Personal Project Student Guide And Process Journal

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Using this book 4
_________________________________________________________ Personal Project Timeline 5
_________________________________________________________ Calendar of dates 6-15
_________________________________________________________ Getting Started 16
_________________________________________________________ Introductory Questionnaire 18
_________________________________________________________ Topic Selection Form 21
Commitment Contract 24
_________________________________________________________
Planning Questionnaire 25
_________________________________________________________
The Design Cycle 27
_________________________________________________________
What is the Personal Project? 28
_________________________________________________________
Sample Topics and Central Areas of Interaction 30
_________________________________________________________
Written Documentation: Process Journal & Personal Statement 31
_________________________________________________________
Sample Personal Statement Outlines 34-35
_________________________________________________________
Personal Statement Checklist 36-37
_________________________________________________________
Areas of Interaction 38-43
_________________________________________________________
AoI Web 44
_________________________________________________________
AoI Key Questions 45
_________________________________________________________ Assessment Criteria 46-51
_________________________________________________________ Assessment Criteria Checklists 52-55
_________________________________________________________ Personal Project Grade Boundaries 55
_________________________________________________________ Supervisor’s Feedback 56-61
_________________________________________________________ Final Student Self-Assessment 62-64
_________________________________________________________ Bibliography Guide 65-68
_________________________________________________________ Appendix Facts 69
_________________________________________________________ Process Journal 70-166
166 3
11137

USING THIS STUDENT GUIDE AND
PROCESS JOURNAL

This Student Guide and Process Journal has been
created for the purpose of helping you to succeed
with your Personal Project.

The Student Guide section has all the information
to answer your questions about the Personal
Project and will be invaluable to you throughout
your work.

The Process Journal section begins after the
Student Guide and there are several pages for
you to record your progress. Some of the pages of
the Process Journal are blank and some are lined.
Use the Process Journal pages to write notes,
draw diagrams, work through problems, record
interviews, list your sources, etc.

Your Process Journal is yours to use as you wish,
but remember, it will form part of your overall
Personal Project.

Good luck and enjoy your journey.

Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to
with diligence.
—Abigail Adams
4 165

_________________________________________________________
2009-2010
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Phase 1: Selecting the Topic

_________________________________________________________ Information Session / Preparatory pamphlet June 2009

_________________________________________________________ Complete Introductory Questionnaire June-September 2009

_________________________________________________________ Discuss topic options with supervisor Week of 28 Sept-2 October
Prepare topic selection form and Commitment Contract 5-9 October 2009
_________________________________________________________
Obtain signature(s) from AoI leader(s) for chosen AoI(s)
_________________________________________________________ Present final topic, title (in form of a guiding question) and Week of 12-16 October 2009
_________________________________________________________ AoIs to supervisor and to Mrs Krake (for approval)

Phase 2: Planning the Project (after final approval)
_________________________________________________________
Complete Planning Questionnaire 16 October– 16 November
_________________________________________________________
Create a timeline that will help guide you through the 16 October– 16 November
_________________________________________________________ project (this can change)
_________________________________________________________ Begin research 16 October– 16 November
_________________________________________________________ Discuss planning / timeline / resources with supervisor Week of 23-27 November

_________________________________________________________ Phase 3: Gathering the Necessary Material

_________________________________________________________ Preliminary bibliography due to supervisor Week of 30 Nov– 4 Dec

_________________________________________________________ Collect & record information / data / material November ‘09– February ‘10
Phase 4: Working on the Product
_________________________________________________________
Work on product, revise plans, keep journal November ‘09– February ‘10
_________________________________________________________ —meet regularly with supervisor
_________________________________________________________ Finish work on product and show to supervisor Week of 15-19 February
_________________________________________________________ MYP Personal Project PRODUCT Exhibition 3 March 2010
_________________________________________________________ Phase 5: Presenting the Outcome

_________________________________________________________ Outline of Personal Statement due Week of 8-12 March

_________________________________________________________ 1st draft of Personal Statement due Week of 22-25 March
2nd draft of Personal Statement due Week of 12-16 April
_________________________________________________________
Submit final draft of Personal Statement, process jour- 7 May 2010
_________________________________________________________ nal and self-assessment (pp 62-64) to supervisor
_________________________________________________________ Viva Voce by each student—15:30-16.15
15:30-
15:30 8 June 2010

_________________________________________________________ NB: Make regular entries in your process journal
_________________________________________________________ throughout phases 1-4.

164 5

September 2009
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5

Classes begin

6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Jeûne
Genevois

No classes

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30

Meet with
supervisor
this week
Seize the moment of excited curiosity on any subject to solve your doubts; for if you
let it pass, the desire may never return, and you may remain in ignorance.
—William Wirt
6 163

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
October 2009
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

_________________________________________________________ 1 2 3

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Prepare topic
_________________________________________________________ selection form
and Commit-
ment Contract
_________________________________________________________ Obtain signa-
ture(s) from
_________________________________________________________ AoI leader(s)
for chosen

_________________________________________________________ AoI(s)

11 12 13 14 15 16 17
_________________________________________________________ Present final
topic, title (in
_________________________________________________________ form of a guid-
ing question)
_________________________________________________________ and AoIs to
supervisor and
to Mrs Krake
_________________________________________________________ (for approval)
Start research
_________________________________________________________
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
_________________________________________________________
Half-term Half-term Half-term Half-term Half-term
_________________________________________________________
No classes No classes No classes No classes No classes
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
_________________________________________________________ Classes
_________________________________________________________ resume

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
162 7

November 2009

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Pedagogical
Day

No classes

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Discuss
planning /
timeline /
resources
with
supervisor

29 30
Preliminary
bibliography
due to
supervisor
Do not be desirous of having things done quickly. Do not look at small advantages.
Desire to have things done quickly prevents their being done thoroughly.
—Confucius
8 161

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
December 2009
_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________ 1 2 3 4 5

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
_________________________________________________________
Classes end
_________________________________________________________ at mid-day
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
_________________________________________________________
Winter Break Winter Break Winter Break Winter Break Winter Break
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 27 28 29 30 31
_________________________________________________________ Winter Break Winter Break Winter Break Winter Break
_________________________________________________________ No classes No classes No classes No classes
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
160 9

January 2010

1 2

Winter Break

No classes

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Winter Break Winter Break Winter Break Winter Break Winter Break


10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Classes
resume

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

31

Enter every activity without giving mental recognition to the possibility of defeat. Con-
centrate on your strengths, instead of your weaknesses ...on your powers, instead of
your problems.
—Paul J. Meyer

10 159

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
February 2010
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 1 2 3 4 5 6
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Finish work
on product
_________________________________________________________ and show to
supervisor
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
_________________________________________________________
Half-term Half-term Half-term Half-term Half-term
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 28
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
158 11

March 2010

1 2 3 4 5 6
MYP
Classes
Personal
resume
Project
PRODUCT
Exhibition

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Outline of
Personal
Statement
due

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

1st draft of Pedagogical
Personal Day
Statement
due No classes

28 29 30 31

Spring Break Spring Break Spring Break

No classes No classes No classes

Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.
—Thomas A. Edison

12 157

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
April 2010
_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________ 1 2 3

_________________________________________________________ Spring Break Spring Break
_________________________________________________________ No classes No classes
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

_________________________________________________________ Spring Break Spring Break Spring Break Spring Break Spring Break

_________________________________________________________ No classes No classes No classes No classes No classes

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
_________________________________________________________ Classes
resume
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 2nd draft of
Personal
_________________________________________________________ Statement
due
_________________________________________________________
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 25 26 27 28 29 30
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
156 13

May 2010

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 Submit final 8
copy of
Personal State-
ment, process
journal and
self-
assessment
(pp 62-64) to
supervisor

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Ascension Ascension

No Classes No Classes

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

Whit Monday Pedagogical
Day
No classes
No classes

30 31

Nothing valuable can be lost by taking time.
—Abraham Lincoln
14 155

June 2010
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________ 1 2 3 4 5

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Viva Voce
by each
_________________________________________________________ student—
15:30-16.15
15:30-
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 27 28 29 30

_________________________________________________________ Classes end
at mid-day
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
154 15

GETTING STARTED

The most important thing in science is not so much to obtain new facts as to discover
new ways of thinking about them.
—Sir William Bragg

16 153

_________________________________________________________ WHAT STEPS SHOULD I FOLLOW?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Your study of ATL has prepared you for your personal project.
The stages in the development of your personal project will
_________________________________________________________ include the following:
_________________________________________________________ • exploring and choosing at least one AoI and matching it with
_________________________________________________________ a topic which has a clear focus on the dimensions of your
_________________________________________________________ chosen AoI(s)
• planning the project
_________________________________________________________ • gathering the necessary material
_________________________________________________________ • working on the project
_________________________________________________________ • presenting the outcome (1. the product, 2. the personal
_________________________________________________________ statement and 3. your Viva Voce)
_________________________________________________________ Remember to record all information and ideas in your process
_________________________________________________________ journal.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ ∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ GETTING STARTED
_________________________________________________________
This guide is meant to give you ideas, but your own creativity is
_________________________________________________________
important. To help you get started, you could:
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 1. Remember Personal Projects you have seen from the past years
_________________________________________________________ 2. Read the list of sample Personal Projects on page 30
_________________________________________________________ 3. Talk to your family, friends, teachers, supervisor, and Year 12/13's
_________________________________________________________ 4. Complete the introductory questionnaire (p. 18)
_________________________________________________________ 5. Write down ALL ideas in your process journal
_________________________________________________________ 6. Meet with your supervisor (Meeting 1)
_________________________________________________________ 7. Decide on your AoI(s) and topic. Fill out the topic selection form, on
_________________________________________________________ page 21.
152 17

PERSONAL PROJECT
INTRODUCTORY QUESTIONNAIRE
The Personal Project, as you are by now aware, requires you to take responsibility
for your learning by researching and investigating a project of your choice. The
following questions are designed to help you work out what areas you might he
interested in pursuing. Fill in Questions 1-9 before you meet with your supervisor
for the first time.

