TidusBlade

You come up with a topic that you want to present on. You can do different kinds of presentations. You can make up a scene and act it out to show your interpretation of a character. You can have a guided discussion where you lead your peers to talk about some aspect of the book. This is hard to do because it's hard to know where you're going to end up! You can always ask some friends to say what you want them to say, but I think that takes the fun and meaning out of the discussion. You can also just talk about some aspect of it for your presentation. I recall this sheet my teacher gave with four categories that we could probably do your IOP on. It was like literary features, characters/relationships, plot development, and something else. My teacher said to stay away from themes though. You usually can't present original enough ideas.

What I looked for in my presentation was something that people wouldn't immediately notice or disregard for whatever reason. It had to be something I was interested in exploring, and it had to have significance. "So what? So what that I noticed this thing? Why is it relevant to us today? Why should we care? What can we learn from this?" That kind of thing. The answer wasn't obvious at first. If it's obvious to everyone, that just might defeat the purpose.

You're going to need the book. Maybe you can find an online version of it by Googling it or something.

To answer your second question first, no I don't think it matters just if you're doing a discussion or not. If you do a discussion, and it doesn't go out of control, then you're safe. I don't think you'll be disadvantaged for doing a discussion rather than something else. It's hard work. To do a discussion, you need to be more planned than if you were going to do anything else, pretty much, because you have to think of the multiple scenarios. You ask a questions, you have to expect the answers. Then you have to take each answer and tie it back in or prod further for the class to come to something you want them to come to. As for lacking confidence, I think you'd need plenty of confidence in yourself, your knowledge, and your ability to improvise if you choose discussion. And maybe I read your question backwards, so I'll also say that you're not disadvantaged if you don't do a discussion. There are many ways to show organization and confidence.

Okay so this is something a teacher made for his class: http://www.slideshar...rRyanSIS/iop-pp
The works and a few other things might be different for you, but I think it's good advice. And it might already be on there, but try to have whatever you're going to present memorized. The thing is you don't want to sound memorized. So officially, be very comfortable with the material you present, however you want to try to achieve that.
Also, you want to support what you say. Use quotations from the poems. You shouldn't memorize these. I had a detailed outline of my IOP and I took it up with me. I pretty much memorized what I wanted to say, but I referred to the outline a few times. Also, make eye contact with your classmates. All of them. It might help if you look past them or imagine them in their underwear--whatever works for you. Just remember you have an audience and you want to engage with them on some level. You can try to bring humor into it if it's appropriate. Also, my teacher told us to dress up nicely unless we were doing a creative presentation that required a costume. It just helps with confidence, to be honest.

I'm glad you're wanting to start this early, but the ideas need to start from you. What strikes you as odd or interesting or annoying or invokes any kind of emotion within you about the works? And do you have a specific kind of presentation in mind? I suggest you take two of the works and look for something that's common to both of them. It might be that the authors of two works use dialogue a lot, but they create very different effects. Your topic doesn't have to be like that at all, but it's just an example. There's a thread of topics people have done for their IOPs, if you want to get a feel of what kind of things you can do.  You can find it here: http://www.ibsurviva...26-english-iop/
As far as I know, IOPs are only done in English A1, so I'll move you to the Language A1 forum. =)

Well, I'm going through the program right now as well, exams are in May 2010. I experimented with a few different methods last year.

Flashcards: Two approaches here, you could make cards with one question on the front and an answer on the back, or one card per concept. These are useful because you learn when you are making them and they are easy to use and re-use. Also, it forces you to go through all your notes and condense and summarize.

Study notes: Go through everything, write down a concept heading and  the most important notes about it. This is advantageous because everything is laid out nicely for you to see all at once, and it is easy to reference things from the past because everything will be in order. Laying everything out will also give you an idea of which areas have the most material and the most weight and, thus, what you should spend the most time studying.

Study guides: I haven't used any of the IB study guides yet but I have heard great things about some of them, if you choose wisely. They are good because they can give you a summary of your notes from a different perspective, which can help you clear up anything or give you useful memorization techniques. It is also very helpful to do the questions in the study guides 2 or 3 times, so do them on a separate sheet of paper! Mark down the ones you got wrong and pay special attention to those. This is also great because you get an idea of what the markers mean when they use certain wording. Some study guides have both multiple choice and written response questions - pay special attention to the answers in the written response questions; I often find that they pop up again on tests.

