IB exam common mistakes: why strong knowledge still loses marks
Fix command-term drift, generic evidence, invisible working, poor mark-to-time choices and passive model-answer review.
IB candidates often know more than their scripts demonstrate. The following mistakes concern translation: converting knowledge into the exact evidence the component rewards.
Five costly patterns
- Answering the topic, not the command. Restate the task as a checklist before writing.
- Using examples decoratively. Explain how each example supports, qualifies or challenges the claim.
- Hiding mathematical or scientific working. Show assumptions, method, units and precision.
- Giving equal time to unequal marks. Build checkpoints from weighting and complexity.
- Reading marked scripts without reproducing. Close feedback and write the improved response independently.
Subject-guide drift
Old notes and unofficial summaries can describe a previous course. Check the guide and assessment arrangements for your examination session, especially after curriculum updates.
Repair with a component log
Record the paper, question type, command term, missed criterion and one next action. Review by recurring pattern, not only by subject chapter. This reveals whether “content gaps” are actually planning, evidence or timing failures.