1. What Area(s) of Interaction do you find a particular affinity with?

2. What do you do in your spare time ? What are some of your hobbies or
interests?

3. What are some of the things you do really well? (e.g. act, play piano or soccer)

The real voyage of discovery lies not in seeping new
landscapes but in having new eyes.
— Marcel Proust
18 151

_________________________________________________________
4. What would you like to be better at?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 5. When it comes to writing, what types of written assignments do you most enjoy
and why?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
6. What types of written assignments do you least enjoy and why?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
150 19

7. Think about your school and wider community. Is there any aspect of your
community that really infuriates you? (eg. perhaps there aren't enough trees in your
local park).

8. At this point in time, what are some of your ideas for your Personal Project?

FINAL FINAL Key Advantages &
PERSONAL RESULT Area(s) of Interaction that Disadvantages
PROJECT (e.g. CD, are of topic
IDEAS Poster, essay, Central to topic
VCD, model, (select one or two)
etc.)

Human Ingenuity
Community & Service
Environments
Health & Social Ed.
ATL

Human Ingenuity
Community & Service
Environments
Health & Social Ed.
ATL

Human Ingenuity
Community & Service
Environments
Health & Social Ed.
ATL

Human Ingenuity
Community & Service
Environments
Health & Social Ed.
ATL

Human Ingenuity
Community & Service
Environments Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions them-
Health & Social Ed. selves.
ATL —Rainer Maria Rilke
20 149

_________________________________________________________ PERSONAL PROJECT TOPIC SELECTION FORM
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 1. Proposed Topic:

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
2. What Area(s) of Interaction is central to your topic?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Area of Interaction Explanation of how AOI is central to topic & how you
plan to explore the AOI
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ (optional):
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 3. What form of presentation do you have in mind (e.g. essay, CD,
_________________________________________________________ work of art, model, etc.)?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
148 21

PP TOPIC SELECTION FORM, continued

4. What is the goal of your personal project?

If your goal changes as you go through your PP, write your new goal here:

5. How do you aim to achieve this goal? Be specific.

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.

—Mohatma Gandhi
22 147

_________________________________________________________ PP TOPIC SELECTION FORM, continued
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 6. What is your personal motivation for this topic? How will you be
able to reflect personally on this topic?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
7. Is this a project that will maintain your interest over eight
_________________________________________________________ months?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
8. Final Topic Selection Checklist:
_________________________________________________________ □ My Personal Project is personal.
_________________________________________________________ □ My Personal Project has a clear goal.
□ My Personal Project is central to at least one AOI.
_________________________________________________________ □ My Personal Project is not related to a specific subject area.
_________________________________________________________ □ My Personal Project is a realistic project.
_________________________________________________________ □ My Personal Project is something I can investigate and learn about.

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ AoI LEADER SIGNATURE(s): ____________________________________

_________________________________________________________
STUDENT’S SIGNATURE: ______________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
SUPERVISOR’S SIGNATURE: ___________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ MRS KRAKE’S SIGNATURE: ____________________________________

146 23

COMMITMENT CONTRACT
Read the following commitment contract carefully and then sign below.

I,________________________________ , promise that I will take ad-
vantage of this opportunity to direct my own learning. I will respect the
deadlines, work independently, seek advice when I need it, meet with my
supervisor regularly, and do my best work.

If I am unable to meet these responsibilities, I understand that I will be
subject to appropriate academic discipline.

I also promise that the work I submit will not be plagiarized in any way
and that I will document all sources. I understand that plagiarism will re-
sult in a grade of "0" which would mean I am unable to receive my MYP
Certificate.
_______________________________
(student's signature)

_______________________________
(supervisor's signature) If I were to begin life again, I should want it as it were. I would only open my eyes a
little more.
—Jules Kenard
24 145

_________________________________________________________ PLANNING QUESTIONNAIRE
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 1. What material(s) do I need to do my project?

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
2. Where do I find the necessary material(s)?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 3. Who has information about my topic?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
144 25

4. Do I have to carry out my own experiments? If so, describe.

5. Do I need to prepare, circulate and analyse a questionnaire or survey?
If so, describe.

6. Do I need to go to libraries other than the school library? If so, which
ones?

7. Do I need to visit museums? If so, describe.

8. What other resources in the community might help me?

Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.
—Vincent Van Gogh
26 143

_________________________________________________________ THE DESIGN CYCLE
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
You are familiar with the design cycle from your DT and IT classes. Use it
_________________________________________________________ to help you plan your personal project.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ INVESTIGATION PLAN
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ EVALUATION CREATE A SOLUTION
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
142 27

WHAT IS THE PERSONAL PROJECT?
Have you ever wanted to build a musical instrument? Do you have a secret passion
to write your own play? Do you want to make a difference in your community? Now
is your chance! Your Personal Project is your project to do what you want to do, to
show the skills you have developed over the years in your subjects and through the
Areas of Interaction, and to apply them to an area or topic on which you decide.
The Personal Project holds a place of special importance in the Middle Years
Programme, and thus your project must be closely linked to at least one of the
Areas of Interaction.

Remember, you will be working on this project for an extended period of time, and
your grade for the Personal Project is as important as any subject grade, so it
needs to be something you really want to do.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PERSONAL PROJECTS?

There are a wide variety of forms your Personal Project could take, such as:
• an original work of art (e.g. visual, dramatic, performance)
• an essay: a written piece of work on a special topic (literary, social,
psychological, etc.)
• a piece of literary fiction (e.g. creative writing)
• an original science experiment
• an invention or specially-designed object or system
• the presentation of a developed business, management, or organizational plan
(i.e. for an entrepreneurial business or project, a special event, or the
development of a new student or community organisation).

WHAT DOES DOING A PERSONAL PROJECT INVOLVE?

Your Personal Project must include a process journal, a product, and a personal
statement in the form of a piece of structured writing. If your project is an essay,
the essay itself will contain the requirements of the personal statement.

HOW DO I START?

After you read the student guide (first part of book) and attend the information
sessions, go to page 16 for a specific outline of how to get going on your Personal The best job goes to the person who can get it done without passing the buck or com-
Project. ing back with excuses.

—Napoleon Hill
28 141

_________________________________________________________ WHAT SHOULD I CONSIDER WHEN SELECTING A TOPIC?
_________________________________________________________
Whatever form you decide on, your Personal Project should:
_________________________________________________________ • have a clear and achievable goal
_________________________________________________________ • have at least one Area of Interaction which is central to your topic
• allow you to express a truly personal message
_________________________________________________________ • be the result of your initiative, creativity and ability to organize and
_________________________________________________________ plan
• reflect your special interests, hobbies, special abilities, or concerns
_________________________________________________________ about particular issues
_________________________________________________________ • deal with a topic or area to which you are committed
_________________________________________________________ • be entirely your own work - plagiarism will result in a grade of "0"
which will mean not receiving your MYP certificate
_________________________________________________________ Your Personal Project must not:
_________________________________________________________ • be part of any assessed course work (current or past)
• destroy your personal and social life, nor interfere with your studies,
_________________________________________________________ even though it will involve many hours of work
_________________________________________________________ • be too closely linked to any specific subject
_________________________________________________________ • be a topic you can copy from a book or a general topic (e.g. "Reggae
Music"), but should be a question or a challenge you can answer or
_________________________________________________________ meet.
_________________________________________________________ Additional points to consider:
• you must think of the idea first, and then rework it so that one AOI is
_________________________________________________________ central to it
_________________________________________________________ • your personal project can be written in any of the IB languages
_________________________________________________________ (English, French, Spanish, Chinese)
• it can be done in cooperation with other students as long as each
_________________________________________________________ student's work can be marked individually and separately and the
_________________________________________________________ success of the projects is not dependent on each other
• it must be completed with the guidance of your supervisor (a teacher
_________________________________________________________ at school who does not need to be an expert on your idea). You can
_________________________________________________________ get help from other people as long as you record this.
WHY DO A PERSONAL PROJECT?
_________________________________________________________
• you get to determine what you learn
_________________________________________________________ • you can choose something that interests you
_________________________________________________________ • you get an opportunity to show your understanding of the Areas of
Interaction
_________________________________________________________ • it is excellent preparation for the IB-diploma Extended Essay in Years
_________________________________________________________ 12 and 13
• you will get an MYP Graduation Certificate if your earn a "3" or more
_________________________________________________________
140 29

SAMPLE PERSONAL PROJECT TOPICS CENTRAL AOI
▫ designing an evening dress and investigating the history of clothing design Human Ingenuity

