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DP · Academic honesty

Academic honesty in DP mathematics.

Academic honesty isn't a single rule, it's a small handful of habits — disclose what you used, do the thinking yourself, write in your own voice. The IB cares about those habits; we do too.

The official position

The IB's academic integrity policy frames honesty as a learning outcome, not just a disciplinary line. Students are expected to acknowledge the words, ideas, and work of others; teachers are expected to teach how to do that. Plagiarism, collusion, duplication of work, and any practice that gives one student an unfair advantage over another all fall under the same heading.

In 2023 the IB made its position on AI explicit: AI tools are not banned, but any AI-generated content that ends up in submitted work must be quoted and attributed, in the same way a passage from a book or a website would be. Using AI to learn is fine; passing AI output off as your own thinking is not.

"Your own work" means the analysis, the structure, the choice of approach, and the words on the page are yours. Tools (calculators, software, AI assistants) can support that work — but the judgement and the voice have to be yours, and the support has to be disclosed.

IB Academic Integrity Policy (PDF) ↗IB statement on AI in assessment ↗

How it plays out — six scenarios

  1. Q

    I used Wolfram Alpha to check the integral in my IA. Do I have to disclose this?

    A

    Yes — briefly. Computational tools are expected in DP mathematics; the IB only asks that you say what you used and for what. One sentence in your bibliography ("Wolfram Alpha was used to verify the symbolic result in §3") is enough. The mark is not affected; not disclosing it is what causes problems.

  2. Q

    ChatGPT explained a concept to me before I wrote the section myself. Is that AI-generated work?

    A

    No — that's tutoring. The IB's line: if AI helped you learn, fine; if AI did the work you're submitting as yours, not fine. Cite the conversation in your bibliography if it materially shaped your approach. If AI wrote sentences that ended up in your IA, those sentences must be quoted and attributed.

  3. Q

    My calculator can solve the equation directly. Should I show the algebra?

    A

    In Paper 2 / Paper 3 (calculator papers), the GDC answer is the answer — that's the point of the paper. In the IA, show the algebra anyway if the algebra is part of what you're investigating; the GDC output supports the working, it doesn't replace it.

  4. Q

    I missed the IA draft deadline. What happens?

    A

    You get one teacher-feedback round per the IB regulations, and we time it for early May of Year 12. If you miss the draft window, you still get to submit a final version — but without the marked-up feedback. We will not extend the official IB submission deadline; that one is hard.

  5. Q

    My friend and I worked on similar IA topics. Is that collusion?

    A

    Discussing ideas is fine and encouraged. Shared data, shared graphs, shared paragraphs, or one person checking the other's working line-by-line crosses into collusion. The test: if a reader put your two IAs side by side, would they see two independent investigations? They should.

  6. Q

    Can I retake an IB exam? Does the IA carry over?

    A

    Yes — you can register for a retake in the next session (typically November). Your IA mark carries forward by default; you can choose to resubmit a revised IA if you think it will score higher, but you cannot submit a brand-new Exploration on a different topic.

Related

Last updated 2026-05-14.

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