First tip is – don’t panic. Once the exams are upon you, then make sure you know the dates and times (timetable on fridge, on bedroom wall, in school bag, on phone, etc.) Once you have sat an exam, no matter how badly – or how well – you feel it’s gone, it is gone. Forget it and move on mentally, … Read More
How do you revise?
You will all have your favourite tips for revision, but here are a few more that might help move you out of the dark woods into the sunlight. You are looking for retrieval, not recognition, so stop highlighting big chunks of your textbook and start writing or planning answers with the book closed. The IB Diploma exams are very near, … Read More
So What? How to engage in critical thinking.
We all know what critical thinking is when we see it – it is the ability not to stop at the seemingly obvious, but to look at the several possible meanings and probable explanations behind it. It involves analysis and synthesis of ideas and explanations. Without critical thinking, psychology becomes a list of studies to learn and boxes to tick, … Read More
How to structure a short-answer question response on models of memory
How to structure a 9-mark SAQ on models of memory (for the new curriculum, exams May and Nov 2019): Describe one model of one cognitive process, using suitable research to support your answer. [9] 1 Introduce your model of memory – draw and label it. Say how it conceptualises memory e.g. as separate storage components; as a version of the … Read More
Describe or Discuss? Applied to a biological approach question.
Every question on your IB Diploma exam paper, indeed every question you answer in class, begins with a command term. A command term is a word (or a few words) that tells you the focus to take in your answer. If it is a response to a short-answer question, then one of the most common command terms is ‘describe’: Describe … Read More