▫ designing and constructing a beach trolley/chair and exploring the history of such Human Ingenuity

▫ composing a musical score for part of a school play and looking at the history of musicals Human Ingenuity

▫ writing and illustrating a children's book and researching the ways you learn best Approaches to Learning

▫ manipulating digital photographs to heighten their impact and analyze the works of others Human Ingenuity

▫ creating a website for a Karate club Community Service

▫ creating a new sport for a specific age group Health & Social Education

▫ designing and creating a model of an environmentally friendly vehicle Environments

▫ creating a video of ISG and Geneva for new students Community & Service

▫ teaching women in slums to make stuffed dolls Community Service

▫ creating a mural about homelessness and study other such projects Human Ingenuity

▫ creating a documentary on dance and its health benefits Health & Social Education

30
▫ creating an interactive periodic table website and inquire into its possible influence on learning Human Ingenuity
▫ researching, designing, and constructing jigsaw puzzles for children with research on learning styles Approaches to Learning

▫ designing a healthy menu for the cafeteria Health & Social Education

▫ designing a magazine for teenagers Health & Social Education

▫ writing a collection of poetry concerning risks to the Environment Environments

▫ designing and drawing a mural in a specific location Environments

▫ designing a bicycle path and researching the history and development of other such paths Human Ingenuity

▫ designing and building a solar cooker Environments

▫ designing a lettering style to go with a range of products and investigating its advantages Human Ingenuity

▫ creating and printing new uniforms suitable for teenagers Health & Social Education

▫ writing an essay on computers and dehumanization Health & Social Education

▫ writing a business proposal on how to improve recycling at Nations Environments

139
If the power to do hard work is not a skill, it's the best possible substitute for it.

—James A. Garfield

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION:
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ THE PROCESS JOURNAL
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
&
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ THE PERSONAL STATEMENT
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
138 31

WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION OF YOUR PERSONAL PROJECT

In addition to working on your actual “product” you need to keep a process journal
throughout the duration of your project and write a personal statement after
completing your product (unless you choose to write an essay - in which case you
incorporate the essay with the personal statement).

A. The PROCESS JOURNAL

Your process journal (this book) should have all your rough ideas, rough drawings,
ideas you thought of with supervisors or other people, interviews you may have
conducted, notes and bibliographic information from sources you may have
consulted, reflections on the process itself (challenges, potential solutions), etc.

Your process journal is a practical workbook for your rough notes. It need not
be neat, but should be honest and filled in regularly to show you how your project is
developing. Your process journal will help you write your personal statement and
show your level of Personal Engagement with the Project

If you run out of pages in this process journal, use another plain notebook for your
second one.

At least once each week, you should write in your process journal.

What should you include in your process journal?
• all ideas you have, even if you don't end up using them
• a list of what you've done
• resources you've consulted (record complete bibliographical details) notes
from your research (including interviews)
• challenges and difficulties you have, including potential solutions and
diagrams, charts, samples, sketches, photos, etc.
• an evaluation of your progress (are you achieving your goals?)
• areas that you need to improve upon
• lists of things to do
• information about your focus Area of Interaction and how you believe it is
central to your topic
• research about the focus Area of Interaction to make the concepts clearer

B.The PERSONAL STATEMENT

What is a personal statement?
• It is the written reflection that you do on your project
• It is a thorough reflection on both the process and product
• It includes much of what you recorded in your process journal
• It is the part of your Personal Project that is assessed That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you've understood all
• It is PERSONAL. your life, but in a new way.
—Doris Lessing
32 137

_________________________________________________________ How should a personal statement be organised?

_________________________________________________________ The whole of your Personal Project should be organised as follows:
• a title page that includes the title of your project and your name. You can use
_________________________________________________________ photos or graphics if you want
_________________________________________________________ • an acknowledgements page. This is optional, but it is a chance to acknowledge
(or thank) all those people who helped or inspired you in completing your
_________________________________________________________ Personal Project
_________________________________________________________ • a detailed table of contents (include all subheadings in the main body as well
as page numbers. Make your subheadings specific to your topic)
_________________________________________________________ • an introduction, defining the goal of the project and an explicit focus on the
chosen AOI(s), and providing a detailed outline of how you attend to achieve
_________________________________________________________ the goal
_________________________________________________________ • a description and reflection of the process, including production steps, the
characteristics, aspects, or components of the work and details of the
_________________________________________________________ problems/ difficulties encountered and how they were overcome
_________________________________________________________ • analysis of the inspiration, research and influences guiding the work, the
analysis of the research/findings and decisions made, the resulting product
_________________________________________________________ and the process in terms of the goal and its central AOI(s) chosen (if you have
chosen to write an essay, the essay itself forms the main part of this analysis)
_________________________________________________________ • a conclusion, where you reflect on the impact of your project and on new
_________________________________________________________ perspectives that could be considered
• the word count, put discreetly after your conclusion
_________________________________________________________ • page numbers
_________________________________________________________ • charts, diagrams, photos of the process/product (if you include these, you must
label them and refer to them in the body of your personal statement. They
_________________________________________________________ must also be relevant)
• bibliography, properly formatted (for more details on writing bibliographies, see
_________________________________________________________ pages 65-68)
_________________________________________________________ • an annex, if necessary. If you include one, you must label it and refer to it in
the body of your personal statement. (for more details, see page 69.)
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ What is a good personal statement?
A good personal statement:
_________________________________________________________ • gives thorough answers to all the questions that are in the sample outline (see
pages 34-35)
_________________________________________________________ • can be described by the highest achievement level of the assessment criteria
_________________________________________________________ (see pages 46-51)
• includes all the relevant information from your process journal (see pp 70-166)
_________________________________________________________ • is highly reflective and concise and is a genuine PERSONAL response.
_________________________________________________________
How long should the personal statement be?
_________________________________________________________ • If your product is creative, your personal statement must be no longer than
3000 words
_________________________________________________________ • If your product is an essay, your essay/personal statement (integrated
_________________________________________________________ together) must be no longer than 4000 words.

136 33

SAMPLE OUTLINES OF 3 DIFFERENT PPs
REQUIRED GENERAL OUTLINE OF SAMPLE 1: ESSAY
STRUCTURE PERSONAL STATEMENT (together with personal statement)
Title Page Give a clear title (not "Personal Statement") Poverty in my City: How Can it Be
that indicates your project Explained?
Table of List sections, sub-sections, and page Titles of sections and sub-sections specific
Contents numbers (make them specific to your topic) to the essay (and page numbers)
Introduction • What is your PP? Areas of Interaction: HSE, Env
• What is your goal? Goal: to understand the causes and effects
• What Area(s) of Interaction is/are central to of poverty in my city
your goal?(describe and justify) Outline: general review of poverty through
• How did you aim to achieve this goal? local statistics; main aspects of poverty and
(outline) its causes or consequences in terms of
health, education, and local environment
Description • What techniques did you choose to enable • research by reading various documents
of Process you to achieve your goal? and statistics
• Why did you choose these techniques and • interview social workers, sociologist,
not others: (justify your selection) psychologist, poor people in different
parts of the city
• analyse police data and information
• writing process: planning, drafting, editing

Analysis of • What information did you research and how • show contrast between what different
the was it relevant to the goal and AoI(s) of sources say about the main causes and
inspiration, Your PP? consequences of poverty in my city
research and • What evidence do you have to support • analyse how the consequences of poverty
influences what you learned? (refer to what you affect health & education of the poor in
guiding the learned from doing research; cite what you my city
work learned using footnotes, endnote, or • analyse how poverty affects the
parenthetical references) environment where people live (may be
• What is your personal response to what related to housing, pollution, other factors)
you've learned? • review the process in terms of difficulties
encountered and ways you attempted to
solve them

Conclusion • What were the strengths and weaknesses • identify the main causes and
of your PP at all the different stages of consequences of poverty in my city that
development? affect health, education, and environment,
• How could you have tackled the project according to my research
differently? • evaluate each step of your process
• How would you assess the achieved results strengths and weaknesses
(the product) in terms of your goal and the • evaluate the quality of your essay
focus on your AoI(s)? • what would you do differently next time?
• Can you summarize the overall perspecti- • formulate a new question: how do
ves/ideas/conclusions related to your PP? changes in the surrounding environment
• What new questions do you now have? improve the quality of life of poor people?

