Mathematics
IB Maths Exam Technique: Where the Marks Actually Go
Most students who miss a 7 do not miss it because they cannot do the maths. They miss it because of how they used the time, or because the working on the page did not let the examiner give them the marks that were there.
This is what I spend a large part of my lessons on, and it is the part that does not fix itself with more practice.
Read the mark scheme, not just the answer. IB mark schemes award method marks (M), accuracy marks (A) and reasoning marks (R) separately. A wrong final answer with correct method still scores. A right answer with no working often does not.
Budget the time in marks, not in questions. Paper 1 at Higher Level is 110 marks in 120 minutes, so roughly a minute a mark with ten minutes spare. A question worth 5 marks that has taken twelve minutes is a question to leave and come back to.
Write for the person marking. State the rule you are using before you use it. Keep one line per step. If you cross something out, cross it out fully: an examiner cannot mark two competing versions.
The last question is not the hardest for everyone. Papers are ordered by expected difficulty, not by your difficulty. Read the whole paper first and start where you are strongest.
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