POV: You just got your mock IB exam scores.
You quickly glance at the score and immediately flip through the pages. There are items you did well in — yay! — and others not so much. Whatever. At least the mock exams are over. But then, you remember you have the actual IB exams soon. Uh oh…
Don’t panic! If you are stuck on how to improve your mock exam scores for the IB exams, you are not alone. This guide will walk you through how to make a revision schedule that can help you boost your confidence for the actual IB exams.
First, there are four things we need to do:
Go over your mock exam papers
The first part of tackling a problem is knowing what you are dealing with. Look through every question and note down your mistakes. Did you incorrectly interpret the command term? Did you get the number of significant figures wrong? Perhaps you applied the wrong method or missed some data in the problem. List these down so that you can practice them during your revision.
After this, look for what you did well in. Maybe you wrote a pretty good essay for a question, or it was easy for you to solve certain problems. Acknowledging your triumphs can not only be encouraging, but it can also tell you which topics you have already mastered.
Check the syllabus
After going through your exam papers, look into your syllabus and mark how much you understand each topic. For example, when I was preparing for my exams, I placed a checkmark beside the points I already understood, a star or an asterisk (*) beside the points I was not sure about, and an x-mark for stuff I really did not understand.
When doing this, it is best to use the detailed versions of IB syllabi. These syllabi not only list the topics but also break them down into specific points and skills you need to learn. Some of these can be found online, but you can also find it in your textbook(s) or ask your teacher for a copy.
Sort out the topics into categories
Now that you have an idea of how you are doing per topic, sort out the topics into these two categories:
- Review – topics that you know and are already good at
- Revisit – topics that you know overall but have parts you are unsure about
- Learn – topics that you are unfamiliar with or find difficult
The Learn category can also be for topics that you need to learn for the IB exams but have not covered at school. For example, because one of our teachers left in the middle of the school year, we were not able to cover some topics in IB Psychology. We therefore had to self-study the topics we had not yet covered, so I sorted these topics under the Learn category.
These categories can therefore help you sort out which topics to prioritize and when to study them. As you can guess, this leads us too…
Make a study schedule
Time management is key for exam prep, so a study schedule would be helpful for keeping track of your progress. A study schedule maps out the topics you will revise for a specific period of time. This can be made digitally or on paper. Here is a snippet of my revision schedule for the May 2023 IB exams, for example:
A part of my revision schedule for the May 2023 IB exams.
Everyone studies in their own unique way, so what works for someone may not work for another person. Some people like having set breaks while studying (e.g. Pomodoro technique), for example, while others might prefer studying uninterrupted for hours. Thus, you can make your study schedule any way you want, but you must plan it in a way that keeps you accountable.
Here are some tips that might be helpful in planning your study schedule:
- Place your toughest topics at the start and end of your timeline. People tend to remember things better when they are located at the start and end of a series. This is called the serial position effect, and you can take advantage of it in studying. For example, if you are going to start studying for the IB exams in April, you can cover your Learn topics in the first week of April, Review topics in the middle, and Revisit topics for the last two weeks of April so that you can hopefully remember them better.
- Revise in small, but frequent chunks. Rather than tackling one huge topic for 2.5 hours on a Saturday afternoon, for instance, it might be better to split that topic up into five 30-minute sessions from Monday to Friday. This can be helpful if you feel overwhelmed about studying. You won’t feel unproductive having spent all of Saturday afternoon on only one topic, and everyday your learning is refreshed.
- Factor in time for ongoing academic requirements. For example, when I had mock exams, some subjects had not yet finished covering their entire syllabi. This meant that I also had to set time for learning the new material in addition to revising for exams. Similarly, if you still have to complete some academic requirements (e.g. TOK essay, Extended Essay, art exhibitions), do not forget to make time for them. Remember, you still can’t get your IB diploma without your EE.
- Include breaks in your study plan. This is probably the most important tip on this list. The weeks leading up to IB exams can be immensely stressful, and it is easy to lose track of your mental health in this intense period of revision. Make sure to set days where you can take time off, unwind with your hobbies, and enjoy your loved ones. If a friend’s birthday falls on the week before IB exams, that does not mean you shouldn’t celebrate it!
Revising for IB exams after mocks can be overwhelming, but that does not mean it is impossible. Best of luck to you, future IB exam candidate!
You may also like…
- Job’s tips on how to self-study in the IBDP
- Rohit’s 5 Tips to “Cram” for IB Tests (when you have to)