Bibliography All works you used should be properly cited Books, newspapers, magazines,
in the bibliography (and referred to in the interviews, websites
body)
Appendices, Include any extra but relevant information in Statistics, graphics, histograms, question- Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?
if an appendix. Label each appendix and refer naire used for interviews, other material if —Benjamin Franklin
appropriate to it in the body of your writing relevant
34 135

_________________________________________________________ ON POVERTY IN MY CITY
_________________________________________________________
SAMPLE 2: MURAL SAMPLE 3: FUND-RAISING
_________________________________________________________ (personal statement) (personal statement)
Creating a Mural about Poverty in My City Fighting Poverty in My City: A Fund-Raising Drive
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Titles of sections and sub-sections specific to the essay
(and page numbers)
Titles of sections and sub-sections specific to the essay
(and page numbers)
_________________________________________________________ Areas of Interaction: Env, C&S Areas of Interaction: C&S
Goal: to sensitize people in my school to the conditions of Goal: to find ways in which different groups of people
_________________________________________________________ poverty in my city can take action to fight poverty in my city
Outline: review poverty in my city; consider ways of con- Outline: review poverty in my city; find out about people
_________________________________________________________ veying a feeling & a message; consider how it will impact
on the visual environment; draw my way of perceiving it;
and organisations fighting poverty; evaluate ways of
contributing; consider impact on the community and
_________________________________________________________ seek feedback from others; consider the impact on the
community; complete the mural; reflect on your service to
your contributions; decide on processes, procedures,
and beneficiaries; organise the fund drive
community
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ • investigate different sources about art and poverty in my • investigate poverty in the city and organizations that
city and the possible impact on the visual environment already work with poor people
_________________________________________________________ • choose aspects of poverty and the local community to • interview and gather data about needs and possible
be reflected in the mural action
_________________________________________________________ • choose techniques • choose strategy to organize and publicize the fund
• Sketch drive
_________________________________________________________ • get feedback and adapt drawing • organize and complete the fund drive
• complete final product (and get feedback) • follow up with beneficiaries
_________________________________________________________
• show how symbols of poverty are used • briefly describe and analyse the different ways institu-
_________________________________________________________ • explain how to produce desired impact in the community tions raise money to fight poverty and how their ac-
• show contrast between own interpretation (of symbols, tions make a difference
_________________________________________________________ techniques, colours) with feedback of others • analyse the way fund-raising was carried out to make
• evaluate the changes introduced to mural it appealing and effective
_________________________________________________________ •
•
analyse the characteristics of the audience
analyse the choice of location for the mural to create
• review the process in terms of difficulties encountered
and how these were overcome
_________________________________________________________ social awareness and benefit to the visual environment • analyse the impact on the community of activities such
as this

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ • evaluate whether the mural has been able to reflect the
environmental problems linked to poverty in the city
• reflect on C&S through the impact this type of activity
may have on the ones who benefit from fund-raising
_________________________________________________________ • evaluate each step of your process, including its
strengths and weaknesses
• evaluate each step of your process strengths and
weaknesses
reflect on the impact mural has had on community assess the impact of the project on people who bene-
_________________________________________________________ •
• formulate new questions: (a) is a mural a good way to
•
fited from the fund-raising
sensitize people to a problem? (b) what other means • review the outcome (money raised vs. expectations),
_________________________________________________________ could have been used? involvement of others, responses
• evaluate the quality of your mural • indicate other ways to help fight poverty in terms of
_________________________________________________________ • what would you do differently next time?
•
C&S
give overall perspective on how the project changed
_________________________________________________________ •
me
evaluate the quality of your organisation
• what would you do differently next time?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Books, newspapers, magazines, interviews, websites Books, newspapers, magazines, interviews, websites

_________________________________________________________ Pictures, photos, lists of artists, art movements that Questionnaire used for the interview and supporting sta-
inspired me tistics
134 35

PERSONAL STATEMENT CHECKLIST
Use this checklist after you've completed your personal statement.

My title page contains my name and a title that is specific to project
(graphics are optional).
I have a table of contents that lists page numbers and sub headings
that are specific to my topic.

I have an introduction.
I clearly described what my goal was.
I clearly described and justified the AoI(s) that are central to my
PP.
I gave a detailed outline of how I aimed to achieve my goal.

I selected and used a variety of appropriate resources in my
personal statement.
I analysed/evaluated this information critically.
I acknowledged the sources of information properly (i.e, used
footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical references in the body of my
statement and a properly cited bibliography after the conclusion).

I chose and described the applied techniques/steps relevant to my
PP's goal.
I explained why I chose a specific technique (or made a specific
decision) and not another one (e.g. why I chose a certain colour/
image/idea etc.).
Where appropriate, I included photos or diagrams or graphs that
are clearly labeled and integrated into the text.

I analysed the information I learned/used in terms of my goal(s).
I analysed the information I discovered in terms of my AOI focus.
I expressed personal thought/opinion.
I supported arguments with evidence.
A life spent in making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life
I responded thoughtfully to my ideas and inspiration for the Personal spent doing nothing.
Project. —George Bernard Shaw
36 133

_________________________________________________________ PERSONAL STATEMENT CHECKLIST, continued
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ I discussed to what extent my initial goal was achieved in relation to my end
product.
_________________________________________________________ I assessed the quality of my product and what I learned in terms of my AOI
_________________________________________________________ focus.
I identified the strengths and weaknesses of my project at different stages.
_________________________________________________________ I explained what I would do differently next time if I were to do this again.
I discussed what new questions or ideas I have about my product/topic now
_________________________________________________________ that I have finished it.
_________________________________________________________ I reflected on what I learned about myself from doing this project.

_________________________________________________________
I put the word count after my conclusion, before my bibliography.
_________________________________________________________ My bibliography is properly cited and ordered alphabetically.
_________________________________________________________ (Optional): I put extraneous information in an appendix.
⇒ If I used appendices, I labeled each one clearly with Appendix A (or
_________________________________________________________ B...) as well as a specific title.
_________________________________________________________ ⇒ If I used appendices, I referred to each one in the body of my personal
statement (e.g. In Appendix A....).
_________________________________________________________ ⇒ If I used appendices, I put them after the bibliography.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ I used sub-headings specific to my topic throughout the body of my personal
statement.
_________________________________________________________ I presented information clearly and neatly:
_________________________________________________________ I typed my project in an easy-to-read font.
I used standard margins.
_________________________________________________________ I put page numbers on each page.
I spell-checked my personal statement.
_________________________________________________________ I edited my personal statement carefully.
_________________________________________________________ I collated (stapled or put in folder or bound) my personal statement.
I expressed reflective thinking in a concise and precise manner (avoided
_________________________________________________________ repetition and needless words).
_________________________________________________________ I adhered to the word count (less than 3000 words for a creative project; less
than 4000 words for a combined essay/personal statement).
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ I reviewed the assessment criteria (pages 46-51) to make sure my personal
_________________________________________________________ statement is the best I can make it.
I completed the self-assessment form on pages 62-64 after I finished the final
_________________________________________________________ copy of my personal statement.
_________________________________________________________ I am proud of my personal statement.

132 37

THE AREAS OF
INTERACTION

Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.
—Rodin
38 131

_________________________________________________________ THE AREAS OF INTERACTION (AoIs)
_________________________________________________________
The Areas of Interaction form the basis of the MYP and are at the core of
_________________________________________________________ your subjects. The AOIs help you to develop greater global awareness,
_________________________________________________________ international understanding, and an appreciation of cultural diversity.
_________________________________________________________
The Areas of Interaction are central to the Personal Project. When
_________________________________________________________ selecting your topic, you must ensure that your topic and goal focus on
_________________________________________________________ one or more of the Areas of Interaction: approaches to learning (ATL),
community and service (C&S), human ingenuity (HI), environments
_________________________________________________________ (Env), and health and social education (HSE). Your topic must allow for a
_________________________________________________________ further exploration of an AOL . You will be assessed on your use and
exploration of one or more AOIs in three assessment criteria (A, D, and
_________________________________________________________
F— see pages 46-51).
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ APPROPRIATE VS. INAPPROPRIATE PERSONAL PROJECT TOPICS
_________________________________________________________ AOI APPROPRIATE TOPIC INAPPROPRIATE TOPIC
_________________________________________________________ (AOI is central to topic) (AOI is not central to topic)

_________________________________________________________ Approaches to Teaching hearing-impaired Designing a dress (you might
_________________________________________________________ Learning children how to read (deals with deal with how you learn, but
how they learn) this is not central to your
_________________________________________________________ topic)
_________________________________________________________ Community and Teaching women in the slum how Performing a song you wrote
Service to make stuffed animals for profit (C&S isn't central to your
_________________________________________________________ (you are out in the community topic)
_________________________________________________________ performing a service)

_________________________________________________________
Human Manipulating digital photos to Making a model car
_________________________________________________________ Ingenuity create new images that shock (HI isn't central to this)
the audience (impact,
_________________________________________________________ development, creation, ethics are
_________________________________________________________ central).

_________________________________________________________ Health and Creating a healthy menu for the Writing a play (while the
Social cafeteria (physical health is theme could be HSE related,
_________________________________________________________ Education central to topic) it isn't central to the project)
_________________________________________________________
Environments Conducting a campaign to help Making a chair out of recy-
_________________________________________________________ Nations reduce its paper usage cled parts (using recycled
_________________________________________________________ (the environment is central to parts does not make topic
topic) central to the environment)
130 39

Approaches to Learning (ATL)
Key Questions:
• How do I learn best?
• How do I know?
• How do I communicate my understanding?

ATL is automatically related to the Personal Project. This area enables you to take
responsibility for your own learning. It is concerned with the development of
effective study skills, of critical and independent thought, and the ability to solve
problems and make decisions. In your individual work, you should develop
organizational skills, collaborative skills, communication skills (written and oral), in-
formation literacy (i.e. the ability to find and evaluate information), problem solving
and thinking skills, and reflection skills. All Personal Projects will demonstrate your
ATL skills.

For a Personal Project to have ATL as its focus, however, the project must be
focused on learning. For example, a project that involves organizing educational
activities with young hearing-impaired children would involve a study of how this
disability affects learning.

