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[Survival Robot]

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Some advice to new IB students

Note: Please don't take this starter pack for your bible. It's a guide. The extent that this can apply to individuals will vary, because different schools run IB differently.

Enjoy your IB! You'll only get stressed if you leave things too late. The more you hate it, the more it becomes a chore and then it just gets into a mess. Don’t hate it (or try, anyway).

Starting off organised is the best advice.. A lot of students start off the IB very lazily and didn't really spend as much time organising work etc. as they could. This simply means more long nights later, mainly from doing homework the night before its due etc… If you can start motivated and maintain it throughout then you will find the work more manageable.

It's important that if you're one of those people that like to perfect their work and score full marks on everything, that with the IB, you really have to draw yourself a line. At a certain point, you've got to tell yourself that you're okay with some relatively bad grades once in a while, and not fret over grades.

Another tip is to not play any video/online games or get involved in those stupid little blog things on the Internet… From seeing what some people have been addicted to in past experience, it does seriously sidetrack you from the main task of getting the work done.

Don’t give up (too much) sleep. Seriously, you need to get a decent amount of sleep each night - aim for between 7-8 hours. If you don't get enough sleep, in the long run it messes up your body system and you will feel tired all the time, and won't be able to concentrate on your studies as much. An all-nighter (curse procrastination) is acceptable in extremely small doses, but don't make late nights and early mornings a habit.

Relax once in a while and go have some fun. Don’t give up your social life. Go out while you can, have fun, enjoy your time. Keep your sense of humour.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Remember, IB is a learning experience. If you have confusions about the formatting or structure of any IA or anything to do with the programme at all, ASK and seek confirmation before you do the wrong thing and get into a mess or have to do it all over again. There are plenty of people you can ask: your IB Coordinator, your subject teachers (if your school is experienced and organised enough with the IB programme that they know what they're doing), your friends who have gone through IB before, or us, here at the forum. This is what we're here for, after all.

Learn how to appreciate your breaks. To most students, IB isn't harder than what they were used to before but rather, it is just more intense in terms of workload.Your marks may fluctuate at the beginning due to the heavier workload, higher expectations and simply your getting used to the programme but they shouldn't drastically change in the long run. Also, depending on your work ethic, the hours of sleep you get will be in decline the more you procrastinate.

Don't worry about not 'getting' TOK. Just when it comes to your essay, question your own points. It'll snap into place eventually.

Stay on your coordinator’s good side. Pay attention to internal deadlines. Don’t miss them. Your school might even be really nasty and not take your work if you miss the deadline. There goes the diploma then.

Do well on your first year final exams, as for UK universities, this is what your predicted grades are based on. Don't think that they don't really count much. Many people in my school did this, and it ruined their chances to get into some universities even though they were really good students.

Revise properly for mocks. They show you your weak spots, let you try an IB paper under exam conditions and show you just how long it takes to revise a subject inside out. But don't forget that your mocks won't be based on the full syllabus as you won't have done it yet so add extra time to it.

Choose the easiest subject if you haven't done so. Don’t do hard subjects unless you need them for university or they are your passion. Make things easier for yourself. Get free 7s where you can.

Aim to get coursework finished at least a week before your deadlines so you and your tutors have more time for tweaking and editing.

Do your extended essay in the summer. Don't leave it until you get back in the second year and don’t end up working on it after Christmas. It is not impossible to get an A this way, but really, it's not worth the stress, the hassle, the tears and the lack of sleep.

Make sure as far as you can that you finish all your coursework before January of the final year (for May exams). As many deadlines fall in the space of a week, and will be too much to handle at one time. This gives you loads of free time to revise for the mocks/midterms, as well as preventing clashes of deadlines. Schools spread IA deadlines as sparsely as from September through to March but get whatever you can done early. You will be patting yourself on the back when all your friends are stressing about the late nights they have to put in, to finish three coursework in the space of a week. If possible, get all your coursework given to you before the summer, and do as much as you can during the summer.

Yes, yes we know. It’s easy to talk about time-management being the most important thing, and diss procrastination, but it's something that really is difficult to avoid. So you might as well put effort into working AROUND all the procrastination you do rather than try avoiding it altogether and doing it anyway...This means procrastinate but in moderation. You can wait a while to start the assignment but don't leave it so late that you end up with no sleep.

Don’t give yourself the expectation in exam time that you will get a certain grade. Remember, in class you're being marked against your class. In the real exam you're marked against the whole world. Your predicted grade can vary very much from your real grade that you will get. Don’t get into the frame of mind that you're capable of a 7 in class and end up not working as much as you should in exam time.

Once you've finished your syllabi for your (subjects, but) Sciences in particular, start doing past papers - there a specific style of questions the IB almost always use - by the exam you should understand them all.

