority that can answer it
Use IB publications for programme and assessment rules, your school for local availability and deadlines, and the university for its own course requirements. A helpful student's experience can reveal questions to ask, but cannot establish a universal policy. Follow a quoted rule back to the original document rather than accepting a screenshot without context. Note the source's date and scope. Sometimes two sources disagree because they describe different cohorts or arrangements; resolving that difference is more useful than deciding which person sounds more confident.
Check the missing conditions
Look for words such as required, recommended, may, and normally. Ask what else must be true for a statement to apply. For example, recognition of an IB qualification does not by itself establish entry to a particular course, and a total-point offer may have additional subject conditions. Keep the conditions attached when writing a summary. A short statement is only useful if shortening it has not changed its meaning. If you cannot find the relevant detail, record an unanswered question instead of filling the gap.
Test cohort and location
Assessment formats and subject guides can change. Verify the first assessment session and the guide your teacher says applies to you. Similarly, do not transfer a school deadline, fee, or course restriction to another school, or one country's admission process to another. A claim may be accurate and still be unsuitable for your decision. Add cohort, school, country, or institution labels where they matter. This small habit prevents outdated advice from gaining authority simply because it has been repeated many times.
Worked example: the old TOK presentation
Imagine a parent sees a resource telling their child to prepare a TOK presentation. They check the student's current TOK guide and teacher instructions and discover that the relevant current task is an exhibition. They ask which assessment requirements apply and update the family calendar accordingly. The useful correction is a specific task and cohort, not a general conclusion that all older resources are worthless. An old explanation of a philosophical question might still help discussion, while its assessment directions need replacement.
Create a correction you can act on
Finish with three lines: the claim, the verified conclusion with its conditions, and the next action. Link the primary source so a teacher or parent can inspect it. If uncertainty remains, name the person who can resolve it and the exact question to ask. Avoid forwarding an alarming claim while you investigate. A fact-check should improve a decision, such as which course to choose or task to prepare, rather than become an endless collection of opinions about the programme.
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Official references
This is an original practical guide from IBvia. The examples are illustrative; your subject guide, assessment year and school instructions determine the requirements.
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