Community and Service (C&S)
Key Questions:
• How do we live in relation to each other?
• How can I contribute to the community?
• How can I help others?

Community and Service encourages you to become a more responsible citizen
both through a greater understanding of the world around you as well as through
actively participating in service projects.

If your Personal Project has C&S as its central AoI, your project could show a
greater awareness of the needs of the community and your role within the commu-
nity. Equally, your Personal Project could lead to you becoming
actively involved in a community service aspect. Reflection upon your C&S experi-
ence in Years 9 and 10 should help you to become aware of your own strengths
and weaknesses, and may enable you to look at how your own community involve-
ment can develop. Please note that simply performing something does not make it
a community service. Remember that community and service must be the focus of
your Personal Project (and evident in your goal) for it to be considered central to
your Personal Project.

Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you.
—Aldous Huxley
40 129

_________________________________________________________ Human Ingenuity (HI)
_________________________________________________________ Key Questions:
_________________________________________________________ • Why and how do we create?
• What are the consequences?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Human Ingenuity involves learning about creativity, action and thought, both in and
outside the classroom. It allows you to appreciate the human capacity to invent,
_________________________________________________________ create, transform, enjoy and improve the quality of life. It encourages you to see the
relationships between science, aesthetics, technology, and ethics. One of the best
_________________________________________________________ ways to view Human Ingenuity is as a cycle, not unlike the DT/IT design cycle.
_________________________________________________________ Many areas of human activity can be explored through Human Ingenuity, including:
• systems (laws, governments, transport, education, health care)
_________________________________________________________ • communication, (which may include statistics, language, codes)
_________________________________________________________ • technology (buildings, machinery, tools)
• thought (principles, concepts, ideas, opinions, attitudes)
_________________________________________________________ • art (painting, sculpture, embroidery, theatre, music)
• culture (fashion, rituals, food)
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Just as all Personal Projects will somehow involve ATL skills, all projects will involve
Human Ingenuity to some extent. However, for a personal project to have HI as
_________________________________________________________ its central AOI, you must go beyond presenting your product as an example
of human creativity (i.e. "I made it, therefore it's Human Ingenuity" will result in
_________________________________________________________ poor results in 3 criteria). For Human Ingenuity to be central to your Personal
_________________________________________________________ Project, you must question and investigate the creative process, reflect on
your own and others' involvement in it, engage with the product, and reflect
_________________________________________________________ on its role and context. Describe Human Ingenuity as a cycle.
_________________________________________________________
Useful words to remember and to use in your reflection are 'origins', 'context',
_________________________________________________________ 'impact', 'product' and 'development'. For example, if you are preparing a Per-
sonal Project which involves building or designing a bridge (product), you might ask
_________________________________________________________ questions about how the idea for the bridge came about (origins), who or what influ-
_________________________________________________________ enced you (context), how you expect your bridge to affect people (impact), and how
the bridge might be used in the future (development). Also, you must remember
_________________________________________________________ that Human Ingenuity relates as much to yourself as it does to something you are
_________________________________________________________ learning about. It may be helpful to ask yourself questions related to ethics: "Am I
making decisions in the right way?" and "What sort of values am I using while I
_________________________________________________________ complete this project?" Both are very good Human Ingenuity questions, because
they are a reflection on how you as person are developing your 'product' - the Per-
_________________________________________________________ sonal Project.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ NOTE: The diagram on the following page is useful in helping you describe
_________________________________________________________ Human Ingenuity as a cycle.

_________________________________________________________
128 41

The important thing is not to stop questioning.
—Albert Einstein
42 127

_________________________________________________________ Environments (Env)
Key Questions:
_________________________________________________________ • Where do we live?
_________________________________________________________ • What resources do we have or need?
• What are my responsibilities?
_________________________________________________________ You are confronted every day by global environmental issues, at home, at school and
_________________________________________________________ in your immediate surroundings, all of which require attention and involve decision
making. In your Personal Project, you could examine one of these environmental
_________________________________________________________ issues and even develop a solution for it. Environments involves you in understanding
the issues surrounding your place in the world and the responsibilities that you (and all
_________________________________________________________ people) have in ensuring that your legacy is that of a clean healthy planet.
_________________________________________________________ In the Personal Project, you could choose to explore issues such as:
• the interdependence of human and other forms of life
_________________________________________________________ • the consequences of human manipulation of the environment
_________________________________________________________ • pollution and population growth
• the links between health and changes to the environment
_________________________________________________________ • world problems and common issues
• local, regional, national and international responsibilities
_________________________________________________________ • the environmental choices and opportunities offered by technology
_________________________________________________________ • the political responsibility of each individual

_________________________________________________________ Health and Social Education (HSE)
_________________________________________________________ Key Questions:
• How do I think and act?
_________________________________________________________ • How am I changing?
_________________________________________________________ • How can I look after myself and others?

_________________________________________________________ Four Strands of Health and Social Education
1. Looking after ourselves
_________________________________________________________ 2. Understanding ourselves
_________________________________________________________ 3. Ourselves and others
4. Ourselves in the wider society
_________________________________________________________ Health and Social Education gives you the opportunity to explore, learn and discuss a
_________________________________________________________ wide variety of topics which contribute to a physically and mentally healthy life. HSE
aims to educate the whole person, mentally and physically.
_________________________________________________________ As you plan your Personal Project, you might explore topics that involve making
informed decisions and taking responsibility for your own well-being and for the people
_________________________________________________________ and world around you. Developing an action plan to stop school bullying and creating a
_________________________________________________________ healthy menu for the cafeteria are two sample Personal Projects that would be central
to HSE. Other issues you could explore include hygiene, physical and mental health,
_________________________________________________________ rest, exercise, leisure, alcohol, drugs, adolescence, emotions, family life, sexual is-
sues, peer
_________________________________________________________ influences, advertising, media, interpersonal relations, self-respect, family relations,
_________________________________________________________ school, peers, safety, firearms, vandalism, poverty, delinquency.
_________________________________________________________
126 43

I
H

Somehow I can't believe that there are any heights that can't be scaled by a man who
knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me,
can be summarized in four C s. They are curiosity, confidence, courage, and con-
stancy, and the greatest of all is confidence. When you believe in a thing, believe in it
all the way, implicitly and unquestionable.
—Walt Disney

44 125

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Approaches How do I learn best?
How do I know?
To
_________________________________________________________ Learning How do I communicate my understanding?
What sort of learner am I?
_________________________________________________________ How can I research effectively?
How can I organise my time and my materials well?
What have I learned and done well this term?
_________________________________________________________ What role(s) do I play in a group?
NB: This AoI may only be selected as a personal project focus ONLY if the pro-
_________________________________________________________ ject centers around someone else’s learning.
_________________________________________________________ Community What do I know and understand about others around me?
and How can I contribute to the community?
_________________________________________________________ Service How can I help others?
What does "community" mean?
_________________________________________________________ What makes a community?
How are communities similar?
_________________________________________________________ What can I learn about myself through serving others?

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Human How and why do we create?
Ingenuity What are the consequences of creating?
_________________________________________________________ Origin: How did the creation start? Who thought of it?
Process: What steps are taken to produce the creation? How does it change?
_________________________________________________________ Development: How has the creation been modified? What else does it lead to?
Context: What is the historical / social / cultural / religious context of the creation?
_________________________________________________________ Impact: How does the creation affect individuals and/or society?
Product: What is the creation? What is it made of? How is it made?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Environments Where do we live?
What resources do we have or need?
_________________________________________________________ What are my responsibilities?
What environments am I a part of?
_________________________________________________________ How do I affect the environment?
How am I affected by the environment?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Health How do I think and act?
and How am I changing?
_________________________________________________________ Social How can I look after myself and others? How can I increase my self-esteem? How can
Education we resolve crises?
_________________________________________________________ How can I make wise decisions when faced with many choices?
How can I differentiate between needs and wants? To what extent do I act responsibly
_________________________________________________________ in groups?
How can I express my needs clearly and appropriately?
_________________________________________________________ To what extent am I aware of the different standards of living of people around me?
To what extent am I aware of potential global health and environmental risks? How can
_________________________________________________________ I deal with situations of bullying, harassment, or prejudice? To what extent am I aware
of the relationship between lifestyle choices and leading causes of death?
124 45

Assessment
Criteria

Don’t agonize. Organize.

—Florynce Kennedy

46 123

_________________________________________________________ Once you’ve finished your product and have used your process journal to write your
Personal Statement, your Personal Statement will be assessed using the following
_________________________________________________________ seven criteria.
_________________________________________________________
MYP Personal Project Assessment Criteria
_________________________________________________________ Criteria Total Points
_________________________________________________________ Criterion A Planning and Development 4
Criterion B Collection of Information/Resources 4
_________________________________________________________
Criterion C Choice and Application of Techniques 4
_________________________________________________________ Criterion D Analysis of Information 4
_________________________________________________________ Criterion E Organization of Written Work 4
Criterion F Analysis of Process and Outcome 4
_________________________________________________________
Criterion G Personal Engagement 4
_________________________________________________________ TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE 28
_________________________________________________________
Criterion A: Planning and Development Maximum level: 4
_________________________________________________________
Students should be aware that it is essential to define a clear goal before starting
_________________________________________________________ detailed research and work. A goal can be defined as a statement, or one or more key questions,
which identify the focus of the personal project based on one or more
_________________________________________________________ areas of interaction. The goal may alter during the course of the personal project but students
need to state and explain clearly the reason(s) for a change in goal.
_________________________________________________________ Evidence of students’ achievement in this criterion will be found in the introduction, the body of
the work and the conclusion.
_________________________________________________________
Level Descriptor
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 0 The student has not reached a standard described by any of the descriptors given be-
low.
_________________________________________________________
1 The student identifies the goal of the personal project but does not provide an out-
_________________________________________________________ line of how he/she aims to achieve this goal.

