What is the difference between IB Maths AA and AI, and does a tutor need to know both?
IB Maths AA and AI are two different courses, not two levels of one course. AA is algebra, calculus and proof, with a Paper 1 sat without a calculator. AI is modelling, statistics and technology, with a calculator in every paper. A tutor has to know which one the student sits, because the papers reward different skills.
This is the first question worth asking any tuition provider. An AI student drilled on non-calculator algebra is preparing for a paper they will never see. An AA student who leans on the calculator will meet Paper 1 without it. The two courses share about half their content, and the half they do not share is where the marks are.
| Course | Paper 1 | Paper 2 | Paper 3 | IA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AA SL | 90 min, 80 marks, no calculator, 40% | 90 min, 80 marks, calculator, 40% | none | 20% |
| AA HL | 120 min, 110 marks, no calculator, 30% | 120 min, 110 marks, calculator, 30% | 60 min, 55 marks, 20% | 20% |
| AI SL | 90 min, 80 marks, calculator, 40% | 90 min, 80 marks, calculator, 40% | none | 20% |
| AI HL | 120 min, 110 marks, calculator, 30% | 120 min, 110 marks, calculator, 30% | 60 min, 55 marks, 20% | 20% |
Why do strong students lose marks on IB Maths HL Paper 3?
IB Maths HL Paper 3 is one hour for two long problems worth 55 marks in total, each leading the student through unfamiliar mathematics step by step. Strong students lose marks there because the paper tests reading, generalising and explaining a result, which routine Paper 1 and Paper 2 practice never trains.
A typical Paper 3 question begins with a simple case, asks for a pattern, then a conjecture, then a proof or a justification, and finally applies the result somewhere new. The early parts are easy marks that students rush. The later parts depend on having understood the early ones, so a student who treated part (a) as a warm-up arrives at part (f) with nothing to stand on.
In tuition we work Paper 3 as its own skill: reading the whole question before writing, using earlier parts as tools, writing "show that" answers where every line follows from the one before, and knowing when to leave a part and collect the marks further down, which are often independent.
How do you help with the IB Maths IA without writing it?
The IB Maths IA is a written exploration of 12 to 20 pages, marked out of 20 on five criteria and worth 20% of the final grade. I help the student choose a topic with enough mathematics in it, plan the structure, and check the draft against each criterion. The student does the mathematics and the writing.
Most marks lost on the IA are not lost on the mathematics. They go on criteria that reward how the work is communicated and how much of it is the student’s own thinking. A topic copied from a list of "IA ideas" usually caps Personal Engagement, and a correct calculation with no reflection on what it means caps Reflection.
| Criterion | Marks | What it rewards |
|---|---|---|
| A. Presentation | 4 | A coherent, well-organised exploration with a clear aim |
| B. Mathematical communication | 4 | Correct notation, defined terms, labelled graphs and tables |
| C. Personal engagement | 3 | Independent thinking and the student’s own questions |
| D. Reflection | 3 | Critical comment on results, limits and meaning |
| E. Use of mathematics | 6 | Relevant mathematics at the level of the course, done correctly |
What does a weekly IB Maths tuition lesson look like?
A weekly IB Maths tuition lesson starts from the student’s own work: the last school test, the current topic, or a past-paper question attempted since the previous lesson. We find the step where the reasoning broke, rebuild it on the shared whiteboard, and then the student solves a new question of the same type alone.
Between lessons the student has a short, specific task, usually past-paper questions chosen by topic and difficulty. Before mocks and the final session the lessons move to full timed papers, marked against the IB markscheme line by line, because method marks and follow-through marks decide a grade more often than the final answer does.
Is one-to-one IB Maths tuition better than a tuition centre class?
One-to-one IB Maths tuition suits a student with specific gaps or a specific target, because every minute goes on that student’s errors. A centre class suits a student who mainly needs structure and extra practice. A group class cannot stop for one student’s gap in logarithms while five others wait.
Centres in Singapore are often good at volume: weekly worksheets, topical revision, holiday crash courses. What they cannot offer is a diagnosis. If your child’s grades are stuck while the hours of practice go up, the practice is probably aimed at the wrong thing, and that is a one-to-one problem.