Are these study guides helpful?

[Musicaltheatre!]

I'm going to get the  OCS

HL Biology study guide and the IA guide

english lit study guide

math studies study guide and calculator guide

SL Psychology study guide

and ib 167 secrets

 

Are these helpful at all?

[Rosalina]

Out of the list, I have only used the HL Biology Oxford Study Guide. I would say that it is useful if you would like to review concepts before a test or get another explanation of the topic you're looking for. Our teacher also says that some of the questions in the guide are very similar to those on your IB exam. 

 

I am slightly confused as to why you would need a book for English Literature, however. Much of it will be taught to you in your school.

[Siddhakshi]

HL Bio and SL Psychology are really good.

 

1) For bio, I strongly suggest reading through the texbook and your class notes well in advance so that you can leave the guide for the day before the exam as a quick brush up. It does not have enough detail as required for the essay-type questions, but really helps for short questions. As for the IA, just print out the criteria and perhaps some samples. No need for a separate guide, I doubt they can help half as much as this site and your teacher can. Also, at the end of your textbook there probably is an entire section on the exploration.

2) For psych, both the Oxford and the Pearson guides are good. I personally use the Oxford one- it is really really helpful because it systematizes everything you need to know and has enough detail to avoid looking back at the textbook the night before.

3) I don't use a guide for Lit, and I don't see the need to purchase it either. For paper 2, sparknotes is good enough to give a brief overview of most works, although you should read through the novel/work you plan on using in your answer. For other components, the Oxford textbook is perfect and requires no supplement material.

4) I have no idea about maths. I think solving problems from your textbook should suffice, but I'm not too sure.