_________________________________________________________ 2 The student identifies and describes the goal of the personal project, states the focus
on the chosen area(s) of interaction and provides a simple outline of how he/she
_________________________________________________________ aims to achieve this goal.

_________________________________________________________ 3 The student identifies and clearly describes the goal of the personal project, describes
the focus on the chosen area(s) of interaction and provides a
_________________________________________________________ coherent account of how he/she aims to achieve this goal. The development of the
personal project is generally consistent with this description.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 4 The student identifies and clearly describes the goal of the personal project within a
context, develops and justifies the focus on the area(s) of
_________________________________________________________ interaction and provides a coherent and thorough description of how he/she aims to
achieve this goal. The development of the personal project is totally consistent with this
_________________________________________________________ description.
122 47

Criterion B: Collection of Information/Resources Maximum level: 4
This criterion allows the student to demonstrate the ability to collect relevant information from a
variety of sources and to compile a bibliography of sources used in the project. Students should
select sufficient information and appropriate resources to substantiate all arguments and/or to
support the project. Students should also acknowledge their sources of information clearly in the
body of their text through clear referencing.

Level Descriptor
0 The student has not reached a standard described by any of the descriptors given below.
1 Few sources of information and resources have been collected, or the majority are ir-
relevant to the goal of the personal project. The student has provided a summary bibli-
ography, where many elements are missing. Few references are made in the text to
sources of information used.
2 The student has chosen and used a limited amount of relevant information and re-
sources, from a limited number of appropriate sources. A bibliography has been com-
piled with most elements present and/or appropriately presented. Some references
are made in the body of the text and appendices, where appropriate.
3 The student has chosen and used a good amount of relevant information and resources,
from a fairly extensive number of appropriate sources. A bibliography has been com-
piled with all important elements present and/or appropriately presented. Detailed ref-
erences are made in the body of the text and appendices, where appropriate.
4 The personal project contains excellent, relevant information and resources from a wide
variety of appropriate sources. The bibliography is complete and well presented, with
clear references to sources in the body of the text and appendices, where appropriate.

Criterion C: Choice and Application of Techniques Maximum level: 4
This criterion assesses students’ abilities to choose techniques relevant to the personal pro-
ject’s goal, as defined by the key questions, or statement of intent of the personal project. Stu-
dents should justify this selection and apply the chosen techniques consistently and effectively.
Students should choose a goal that is achievable. Because of circumstances that may be be-
yond their control, students may find that unforeseen difficulties prevent successful completion
of ambitious projects. These types of ambitious personal project may still result in a good level
of achievement for this criterion.

Level Descriptor

1 Large parts of the project are not relevant in terms of the goal that had been identified
by the student. The techniques used are largely inappropriate and inadequately
applied.

2 The techniques chosen vary in their appropriateness, with some being applied to an
acceptable standard in order to contribute to the achievement of the goal. The student
begins to provide justification for the use of the chosen techniques.

3 The techniques chosen are generally appropriate and well applied to contribute to the
achievement of the goal. The student provides some justification for the use of the
chosen techniques.

4 The student has chosen absolutely appropriate techniques, provided specific justifi- You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
cation for their choice and applied them effectively, to achieve the stated goal. —Eleanor Roosevelt
48 121

_________________________________________________________ Criterion D: Analysis of Information Maximum level: 4

_________________________________________________________ This criterion measures students’ abilities to analyse information in terms of the personal project’s
goal and focus on the chosen area(s) of interaction. Students should express personal thoughts
_________________________________________________________ and support arguments with evidence.

_________________________________________________________ Level Descriptor

_________________________________________________________ 0 The student has not reached a standard described by any of the descriptors given below.
_________________________________________________________ 1 The personal project contains little reflection in terms of the goal and focus on the
chosen area(s) of interaction, and is largely narrative/descriptive. The student misses
_________________________________________________________ many
opportunities for personal treatment of the topic/theme.
_________________________________________________________
2 The personal project contains some reflection in terms of the goal and focus on the
_________________________________________________________ chosen area(s) of interaction. Personal thought is mostly supported with arguments
and evidence.
_________________________________________________________ 3 The personal project contains significant reflection in terms of the goal and focus on the
_________________________________________________________ chosen area(s) of interaction. The student generally supports personal thought with
arguments and evidence. However, some opportunities for analysis are not pursued.
_________________________________________________________ 4 The personal project clearly shows the depth of reflection and vitality of the student’s
own ideas and vision. The student consistently supports a truly personal response to
_________________________________________________________ the topic with arguments and evidence.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Criterion E: Organization of the Written Work Maximum level: 4
_________________________________________________________ This criterion focuses on the presentation of the written work (including title page, contents page
and page numbering, overall neatness, the appropriate use of graphs, diagrams and tables,
_________________________________________________________ where appropriate). It also assesses the internal structure and coherence of the work.
_________________________________________________________
Level Descriptor
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
1 The written work is poorly organized, lacking a sensible order and coherent structure.
_________________________________________________________ The presentation of the work (for example, table of contents and page numbering) is
lacking in several respects.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 2 The student has made some attempt at logical organization and an attempt to respect
the required structure of the personal project. There are some coherent links between
_________________________________________________________ parts of the personal project, and the presentation of the work is often appropriate.

_________________________________________________________
3 The student has made a good attempt at logical organization, respecting the required
_________________________________________________________ structure of the personal project. There are some good links between parts of the per-
sonal project, and the presentation of the work is almost always appropriate.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 4 The organization of the work is completely coherent with the required structure. Ideas
_________________________________________________________ are sequenced in a consistently logical manner with appropriate transitions. Overall
presentation and neatness of the work are excellent.
120 49

Criterion F: Analysis of Process and Outcome Maximum level: 4

Evidence of students’ achievement in this criterion will be found in the conclusion and also in
the body of the structured piece of writing. Students are expected to describe, and reflect on,
the stages of development of the personal project and the thought processes followed. Stu-
dents should reflect on the ways in which the personal project has fulfilled the initial goal. In this
reflection, students should review the ways in which the project has been focused on the cho-
sen area(s) of interaction, and on how dimensions of the area(s) have been explored and devel-
oped. Students should attempt to define new perspectives that could be investigated further
through future inquiry into the topic/theme. Using their process journals as a prompt for reflec-
tion, students will provide comments on such questions as:

• What have been the strengths and the weaknesses of the personal project at different
stages of development?
• What would the student do differently next time?

Level Descriptor

0 The student has not reached a standard described by any of the descriptors given be-
low.

1 The student’s review is simply a narrative summary or a superficial review of the de-
velopment of the personal project in terms of the goal set at its start. There is little un-
derstanding of the dimensions of the area(s) of interaction that were stated as the fo-
cus for the personal project.

2 The student adequately reviews his/her personal project in terms of the goal set at its
start. The student’s review shows some reflection on different stages of the process
including an adequate analysis of the quality of the product. The student’s review
shows some understanding of the dimensions of the chosen area(s) of interaction that
served as a focus for the personal project.

3 The student consistently reviews his/her personal project in terms of the goal set at its
start. The student’s review shows significant reflection on different stages of the proc-
ess. The evaluation includes a good analysis of the quality of the product, and shows
a clear understanding of the
dimensions of the chosen area(s) of interaction that served as a focus for the personal
project.

4 The student consistently and thoroughly reviews his/her personal project in terms of
the goal set at its start. The student’s review shows excellent
reflection on different stages of the process. The evaluation includes an
excellent analysis of the quality of the product and reveals a thorough
understanding of the dimensions of the chosen area(s) of interaction that served as a
focus for the personal project. The student presents new
perspectives emerging from the chosen topic.
I don’t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know
that it has got to get down to work.
—Pearl S. Buck
50 119

_________________________________________________________ Criterion G: Personal Engagement Maximum level: 4

_________________________________________________________ This criterion focuses on an overall assessment of students’ engagement and application of ap-
proaches to learning skills during the planning and development stages of the personal project.
_________________________________________________________ Qualities such as organization and
commitment to the task should be considered. By their very nature, these are
_________________________________________________________ difficult to quantify and the assessment should take into account the context in which the personal
project was undertaken.
_________________________________________________________
The assessment should also take account of working behaviours such as the amount of encour-
_________________________________________________________ agement required by students, the interaction between
students and supervisors, the attention to deadlines and procedures, as well as the appropriate
_________________________________________________________ use of supporting documentation such as log books and process journals.
_________________________________________________________ The levels of achievement awarded should be based on a holistic judgment of the degree to
_________________________________________________________ which these qualities and working behaviours are evident in the personal project.

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Level Descriptor
_________________________________________________________
0 The student has not reached a standard described by any of the
_________________________________________________________ descriptors given below.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 1 The personal project shows little evidence of any of the required qualities and working
behaviours.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 2 The personal project is judged to be satisfactory in terms of most of the required quali-
ties and working behaviours.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 3 The personal project is judged to be good in terms of most of the required qualities and
_________________________________________________________ working behaviours.

