I Talk About The IB For A Bit (useful for those who are unsure about post-secondary school or those who are starting the IB in September)

Hey...so I know that I haven't written anything for ages and I'm sorry, but in my defence, I haven't been doing anything but sleeping and schoolwork, and also I simply have not been motivated to write a post. Still need to set a little reminder that pops up once a fortnight or so and tells me to publish something. I may get round to that before Christmas.

So today's post is inspired by the end of term/the school year and also by the fact that I was messaged by someone asking about the IB - yes, this post is a post about my experiences doing the IB (for the first year, remember) so buckle in and get ready to have the answers to any questions that you didn't even know that you had.

Also, if you're nearing the time that you have to start deciding where you want to go after GCSEs or you're starting the IB in September (covid-19 permitting) I would actually recommend reading this - I know that I would have loved to be able to hear the thoughts of someone actually going through *it* without having to actually talk to them.

First question I'm sure that most people have: what in the world is the IB??

Right. Yes. An excellent question.

The first thing I have to tell you is that I do the IBDP (International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme). There is also the Career Programme which is different! So I cannot answer questions on this!

But, simply put, the IBDP is an alternative to A-Levels or a BTEC qualification. Basically, you study six subjects - three at a higher level and three at a standard level - as well as what is known as the IB Core. This contains the EE, CAS and ToK, all of which I will talk about further down the list of questions. :)

Why did you choose the IB over A-Levels?

There were many reasons that I chose the IB over A-Levels. Firstly, I was a bit stressed about having to drop subjects because I liked most of the ones I was studying at GCSE and wasn't 100% sure what I wanted to do alongside History and English - I liked/was good at French, Physics, Maths...

So I liked the ability to do multiple subjects, even if some were at a 'lower' level than others. The final thing was that I walked into the sixth form thatI'd go to to do A-Levels and immediately knew that I hated the building/the area/the vibe. That decided it for me, really.

Is IB better than A-Level?

Personally, I think that IB is better because you can study different subjects from different 'areas' of knowledge - but this is something that is better for me, as it just happens that I enjoy/am good at a lot of different things. Most people love the thought of only doing three subjects and getting to drop the rest of them!

Had I done A-Levels, I would not be doing Anthropology, French or Physics, all of which I enjoy immensely and am glad that I can continue (or take up) learning. Also, I probably wouldn't be doing Maths - which is one of my favourite subjects now (tell little 11-year-old Lara this and she would probably laugh at you)!

Subjects

For the IB, you do three subjects at standard level (kinda just below a-level level?) and three subjects at higher level (more like a-level). Obviously, I can only really give 'advice' on the subjects that I actually do, but I can try to say some stuff about the others, or at least the general subject area/group. And, I do not do a Group 6 subject (The Arts) so instead, I do two Group 3 subjects (you can either do a Group 6 subject or do two foreign languages, two humanities, or two sciences)

Group 1 - English Language & Literature - HL

At IB there are two types of the English course (there is self-study for those who do not have English as their first language but, clearly, I do not do that) and I do the one that not only looks at poetry, novels, graphic novels, plays... but also studies non-literature texts, such as adverts, non-fiction works, political cartoons. There are two exams in which you have to write essays, and an Individual Oral where you have to talk about two bodies of work for a bit.

The only major difference between Higher and Standard Level is the number of works you study and also that there s such thing as a Higher Level Essay (which I have to write over the summer yay).

There is also a lot of talking about Global Issues so get ready to learn the five headings and think about issues that relate to each.

Group 2 - French B - SL
At Higher Level, you do some literature (similar to A-Level languages) but we don't have to at Standard, luckily. Essentially though, you learn the same kinds of things otherwise, and it's about gaining vocab (sometimes the vocab is a little weird because of the IB's insistence on learning about Global Issues) and learning more complicated grammar and practising the skills required for the exam - Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking. Oh, and there is no coursework.

Oh and I do French B, which means that I have a GCSE in the language already, but you can also choose an intro course, in which you learn a new language from scratch (people who don't like languages tend to do this). My school offers intro Italian or intro Russian.

Group 3 - History - HL

There is so much history to choose from (obviously) so what you end up studying depends on what the teachers want to teach/choose to teach. We're doing all 20th Century history, and a lot of the topics link together (to make it easier for us). But it's fun (because I love history) and also our class is small and lovely.

Obviously, exams are writing essays although Paper 1 is more about analysing sources, all of which are tough (I think History is one of the hardest subjects to choose, simply because planning and writing a good, decent essay in about 50mins max is really really hard y'all). There's also some coursework in which you choose literally any topic that you haven't studied in lesson, do some source analysis, write a very tiny essay, reflect. I did mine of Elizabethan portraiture being used as propaganda. As you do.

Group 3 - Social and Cultural Anthropology - SL

This was the only one that I began studying blind (as in, I didn't really know much about it at all) but I'm enjoying it. Anthropology is the study of people, so we look at societies and cultures through various anthropological theories. There are a lot of anthropological theories, some easier than others, and you also learn about fieldwork methods and some other basic anthropology stuff. At Standard Level, we read three ethnographies (essentially a scientific report on a group of people - we've just finished reading one about the streets of East Harlem and the lives of the crack deals that live there) and there's also a coursework report based on fieldwork. Higher Anthropology is like Standard, just one more ethnography and more involved fieldwork for coursework.