Question banks online: Same reasons as above.

Tutoring/teaching: For me, one of the best ways to learn. It forces you to verbalize things where you would normally say "I already know this" and don't bother to put it into any form that can be communicated beforehand. If you have study groups with friends, it can be less boring, but make sure you actually get work done. Even teaching a family member, pet or stuffed animal can be beneficial.

The most important thing is to NOT PROCRASTINATE. Even just reviewing the notes you get every day in class and going over one old unit at a time helps you to sort the information in your brain and see what you're up against. It is a good recall trick so that when you're studying you're not constantly surprised by the information you are finding and remembering.

To summarize:

• Flashcards are great to make and easy to re-use
  
• Study notes are good summary tools that lay everything out
  
• Study guides give you a new perspective
  
• Question banks are awesome practice
  
• Teaching forces you to communicate everything and put it into a form that can be understood by others
  
• Do light review first and do it constantly
  
• Start now!

You've got a lot of options and I recommend playing around with everything to see what works for you. If you start preparing early, you'll do great Good luck!

Good day everyone,

I guess that this thread might help, specially the Senior students who are going to apply to universities any time soon. In here, we discuss anything related to the admission procedure, university offers, predicted grades, etc... Meaning, from the point you enter your IB Senior year until you start your college course.

Ok.. First of all, if you haven't checked already, there are two very important threads in the university forum. The Guide to the Personal Statement, and the Admission Tests.

Menu

• What, How and When Should You Apply?
  
• The UCAS Form
  
• What is a Major/Minor?
  
• Post Application Era
  
• What is Graduate/Undergraduate Study?
  
• Some Tips

What, How and When Should You Apply?

Let's start with  the "University Handbag" for all IB students. What do you need in order to apply to colleges? How? When?..

As a junior student, you need to think of what you want to study and where (broad thinking). Focus on areas of interest.. What are the subjects you're taking, which ones appeal to you and which ones you feel comfortable with. Focus on getting good grades in them.

As a senior student, you need to think of where (narrow your choices down) and what (in case you haven't) to study. Most schools have a university advisor.. Go there! Try to apply by the beginning of the Senior year since it will be hectic, and trying to cope with a lot of many reponsibilities is quite difficult. Once you talk to the advisor, you may start applying. You will need:

- Recommendation Letters (from your six or seven teachers + one or two extra). There are slips that the advisor gives you to sign your name and give to your teachers who will be writing for you. The letters remain confidential, and you never read them.
- Predicted Grades. These are gathered by the advisor from each one of your teachers, and again, they remain unknown (until the time the results come out.. By then, the surprise element is gone.   ).
- Application Forms. These are found on the website of each university. Thus, after making your research, you can download them and fill them out. In some cases, there are online applications that are sent directly to the university.
- A Personal Statement (see above). Try to do it before your Senior year, or at the beginning of it. It is extremely important for your application procedure.

The forms, combined with the statement, letters and predicted grades are sent off to the universities. Each college will set deadlines concerning each major, so meet them and apply before the deadline by two weeks at least!! Regarding the UK universities, there is something known as the UCAS.. This takes care of everything and sends your info to the universities of your choice.

Each university sets some conditions that one muct abide by for him/her to be able to enter. Check the Admission Tests each university asks for (refer to the thread above), and sign up for it. Practise and work to earn the grade they're looking for.


The UCAS Form - A detailed procedure..

When it comes to UK universities, there is a separate from you need to fill out. This is called the UCAS form, and can be found on this page. Follow the steps in the spoiler!!


In case you have any questions, post them in this thread and we'll try to answer your questions as soon as possible.


What is a Major/Minor?

Ok.. Many people ask this question, so it might help to clear stuff regarding this issue. Basically, when you study for your bachelor, you are taking 120 credits = 4 years of undergraduate study.. In case you're an IB Diploma student, then they cut down to 90 credits = 3 years. By simple maths, you can deduce that 30 credits = 1 year. Again, this varies according to each universities, and some universities don't omit a year for you.. Depends on the course more or less..