_________________________________________________________
4 The personal project is judged to be outstanding in terms of the
_________________________________________________________ required qualities and working behaviours.

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
118 51

How do I ensure I have covered all the
elements of the assessment criteria?

Use this checklist!!

Criterion A: Planning and Development

Have I:
clearly stated and explained my goal/s for the Personal
Project
developed and justified my chosen focus Areas of Interaction
provided a thorough description of my development plan
(outline) to explain how I would achieve my goal/s
followed the above stated development plan (outline) to
achieve my goals

Criterion B: Collection of Information/Resources

Have I:
chosen and used excellent / reliable sources of information
justified my choice of reliable sources in relation to my goal
and my chosen focus Areas/s of Interaction
used a wide variety of sources of information
included a correctly formatted and well presented
bibliography included in text referencing in my writing where
appropriate

And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything you risk even more.
—Erica Jong
52 117

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Criterion C: Choice and Application of Techniques
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Have I:
_________________________________________________________ chosen absolutely appropriate techniques to achieve my
goal(s)
_________________________________________________________
justified how my techniques were appropriate in achieving my
_________________________________________________________ goal and centering on my chosen Areas of Interaction
_________________________________________________________ applied my techniques effectively in my Project to achieve my
_________________________________________________________ goal
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Criterion D: Analysis of Information
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Have I:
analysed my researched information to help achieve my goal
_________________________________________________________
reflected on the researched information to identify what was
_________________________________________________________ effective and what was not and if, ultimately, it helped to
_________________________________________________________ achieve my goal and focus on my Area/s of Interaction
_________________________________________________________ supported my ideas/visions with evidence from my research
ensured and highlighted the analysed information that related
_________________________________________________________
directly to my chosen Area/s of Interaction
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
116 53

Criterion E: Organisation of the Written Work

Have I:
followed the Personal Statement structure as explained by
the Personal Project Coordinator
sequenced my ideas in a logical and consistent manner used
appropriate transitions in my writing to show the flow of my
ideas
organised and presented my written work in a neat formal
manner
incorporated graphs, pictures, tables, etc. only where
appropriate and where I have referred to them in my text

Criterion F: Analysis of Process and Outcome

Have I:
described and reflected on each of the stages of
development of my Project, discussing both my strengths
and weaknesses
reflected on whether my goal/s was achieved—why or why
not
reflected on my Area/s of Interaction as the focus and
explained how they have been developed and explored
through my Project
analysed the quality of my product and related it to my
chosen Area/s of Interaction
discussed new ideas for how the Project could be
investigated further
suggested what I would do differently if I were to attempt it Those who trust us educate us.
again —George Eliot
54 115

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Criterion G: Personal Engagement
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Have I:
_________________________________________________________ used my journal effectively for record keeping, reflecting and
as a reference tool for my Personal Statement
_________________________________________________________
shown good application of Approaches to Learning skills
_________________________________________________________ when planning and developing my Personal Project
_________________________________________________________ shown organisation and commitment to my Project
_________________________________________________________ met all deadlines
fostered a healthy relationship with my Personal Project
_________________________________________________________
Supervisor
_________________________________________________________ responded positively to feedback and advice
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Personal Project Grade Boundaries
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Grade
_________________________________________________________ 1 0-5
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 2 6-9
_________________________________________________________ 3 10-13
_________________________________________________________
4 14-16
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ 5 17-21
_________________________________________________________ 6 22-24
_________________________________________________________
7 25-28
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ You need at least a 3 to pass the Personal Project.
114 55

SUPERVISOR’S
FEEDBACK

(formative
assessment)

There are no big problems, there are just a lot of little problems.
—Henry Ford
56 113

_________________________________________________________ THE SUPERVISOR
_________________________________________________________
Your supervisor will:
_________________________________________________________ Review the progress of your project and help you to use the criteria
_________________________________________________________ Review your process journal and provide ATL support
Help you think about the direction of your project
_________________________________________________________ Suggest where more research might be helpful
_________________________________________________________ Help you think about the structure and presentation of your writing
Assess your final project
_________________________________________________________ Your supervisor will not:
_________________________________________________________ Do the project for you!
_________________________________________________________ Tell you what do to
Organize your meetings
_________________________________________________________ Each time your supervisor meets with you, he/she will make a brief com-
_________________________________________________________ ment on your progress. Every third or fourth meeting, you and your super-
visor should fill in an Approaches to Learning checklist as well. These for-
_________________________________________________________ mative comments will help you to improve your progress.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Meeting 1 Date:______________________

_________________________________________________________ Supervisor's Comments:
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Supervisor's Signature:__________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Next meeting:___________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Meeting 2 Date:______________________
_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________ Next meeting:___________________
112 57

Meeting 3 Date:______________________

Supervisor's Comments:

Supervisor's Signature:__________________________________________

Next meeting:___________________

Meeting 4 Date:______________________



Next meeting:___________________

ATL Skills Rarely Occasionally Usually Always
Contacts supervisor on
regular basis
Works
independently
Organizes time
effectively
Meets deadlines
Demonstrates good effort

Meeting 5 Date:______________________


A problem is a chance for you to do your best.
Next meeting:___________________ —Duke Ellington

58 111

_________________________________________________________ Meeting 6 Date:______________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Next meeting:___________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Meeting 7 Date:______________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Next meeting:___________________

_________________________________________________________
Meeting 8 Date:______________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Next meeting:___________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ regular basis
_________________________________________________________ Works
independently
_________________________________________________________
Organizes time
_________________________________________________________ effectively
_________________________________________________________ Meets deadlines

_________________________________________________________ Demonstrates good effort

110 59

Meeting 9 Date:______________________



Next meeting:___________________

Meeting 10 Date:______________________



Next meeting:___________________

Meeting 11 Date:______________________



Next meeting:___________________

regular basis

Works
independently

Organizes time
effectively

Meets deadlines
Demonstrates good effort The difficulty in life is the choice.
—George Moore
60 109

_________________________________________________________ Meeting 12 Date:______________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Next meeting:___________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Meeting 13 Date:______________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Next meeting:___________________

_________________________________________________________
Meeting 14 Date:______________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Next meeting:___________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ regular basis
_________________________________________________________ Works
independently
_________________________________________________________
Organizes time
_________________________________________________________ effectively
_________________________________________________________ Meets deadlines


108 61

FINAL
SELF-ASSESSMENT

If we value the pursuit of knowledge, we must be free to follow wherever that search
may lead us. The free mind is not a barking dog, to be tethered on a ten-foot chain.
—Adlai E. Stevenson Jr.
62 107

_________________________________________________________ FINAL STUDENT SELF-ASSESSMENT
_________________________________________________________ Name: _______________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Homeroom:_____________________ Class:_________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Supervisor: ____________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Project Title: __________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________
Product Type: _________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ (e.g. portrait, model, CD Rom, VCD, clothing, essay, folder, etc.)
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Display Requirements: __________________________________________
(e.g. computer & required software, CD player, Internet access, etc.).
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
After you have finished writing your personal statement, complete two final
_________________________________________________________ assessments: an Approaches to Learning checklist below and a summative
_________________________________________________________ assessment on the next page. To complete the summative assessment, use
the Personal Project Assessment Criteria on pp 46-51. Please write in com-
_________________________________________________________ ments that justify your score for each criterion.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ ATL Skills Rarely Occasionally Usually Always

_________________________________________________________ Contacts supervisor on
regular basis
_________________________________________________________
Works
_________________________________________________________ independently

_________________________________________________________ Organizes time
effectively
_________________________________________________________
Meets deadlines
_________________________________________________________
106 63

FINAL STUDENT SELF ASSESSENT
MYP Criteria Level Comments
(Score)

Criterion A:

Planning and
Development
(4)

Criterion B:

Collection of
Information/Resources
(4)

Criterion C:

Choice and Application
of Techniques
(4)

Criterion D:

Analysis of Information
(4)

Criterion E:

Organization of the
Written Work
(4)

Criterion F:

Analysis of Process
and Outcome
(4)

Criterion G:

Personal Engagement Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any
one thing.
(4)
—Abraham Lincoln
64 105

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ BIBLIOGRAPHY
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
GUIDE
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
104 65

A GUIDE TO WRITING BIBLIOGRAPHIES

INTRODUCTION
A bibliography is a list of sources that you have used for information during your
research.
This is a quick and simple guide to help you write a proper bibliography for your IB-
MYP Personal Project. Listed below are some rules to follow and some examples.
There is no single correct way to write a bibliography. Many different fields of study
and different universities use different formats. This guide shows only one way to
do it properly.
If you are in doubt, FOLLOW YOUR TEACHER'S INSTRUCTIONS.

WHY DO YOU HAVE TO INCLUDE A BIBLIOGRAPHY?
• To give credit for ideas that are not yours;
• To allow people who like your work to find the same information that you did;
• To show all of the sources that you have used to support your research.

WHAT SHOULD A BIBLIOGRAPHY LOOK LIKE?
• It should be consistent and arranged alphabetically by the first word in each
entry (usually the author's last name) under the heading "Bibliography";
• It should contain proper punctuation, underlining, and indenting;
• It should include who wrote the information, where the information was
published, and when it was published.

