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IB guides that get to the point.

Practical, specific help for the IB Diploma, checked against the current syllabus: how to choose and write your IA, the mistakes that cost marks in each subject, how each exam paper works, and the Extended Essay, TOK and CAS. Written by the team behind Heptavo, the IB exam-practice app.

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Internal Assessment21 guides · topics, criteria, dataCommon mistakes11 guides · subject by subjectExam technique18 guides · papers, timing, marksEE, TOK & CAS8 guides · EE, TOK essay, exhibition, CASIB survival8 guides · scoring, planning, revision

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New here? These answer the questions IB students search for most.

SurvivalHow IB scoring works: the 45 points, the core matrix and every failing conditionSix subjects worth 7 each, 3 core points, a 24-point floor and the extra conditions that fail students with well over 24.9 min readBiologyIB science IA criteria explained: what each of the four criteria rewardsResearch design, Data analysis, Conclusion and Evaluation: what each rewards, what keeps reports mid-band, and how to fix it.10 min readExamsIB command terms: what examiners actually want (with answer scaffolds)What the most common IB command terms ask you to do, in plain words, the traps students fall into with each one, and the answer scaffolds I teach for explain, justify, evaluate and discuss.5 min readBiologyIB Biology common mistakes: 18 answers that lose marks, and how to fix them18 IB Biology mistakes, from hydrogen bonds to rate graphs, each with a wrong answer, a right answer and the habit that fixes it.11 min readExtended EssayExtended Essay guide: how to write an IB EE, from choosing a subject to the vivaThe whole EE process for May 2027 onwards: subject, supervisor, timeline, research methods, structure by subject, reflection, AI rules.10 min readSurvivalFive reasons you're not getting better at IB (and what actually fixes them)An IB tutor on the five habits that keep students stuck: reviewing only before tests, giving up on the process in week three, Biology gaps, no practice questions and no flashcards.5 min read

Internal Assessment

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From choosing a topic to the last uncertainty: how IAs are marked, and how to write one that reaches the top bands.

IACan I use ChatGPT for my IB IA? A stage-by-stage workflow that stays within the rulesUsing AI in an IB IA stage by stage: what is and isn't acceptable, how to cite AI with prompt and date, and the AI log that protects you.7 min readBiologyEcology field IA for IB Biology and ESS: site, sampling, data and statsA practical walkthrough for an ecology field IA in IB Biology or ESS, from coaching real field investigations: choosing a usable site, transects vs random quadrats, confounding variables, measuring soil moisture, organising data and choosing a statistical test.5 min readBiologyGraphs for the IB IA: choosing the type, error bars, trendlines and R²Choose the right graph, label it, plot error bars that mean something, and use trendlines, R² and max/min gradients without fooling yourself.8 min readIAHow to choose an IA topic you can actually finish (any subject)A five-step process for picking an IA topic you can finish, with red flags, narrowing examples and a one-week decision plan.8 min readEnglish AHow to practise the IB Individual Oral: a rehearsal system that worksA step-by-step rehearsal system for the IB Language A Individual Oral, from coaching students through it: the structure that keeps marks, what to put on your bullet points, timed mocks and the teacher questions to rehearse.4 min readIAHow to use AI in the IB without crossing the lineWhat the IB actually says about ChatGPT and other AI tools, how to cite AI in an IA or EE, and the ways AI genuinely helps you revise, from a tutor who uses it daily with students.4 min read

Common mistakes

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Concrete wrong-versus-right examples for each subject: what students write, why it loses the mark, and what earns it instead.

ESS12 IB ESS mistakes that cost marks, and how to fix each oneTwelve IB ESS mistakes, from GPP vs NPP to one-sided evaluations, each with a wrong-vs-right answer pair.9 min readTOK12 TOK essay mistakes that pull your mark down, and how to fix each oneTwelve TOK essay mistakes, from answering the wrong question to summary conclusions, each with a wrong-versus-right fix.8 min readBiology15 IA mistakes that cost marks in Biology and Chemistry, with before-and-after fixes15 science IA mistakes, from broad questions and unprocessed data to 'human error', each shown before and after the fix.9 min readBiologyIB Biology common mistakes: 18 answers that lose marks, and how to fix them18 IB Biology mistakes, from hydrogen bonds to rate graphs, each with a wrong answer, a right answer and the habit that fixes it.11 min readChemistryIB Chemistry common mistakes: 17 slips that cost marks, with the fix for each17 IB Chemistry mistakes, from sig figs to curly arrows, each with wrong working, right working and the habit that fixes it.10 min readEnglish AIB English Paper 1 tips: 12 mistakes that cap your mark, with fixesThe 12 mistakes that hold IB English Paper 1 essays back, from feature-spotting to summarising, each with a rewritten sample sentence.8 min read

Exam technique

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Paper-by-paper strategy for the current syllabus, how marks are actually awarded, and how to use your time in the exam room.

