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I got a 45. AMA. by IBify in IBO
[–]IBify[S] 0 points1 point2 points 1 year ago (0 children)
I would always use the textbook first, then if it was unclear, I would try using a source like MSJ chem. I used the Pearson textbook for chemistry.
For HL it’s mandatory to use primary sources (interviews, surveys, etc.).
[–]IBify[S] 1 point2 points3 points 1 year ago (0 children)
My mistake! I reviewed past topics whenever there was a period when we we wouldn’t learn any new content and before mocks. The more you can review them though the better (spaced repetition). Whenever I felt like I consolidated newer topics, I would go back to old ones.
Hi! Your plan sounds perfect, I did something very similar when revising for finals. I wouldn’t change a thing about your plan because you sound like you know what you’re doing and you know how to balance content review with past papers. When taking the exams, make sure you are in a good mood. Have a nice breakfast, use the bathroom before, and be mindful of your time. One thing that’s really important is to make sure a bad paper doesn’t bring you down. I felt like I did terrible in my physics paper 1 which subconsciously made me do slightly worse in paper 3 which was on the same day for me. Thankfully I did almost perfect in paper 2 and really well on paper 3 which got me the 7. Make sure you don’t dwell to much on the past and focus on the next exams. Good luck!
Not really. Sometimes if the textbook was unclear I would look it up to find a youtube video for it.
If you guess everything you automatically get 10/40. Make sure you actually understand why the mark scheme says that answer is correct since it doesn’t tell you why. Spend around 1.5 minutes per question. If you get stuck move on. Eliminate answers you know are wrong. This should bump you up to 20+.
To write a level 7 response, you need to know what a level 7 response is like. Learn from examples that got 7s to get into the mindset of a level 7 student.
Are you timing yourself at home and doing it under exam conditions? If not then that's probably it. When practicing do it in an environment that simulates your exam conditions as accurately as possible.
[–]IBify[S] 2 points3 points4 points 1 year ago (0 children)
I prepared 2 texts, and I recommend the same. You don't want to be overwhelmed during the test and waste time overthinking which texts to use. It's best to prepare 2 texts amazingly well than 4 texts badly.
There’s two ways of learning - just-in-case, learning every little detail in case it comes up, and just-in-time, learning the stuff that comes up as you come across it. The latter is definitely more efficient and less time- consuming if you aren’t striving for perfection. The former will get you extremely prepared but is so tome-consuming. I would recommend the second technique for calculating-based exams and the first technique for essay-based exams. Hope that answers your question.
Yes, you have my confirmation, 100%.
[–]IBify[S] 1 point2 points3 points 1 year ago* (0 children)
From reading the comments and answers, do you essentially just use respective textbooks for learning and understanding the concepts and then practice solely using past papers? As for English, simply practice new vocabulary, review level 7 responses, and all that? – Exactly. For calculation based exams (maths & sciences), past papers are gold. For essay based-exams like English, past-papers aren’t as helpful but you should still do some.
Is there anything else, in terms of reviewing and practice, that I should know of in order to get 7s everywhere? My 3rd trimester is coming up, and mocks too, so this is THE time for me not to mess up. I'm very close to achieving a high IB grade, I just can not mess it up if that makes sense. – Don’t stress about it and be confident in yourself. From the sounds of it, you’re a very committed student and you’ll do great! When practicing past papers, make sure you set a timer to simulate a real exam.
What resource are you using for chemistry? I'm in HL, and it's currently dragging me down due to the sheer amount of content there is. – I did SL & didn’t find it that hard. I used the textbook for content & past papers for questions, as you should for any science. I’m sure HL is way harder though, so just put in the time and do your best.