Speaking of past papers, do them!! Get to know the styles of questions, get familiar with what the exams ask for. Doing past papers get you familiar with the exam format, and also what you have to do in the exams. This goes for every single subject. Do past papers!!

Acknowledge the Syllabus' existence for your subject. Don't go, "Sylla-what?"... The IB only asks things which are in the syllabi, nothing else. The objectives for each topic will also guide you in your studying to know whether you must only define, describe, explain or perhaps analyze/justify. This really helps you to stop wasting time in things that may only require a definition and focus on those which will need some sort of extended response.

Sometimes with syllabus revisions, you can get unexpected questions. Even with unrevised syllabi, they might suddenly feel like they want to try a new style of question. Don't get totally stumped (try anyway) by an expected question in the exam. They sometimes throw in this weird question that’s never been in any past paper before, that's supposed to make you think. The difference might just be the wording or slightly different way of presenting the problem but essentially they are still asking all the same things – things that are in the syllabus! So know the syllabus. If you do get a little shock by an unexpectedly weird question, calm down and think rationally about what it might be asking. If you’ve studied well and know your stuff, you should be able to answer.

If you know you're well rounded, and are pretty much certain to get around sixes/sevens for your IB subjects, concentrate on your EE/TOK. Even though 3 points doesn't seem like much, it will when it makes a difference between a 42 and a 45... The IB isn't just about concentrating on your academic subjects, but it's also about concentrating on the whole.

Don’t spend more than 150 hours on CAS. For each additional activity you do you got to do an evaluation form for it. They're just nasty. Of course, if you're committed to something, you always end up with loads of hours, but if you've got enough hours, slow down on the CAS and concentrate on the work. Try to get all your hours done in the first year (really its not that hard) so you wont have to worry about them in your exam year.

When doing your labs for science subjects, don’t stress too much about your actual results. Don’t go crazy if you don’t get the results your hypothesis says you’re supposed to get. Examiners look at your method, conclusive and evaluative skills. They do not care about the data you receive as they pretty much know about the experiment already and what the results would be like. You can get the wrong results but if you mention that in your evaluation telling what you did wrong and throw in terminologies such as random and systematic errors you can still get full marks. Just make sure the nitty gritty things like graphs and significant figures are right.

If you are doing two sciences, do not give more importance to one than the other, try to get your lab reports done on time to avoid work accumulating later on, do try to get work done the first year, it really helps.

Use your time wisely and importantly, don't let IB run most of your life. Of course you're going to invest more time into schoolwork but remember, these are your last years of high school. If you spend most of your time just studying and doing homework, you're obviously missing out on something. Yes, there's university but there may be friends you're going to miss ... family that you're going to move away from. Make the most of your time, and balance between work and play.

If you want to get far in the IB, the best advice is to study. It’s the only thing that will help. Relying on your genius intellect and leaving things to luck and miracle is not going to help. Be persistent and devoted.

Collected from various sources.

[nanki_c]

Guide for new IB students

Unfortunately for me and you, I have to start this saying that the rumours about IB are true. It is horribly difficult and time-consuming and you do have to be good at time management. However, don’t let that just put you off. If you know how to approach IB, it will no longer be difficult and you’ll get a lot more free time.

I’m putting together here a list of points and suggestions that make my life easier as an IB student:

- Remember to take subjects that interest you, not your parents, not your friends, ones that are important to you. Don’t waste time and energy trying to learn things you’re not interested in and don’t understand.

- About your work ethic – I know that all kids leave everything to the last minute (yes, me too, even though I am writing this guide) but after doing that for a while, your work piles up and you spend an entire night working. Eventually, you’ll end up collapsing from all the strain, so instead, from the beginning, try to make a habit of actually starting your work the day you get it (even though you have a week to do it). If you don’t bother, you end up with shabby work and crappy grades.

- You won’t have time actually review what you did in class that day every night and so, ensure that your class notes are in order and are complete. Make sure you get any notes you missed. TAKE NOTES IN CLASS. If you’re lucky, your teachers will remind you to, or give you notes and handouts, but often they don’t, so you have to take the initiative. If you don’t understand something, ASK. If you wait till your exams to find out, you’ll be so overwhelmed, you won’t know what to do with yourself.

- Make sure folders are in place – you need assignments, notes, tests, hand outs and for science, experiments. Don’t lose these, especially; you’ll need them at the end of your IB.

- CAS, TOK, Extended Essay – Now, the centre of that IB hexagon is these, so as much of a pain as they may seen, you have to do them. Accept it.

• CAS- Try and get your CAS done in IB1 because there’s so much to do your IB2 that you won’t have time for activities.
  
• TOK- The classes may seem like a joke at the beginning but they aren’t. Work for your TOK, take notes, and work hard on your TOK presentation in yr 12 and do as well as you possibly can. The extra points you can get for these are important when you finish IB.
  
