AP vs. IB: Is there an AP class that requires a long final paper (eg > 10 pgs) as there is for IB

[Transplant_1]

One of the things I like about IB diploma is that it requires the extended essay, a 4,000 word self-directed independent research. Is there any AP class, or anything in the AP program that has something similar? Thank you.

[Anonymous]

The closest analogy is AP Research, which is one of the AP Capstone courses and requires an academic paper of similar length, but other AP courses also require written essays.

[Anonymous]

10 pages is long? I had to regularly write longer papers in AP lit, and AP US and World history

[Anonymous]

Yes - AP research.
If you do AP seminar, AP research, and four other AP classes you get an AP Capstone diploma.

[Anonymous]

AP Research is the class with a required 4000-5000 page essay.

But as a PP said, I had to, and my kid had to, write a long research paper in AP English, and while I didn't have one specific long paper in AP US history, I wrote more in that class than in any other class I've taken - high school or college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AP Research is the class with a required 4000-5000 page essay.

But as a PP said, I had to, and my kid had to, write a long research paper in AP English, and while I didn't have one specific long paper in AP US history, I wrote more in that class than in any other class I've taken - high school or college.

Did you have to write essays in AP Calc? IB math also requires a 3000-5000 word essay.

[Transplant_1]

What kind of paper is required for IB math? 3000-5000 words is more than an essay, that's a 14-ish page paper.

[Anonymous]

AP exams frequently require several pages worth to be written within a few hours.

My AP US History class had a yearlong project that was about a ten page paper.

[Transplant_1]

Do IB exams do that -- have to write several pages within a few hours? That sounds awful.

[Anonymous]

Transplant_1 wrote:Do IB exams do that -- have to write several pages within a few hours? That sounds awful.

Yes.

[Anonymous]

Transplant_1 wrote:What kind of paper is required for IB math? 3000-5000 words is more than an essay, that's a 14-ish page paper.

It’s on a topic of their choice, related to the course and can be research or an experiment where they analyze the data. I’m an IB math teacher and it’s one of the reasons my own children attend an AP school. It’s good to write long papers but I don’t like how they are required in every IB class. This would have turned me off to math as a kid.

[Transplant_1]

Kids have to write a long paper in every IB class? 14 page paper for every class?

[Anonymous]

Transplant_1 wrote:Kids have to write a long paper in every IB class? 14 page paper for every class?

No. The math one is ~5 pages for most kids. While there is technically no limit, 95% of my kids are within 3-7 pages.

-different ib math teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Transplant_1 wrote:What kind of paper is required for IB math? 3000-5000 words is more than an essay, that's a 14-ish page paper.

It’s on a topic of their choice, related to the course and can be research or an experiment where they analyze the data. I’m an IB math teacher and it’s one of the reasons my own children attend an AP school. It’s good to write long papers but I don’t like how they are required in every IB class. This would have turned me off to math as a kid.

Agree, having a paper for math is odd. What types of things do kids do that utilize precalculus or calculus? Would it be writing up physics experiments describing the motion of balls or pendulums?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Transplant_1 wrote:What kind of paper is required for IB math? 3000-5000 words is more than an essay, that's a 14-ish page paper.

It’s on a topic of their choice, related to the course and can be research or an experiment where they analyze the data. I’m an IB math teacher and it’s one of the reasons my own children attend an AP school. It’s good to write long papers but I don’t like how they are required in every IB class. This would have turned me off to math as a kid.

Agree, having a paper for math is odd. What types of things do kids do that utilize precalculus or calculus? Would it be writing up physics experiments describing the motion of balls or pendulums?

Scientists often have to write papers and starting in high school is a great place to begin to learn.

My two kids both wrote papers focusing on statistics and both involved baseball. Older one graduated and he told me his topic was "Is there any correlation between a Minor League team's success and the Major League Team's success four years later?" My younger one, who is currently writing his paper is still asleep but his also has something to do with baseball and statistics.