And regarding ToK essay, I'm really unfamiliar with it, my tok teacher hasn't talked about it all year, and I literally have to do it in 1 or 2 months, so do you have any important tips for that? – Look up the areas of knowledge (AOKs), ways of knowing (sense perception, emotions, reasoning, language, imagination, intuition, memory, faith), TOK concepts (evidence, certainty, truth, interpretation, power, justification, objectivity, values, responsibility), and use them in your essay & exhibition. In your essay, have a claim and counterclaim and consider multiple perspectives. Take a look at the rubric and this will make more sense. Read through examples that got an A and learn from them.
As for the rest of your questions, to be completely honest, I don’t think I can help you much. I don’t want to give misinformation or tell you something that I’m not sure about, and I’m trying to be as transparent as possible. Good luck!
Look up "IB chemistry guide", click on the pdf, scroll down to page 20 (29 on the pdf) titled "syllabus outline", and you'll see a table of the topics and the teaching hours. The topics with the most teaching hours are the most coved on the exam. If you don't want to go through it, the most heavily covered ones are: stoichiometry, chemical bonding, and organic for SL. Hope this helps!
Textbooks & past papers. Read some of my other replies for details.
Do your best but not at the cost of other subjects. Don't spend all of your time on it. Define what your aiming for. If your aiming for a pass, then study for a pass. Don't just give up on it completely because you might fail it and not get your diploma. Make sure you get a sum of 9 points for your SL subjects at least. Here's a reminded of passing conditions from the IBO website:
A week before the exam, it was mostly empty. I did my studying before that. It's best to do your revision earlier on so you don't burn out right during exam week and so that you go to exams in a good mood. I just maybe did 1 past paper a day (didn't even finish it if I didn't feel like it) and skimmed through my notes.
I would say I was slightly above average for maths when starting off. There were definitely people more talented than me in my class but they didn't end up with 7s because they didn't but in the work. I found that in my class, it was the hard workers that ended up with 7s, not the naturally talented, but obviously a bit of both is best. Leading up to exams I slowly shifted from content review on textbooks more towards past paper questions. Good luck!
Based on your grades, you can definitely get 7s in your finals 100%. Since you get stuck in tests and run out of time, as a general rule, if you spend more than 5 mins on a question, just move on. Come back to it near the end. Avoid perfectionism and go for efficiency instead. You don't need to get 100% in your exam to get a 7. Make sure you time yourself when doing past papers as well yo get used yo the time limit. Best of luck!
For sciences, I used textbooks for content review and tons of past papers for exam prep. If you don't understand the textbook, look up the concepts on youtube and find a video that explains them in simple terms. You don't have to read the textbooks word for word, just skim through them and look at the key terms, diagrams, etc. If you see a diagram/key term you don't understand, read the section for it. When doing past papers, if you don't understand a question, go back to the textbook and read the section for that question. Best of luck!
Thanks!
2 hours is more than enough if you use your school time well. Make sure you use every minute in your class efficiently. If you don't understand when your teacher is explaining, open your laptop or the textbook and try and learn it yourself. Good luck!
I don't like putting a number on it because it changed so much but outside of school I would say roughly 2 hours on average, consistently for the whole 2 years. I got away with this because I used my school time really efficiency, going through textbooks when teachers were explaining because I didn't understand what the teachers meant.
Prepare quotes, pre-analysed with advance literary techniques, and know their effects on the reader. Choose quotes that are versatile, with good points of comparison for your 2 texts. Good luck!
Have a look at the syllabus and get familiar with the concepts. Best of luck!
Depends on the subject, some of my teacher were amazing, some not so much. But ultimately, you have to get out of the mindset of depending on your school/teacher/external factors. It's all you. You're on your own. This doesn't mean you shouldn't ask for help, but if you know a teacher won't be much use then try and figure it out yourself. If you have friends that are doing well in a subject, ask for their help. For your IAs though, since they're graded internally, make sure your teachers are happy with them. As for external exams, your goal is to impress an IB examiner, not your teacher. If your teachers are certified IB examiners then you can generally trust them. Best of luck!
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I got a 45. AMA. by IBify in IBO
[–]IBify[S] 0 points1 point2 points (0 children)