• Extended Essay- I hate to say this, but you’re going to have to cut your summer vacation short. You have to do this in your summer holidays. Start ideas on it with your E.E tutor before the end of IB1 and work on it in the holidays, amass your information and have a draft ready when IB2 starts. If you can, stay in contact with your tutor over the summer so that you know you’re going in the right direction.

- Summer Vacations – As I’ve just told you, you’re already going to be working on your extended essay in your summer. If you have any CAS left to finish, try and do it in your summer, so it’s all done before IB2. Use the summer to look at universities and narrow down some choices, because you’ll be starting applications as soon as you get back to school.

- Holidays, in general – Honestly, you don’t really get any. You get loads of homework in most of them. Make sure you do your holiday homework in your actual holiday. Spend about half your time chilling with your friends and then spend the rest getting your work done.

- Tests – These are tests such as, SATs and TOEFL etc that you need to take for uni. Take them in IB1 and over the summer or the early part of IB2. Don’t take them any later if you can help it, as they’ll mess up your studying in IB2.

- Time Management – VERY VERY important. I know teachers keep spouting this but you have to actually listen to them. As you do 6 subjects plus all the extras, though the work may not be especially difficult, the sheer volume of it can be off putting. Therefore, you need to learn to manage your time, so that you can work and go out AND sleep.

- Finally, remember to go out once or twice a week. Not that that’s hard to remember… but honestly, you have to take time off or you’ll burn out. I know people who over stress and then do worse. So, make sure you take at least a day every week to just relax, do whatever you want.

Since no one is actually a robot and can’t do all of this perfectly all the day. As long as you try and follow this guide to the best of your ability then you should do fine. Try not to waste time. Work as much as you’re able to. Take regular breaks and then get back to it. I know this guide sounds daunting but if you’ve gotten as far as to get into an IB course, you’re likely to do fine. Good Luck!

[Survival Robot]

Was it worth it, doing IB?

One of the questions IB graduates get asked most by students who are still deciding whether to do IB is whether it is worth it, doing the IB. Here are some answers.

If you want the truth, when I joined IB I was excited about it, and still am. I felt like I joined a society not an educational system. Mention TOK to an A levels student and watch the "Huh?" expression on his/her face! IB gives you a school life not just an education, and to be frank I didn't feel the pressure of IAs until February of [IB2]. One month of pressure and the rest of the 2 year was really no different than IGCSE pressure. Sure the subjects are more advanced, but to tell you the truth they're very similar to A levels syllabi, only in IB you get the experience of coursework, lab reports, languages, social sciencies... etc. I mean, this looked more appealing to me than just having 3 subjects to study for 2 years, that seems like a waste of time. IB really does help out in uni... I mean look at all the madness we have to go through to get our diploma! surely A levels students will struggle at the beginning of uni, but we have already been struggling since 11th grade so we have an advantage.

I can't really talk con IB because I love it so much. But I really should warn you it's no walk in the park! You need motivation and persistence! So be cautious when you start and avoid procrastination.


Edited by ~Lc~, after she received her grades:

I was just rereading what I wrote just when I was done with IAs and was about to start my externals, and I can't believe how much I forgot this stuff. If you've been on TSR for the past few months after I got my grades you would have noticed the bitterness I've developed for IB because I didn't get the grades I wanted. That oh so amazing 40 points . The thing is I was just bitter because I felt my pride was hurt, and a 36 wasn't good enough for me. Now that I look back, I find myself self absorbed and silly! Because clearly the IB has made me a totally different person who analyzes everything in life. I feel like a spectator in life now, I find myself looking at situations between my friends, family and even msn convos and evaluating people's talks, and my own, and actually thinking before I response. I would have never done that without IB. I think this change in me is mostly evident in the novel which I am currently writing. If I ever live long enough to witness the day it gets published, and if you are interested enough to read it one day... you'll understand what I'm talking about.

Now for IB, was it about the grades for me? Well that's what I thought before I actually got mine. In truth it was more of a maturity I experienced and would've required me a few more years to achieve without IB.

So ask me if "I should do the IB" and I'll tell you do it for the experience, ask me "should I do IB to get better qualifications for Uni?" and I'll tell you show me your academic history. I say this because that 40 points is not for everyone...
Post by: ~Lc~
~*~

I have never regretted taking IB. I didn't have a choice between IB or A levels, I just had a choice between IB and a regular high school diploma. If I had a choice with A levels, however, I think I would still had taken IB, because in the early days of my IB naivety, IB sounded more impressive. And I don't think I would had regretted that decision either.

Seriously, IB is great. There were definitely time when I was so stressed with work that I hate it, but even then I didn't regret starting it.