As for the Minor, it is much less when it comes to hours/credits. Some people take it and some don't. Then, why do people take it, if they do? Well the answer is different according to each individual. Some say that it's amusing to take an additional course, others like to take another subject because, maybe, they would like to try something new they haven't taken at school or something they can ace easily.. Something they want to get a degree in though it's worth of less credits than a major. Some people take a minor course because it might help in their major. Again, it varies according to the individual and the university.

Now, when do you choose the major or the minor? Well basically, you do this as you apply for admission. You choose your major in the application form and write it down. Minors can be done the same way, or before you start your academic year - you go there and sign up for the minor course. Comprende?  


Post Application Era

Now it's up to the university to accept or not. Of course, they will reply to your request (it would be rude not to, wouldn't it?   ). There are four important words to know:

CONDITIONAL OFFER: Meaning, if you get specific grades you're in. Failure to do so will make it difficult rather impossible to enter.
UNCONDITIONAL OFFER: Finish your Senior year and you're in. Welcome!

That was regarding the offers. Now, since you might have applied to many universities, you get different replies from each one. Sit with your parents and yourselves and see where you like to go and why.. Jot down the Pros and Cons. Then, carefully decide (taking extra caution.. Revise your decision many times) where you want to be.. The remaining two words relate to your final choice..

FIRM CHOICE: This is where you want to be - no change at all. Done.
INSURANCE CHOICE: In case something happens, this is your second and next best choice.
Make sure the grade offer in your insurance uni is below the offer for your firm. This is so that if you don't get the grades for your firm choice, you might get them for your insurance... think about it this way: the better uni with the higher conditional may look more attractive, but how does no uni at all look?


What is Graduate/Undergraduate Study?

As you apply for your bachelor degree in university (that is, the first four/three years), you are applying for undergraduate study. Meaning, you are taking a bachelor only.. No more, no less. In case you're applying for medicine in a US university, as an example, the pre-med courses are the undergraduate studies.

You may start working after you earn your degree with your specific field of study and/or may go for graduate school. This means you'll further your studies two, three, four or more years to earn an MD, PhD... Studying medicine, for example, (in medical school) in a US university is considered graduate study.


Some Tips

This may seem stressful, but it is really an enjoyable period of time. You feel all grown up and independant. But with this comes responsibility, so playing time is over. Don't procrastinate.. You want the universities to see that you have changed, so show them! Work and Shine. It's ok to get exhausted, but remember, it's all worth it eventually. In case you get a conditional offer, work for it and get the grades they're looking for. Shine and show you're capable of it.

Whatever your choice is, wherever you want to be, may God be with you. Have a wonderful life at school, university and beyond...

As you may have seen, I have done some Youtube videos geared specifically towards IB Math SL and IB Physics.  I had been going through past exam questions, showing exactly how to solve them step by step.  However, I was notified by the IB that I must take them down, and so I had to comply.  My intention was to help you all out in any way I could.  I’ve been an IB teacher for many years, and enjoy helping out more than just my own students.  

With this in mind, I am willing to do a series of Youtube videos about specific topics within the IB Physics SL or HL curriculum.  So if there are specific topics that you’d like to see done in detail with lots of examples, just post it in this thread.  I’ll take a look and see if there is any overwhelming consensus on any topics, and then start doing videos on those ones.  I can go over an entire topic or just focus on a specific area within a topic.  

Just post your request and I’ll see what I can do.  Keep in mind there’s only one of me, so I will do topics that have overwhelming request for them.  I am working as well as studying for my M.Sc. in Astrophysics, and so extra time is quite limited.  If I don’t get to your request right away, just be patient.  I’ll get to as many as I can.

