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Preparation for November Exams

Annette Rome
For many subjects in the IB, examinations provide the major portion of the assessment for that subject. It is
therefore essential that you are as well prepared as possible.
Suggestions for study:
1. It is essential that you have comprehensive notes. These may be as simple as a vocab list, but all concepts
should be written out in your own words AND using formal definitions. Study guides are available in many
subjects. Alternatively, Australian first year university texts will provide the necessary depth for HL subjects.
2. Try and make your expression as sophisticated as possible i.e. Use standard definitions or phrases memorise
them initially until you feel comfortable enough to use the terms correctly in different context. Do not
reinvent the wheel and do not disadvantage yourself by sounding like a year 8 student. IB examiners do not
appreciate juvenile responses. Humour used on conjunction with knowledge is impressive. Humour used
instead of knowledge can be embarrassing.
3. Read books OTHER THAN your text and notes. The more widely read you are, the more comfortable you
will feel with your knowledge. Likewise discussing concepts with your friends can reinforce understanding.
4. Remember that there is often not enough time in class to go through everything. Use your Syllabus as your
Bible, particularly in the Sciences. Go through it point by point and if you do not understand a statement look
it up or make a list and seek help ASAP from your teachers.
5. Do AT LEAST 6 past exams before the end of the year. If you do so, it is most likely that you will have
encountered most of the questions they can ask. This is a lot work! approx 24 hrs of exam practise in a HL
subject but it is worth it.
6. For goodness sake do not miss lessons! As the year progresses, teachers will give you advice to assist with
examination technique. Remember that a good answering technique usually makes about 30% difference to
the final score!
Best of luck, work hard and enjoy the Learning pass the pain barrier for study!

Annette Rome was a teacher at Carey Baptist Grammar School

Study Hints and Good Advice

Paul Zaparas
I remember my final year of school vividly and recall particularly that the jump from year 11 to year 12 was one of
the most difficult transitions I have ever had to make. The standard required in all of my subjects, but most
particularly Maths and English, was far higher than the standard taught at year 11.
It took a number of months for students to begin to come to grips with the level of work required by year 12 IB.
As one can imagine the results in the mid year exam were terrible. I remember failing my maths exam with a
mark of 44% and doing far lower than I expected or considered adequate in all my other subjects. I was struggling
in the first six months of year 12 particularly in light of the fact that world literature, ToK and Extended Essay
assignments all had to be handed in during this time.
However I found that the volume of work decreased in the second half of year 12. Most of the subjects had
completed the syllabus by July and the last six months of IB were spent exclusively on revision. The improvements
that can be made during this time are phenomenal but they do require significant amounts of work.
During the last six months of IB I would work consistently for five or six hours a night every night. During the
weekends I would work about 8 hours a day. I never went out for parties though I would go out to dinner
particularly on the weekend and occasionally I could afford to watch a game of football on Saturday. Other than
these examples I basically had to sacrifice all aspects of my social life for the third and fourth terms.
I did however improve my results dramatically. These last six months arent spent learning anything new but
rather are spent revising in anticipation for the end of year exams.
I cannot street how important it is to do as many past exam papers as you can get your hand on. Ultimately the
format of the questions in your final year exam paper will be similar to the format of previous years. If you come
across a question which is similar to past questions youve completed and which you have practiced a number of
times it will pose no problem at all in your final exam.
Finally I wish to say dont lose heart. As late as August in mock exams I received a 54% for my higher level maths
paper, but the last few months of committed work paid handsome dividends.
My final marks, just for reference, were:
Maths (HL):
Chemistry (HL):
English (HL):
Physics (SL):
History (SL):
Japanese (SL):
Bonus marks:
Final score:

7
7
6
7
7
6
3
43

Paul Zaparas was a student at Wesley College

Study Hints and Good Advice

Bec Mouy
By the time you hit Year 12, theres not much you havent already been told; ask questions, hand things in on time,
manage your time, balance study with leisure, revise regularly, etcetera. The problem is putting these tips into
practice actually sitting down to study and putting your head down. Given that youre already halfway through
the year and youve probably done your midyears, its probably almost time to think about all your internal
assessment and perhaps even your final exams.
My two key pieces of study advice are to adhere to deadlines and to create revision aids. Deadlines in the IB can
sometimes seem loose and misleading. In some cases, those deadlines are set by your teachers, not necessarily the
IB, but your teachers set them for a very good reason! Theyre aware that setting internal deadlines will prevent
getting snowed under when the assignments are all due to be sent away. Attempt tasks which most frighten you
(particularly EE and ToK essays) as early as possible as these are huge hurdles which, when completed or at least
drafted, will free up a lot of time.
I found revision aids such as flash cards and posters really helpful, and these should be made as early as possible so
that you can utilise them as ongoing revision throughout the year. Revision aids can minimise dead time: posters
on the microwave, above the kitchen sink, in your bathroom and bedroom, flash cards on public transport. If you
have nothing with you, try to actively engage your mind on some kind of rote learning task, such as listing the 16
tre verbs or the differentiation and anti-differentiation laws. Minimising dead time allows you to maximise your
time out of study. You can organise your study time such that youre able to enjoy social and leisure time without
stressing that you should be studying.
This brings me to my favourite topic... organisation! If it works for you, use yearly, monthly, weekly and even daily
planners. A long string of to-do lists got me through the year and prevented me from stressing unnecessarily when
it felt like we had a thousand things to due. A most important point for organisation and study is that you have to
be pragmatic. In a system like the IB, you cant be overly fastidious with your work. Remember that the fourteenth
draft of your World Lit 2 assignment wont necessarily be of as much benefit to you as a first draft of your
Psychology Internal Assessment. It comes to a point with all assignments where you have to bite the bullet and
hand it in.
Hopefully somewhere in between the assignments, exams and countless other activities that you are involved in,
you will reflect on how lucky you are to be undertaking the IB. It isnt an opportunity available to everyone, and it
is a system which fosters peer support and friendships because there are comparatively few taking the IB. For me,
the best part of IB was the culture and friendships that were born. Its the emotional highs and lows of IB which
bind us together. Through the drafted and re-drafted world lits, 21 page prac reports and mountainous, tearrendering CAS forms, it was the friendships and affinity with our fellow IB-ers which ultimately got us through.
For some, finding motivation can take until the due date of assignments or even until SWOTVAC, but dont let
that be you. The keys are to make your study surroundings comfortable and to organise your study such that you
are making the most of your time.

Bec Mouy was a student at Carey and completed her Diploma in 2005 achieving an IB Score of 44. She was a
School Co-Vice Captain and co-ordinated many events and functions during her final year at Carey. Her
organisation skills contributed to her successful and enjoyable final year.

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