I really do think you do get more career options with IB as you don't have to specialise so completely like A levels. As for IB being no sleep and no social life, it's not that bad. Seriously if you can plan your work, you get plenty of sleep and an adequate social life. And still get 35+. However, you will still have to be prepared to be sacrificing some time around this time of your second year to concentrate on internal assessments and exams.

I think IB is worth is not only because it got me relatively easily into uni, but also because of the satisfaction I got after having got through it. You know, IB is supposed to be this really hard thing but then you realise at the end of your exam that you've gotten through it and you're still alive and probably will get some really good grade, and then it doesn't seem as hard as you thought it was at the beginning of the first year.

I think that with the IB, you really do get to mature in terms of handling your work, your time, and how your approach things.  You learn to take responsibilities for your work and you know at the end of the day, you will have to complete those work to get the grade you want. It's not all just rote learning and cramming the night before exam. Your IB grade is earned over the two years.

One great thing about IB is that most school would give students a choice in whether to take IB nor not. Thus the people in your IB class will most probably have chosen IB because they want to be there and take the programme. Because of this, there will be less bored people who are forced into the class who will demotivate you.

I see people's point that A-levels is more specialised but not everyone is prepared to be so specialised even in the last years of high school. IB really isn't working every day either. I'll have you know, I didn't do that much work in IB1. It's just the last half of IB2 that the work built but it was still bearable. I personally think that the IB makes a person well-rounded. We are required to take science, math, languages, social sciences, philosophy (TOK) and do CAS activities, which really do diversify our knowledge and experience.

I do agree with some people who have reservations, however, about taking IB in an inexperienced IB school. It can be rather a hard road taking the IB in a school where you are the guinea pig class, and you know more about IAs than your teacher or you can't depend on your IBC/teachers to provide you with all the correct information to help you do well. However, I don't think such set back sound be the be all and end all. There are plenty of sources (like this site) where people will be more than willing to help you should you have any problem/queries about the IB.

Post by: Ruan Chun Xian

For other students' opinion and discussion, see this topic

[BIO-AQUA]

A Database of Information made by Former IB Students to Current and Prospective IB Students…

Menu

• Introduction
  
• How to Manage your Time
  
• Tips from Professionals
  
• Summer Time!
  
• IB – Second Year
  
• The External Examinations (Glimpse)
  
• The Night Before and the Time Before
  
• Entering the Examination Hall
  
• What Will You Hear?
  
• Leaving the Examination Hall and Post-Exam Period
  
• Some Final Words...

Introduction

This database is a guide to current and future IB students from the moment they start their first year until their last IB external examination.

Are you ready?


How to Manage your Time

You’ll always here comments and advice about how to manage your time. As you may have read/heard, the IB Diploma Programme is a program that prepares you for university life and all the responsibilities you’ll encounter in the future. Thus, it is vital that you ‘summon your will power’ and organize a daily, weekly, and/or monthly timetable to help you get your priorities straight.

Here are some websites to help you manage your time wisely:

Study Skills

http://www.frontiern...eefer/exams.htm
http://www.adprima.com/studyout.htm
http://www.wikihow.c...abits-for-Exams

Time Management

http://www.dartmouth...ccess/time.html
http://www.mindtools...n/newMN_HTE.htm


When it comes to time-management, most of us agree on how important it is to have a daily calendar to organize things one must do. Some people buy ‘calendar books’; daily-planned booklets that allow monitoring tasks and organizing responsibilities. Others use Microsoft Outlook or any other computer or phone-based program to organize things. Personally, I think that this is one good software for time management (found here).

Spoiler - Click me!

  An easy Microsoft Excel-based program, where you plan your own calendar on a daily basis. No previous experience needed, and everyone can use it!

[Close]

Tips from Professionals

Here are some things that our IBC had to say to give us a push:

“You have a minimum of six subjects, all of which demand attention and studying. Your first step is to manage your time properly. Use the [holidays] effectively. Do not simply allow yourself to relax all day, go on vacation and do nothing, then all of a sudden remember that you have final exams the following week. Put a stop to this attitude NOW!

“Use your time efficiently. Sit down and actually plan what you are going to study during the holiday. [We are] not asking you to study ALL the time. No! After all, [we] do believe in the adage 'all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy'. However, even if you travel somewhere, make sure you plan how you are going to use your time once you come back. If you are traveling for the full length of the holiday, then it is definitely a good idea to plan before you leave and to actually take a few things with you to study while you're away.

“Do not procrastinate. Do you know what procrastination is? It is simply putting off for tomorrow what you can do today. Don't you sometimes say to yourself: "What difference does it make if I did this tomorrow instead of now? The deadline is a week away anyway"?  Or "None of my friends is studying until next week, so why should I"? etc. Well, trust [us], this is the worst you can do to yourself.