-Mitch

Physics SL and Physics HL topics (core: everyone needs these topics)

Topic 1: Physics and physical measurement (measurement, uncertainties, vectors, scalars)
Topic 2: Mechanics (kinematics, forces, work, energy, power, circular motion)
Topic 3: Thermal Physics (temp, internal energy, heat, specific heat capacity, phase changes)
Topic 4: Oscillations and waves (simple harmonic motion, forced oscillations, resonance, wave characteristics, wave properties)
Topic 5: Electric currents (electric potential difference, current, resistance, electric circuits)
Topic 6: Fields and forces (gravitational-, electric-, and magnetic forces and fields)
Topic 7: Atomic and nuclear physics (atom, radioactive decay, nuclear reactions, fission, fusion)
Topic 8: Energy, power, climate change (energy degradation, power generation, world energy sources, fossil fuels, non-fossil fuels, greenhouse effect, global warming)

Physics HL topics (additional higher level that SL students don’t need)

Topic 9: Motion in fields (projectile motion, gravitational field, potential, and energy, electric field, potential, and energy, orbital motion)
Topic 10: Thermal Physics (thermodynamics, thermal processes, second law of thermodynamics, entropy)
Topic 11: Wave phenomena (standing waves, Doppler effect, diffraction, resolution, polarization)
Topic 12: Electromagnetic induction (induced emf, AC current, transmission of electrical power)
Topic 13: Quantum physics and nuclear physics (De Broglie, Heisenberg, Bohr, Schroedinger, half-life and decay constant alpha)
Topic 14: Digital technology (analogue and digital signals, data capture, CCD)

Options that I’m willing to do:

SL only – most of these are almost identical to HL topics above:
Option A: Sight and Wave Phenomena
Option B: Quantum and nuclear Physics
Option C: Digital Technology

For both SL and HL (HL has extra stuff)
Option E: Astrophysics (introduction to the universe, stellar radiation and types, distances, cosmology).

For only HL:
Option H: Relativity (special relativity, relativistic kinematics, momentum and energy, general relativity basics)

Well, the key is to understand the criteria; I'll briefly explain how to score high marks in them.

Criterion A: Understanding & comparison of the text (P1) / Response to the question (P2)

This is quite straight-forward, but most difficult to attain high marks in. For paper 1, you should find as many aspects as you can to compare in detail, i.e. explain them as much as you can and give examples! Make sure the examiner will understand to what extent the aspect you mention is different or similar for both texts. Quote the part of the text that is relevant to the aspect and explain in what way it is relevant. If you cannot explain an aspect, don't even bother mentioning it - it'll just show the examiner that you do not understand that part of the text.

For paper 2, make sure you understand the implications of the question! You should be aware of what the question wants from you - do not answer anything the question doesn't state! I'll give you an example using the May 2009 paper (I chose this): There was a question on paper 2 that asked how outsiders who struggle against rules or inflexible social systems illuminate themes in the texts. It was worded in such way that it was extremely tempting to only explain which outsiders struggle in what ways, leaving out the explanation as to how these characters enhance a certain theme. If you make a mistake like that, you are certain to lose quite a few marks in this criteria since you did not fully answer the question. Make sure that the novels you choose for a question are appropriate! For this example, dystopian novels like "Brave New World", "1984" and "The Handmaid's Tale" are extremely appropriate, whereas "The Great Gatsby" or "A Streetcar Named Desire" are not.

Criterion B: Presentation

It is very easy to score highly here. Basically, don't let your essay look like it was written by an idiot. Make an outline in beforehand, indicating what you are planning on talking about in every paragraph. You can then add arguments and examples to the point you're making in every paragraph, but this is not necessary. I, for example, left out my arguments and examples in my outlines and just made them up while I was writing. It is important to have an introduction with a thesis statement! It doesn't have to sound super-professional, but for paper 1, write a sentence about the topic common to both texts and in which aspects they differ. For paper 2, this obviously depends on the question you choose. Ensure to keep a balance between both texts (P1) and both novels/plays (P2) in every paragraph! Don't write four sentences about the first text and then only add one about the second. It is expected to use good transitions between paragraphs (e.g. "Another important aspect is ...") from HL students, so make sure you use those as well! Make sure you use words such as "however", "moreover" and "furthermore" to make your essay flow. It is also highly appropriate to use contrasting words/terms, such as "on the other hand". Do not make your paragraphs too long! If you have to, split it up into two paragraphs, but only at a point where it is appropriate! Lastly, have a conclusion that nicely sums up the points you are making. Even though it is not part of the assessment criteria, try to make your writing as clear as possible; if you have to cross out something, try to do it nicely. People (and thus examiners) tend to be (unconsciously) biased by the way something was written and is presented, so an essay that could easily score full marks could get less than what it deserves if it looks like the pen was leaking all over the place!