WHAT DOES A SAMPLE BIBLIOGRAPHY LOOK LIKE?
Here is a sample bibliography and some hints. The rules for each of these entries
and others are on the next page.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Armstrong, Matthew. The Best Protects to Help Save the Earth for Young Teens. Toronto: Western
Alliance Publishing, 2002.

Charnel, Frederico V. and Tomas Vallpollicello. How to Cook Spaghetti in Your Uncle's Wok. Rome:
Vendetta and Sons, 1999.

"Everyone Out of the Gene Pool: How Thai Food is Harming Our DNA." Bangkok Post. 13 Sept. 1998:
C21.

"Great Pictures of Personal Projects From My School." Great IB Schools. 19 Aug. 2001. Online. Available
http://www.raisingtheprofile.com/jpeg/html/pic. 21 May 2002.

"MTV Cribs: Limp Bizket's Personal Project Room." MTV Cribs. MTV Asia, Bangkok. 6 Oct. 2001.

**HINTS: (1) the word "Bibliography" is centered and in all capitals; (2) the
second line of each entry is indented five spaces (one tab stop); (3) the
entries are listed alphabetically by first word in each entry; (4) the name of
the book or newspaper or television show is underlined; (5) notice exactly The best way out is always through.
—Robert Frost
where the full stops appear.
66 103

_________________________________________________________ SAMPLE BIBLIOGRAPHIC ENTRIES
_________________________________________________________ A Book By One Author:
_________________________________________________________ Armstrong, Matthew. The Best Projects to Help Save the Earth for Young Teens.
Toronto: Western Alliance Publishing, 2002.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Format: Author's last name, first name. Title of book. Place of publication:
publisher, date of publication.
_________________________________________________________ Hints: take all information from the title page and back of the title page; take
the first city listed and the most recent date.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
A Book By More than One Author:
_________________________________________________________ Chartres, Frederico V. and Tomas Vallpollicello. How to Cook Spaghetti in Your
_________________________________________________________ Uncle's Wok. Rome: Vendetta and Sons, 1999.

_________________________________________________________ Format: First author's last name, first name. Second author's first name and
last name. Title of book. Place of publication: publisher, date of publication.
_________________________________________________________ Hints: if there are three or more authors, put "et.al." after the first author's
_________________________________________________________ name.

_________________________________________________________
A Magazine or Newspaper Article:
_________________________________________________________ Kane, Kwae-Chang. "How Kung-Fu Saved My Life and My Marriage." Martial Arts
_________________________________________________________ Review 2 Nov. 1996, 23-36.
_________________________________________________________ Format: Author's last name, first name. "Title of article." Title of magazine or
_________________________________________________________ newspaper Date of issue, pages.
Hints: if you can't tell who the author is, the title of the article comes first; do
_________________________________________________________ not put a full stop after the title of the magazine or newspaper.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ An Encyclopedia Article:
Middlesbrough, Larry. "Vowels." World Book Encyclopedia, 2000 ed.
_________________________________________________________ Format: Author's last name, first name. "Title of article." Title of Encyclopedia,
_________________________________________________________ edition.
Hints: if you can't tell who wrote the article, the title of the article comes first.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ An Article from a CD-ROM:
_________________________________________________________ Koeller, Martin. "Why the Leafs are the Greatest Hockey Team of All Time."
Microsoft's World of Hockey. CD-ROM. New York: Microsoft, 2002.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Format: Author's last name, first name. "Title of article." Title of disc. Format.
Place: publisher, date.
_________________________________________________________ Hints: take the disc's information from the computer, not from the box.
102 67

SAMPLE BIBLIOGRAPHIC ENTRIES, continued

Information from the Internet:
"Great Pictures of Personal Projects From My School." Great IB Schools. 19
Aug. 2001. Online. Available http://www.raisingtheprofile.com/ jpeg/html/pic.
21 May 2002.

Format: Author (if known). "Title of page or document." Title of site or larger
work. Date of document (if known). Online. Available http:lladdresslfilename.
Date you viewed the information.

A Personal E-mail:
McDuck, Ronald. <mcducksr@warmmail.com> "Too Much Beef is Bad." 15
May 2001. E-mail received by : Vegan, Joe.

Format: Author's last name, first name. <Author's e-mail address. "Subject
line." Date of message. E-mail received by: last name, first name.
Hints: do not include the e-mail address unless you are sure that it won't be
abused in some way.

An Interview:
Pressly, Aaron. Personal interview. 27 March. 1998.

Format: Person's last name, first name. Date of interview.
Hints: use this format for interviews and conversations that you have had in
person or on the telephone.

A Television Program:
"MTV Cribs: Limp Bizket's Personal Project Room." MTV Cribs. MTV Asia,
Bangkok. 6 Oct. 2001.

Format: "Title of the program." Title of the Series. Television net work, place
it was produced. Date it was produced.
Hints: try to get as much information as possible by watching the credits at
the end of the program.

Adapted from the MLA Style Guide and the American Library Association by Mr. In the end we retain from our studies only that which we practically apply.
Christopher Hughes for the NIST Library, May 2002.
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

68 101

_________________________________________________________ APPENDIX FACTS
_________________________________________________________
The appendix is a useful place for important information that is too extensive to be
_________________________________________________________ placed in the body of your project.
_________________________________________________________
For example: a copy of a survey you wrote, sketches, interview transcript, chronol-
_________________________________________________________ ogy of events, statistical tables.
_________________________________________________________
1. The material must be relevant to the thesis of your project.
_________________________________________________________ 2. It must be cross-referenced in either a footnote or a parenthetical reference.
3. Do not pack the appendix with unnecessary material.
_________________________________________________________ 4. It is placed after the bibliography.
_________________________________________________________
FOOTNOTES
_________________________________________________________ Footnotes are used to cite information and ideas.
1. They are placed at the bottom of the page and separated by the text by a solid
_________________________________________________________ line.
_________________________________________________________ 2. Leave a blank line and indent the footnote the same number of spaces as your
regular paragraph indentations.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ Example:
Alice Munro write deceptively simple
_________________________________________________________ stories . . . Yet stories by this so-called
“antiquarian miniaturist”1 appear in a
_________________________________________________________ variety of magazines designed for sophi-
sticated urban readers.
_________________________________________________________ Munro’s impeccable technique, her
“postmodern view of language”2 . . .
compression, time-shifting and subtle
_________________________________________________________ metaphor.
In “The Progress of Love” the middle-
_________________________________________________________ aged narrator . . . it is a story about the
discovery and exposure of secrets3
_________________________________________________________ . . “How thoroughly we dealt with our
fathers and mothers . . . How completely
_________________________________________________________ we filed them away, defined them beyond
any possibility of change,” says the narra-
_________________________________________________________ tor of another Munro short story, “The
Moons of Jupiter.”4
_________________________________________________________ _____________

_________________________________________________________ 1
Brian Fawcett, “Me and my Gang,”
Books in Canada, December 1991, 9.
_________________________________________________________ 2
Russell Perkin, letter, Books in
Canada, March 1992, 5.
_________________________________________________________ 3
E.D. Blodgett, Alica Munro
(Boston: Twayne, 1988), 7.
_________________________________________________________ 4
Alice Munro, The Moons of Jupiter
(Markham, Ontario: Penguin, 1983), 256.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
100 69

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ If there is no struggle there can be no progress.
—Frederick Douglas
70 99

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________ There are no gains without pains.
—Benjamin Franklin

98 71

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Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place
_________________________________________________________ where it leads.
—Erica Jong
72 97

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_________________________________________________________ You can do what you have to do, and sometimes you can do it even better than you
think you can.
_________________________________________________________ —Jimmy Carter

96 73

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Those who attain to any excellence commonly spend life in some single pursuit, for
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—Samuel Johnson
74 95

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_________________________________________________________ Every revolutionary idea seems to evoke three stages of reaction. They may be
summed up by the phrases: (1) It's completely impossible. (2) It's possible, but it's not
_________________________________________________________ worth doing. (3) I said it was a good idea all along.
—Arthur C. Clarke

94 75

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_________________________________________________________ We like to test things... no matter how good an idea sounds, test it first.
— Henry Block
76 93

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A prudent question is one-half of wisdom.
_________________________________________________________ —Francis Bacon
92 77

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An idea is a point of departure and no more. As soon as you elaborate it, it becomes
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—Pablo Picasso
78 91

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My mother drew a distinction between achievement and success. She said that
_________________________________________________________ achievement is the knowledge that you have studied and worked hard and done the
best that is in you. Success is being praised by others. That is nice but not as
_________________________________________________________ important or satisfying. Always aim for achievement and forget about success.
—Helen Hayes

90 79

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_________________________________________________________ Long is the road from conception to completion.
—Moliere

80 89

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_________________________________________________________ High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation.
—Jack Kinder
88 81

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_________________________________________________________ It seems essential, in relationships and all tasks, that we concentrate only on what is
_________________________________________________________ most significant and important.
—Soren Kierkegaard

82 87

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_________________________________________________________ Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a
_________________________________________________________ different way.
—Edward De Bono

86 83

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_________________________________________________________ Mountains cannot be surmounted except by winding paths.
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

84 85

Personal Project Student Guide And Process Journal

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