“How can you avoid procrastination? Here are a few tips:

* Set realistic goals;
* Look into yourself: are you postponing the work because of fear,   anxiety, concentration problems, perfectionism or something completely different?
* Discipline yourself and focus on priorities;
* Minimize distractions and take your work seriously;
* Study in small blocks and take breaks;
* Reward yourself when you mark off some of the stuff from your revision plan.

(( and of course, roll over))

“Make revision notes when you study. How do you do this? Well, use different methods to record and store study information such as revision 'cue' cards, visual maps, mnemonic (Memory-aiding devices…Visit http://www.coun.uvic...uts/mnemon.html to learn more about it) sentences, use lots of color and visual imagery etc. to use beside your study notes. Most importantly, study to understand, don't just learn it by heart.

“You can make it… always believe in this. Each and every one of you is capable of passing exams. All you have to do is concentrate a little more, set priorities and learn to say NO to temptations. Remember, you make your destiny… your success lies there, in the palm of your own hand.”



Summer Time!

View 1
Surely, this word triggers visual images such as traveling, swimming and other fun activities away from books and IB-related responsibilities. This is true – to some extent. It is crucial that you have fun and forget about your responsibilities for a while, but remember; time passes by very quickly (personally, I have learnt this the hard way).

Take 3 weeks or a month of REAL vacation, after which you come back and work on the assigned duties. Some of us have finished Extended Essays, World Literature Essays, Lab Reports, TOK Essays and other research papers during summertime. Honestly, we make a big fuss about each essay, but each one does not take more than four days of rigorous and vigorous work to finish.

Make sure that you finish most to all of your CAS activities during the summer. It is a lot better to put this aside and get rid of it once you’re in your second year of IB. CAS is not a heck of a time, it is there to show that you care about the world around you. Also, it is extremely helpful in your university application and personal statement. So have fun doing CAS – it is seriously an enjoyable experience.

View 2 - deissi
Summer vacation, finally! After going through IB1, you've deserved it. Now, the point of adding my own view on how to spend your summer vacation is simple: I disagree with the one above, and think that one shouldn't worry about school too much, for many reasons. The first, most obvious, reason is that I really think that it's a good idea to take some time off, and forget about all that school stuff. Sure, it's not a bad idea to do some CAS stuff, but in general, I think it's much better to relax than to worry too much about IAs or especially final exams.

I know for a fact that most schools recommend you write your EE during summer, mine did too. In reality, however, two people in my class did that, but everyone still managed to hand the EEs in when they were due in October. What that should tell you is that it's not true what they say, you really do have time to write your EE along with other schoolwork. I started work on my EE on the first week of school in August, and all in all, it only took me 5 or 6 nights to write the essay. The only thing about the EE that I would recommend you to do during the summer is find relevant books and sources for your EE so that you can start writing it when school starts, but I wouldn't advise you to spend too much time on it either.

The other view on spending your summer vacation also recommends you to work on your TOK essays, WLAs etc. I'm even more against this than I am to writing an EE. First of all, getting teacher guidance during summer will be a lot more difficult for most people. I don't know too many teachers who would be willing to help during their vacation. Also, many of my teachers advised us against doing work in advance because the quality of work will be better if it is done later in IB2. My Finnish teacher, for example, said that writing a WLA during summer would make no sense whatsoever because writing skills develop so quickly in IB, so if it is done later, the grade received for it will be much better.

Okay, this is starting to seem too much like stream of consciousness, so I'll end here. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

IB – Second Year

The countdown towards the externals has started and it’s serious. Spend the first four months (MAXIMUM!) visiting your teachers and revising your essays. Many schools start with TOK essays halfway through the first/second months, so it is important that you have most of the work done by then. Make sure that ALL of the work to be sent abroad (such as Extended Essay, TOK Essay, World Lit.s I and II, Math Portfolios/Projects, most of Art Pieces,…) is done and over with at least 5 months before your external examinations begin.

Why 5 months? Well by then, you would have started you Group I and II oral examinations, and having a lot of work to do would be a problem. For the orals alone, you need time to research, plan, manage, analyze, summarize, test yourself and practise over and over to get things straight. Why wait until the last moment when you can get things done easily?

Make sure to utilize the most of your mock examination break. Manage your time carefully to study all of your subjects (preferably more than once). It is vital that you make sure to practise some past papers, and repeat the harder materials over and over again. Also, make sure not to procrastinate, so that the workload wouldn’t get any larger.

Once done with your mocks, check your errors and solve these examination papers to identify your weakness points and resolve any issues. Practise as many past papers as possible, because now you have the material covered and it’s essential to make use of it.