Group 4 - Physics - SL

As well as Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, there is Nature of Science which is kind of a mixture of the three. Physics is similar to GCSE, in that there are modules that we learn, containing equations (in a booklet yas) and practicals and lots of theory. Similar to A-Level science, I suppose. Exams are exam papers, with multiple choice questions and long answer questions. The coursework is to carry out an experiment and write a lab report on it - I'm going to do about solar panels because the IB likes everyone to show 'personal engagement' so I'll link the environment to my experiment. Most people at my school either take NoS or take a higher level science - there are two of us in Physics, one in Biology, and one in Chemistry (I think). Which is weird. 

Group 5 - A&A Maths - HL

Maths has recently changed so there are two different 'types' of Maths - A&I (more applied Maths) or A&A (pure Maths). So I do hard pure maths which I enjoy a lot. Yes, it is hard (although that's more to do with the fact that we as a society are conditioned to believe that Maths is hard). But we all find it hard and it's important to remember that everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. In my Higher Maths class, we each have particular topics that we're best at out of the group and so everyone asks that person for advice.

In terms of exams, A&I are all calculator papers whereas A&A have one non-calculator and the rest calculator. Coursework is an exploration of kinds into a topic (again, to write over the summer - I'm doing hypercomplex numbers and will keep you updated on how it's going...)

Theory of Knowledge

Ah, yes. ToK. The class that the more you explain to people what it is, the blanker the looks you get. Nothing like any a-level subject. At all. Basically, it's discussing how we know what we know (using the Ways of Knowing) and what it is that we know (Areas of Knowledge). There are no exams, just a presentation about a real-life issue and an essay from a choice of six prescribed titles.

CAS

Creativity, Activity, Service. Now, CAS should be enjoyable (to some extend) because you should do stuff that you actually like doing/already do. And, for the most part, CAS is okay. I note down what I've done with the date and the minutes, then every week I update my very sophisticated spreadsheets. Making the spreadsheets took some time but was relatively easy, just a bit time consuming (but it makes tracking hours so much easier, trust me, because you can get it to add it up for you and everything!)

However. *coughs and prepares snakey voice* the reflectionsssssss

Just be aware that you will have to write reflections for pretty much everything that you do. This is time-consuming and also very easy to get far behind on - I have a particular day/time that I update all my CAS stuff.

EE

The EE is an extended essay (like an extra project for a-levels) in which you choose a subject and then a topic in said subject, then carry out research and write up an essay with footnotes and a bibliography. Oh, and you get a supervisor to check that you're doing it all correctly. 

My advice would be to think carefully about the topic you choose because you have to be interested in it, otherwise you'll hate researching/writing even more. I chose History, looking at Eleanor of Aquitaine because I'm interested in female power and how it has changed throughout history. For research, use Google Scholar (any kind of research really, but for EE you must!!)

And also: footnote as you're going!! There is nothing worse than writing an essay and then having to go through and work out where all the pages are and what books they're from.

Any final tips?

1. You're studying six subjects from across the 'spectrum' of possible lessons (science, maths, literautre&language, humanities, foreign language and possibly an art) so there is always going to be that *one* subject that you struggle with a bit more than the others. Do not neglect it!
   
   
2. Also, people have strengths and weaknesses so do not feel as though you're stupid just because you're not necessarily as good at science than others in your class - as I said, out of a physics class of about 15, only 2 of us are doing it at Standard Level (and so will know less Physics than the others)!
   
   
3. Everyone struggles even if it's their best subject! Sometimes, I sit in our Higher Maths lesson feeling really stupid cos I don't get it and the others all seem to understand, only for us to leave the lesson and everyone starts talking about how they had no idea what was going on.
   
   
4. Group chats are your best friend! Clearly, having a group chat for your friends is good and all, but having subject-specific group chats are lifesavers, trust me. Even if it's just you and your friends who all take a particular subject, they are so so so useful for checking homework, general understanding, and complaining (which is important because you have to get your feelings out and ranting on a group chat is better than just bursting into tears on the bus)
   
   
5. Procrastinating becomes more of an: "I'll procratinate on this piece of coursework by doing this piece of homework" rather than actual procrastinating because there is so much to do. And also, you will procrastinate because there is so much to do and your brain will panic. Just write down everything that you need to do and colour code it for most important to get done to least important and just work through it.
   
   
6. It is important to be super organised (although there is obvs a certain leniency) because, trust me, it's better to be on top of things rather than reach the weekend and go "oh my goodness I have ten pieces of work that I have to do aghhhhhh". Again, split tasks into small steps and work through it to stop your brain panicking.
   
   
7. Use free periods wisely - I get that it's hard to do this, especially when all you want to do is chat/nap/watch youtube, but honestly, being able to get even 50% of your homework/coursework done during school hours will mean that post-school/weekend you will thank you so much.

That's all that I can think of to write about at the moment! If you have any questions about the IB, feel free to let me know and I'll try to answer them - also share this with anyone who's thinking about doing the IB because, if they're anything like me, they'll be glad to read it. :)

Also, despite it being the summer holidays (in two days yay!!) I do have a lot of school work to be doing (revision and also coursework) so you'll probably hear more about the IB then.

But until that day: au revoir!