IB exam strategies: command terms, evidence, working and timing
Cross-subject strategies for decoding IB command terms, planning extended responses, showing quantitative working and managing papers.
There is no single technique for every IB subject, but several habits transfer. Apply them through the component requirements in your current subject guide.
Decode the command term
Underline what the question asks you to do and the content boundary. “Describe,” “explain,” “compare,” and “evaluate” demand different structures. A knowledgeable answer can still underperform if it answers a nearby question.
Plan evidence before prose
For essays and analyses, write a brief claim-and-evidence map. Select examples that directly test the argument rather than listing everything remembered. Keep evaluation tied to criteria, limitations or competing interpretations.
Make quantitative reasoning visible
State assumptions, formulas, substitutions, units and sensible precision. Estimate the likely scale and inspect whether a graph or result fits the context. Clear working can matter even when arithmetic goes wrong.
Use paper-specific checkpoints
Allocate time from marks and task demands, including reading and final checking. Practise the whole paper so transitions become familiar. If a question stalls, preserve time for later marks and return if permitted.
Close the feedback loop
After marking, rewrite the weakest paragraph or re-solve the broken step without the model visible. Feedback that never produces a second attempt rarely changes exam performance.