Top tips to achieve 7 points in IB Maths AA and AI

1. UNDERSTAND CONCEPTS WELL AND PRACTICE QUESTIONS

In IB Math, anybody and everybody will tell you that practice is the most important. While this is key in achieving accuracy and speed in your exams, it is also equally important to practice smartly. Practicing questions without understanding questions or concepts will not help you solve unfamiliar questions that can form a major part of your question papers in math. AA and AI both require in-depth and conceptual understanding of relevant topics. Without this understanding, it is very difficult to score in exams since IB math papers are designed to test this understanding. Hence, make sure that you have understood all topics well. Clarify what you do not understand with your IB Maths tutor to ensure you understand everything the syllabus mentions.

Practicing questions not only helps improve understanding in a concept but also gives you confidence in yourself. A good place to start is by answering questions in books at the end of every chapter. These will give you a good foundation but will not be enough. An excellent way to practice more questions is by using online resources like IB online tutoring. Our IB Math tutors have a wide range of resources besides what is available in school. They can not only provide you with practice questions but also help you understand concepts or solve any difficult questions in detail.

2. EXPAND YOUR LEARNING

Learning concepts from books is a good start but not always enough. Use resources online like IB tutoring to expand your learning and look at a concept in more than one way. This will give you a larger perspective and a deeper understanding of the concepts, enabling you to answer any indirect or unfamiliar questions that are asked in exams. Our IB Math online tutors can help you look at the same concept or the same type of questions differently and solve them in more than one way. You may come across a method that helps you save time in solving the question or help you understand the concept much better. Group studying, brainstorming in groups or helping your classmates is another great way to register concepts and practice questions.

3. TIME MANAGEMENT AND PAST PAPERS

Time management is an important aspect in solving questions. Even though you have understood concepts well and practiced thoroughly, it is inevitable that you will find some confusing or difficult questions in your paper. To be able to prioritize and gain as much marks as you can, practice at least 5-8 past papers within time constraints of an actual exam. These practice sessions are barring any exams you have at school. Don’t forget to mark them or get them marked by your Online IB tutor to keep a track of your progress.

4. KEEP TRACK OF YOUR MISTAKES

This is an important step that many students forget. Mistakes made during practicing or during school exams are generally forgotten by the time actual board exams arrive. Make your very own formula booklet which includes all concepts, certain pre-disposed steps like in Mathematical Induction and formulae that the official formula booklet you get in exams does not include. This can include questions or concepts where you have made mistakes too. Revisiting this before exams can reduce repetition of mistakes during your final exams and work as a quick cliff notes version of everything you need to know and have learnt in the two years of the IB DP math. This will help you save time and make your revision efficient, especially when you have more than one exam in a single day.

5. KNOW HOW YOU ARE MARKED AND MAKE DECISIONS ACCORDINGLY

If you familiarize yourself with how you are marked, you can skip some steps and save time. Make sure you only skip the steps that are not important and do not significantly show your working. For example, if a question is not directly asking you to factorize a quadratic but requires the roots of the quadratic to solve further, you may skip writing the steps between the quadratic equation and its linear factors. This will save time during exams, giving you more time for questions you do not know how to solve or are stuck at some point. However, you should be very confident in your ability to mentally get an accurate answer and be thorough about which steps do not have any marks awarded to them. To develop this instinct, practice past papers and mark them yourself using the mark schemes that IB provides.

6. MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR IB Maths IA

IA is one part of assessment where you can explore and enjoy with no time constraints but also where you can re-visit your work and are provided with many opportunities to improve it. Understand and follow the criteria for your IA. Keep in mind and act on every correction your teacher suggests. If needed, a second opinion cannot hurt! Our online IB Maths tutors can help improve your IA and give a second opinion on your work making it fail proof. Other blogs on Baccalaureate classes can also help you get an insight in excelling in this area.

7. STAY CONFIDENT DURING IB MATHS EXAM

Mental and psychological confidence is an important aspect of how you perform. Panic can cause irrational thinking and lead you to make mistakes that you would not otherwise. Time yourself so that you have 5-10 minutes to check your answers and calculations before submitting your paper. If you do not have enough time, do not panic and merely skim read your paper to ensure you have answered everything you are required to. Every time you see a question you do not understand or find difficult, skip to the ones you know and come back later with a clear and calm mind. You can develop a practice like praying or counting backwards that may help you calm down in such circumstances if you feel it will work for you. This will help you stay confident before and during your exam.

Mathematics, be it AA or AI can be a difficult subject to score well in but if you are motivated, dedicated and manage your time well, the above tips should help you achieve 7 points in IB Math. Good Luck and remember that Baccalaureate Classes are always there to help!