In simple terms
A friendly intro before the formal notes — no formulas yet.
Your Global Politics Field Mission
The Engagement Activity is your chance to investigate a real-world political issue through hands-on experience. You will design a project, carry it out, and then write a 2,000-word report analysing your findings and reflecting on what you learned.
Imagine you are a documentary filmmaker. You don't just read about a topic; you go out into the world to capture it. You'd first choose a compelling story (your political issue), plan your interviews and shots (your engagement method), and then go filming (the activity). Afterwards, you wouldn't just show the raw footage; you'd edit it, add commentary explaining the context and significance, and reflect on the story's impact. Your engagement report is that final, edited documentary.
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Identify a local, accessible political issue that connects to the Global Politics syllabus. Refine this into a specific, answerable research question.
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Design your 'fieldwork'. Plan what you will do (e.g., interview a local councillor, volunteer for an NGO, attend a protest) and how you will ethically gather and document information.
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Carry out your planned engagement. Keep meticulous notes, collect evidence like pamphlets or interview transcripts, and observe the political processes at play.
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Write your 2,000-word report. Analyse your experience using course concepts, evaluate the political dynamics you observed, and critically reflect on your learning.
Explore the concept
Use the live diagram and synced steps — play it or tap a step card to walk through.
Full topic notes
Formal explanation with the rigour you need for the exam.
Understanding the Engagement Activity
The Engagement Activity is not a standard research essay. It is a 2,000-word report based on your own firsthand experience with a political issue. The 'activity' or 'engagement' is central; it could be anything from interviewing a political actor to volunteering for a campaign or attending a town hall meeting. The report then analyses this experience through the lens of Global Politics.
Accounts for 20% of your final IB grade.
Maximum 2,000 words.
Based on firsthand engagement with a political issue.
Requires you to link your experience to specific course concepts and content.
Assesses your skills in research design, analysis, and critical reflection.
Choosing and Focusing Your Political Issue
The first step is choosing an issue. It must be 'political' – meaning it involves power, decision-making, and contestation. Crucially, it must also be local and accessible to you. Think about issues in your school, town, or city. Brainstorm topics related to the syllabus units, such as human rights, development, peace and conflict, or environmental policy.
Designing Your Engagement: Methods and Ethics
Once you have a focused question, you must plan your engagement method. How will you gather firsthand information? Your method should be appropriate for your question. For example, if you are studying political rhetoric, analysing speeches would be suitable. If you are studying the influence of an activist group, an interview would be ideal.
Possible Methods: Semi-structured interviews, participant observation (e.g., volunteering), attending public meetings, analysing campaign materials.
Ethical Priority 1: Informed Consent. Participants must know who you are, what your project is about, and agree to participate without pressure.
Ethical Priority 2: Anonymity & Confidentiality. You must protect the identities of your participants, especially if they are discussing sensitive topics. Use pseudonyms and do not share their personal data.
Ethical Priority 3: Do No Harm. Your engagement must not cause physical, social, or psychological harm to your participants or yourself. Prioritise safety at all times.
Worked examples
See the formulas applied — reveal one step at a time, like the exam.
A student proposes the research question: 'Why is poverty a problem?' Critique this question based on the Engagement Activity criteria and refine it into a focused, high-quality research question.
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Too Broad: 'Poverty' is a massive global issue, not a focused topic for a small-scale engagement.
A student wants to investigate the political issue of inadequate recycling facilities in their school. Their proposed method is to 'secretly film students throwing recyclable items in the wrong bins and show it to the headteacher.' Evaluate the ethical and methodological flaws and propose a better approach.
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Research Question: 'What are the political obstacles to implementing a more effective recycling programme at [Student's School]?'
How it all connects
The big idea sits in the middle — tap a linked idea to explore the link.
Tap a linked idea to see how it connects back to the main topic — that connection is what examiners reward.
Glossary
Try to recall each definition before you reveal it.
Quick check
Answer in your head first — then tap to check. No pressure.
Revision flashcards
Flip the card. Test yourself before the exam.
Engagement Activity (EA)
The Internal Assessment for IB Global Politics. A 2,000-word written report on a student's engagement with a political issue of their choice, based on firsthand experience. It is worth 20% of the final IB grade.
Key takeaways
Review these before you close the topic — retrieval beats re-reading.
- ✓
Accounts for 20% of your final IB grade.
- ✓
Maximum 2,000 words.
- ✓
Based on firsthand engagement with a political issue.
- ✓
Requires you to link your experience to specific course concepts and content.
- ✓
Assesses your skills in research design, analysis, and critical reflection.
Practice — then mark it
The whole point: a real Cambridge question, marked mark-by-mark.
Practice designing your own Engagement Activity proposal with these sample scenarios.
Practice designing your own Engagement Activity proposal with these sample scenarios.
Extra simulations & links
PhET, GeoGebra and other curated tools — open in a new tab.
Frequently asked
Checkpoint
One marked question is worth ten re-reads — close the loop before you move on.
Reading it isn’t knowing it — prove it.
Before you move on: do Practice designing your own Engagement Activity proposal with these sample scenarios. on paper, snap a photo, and get examiner-style feedback on exactly where you win and lose marks.