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Osaka International School

Portfolio Piece Five will focus on Politics & Government

• Political Process: voting and elections, lobbying, open government and free movement of information

• Government administration: record keeping, tax collection, policy implementation

• Legislation: policy development, enactment, enforcement and analysis

• Police: DNA data collection, video surveillance

• Military: cyberwarfare, smart weapons development, espionage

• Rebel and Terrorist use of IT

Remember the IBO Rules for Portfolio Pieces

• Each piece should be 800-1000 words in length. (Anything written in excess of 1000 words does not get graded) The list of references under criterion E is not included in the word count.  

• Each piece must be based on a news item published not more than six months prior to the commencement of the course (after 31st May 2003) and written in the working language of the school (English).   

• Candidates should select their own news items, although teachers can direct them to appropriate sources. 

• Candidates may use the same news item for their stimulus material but collaborative work is not allowed. 

• News items used as the basis for class discussion must not be used for the individual candidate’s piece of work.

• The news item can be taken from any published source (newspaper, journal, the Internet) and should be a short article or extract.

• The candidate’s piece of work must focus on the content and context presented in the news item. For example, if the news item is about the use of an IT system in a school and the candidate identifies social and ethical issues related to security and integrity of data, these must be examined in the context of a school as presented in the news item. The piece of work must not be a general discussion of these issues in any situation.

• The news item must be attached to the piece of work. If a candidate uses selected parts of a longer article, these should be highlighted on the news item sent to the moderator.

• A mark of zero will be awarded if the piece of work is not based on a news item.

Getting Started

• A successful portfolio piece begins with a news article on an appropriate issue.  

• Try a Google search in their NEWS section

• Tuesday’s Daily Yomiuri has articles in their Cyberworld section

• You can also search on-line newspapers  

• Look through the library newspaper and magazine sections for support articles

• Social/ethical issues defined in the syllabus

• Social/ethical issues interpreted

Choosing the Right Issue for You

• A successful portfolio piece does begin with a news article on an appropriate issue but you must choose an issue that you can both understand and write about.  

• Before you decide on an article ask yourself:

  • Do I understand this issue?

  • What do I know about this issue already?

  • Can I find out more about it?

  • What other resources are available?

  • Can you write an essay about this issue?

• Once you have found a news article that you think would be appropriate, ask Mr. Whitmore to check it for you.

• Now complete the Portfolio Proposal sheet and give it to Mr. Whitmore for approval before you start

• Read your article and fill out the Portfolio Plan

• Understand the Command Terms

• Write under the Criteria headings

• Work through the Checklist to check you have covered the Criteria

• Use the standard bibliographic format

• An example of a good Portfolio

• Poor Portfolios - where do students go wrong?

Please be aware that students are expected to keep to these due dates.  

If students have any problem complying with these dates, they must contact Mr. Whitmore before the due date to ask for an extension.

• Proposal Form & Plan - Friday 19th November

• Draft - Friday 3rd December

• Final Piece - Friday 17th December  
  Now due by the end of January

• A sample cover sheet

• A sample portfolio feedback sheet

With thanks to Elizabeth Schloeffel at St Peter's College for original content