The External Examinations (Glimpse)

Now it’s time to ‘gather the fruits of your labor’. You didn’t work for nothing in these two years, did you? Be sure to have faith and confidence in yourself, what you have studied, and most importantly, God. Stress and high adrenaline levels are perfectly normal, unless it gets you to a level where you can’t breathe anymore. Don’t get to that point, because these exams are no different than your mocks (and they might even be easier ).



The Night Before and the Time Before

•Make sure that the night before you are able to take come time to relax and get a good night’s sleep. Do not pull and all-nighter. Once tired, go to sleep immediately.
•Eat healthy food the night before. It is recommended to have a minor breakfast the day of the exam to help your mind focus on the exam rather than digesting the food. (e.g. cereal, cup of tea, biscuits, cookies, milk..)
•Take all necessary equipment with you (i.e. pencils, pens, rulers, erasers…). Calculators from this date are prohibited in ALL paper 1 examinations, EXCEPT for Paper 1 Mathematical Studies SL AND Paper 1 Further Mathematics SL. Always check with your IBC on any prohibited and allowed material. Also, make sure to have spare batteries for your calculators just in case. If the language of the examination you registered for is NOT your mother tongue, you may take a SIMPLE translating dictionary (sometimes supplied by the school).
•Your stationary MUST be carried in a TRANSPARENT bag.
•If you have a school uniform, wear it.
•Make sure you read the ‘Notice to Candidates’ carefully. (can be found here)
•Make sure to arrive thirty minutes to school before the examination begins.
•Don’t panic. Take it easy and do some breathing exercizes before the exam (take in long breathes, stop for sometime and let out long breathes. Repeat for some time).



Entering the Examination Hall

You will be directed to your seat by the IBC/ invigilator. You will have answer sheets on your desk (or be given these sheets upon arrival/ some time after); official coloured paper from the IB with your name, candidate session number, name and language of examination paper, some regulations and some spaces; string tags; and may be given scratch paper.

Make yourself comfortable in your seat. Smile.



What Will You Hear?

The IBC/invigilator will read some regulations. Make sure to listen and digest the information carefully.


•Starting the Examination

- Do not open the examination paper until I instruct you to do so.

- Do you have any questions about the notice to candidates displayed in the school?

- Does anyone have any unauthorized material in his or her possession? This is your last
opportunity to say so.

- Are the subject, level and language of your examination paper correct?

- Do you have everything you need for the examination?

- Check the details on your cover sheet. Please tell me if any of the details are not correct for
this examination.

- Use only the rough paper provided by the school for notes.

- Use blue or black ink for all written text. Pencil, including colored pencils, may be used
only for graphs, diagrams or charts.

- The number of pages in the examination paper is on the front page. Turn the pages to check
none is missing. Is the examination paper complete?

- Read all instructions very carefully. Do not answer more questions than required—if you
answer extra questions they will not be marked.

- Write as clearly as possible using both sides of each page. If you require more pages on
which to write your answers, please ask for more.

- Write your session number at the top right corner of every page you use (including graph
paper if appropriate).

- Write question numbers in the left-hand margin. Leave the right-hand margin blank.

- After I finish this instruction, you will have five minutes to read the questions carefully.
During this reading time you are not allowed to write (or use a calculator). You may now
open your examination paper. Your reading time starts now.

(You have five minutes reading time.)

- Your reading time is over. You have (…time…) for this examination paper. You may
start to write.

-The time is (the precise start time is to be given).


•During the Examination

You will be notified twice during the exam; once when there are 30 minutes left:

- The time remaining is 30 minutes.

And another time when 5 minutes are left:

- The time remaining is 5 minutes.


•Ending the Examination

- The examination has ended. Please stop writing immediately and close your examination
paper.

- Do not make any additions or amendments to your answers.

- Draw a line through any work that you do not wish to be marked.

- Check that you have written the question numbers in the left-hand margin.

- Complete all details on your cover sheet if you have not done so already. Remember to
indicate the number of answer sheets used and which questions you have answered.

- Make sure that your cover sheet and answer sheets are fastened together using a string tag.

- Do not staple the pages together. Make sure that your session number is written on every
page. (In case any graph paper has been used – that too.)

- Place any rough notes and the examination paper separately on your desk/table ready for
collection.



Leaving the Examination Hall and Post-Exam Period

Do NOT leave the hall unless instructed by the IBC/ invigilator. Once you’re done with the exam, get your mind off of it and focus on what’s remaining from your subjects rather than the ones you’re done with. Smile, again.

Rest for a while, and study for the next exam.

Do NOT talk about any examination online, unless 24 hours have passed from the LAST SCHOOL TO DO THE EXAM – meaning, not the 24 hours after YOUR exam.



Some Final Words…

Enjoy IB. We hope you get lots of help out of IBSurvival!

Edited by Ruan Chun Xian, Mar 11, 2009 - 02:21.

[Survival Robot]

How are the final grades determined from the different components?

