Sample Pages

Study Skills
for the

from

International Baccalaureate
John L. Tomkinson

CONTENTS
1. Studying for the I.B. Diploma ...........................................................9 2. Success and Failure in School .........................................................13 3. In the Classroom ..............................................................................21 4. Developing Efcient Home Study Habits ...................................... 25 5. Reading ............................................................................................31 6. Research ..........................................................................................37 7. Notes ...............................................................................................45 8. Memory Work .................................................................................51 9. Essays ..............................................................................................55 10. Tests ................................................................................................69 11. Working in the Laboratory ..............................................................73 12. Studying in a Foreign Language ....................................................77 13. Working with Computers ...............................................................83 14. Hints for Approaching Particular Subjects .....................................85 15. Making Presentations .................................................................... 97 16. The Extended Essay .....................................................................101 17. Oral Examinations ........................................................................137 18. The Final Written Examinations .................................................. 139

INTERESTING PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN MANY THINGS THAT IS WHY THEY ARE INTERESTING PEOPLE BORING PEOPLE ARE BORED WITH EVERYTHING THAT IS WHY THEY ARE BORING PEOPLE

How to be a good listener

Arrive in the classroom with an interest in the material to be covered. The best way to do that is by preparatory reading. Focus your attention on the speaker, not your classmates, or on what is going on outside the window. Take brief notes. (There is some advice on this below.) Listen with an open mind. Dont make up your mind until you have heard everything everyone has to say. Listen critically. Think of objections to what the teacher is saying. If you can think of any serious objections, then raise them. Dont stop listening when a fellow student starts to say something. It may be useful (or at least, entertaining).
A GOOD LISTENER IS ALWAYS AN ACTIVE LISTENER

Participation
Participation will make you a more active, and therefore a more efcient, learner. The more you speak in class the better at it you will become. Think rst. You may want to jot your ideas down if you are not very condent. Always stick to the point and be relevant. Ask meaningful questions or make relevant comments or observations that relate to the topic under consideration. Take the responsibility for your own learning: recognising what you do, and do not, understand. If you do not hear or understand something, then ask. It is quite in order to ask the teacher to: repeat something you could not hear.

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 explain something you do not understand. It is NOT appropriate to ask him/her to: repeat something you could not at the time be bothered to listen to; explain something you made no genuine effort to understand the rst time around. Teachers are coaches, not crutches. They should encourage you, give you hints when you need them, and show you how to solve problems. But they should not do, nor should they be expected to do, the work that you need to do. They are there to help you to learn how to learn for yourself, not to do your learning for you.
TEACHERS ARE THERE TO TEACH YOU NOT TO DO YOUR LEARNING FOR YOU

Class Discussions
Speak more slowly than you usually do; Speak up, so that everyone will hear you; If you realize that you have made a mistake, admit it. Everyone makes mistakes. It is nothing to be ashamed of. Concentrate on getting your meaning across; not on how you appear to others or how your voice sounds. When you have said what you want to say: just stop. Dont get personal. Think about the topic under discussion, not the people who happen to be participating in the discussion.

Lesson Notes
If the lesson is based upon a textbook or notes distributed in class you should supplement the text you have with your own brief notes. If the teacher puts notes on the blackboard, you should take them down and add your own. If the teacher dictates notes, you should also add your own comments and observations to them. Note taking helps you to: focus your attention on the subject; understand the subject better; provide a basis for your own study and revision notes. However, never let note-taking become a substitute for thinking and

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WRITING ESSAYS
Make the most of class essay assignments. They: Make you use your notes and review your work; Test your understanding of the material studied; Allow you to develop your essay-writing skills; Allow you to assess your progress; Count towards term/quarter grades; Give you practice for the examination.

How to make a Mess of an Essay

It is sometimes easier to approach a problem by considering how NOT to do things. Avoid the following: Anonymity. Somebody has to take the blame for writing it. No title or question. So which essay is this supposed to be? Illegible writing. Somebody actually has to read it. Failure to read the question properly and understand it before beginning to answer. (Not a good start. Everything you write may be irrelevant. Lack of any obvious plan. Giving a plan as an introduction is a good idea. If you havent got one you cant give one. Ignorance of the basic facts. You are supposed to know some. Confusion about the facts. You are supposed to show that you understand them. Introduction of irrelevant material by dumping your notes on the general topic. Despite the belief of students everywhere, this is not going to get you any credit. You will be penalised for not being able to distinguish what is relevant from what is not. Vague, unsubstantiated generalisations lacking in detailed support. Anybody can make them, so why should anyone give you any marks for them?
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 Unnecessary repetition. There are no extra marks for saying the same thing several times; there may even be a penalty for boring the teacher/examiner. Failure to control your use of language, so that at times your meaning is unclear. If the teacher/examiner cannot tell what you are trying to say, he cannot give you any credit for it. Irrational bias: e.g. As a communist, Lenin was bound to turn out a murderer. . . There is no place for this in serious writing. Dogmatism: e.g. Anyone with an ounce of intelligence knows that . . . This is insulting to the teacher/examiner. Moralising: e.g. If only Hitler had not been so greedy . . . This is usually irrelevant.

What to Provide in Essays

This varies somewhat from subject to subject, and from level to level, but generally the teacher or examiner will be looking for you to do the following: Show that you understand the question and its implications: For this reason it is often a good idea to restate the question in your own words in the introduction. Plan your response. Make a plan or outline, either on paper or in your head. A complete and well-rounded answer to the question, in which everything you write is relevant as an answer to the question asked. Make no major omissions, and include no irrelevant material. Be economical and efcient in your response, so that every word counts, and there is no padding or wafe.
ANSWER THE QUESTION, THE WHOLE QUESTION, AND NOTHING BUT THE QUESTION

Display of a detailed knowledge of the subject, which is entirely relevant to answering the question. Do not show off your knowledge of the subject which is irrelevant to answering
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