#ib help

from reading your message and just peeking through your blog a little, i dont think English as a language is a problem for you. this means that you can really focus on the content in class rather than worrying about not understanding the meaning of every little detail you are studying about!! (i used to struggle and i still do… im jealous of my friends ;;) 

putting the main class things aside, i say procrastination is a huge issue in ib, i really mean it. ib in general, is a very fast paced programme.

everything is crammed in the 2 yrs of ib and it is inevitable to be drained from homework, assignments, exams etc. but once you are behind on one thing, you can easily fall behind on all the other things. i emphasised this in my CAS post too but keeping CAS until the last minute is the last thing you want to do! 

always ask for help! no matter who it is, even if your friends are taking different subjects, we all go through the same struggle.

this sounds general but it really helps to just check in with a teacher who knows you really well or just update your ib coordinators on how you are doing in class and with extended essay especially. extended essay is time consuming, so you will end up spending quite a lot of time on it, i personally took around 6 months from research to my final draft. i really have no clue how teachers at your school arrange the schedule for the extended essay but if you don’t know what to do, go ask! but unfortunately, some teachers are not expertised in things other than the subjects they teach so friends and internet helps you. (go to ib reddit ;))

finally (because it’s really long for the 15234516th time), reading and note-taking is the key to survival.

never relax just because you are completing given assignments and homework. the most difficult thing about ib is the final exams, it is every single detail of 2 years content from all 6 subjects. thus, taking notes is very very important. read the textbooks well and honestly, read until you understand what you are studying in class. you won’t be given enough time during class for notes, so it will be at-home work. my best advice for exam preparation i can give is; gather as many textbooks as possible and take notes until you understand. 

summary:

never keep anything until the last minute, especially CAS and EE

keep yourself going by asking for help constantly

take notes from multiple sources, both books and internet

Unexpected/bad exam results can be the result of several outcomes:

Procrastinating studying 

Forgetting about having a test 

Random unannounced class test

 Freaking out and blanking in the middle of the exam

Regardless of the situation that left you with an upsetting test result here are some tips to deal with it, learn from it and move on.

Read the teachers comments 

As students we can't help but automatically look for the grade when we get an exam back. This is then followed by everyone asking and shouting out what they got. We all ignore the classic teacher line: “Please read my comments before looking at your score.” (Who really does this???) But in all honesty, read the teachers comments because they wrote them for a reason and they may help you understand better the score you got. 

The teacher didn't mark you down on purpose

“She/ he hates me”

Remember that teachers mark our exams based on a marking scheme. They try to follow it as closely as possible because when it comes to the real exams the external examiner won't be as forgetful and considerate. So it’s all good practice and never personal... If you're still unsure about the grading ask for the mark scheme and see where you missed out on marks.

“I swear I wrote the same thing and I didn't get the mark”

Everyone has said this at one point. Maybe to some extent you did and it all made sense in your head but your teacher didn't understand it. Many times the teacher will admit that they knew what you were trying to say but it was explained clearly. Again remember that in the real exam the examiner won't know you personally so you have to make sure your ideas are clear. In subjects like biology for example make sure you know how the correct spelling of terms. I once wrote blood magma instead of plasma and I obviously didn't get the mark.

It's a learning process

Always remember that the IB is not easy and is supposed to be challenging. For most of us, the first year is all about learning and adapting as it is often a big leap with higher demands from the level we were doing before (IGCSE/GCSE etc). Don't feel discouraged if you're suddenly not the best and aren't getting top scores like you were used to. It is very unlikely for teachers to give you 6 and 7 at the start of the IB as it is a two year program and your skills haven't fully developed. Also, keep in mind that there will be many other tests and its better to be “failing” these practice tests and learning from them than the real ones at the end of the second year. However, this doesn't mean you should brush off a bad test result. Take it as an opportunity to revise more or talk to your teacher if you need extra help.

Hope this helps  

i think at one point, most of the ib students will question; why am i in tok? what am i doing right now? is this philosophy? is this even necessary for my education?

and the answer to all those questions, i don’t know. i am still very lost in the process with tok even though this is my second year! (i should be mastering with how to link real life situations and all but nope) i do have to admit, theory of knowledge is the most confusing part in ib.

it must vary in the ways each of ib students are taught how to do tok but the general idea of it is that every real life situation you choose, it will in some form end up being philosophical with at least a little of psychology involved.

it does sound kind of horrible to those of us who don’t really enjoy philosophy and would love to explore things in the way it is without questioning it from a whole another universe. (okay im exaggerating a little here but trust me this is how i feel right now)

so, when you get to the “it’s almost time for the final presentation! pick your topic!” part, here are some tips you maybe want to remind yourself:

choose a simple topic!

okay, if you want to do a topic related to politics, law etc. and if you really really love the situation/case you picked, i won’t stop you. BUT i will make this clear; the simpler the topic, the more you can explore.

you will be likely to regret that you should have picked a little simpler one than what you chose, if you begin the whole process with a huge topic.

relate your claims/perspectives to the Ways of Knowing and to the Areas of Knowledge!

again, tok is all about how much you can question the situation and explore different perspectives based on your knowledge question.

if you cannot find some good tok behind the topic you chose, think of your knowledge question simply, and come back to the ways of knowing later.

i recommend you to really be flexible with what and why you are questioning your real life situation. don’t get caught in the idea of thinking only from the tok perspective. go simple!

significance is one of the important sections!

i feel like people mistreat the last “significance” section, which is actually one of the most important part to impress your tok teachers and examiners.

ib examiners want you to show how impactful your conclusion is. it doesn’t matter if you exaggerate it, think of your significance section in terms of both your topic (local level) and the world (global level). ib will surely like it, if you evaluate the impacts from a global point of view!