The IB Geography syllabus specifies several skills that should be mastered during the course. The skills are not assessed explicitly in external exams but they are assessed implicitly via data response questions and the expectations of quality essays. The internal assessment based on geographic fieldwork and geography extended essays are the main ways that students have opportunity to demonstrate their geographic skills.

1. IB Geo Skills Overview
Identifying locations, maps, graphs,
diagrams and photos

2. Describing Direction: Using compass points and or bearings to describe either the
direction headed or the direction travelled from e.g. wind direction is given from source
(direction travelled from)

3. Locating Places: Using Latitude and Longitude e.g. 41°24’12.2”N 2°10’26.5”E

4. Locating Places: Using Area References

5. Locating Places: Using Grid References

6. Isoline: Measured Values e.g. temperature

7. Isopleth: Calculated Values e.g. Density of H1N1 Deaths

8. Choropleth: Calculated values grouped to a predefined region e.g. state

9. Topological Map: Simplified to remove scale, distance and direction but
general relationship between locations remains

11. Flow Map: Hybrid of Map and Flow Chart

12. Thematic Map: Shows Geographical Data by Theme

13. Topographic Map: Highly detailed and with accurate, quantitative
representation of relief

14. Proportional Symbol Map: Use Size to Show Variation in Variable

15. Aerial Photos: Photos taken from air. Either vertical or oblique like this one

16. Ground Level Photograph

17. Satellite Image

18. Scatter Graph: Relationships between variables

19. Line Graph: Changes over time

20. Bar Graph: Comparisons between whole data sets

21. Compound Bar Graph: Comparable wholes with comparable sub criteria

22. Triangular Graph: Good for showing relationship between 3 variables that can be added
up to 100%

23. Logarithmic Graphs: Each step on scale is to power of ten i.e. 10x increase e.g. Richter
Scale

24. Bipolar Chart: Good for displaying two contradictory variables e.g. rural vs urban
or cost vs benefit

25. Pie Chart: Shows the percentage breakdown of a whole in to sub variables

27. Population Pyramids: Best way to show population structure

28. Lorenz Curve: Great for showing distribution of a population e.g. GINI Coefficient for
income distribution

29. Cross Section: Great for looking at anything from a side on view e.g. Topography of US

30. Rose Diagram: Great for showing anything with 360 degree variation e.g. wind
direction for Manila as displayed on the rose below the stats

31. Development Diamond: Shows relationships between multiple development indicators