<a href="http://www.ibsurvival.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=5289&hl=" class="bbc_url" title="External link" rel="nofollow external">The thread where this question was posted

Alright, this is a bit difficult to explain but I'll try explaining the basics of assessment in any case. It isn't as simple as it looks on the outside, IBO is really putting in effort to give equal treatment to candidates. First of all, for a conclusive description of assessment, I recommend you to read Diploma Programme assessment - Principles and Practices. For ease of view, I'll split this into several subtopics:

Finding the scaled mark out of 100.

The first thing that you should understand about your grade is that the marks from all different assessment components will be scaled according to their value so that their total equals 100. This means that your scaled total marks will be between 0-100. As I mentioned, the scaling is done according to the "weight" of each component. Because these differ highly, I'll give you a few examples on how it is done:

Example 1: Mathematics SL - Paper 1 (40%), Paper 2 (40%), Internal Assessment (20%).
Paper 1 and Paper 2 are both graded on a scale 0-80. Internal Assessment is graded on a scale of 0-40. The marks of these are added up so that the total mark is on a scale of 0-200. To get the final mark with a scale of 0-100, this score is divided by two.

For example, the scores of person A are as follows: Paper 1: 56 points. Paper 2: 73 points. Internal Assessment: 26 points.
Total score: 56+73+26 = 155/200. Total final score is (155)/2 = 77.5 = 78 points. Note that the score is rounded up.

In language A1, this is done somewhat differently:

Example 2: Language A1 HL - Paper 1 (25%), Paper 2 (25%), World Literature Assignment (20%), Internal Assessment (30%).
The maximum score on Papers 1&2 is 25 points. The maximum score on the World Literature Assignment is 40 points. (NOTE: This Applies for HL only!) The maximum score on the Internal Assessment is 60 points.

Here, the total score is not calculated out of 200, but directly from 100. The scores from Papers 1 & 2 need not be scaled, but the scores from WLA and IA will be divided by two to reach a total of 100 marks.

For example, the scores of person B are as follows: Paper 1: 23 points. Paper 2: 21 points. World Literature Assignment: 34 points. Internal Assessment 49 points.
The mark is then calculated: 23+21+(34/2)+(49/2) = 85.5 = 86.

Calculating your final grade between 1 and 7.
The IB uses a bell curve to find suitable mark boundaries for exams in order to ensure that their level of difficulty will not affect the mark that a student receives. In practice, this means that although students might score poorly on an exam, they might still receive a high mark if the test has been hard for everyone. However, this is not the only factor in setting a grade boundary.
Likewise, if the test has been very easy, a high mark will be required to score a high grade. The system that IB uses to find these boundaries is, as far as I know, undisclosed, and probably far too technical to be discussed here. What can, however, be discussed is the way that your final grade is found from your component grades and your scaled (0-100) mark.

Diploma Programme assessment - Principles and Practices sums the process as follows:

Quote

The setting of grade boundaries is... the reconciling of information from different sources: the experienced judgment of senior examiners, statistical comparisons and the expectations of experienced teachers

As mentioned, the final grade will not be found using component grades, but rather component marks. This means that although a student would reach two low 7s in 60% of the assessment, 3 low 6s in the remaining 40% might bring the grade down to a 6. The grade boundary out of 100 can be found as follows:
7 - (lowest grade 7 mark from component 1) + (highest grade 6 mark from component 2) + (highest grade 6 mark from component 3) + (highest grade 6 mark from component 4)
6 - (lowest grade 6 mark from component 1) + (highest grade 5 mark from component 2) + (highest grade 5 mark from component 3) + (highest grade 5 mark from component 4)

I'll illustrate this with an example. The grade boundaries for Finnish A1 SL are as follows:
Paper 1:
7 - 24-25
6 - 22-23
...
Paper 2:
7 - 23-25
6 - 21-22
...
WLA:
7 - 17-20
6 - 15-16
...
IA:
7 - 27-30
6 - 24-26
...
Thus, the aggregate marks required for grade 7 would be:
P1: 24 + P2: 22 + WLA: 16 + IA: 26 = 88
For grade 6:
P1: 22 + P2: 20 + WLA: 14 + IA: 23 = 79.

Moderation of grades:
All IB assessment work is moderated. As you all should know, a sample of IA scripts from each school are always sent for moderation to an examiner. The same is done with external assessment, as 15% of each examiner's scripts will be marked by a senior examiner. Then, accordingly to the level of marking, the assessment of all scripts by that examiner is either raised or lowered. Mathematically, IB requires a correlation coefficient of at least 0.90 for the examiner's marking to be considered reliable. Further, IB uses linear regression to ensure just results. If the assistant examiner's sample scripts do not meet these criteria, they will be marked by a different examiner. Again, this is more closely discussed in Diploma Programme assessment - Principles and Practices. There is also a process called "at risking" used to reassess the work of candidates who have been awarded a final grade that is two or more grades lower than their predicted grade and within two percentage marks of getting a higher overall grade. However, if a school continuously predicts over the actual ability of candidates, it is unlikely that the school will participate in "at risk" remarking.