BiologyHow to answer IB Biology long-answer questions (Paper 2)The 9-step scaffold I used for IB Biology long answers in my own exams and teach to students, plus the diagrams worth knowing and how to use the marks to plan length.3 min readBiologyIB Biology Paper 1B: how to read unfamiliar data fast and score on every questionWhat IB Biology Paper 1B asks, how to read unfamiliar graphs quickly, the calculations to master, and two worked examples.9 min readBiologyIB Biology exams now: Paper 1A, 1B and 2 explained (2025 syllabus)What the IB Biology exams look like on the current syllabus (first exams 2025): paper lengths, weightings, question types at SL and HL, what changed from the old course, and how to prepare for each paper.4 min readChemistryIB Chemistry Paper 1A: multiple-choice strategy, timing and the traps to expectIB Chemistry Paper 1A strategy: elimination, estimating, the calculator and data booklet, timing, distractor patterns and 5 worked MCQs.7 min readChemistryIB Chemistry Paper 2 tips: calculations, explanations and mechanisms that earn the marksHow to earn method marks in IB Chemistry Paper 2: calculation layout, error carried forward, particle explanations, mechanisms and timing.7 min readChemistryIB Chemistry exams now: Paper 1A, 1B and 2 (2025 syllabus)What IB Chemistry exams look like on the current course (first exams 2025), including the change many students miss: calculators are now allowed in Paper 1A, and the data booklet is with you in every paper.3 min read

EE, TOK & CAS

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The three parts of the Diploma every student shares, and the up-to-3 bonus points the EE and TOK can add.

CASCAS in the IB: the strands, the seven learning outcomes, reflections and 30 project ideasCAS explained: strands, the seven learning outcomes, the CAS project, strong reflections, interviews and 30 project ideas.10 min readExtended EssayEE reflection: the three sessions, the 500-word statement and the viva voceThe three EE reflection sessions, the 500-word RPF statement with illustrative extracts, typical viva voce questions, and what to avoid.8 min readExtended EssayExtended Essay criteria explained: what A to E reward from May 2027The five new EE criteria (30 marks) explained in plain words, with wrong-vs-right fixes, a pre-submission checklist and the old rubric compared.9 min readExtended EssayExtended Essay guide: how to write an IB EE, from choosing a subject to the vivaThe whole EE process for May 2027 onwards: subject, supervisor, timeline, research methods, structure by subject, reflection, AI rules.10 min readExtended EssayExtended Essay research question examples: 33 focused RQs, from Biology to History33 EE research questions across sciences, maths, humanities, English and interdisciplinary essays, with why each works and weak-to-strong fixes.10 min readTOKTOK essay guide: how to unpack a prescribed title and build an argument that holdsUnpacking a prescribed title, real-world examples, two structures that work, and a conclusion that judges, with a worked example.10 min read

IB survival

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The rules of the Diploma and the systems that get you through two years of it.

SurvivalAnki for IB: a flashcard setup that survives Year 2How to set up Anki for the IB Diploma: which cards to make, how many new cards a day, how to handle diagrams, and where flashcards stop and exam questions start.4 min readSurvivalFive reasons you're not getting better at IB (and what actually fixes them)An IB tutor on the five habits that keep students stuck: reviewing only before tests, giving up on the process in week three, Biology gaps, no practice questions and no flashcards.5 min readSurvivalFree IB Notion templates (revision planner, mistake log, IA planner, Biology notes)Four free Notion templates for IB Diploma students, built from the system I used for my own IB exams and use with the students I tutor. Duplicate them into your Notion in one click.3 min readSurvivalHow IB scoring works: the 45 points, the core matrix and every failing conditionSix subjects worth 7 each, 3 core points, a 24-point floor and the extra conditions that fail students with well over 24.9 min readSurvivalHow to build an IB revision plan that survives week threeThe revision plan structure I used for my own IB finals and still use with students: weekday subject rotation, activity types, a daily one-line check-in, and why most plans die in week three.4 min readSurvivalHow to choose IB subjects: the group rules, HL vs SL, and what universities needThe subject-group rules, what HL adds in Biology, Chemistry, Maths, ESS, Psychology and Global Politics, and how to check university requirements.7 min read

Guides by subject

Every guide that is specific to one subject, in one place.