Uncensoring the Stigma around Content-Heavy IB Subjects 

By Zimo Wang

Content is one thing, and learning how to apply it to IB papers is another. But when can subjects find common ground between the two? One of the key questions I ask myself is, “Would what I’m studying right now help my performance in the summative?”. With that, this article explores the content-heavy courses in the dreaded IB system — in relation to how students might be able to develop a skill set to improve their summative exams. 

Ever since DP1 has bombarded its 11th-grade students with topics, we’ve had to find a way to adapt. Flashcards, iPad notes, past papers, and that darn red CIS notebook were able to remedy this chaos — to an extent. 

Take a look at biology for example, wherein RNA and DNA are just a small subunit of the overarching biomolecules topic; nucleic acid is the fundamental structure that comprises our DNA and RN-bla bla bla. It goes on. But what can you do about it? That is the question. While developing a habit of note-taking is actually essential to your learning, you must listen in class. No, this doesn’t mean just paying attention, but actively listening. A primary example, in this case, would be taking messy notes on the notes app as the teacher is speaking, answering questions that the teacher asks their students generally, and you’ll start to see that when a Kognity reading is assigned, you don’t take a million seconds to figure out what one section is talking about. It truly is a wake-up call when you can start to say, “Hey, I remember this from what the teacher said in class!”. 

However, secondary to that, we must discuss how this knowledge can actually be applied to the tests: understanding the demands of the mark scheme. When getting that summative paperback, take out the coloured pen as fast as you can, and correct your paper like a Minute to Win It contestant. Read back to what you’ve written to make sense of the concept, and more importantly, understand how the content was separated to produce one distinct point under that question. And with that, you’ll start to see good progress in your long answer marks.

Even with regards to IB history, where the case studies we learn about span from Asia to European history, once you get into the momentum of studying the numerous historical events, you start to notice that dates become a little easier to remember until you understand the chronological processes of historical events. 

But Papers 2 and 3, this is where students encounter the most frustrating time of their IB history career — because the rubric is especially vague. The first line of advice is not to try to decipher those rubrics despite them working out for subjects like biology. Essay-based subjects are compared to quantitative subjects; in that one is based on a rubric, while the other is based on a mark scheme, respectively. Ask your history teacher for verbal feedback, and pray you’ll see an opportunity to apply them to your next paper. 

What has genuinely helped me across all subjects was to revise topics learnt in class at home. Just know that when you revisit newly acquired knowledge, your strength builds up. No matter if it’s rewriting your notes, or reviewing a quizlet that your teacher has made, these micro revisions will all add up and contribute to your knowledge in the long run. 

With that, consider some of these skills to fully translate the knowledge you’ve learnt in class, to what is asked on the assessments. Taking just these two subject areas that I have experience with, I believe that it is doable despite being initially difficult — and that’s something I think everyone needs to hear. Conforming to these demands doesn’t necessarily require you to rely on rote memorisation, but to be deliberate in picking the relevant details to apply to those assessments.