To answer your more specific question about lang B:

greaterthaninfinity, on Mar 3 2009, 02:26 PM, said:

I'm particularly perplexed about the Language B internal assessment. I'm aware that it's worth 30% of the grade but at my school, we have one oral exam worth 15% and three oral assessments along the way which are averaged out to be worth 15%. This apparently will then constitute the 30% of the Language B mark. But I've read some topics in this forum and it seems like there's discrepancies between different schools and how their teachers are assessing the IA for Language B.

The lang B oral is composed of the Individual Oral Commentary (IOC) and the Interactive Oral Presentation (IOP). Each are worth 15%, but are graded out of 30 marks. The candidate should only do the IOC once (although practice IOCs can be held), and the IOP three times (again, practice IOPs may be held). The best (not average) IOP mark and the IOC mark will be added together to find the final Internal Assessment mark, which will then be divided by two because it must be scaled.

For 2013 candidates onward the IOP mark will be based on your mean IOP score.

Post by: deissi

[Survival Robot]

How much time and effort does subject X require?

Future IB students ask this question a lot: how much effort is required in [insert subject here] to get a decent grade in it. The answer to the question is that we don't know. By this point in your studies, you have probably noticed that not all students perform alike: while someone may get a 7 in Mathematics HL without really studying, another person might struggle to get a 4 even after studying for weeks before the final exam. This is the reason to why we can't tell you how much time it will take you to get a 7 in, for example, Mathematics HL. However, what can be deduced is that Group 4 (science) and Group 5 (Mathematics) subjects taken at HL tend to be subjects in which students often have difficulties, and they tend to require much effort. On the other hand, many consider Group 3 and Group 2 HL subjects to be easy relative to their natural science counterparts. Again, this depends on the individual, but if you're not comfortable with mathematics, you shouldn't consider choosing Mathematics, Physics or Chemistry at HL unless you're willing to spend a considerable amount of time practicing it.

Is it impossible to get a good mark in subject X?

No, it is not. Able candidates will always get a good mark. If you are talented in mathematics, you will get a 7 in Mathematics HL. However, this being said, it is easy for those of us less able to score good grades in some subjects. In general, it is considered that the hardest subjects to score a high grade include at least Mathematics HL and Chemistry SL and HL. In addition to this, statistics show that a very low percentage of sevens are given in 'artsy' subjects such as ITGS HL and Business and Management HL. On the other hand, subjects that are often considered the easiest to score well in are language B/A2 subjects and the most popular Group 3 subjects, Economics and History.

These, unfortunately, are merely statistics. In the words of Benjamin Disraeli: "there are lies, damned lies, and finally, there are statistics." What this means is that you, as an individual, should not focus so much on the statistics of grade division in a subject, but rather choose your subjects by looking at your interests and strengths. If you are not interested in a subject, you will not study. When you don't study, you get a bad mark. This is why I want to emphasize that when contemplating on picking between a hard subject you love and an 'easy' subject you don't really like, you should seriously consider picking the more difficult subject, and put effort into reaching the grade you want.

How many samples of IAs from my class will be sent for moderation?

For 5 candidates or fewer the sample will comprise the work of all candidates
For 6 to 20 candidates the sample will comprise the work of 5 candidates
For 21 to 40 candidates the sample will comprise the work of 8 candidates
For 41 candidates and above the sample will comprise the work of 10 candidates.

<a name="Does getting an E in TOK and/or E in the Extended Essay mean that no diploma is awarded?">Does getting an E in TOK and/or E in the Extended Essay mean that no diploma is awarded?
Starting with the IB Class of 2010, the TOK/EE criteria have been changed so that an E in either subject (not just both!) will result in no diploma being awarded.

Post by: deissi

[charlotteee]

Just some quick corrections/advice:

Starting with the IB Class of 2010, the TOK/EE criteria have been changed so that an E in either subject (not just both!) will result in no diploma being awarded.

Secondly, for the IB Class of 2013, for Language B, the IOP score will now be an average, not just your best score.

Furthermore, the CAS Requirements starting with the Class of 2010 (currently IB1), have been changed to prevent what has been suggested above (finishing all CAS in the first year/over the summer). Each student must now take part in a Long-Term project/activity that last for at least the duration of the two IB years.

Edited by charlotteee, May 13, 2009 - 15:07.

[Ahmed Mazlom]

Great posts, really helpful

[cookie.dough.love]

many thanks from me and anyone using these guide, they are well written and useful xo