Criterion C: Language

How to score highly in this criterion is pretty obvious. Make sure you spell everything correctly and that you use correct grammar! Plan your essay in such way that you have 10-15 minutes at the end to read it again and eventually find and correct mistakes you made while writing it (I usually notice a missing word or a missing letter at the end of a word ). Your vocabulary is expected to be highly appropriate, i.e. if you have a broad vocabulary, make sure to use it! If the question asks about how the setting enhances understanding, use words/terms such as "dilapidated" or "urban decay" when talking about "1984", for example. Ensure that you do not keep repeating any words - e.g. do not use "moreover" in every sentence, as this will sound boring and monotone.

Just keep practicing and eventually you'll get into the 7-band! I hope this was helpful; I followed all of this and kept getting 26-30 in all of my essays Good luck!

In addition to what was mentioned, I would also like to add the following:

DeadLine: http://deadline.3x.ro/ - equations solver and plotter; very useful for math homework (functions, derivatitves), but unfortunately only works under Win32.

Maple 12: http://www.maplesoft...aple/index.aspx , http://en.wikipedia...._algebra_system - all-you-need software for IB Math with very intuitive interface. Only con: shareware (pro: you can find serial in no time ... )

GeoGebra: http://www.geogebra.org/cms/ - excellent free and multi-platform software  that joins geometry, algebra and calculus. Nuff said.

Autograph: http://www.autograph-maths.com/ - very good shareware math software especially good for function graphing (draws beautiful graphs by default).

AnalyticMath: http://www.analyticmath.com/ -  FREE,  cross-platform (Windows, Linux, etc.)  mathematics / plotting program with a powerful editor and  integrated 'auto-calc' features that will help you develop  and visually analyse mathematical expressions quickly and  easily.  The program is intuitive, simple to use, and  suitable for everyone from students to theoretical physicists and, of course, IB students as well.

Maxima, a Computer Algebra System: http://maxima.sourceforge.net/ - Maxima is a system for the manipulation of symbolic and numerical  expressions, including differentiation, integration, Taylor series,  Laplace transforms, ordinary differential equations, systems of linear  equations, polynomials, and sets, lists, vectors, matrices, and  tensors. Maxima yields high precision numeric results by using exact  fractions, arbitrary precision integers, and variable precision  floating point numbers. Maxima can plot functions and data in two and  three dimensions. It is available for Windows, Linux, and MacOS X and is also one of the must-haves for either IA or Math homework and is also of great use at Physics and Chemistry as well.

If you prefer simplicity over functionality, here are some other popular alternatives to Windows Calculator and unit conversion:

Calculator (Mozilla Firefox Extension): https://addons.mozil...efox/addon/1194 - just what is says.

Microsoft Calculator Plus: http://www.microsoft...;displaylang=en - a bit better than Windows Calculator since it has conversion tab. Big wow for nothing and you have to validate your Windows copy, download bulky Windows Installer and all you get out of it is a little .exe with a slightly more functionality than Windows Calculator. For those of you, who would just like to double-click and try, I uploaded the .exe file in the attachement below.
 CalcPlus.zip   169.06K   4 downloads
This is how I struggle through IB course and it would be much harder for me if it weren't for software you've already mentioned and the one I listed here.

Ok from the english system point of view (sorry for those not in the english education system!)

Maths Studies is approximately equal in standard to GCSE Higher Level Maths (if not just beyond)
Maths SL is at a level between AS Maths and Maths A2.
Maths HL is slightly beyond Maths A2 but not as hard as Further Maths A Level, although it contains some topics from FM.
Further Maths SL is equivalent to Further Maths A level (!)

Personally, I am taking Maths HL and it is quite challenging, a big jump from GCSE Higher but nonetheless its interesting!

If you have done GCSE, what you take depends on what grade you got and your interest in Maths.
Dont go for Maths HL or above if you havent got an A* at GSCE or an A with a REAL passion for Maths!
Just my personal opinion!