Biology IA SL vs. HL

[HCl227]

What makes Biology IA for SL and HL different? Is it because of the topics or because of the content itself or is there something else?

[TheNintendoChip]

It seems to only be the topics: (https://ibpublishing.ibo.org/server2/rest/app/tsm.xql?doc=d_4_biolo_gui_1402_1_e&part=9&chapter=5)

"The internal assessment requirements at SL and at HL are the same.",

"Assessment criteria are the same for both SL and HL.",

"The performance in internal assessment at both SL and HL is marked against common assessment criteria, with a total mark out of 24.",

"The task will have the same assessment criteria for SL and HL. The five assessment criteria are personal engagement, exploration, analysis, evaluation, and communication."

However, it does say that: 
"The range of practical carried out should reflect the breadth and depth of the subject syllabus at each level."

So it seems that the criteria for grading are the same for SL and HL, and the only difference is the topics you can choose (HL, of course, has more). My personal guess is that HL students would be expected to produce higher quality IAs, but I have no evidence to support this.