IB狀元

Beatrice Li

Beatrice Li

「忍耐」，你到處都可以聽到這個詞，但你知道它的真正含義嗎？對於運動員來說，「忍耐」就意味著數小時劇烈的體能鍛練；對學生來說，「忍耐」就意味著數月的艱苦學習及操練，期望能取得佳績。雖然這是很痛苦，但我告訴你：這是完全值得。在你打開成績表的一刻，你的辛勤將會得到確切的回報，那一刻是此生最好的感覺。

IB對我來說絕對是挑戰，因為在這兩年有無數的作業、演說，期間我要抽時間去複習試題、完成大學申請（包括寫好個人陳述）、同時也要思考如何寫好其中一個核心科目「創意、行動與服務」（Creativity, Activity, Service, CAS）的文章，這的確是很大的難關。即使在過程中，我不斷抱怨IB為我帶來的挑戰，但我仍然很感恩能參與IB課程，因為它預先培訓了我，讓我在大學裡能有效地學習。

那這些技巧是什麼？

1 時間管理

a 作業（Assignments）

首先，時間管理至關重要。即使IB課程在12年級開始，為期2年，但我也盡快去完成手頭上的作業，以免忘記及受到干擾，這也適用於所有科目及事情。如在首學年年初，我已寫好「創意、行動與服務」（Creativity, Activity, Service, CAS）的文章，同時也盡快完成拓展論文（Extended Essay, EE）、多份校內評核（Internal Assessment, IA）知識理論（Theory of Knowledge, TOK）。我記得在12年級的夏季已完成上述的作業、也寫好報讀大學的個人陳述文章，所以我再度回校時不必太擔心，因為13 年級是忙碌的一年，你要同時面對不同作業遞交的最後期限。

另外，有關選擇拓展論文（Extended Essay, EE）科目及校內評核（Internal Assessment, IA）的小貼士：對於EE，我強烈建議你選擇語言科目，如英國語文或中國語文，因為這與科學科目相比，語言科目更易取得較高的等級；科學科目要求實驗（包括要有對照組）及仔細寫出整體結果，這要花大量時間。我個人就選取了以英國語文去完成EE。

在校內評核（Internal Assessment, IA）方面，我建議選擇帶有實驗的簡單主題，如我在生物科的IA是選擇了「酵母發酵」這個主題，因為該實驗易於進行及控制。考官不會根據你的實驗來決定你的分數，而是根據你所錄取的數據及你對於實驗的分析，來作出評分。

b 實習（Internships）

12年級的夏天是很好的時機，去嘗試做有關你想就讀大學學系的實習。我會在醫院的通訊錄取得相關資料，並發電郵至診所及醫生，向他們查詢實習機會，從中可以豐富你的個人履歷及向僱主或教授為你寫下推薦信。這對申請大學非常有幫助。

c 儘早開始

在制訂你的學習計劃時，時間管理是很重要。請儘早開始！即使我在這兩年時間內，一直持續學習，但在完成所有課堂並進入考試前的5至6個月前，我就學習計劃做了一個更嚴格的修訂。這就為何我之前提醒你要盡快完成作業，因為你之後才有更多時間去複習或及時修改你的計劃。

d 要有適當的調整

在過去的兩年，我每天都會在寫一份待辦事項清單，這在休假期間尤其重要。如果沒有規律，就會變得懶散，很容易便會浪費一整天的時間。我每天會固定複習4個科目，而我在早上的學習效率很高，所以我會先複習難度較深的科目，如化學及生物學。擁有良好的時間管理，同時也意味著有時間用於你的愛好及社交生活，如與家人及朋友共度時光。當然要學懂平衡生活，在休假期間，我每周都會在家鍛煉2至3次，同時為自己提供均衡飲食、每天睡足7小時，偶爾我也會在晚上看YouTube，或閱讀一本與學術無關的好書，減輕壓力。

2 有效學習

a 數學及科學的科目

除了時間管理，有效學習也是同樣重要，即是代表什麼意思？簡單來說，有效學習是因應學科的設定及難度而異，以數學及科學作為基礎的科目，如化學科，我建議在學期初，為每一個主題做筆記，並在休假期間繼續操練過去多年的試題。我在考試前兩個月左右，開始操練試題，但是因為此科目有太多學習材料，尤其你就讀高級程度（Higher Level, HL）的學科，你的學校未必能及時教授所有主題，所以我建議你盡早研究及學習部份主題，以便你有充足的時間去完成論文及操練試題。

有效學習也包括重温，温故知新。在IB的課程中，我至少重寫了3次所有生物學的筆記，並且每次都使它們愈變簡潔，便於記憶，從中你也可以找到屬於你的學習方法。我是一個視覺學習者，從圖表和視頻中學習，這也解釋了我的筆記為何多使用圖片及勾劃出重要的單詞。

b 語文科目

對於英國語文及中國語文此等語文科目，多練習是不二法門。我建議你操練大量的試題，並在文學作品研究及學習使用引文（quotes）及相關主題，還可以記下特定詞彙，如中國語文可以記低成語，因為成語算是考官喜愛的詞彙。通過多次操練及寫作，你自然會記得各種論文的常用術語和短語，同時也會協助你理解及分析文本及段落發展。但每個人的寫作風格不一，不一定每篇文章都適用。

在語文科目內，（Further Oral Activity, FOA）、校內口語評估（Internal Oral Commentary, IOC）及基於文學研究的個人口頭陳述（Internal Oral Present, IOP），雖然只是口試，但這些考試讓人非常不安，因為你將與老師共處於一個設有錄音設備的房間裡。如果你和我一樣感到緊張，我強烈建議你就可能出現的題目，先寫好講稿及盡可能記下來，以備不時之需。在回答提問時，因為很多科目都有其學習目的及遠景，故只要能理解及回答這些目的，就無需要再進行深入研究，因為考官無法向你提出課程以外的問題。

3 勇於求助

IB的試題多是測試你對科目的理解及應用層面，所以你不理解學科內容也不緊要，最重要的是勇於發問及向他人求助。實際上，網上有不錯的教學視頻，可以為你解難排憂，而去補習中心、問學校老師也是不錯的選擇，不恥下問會讓你得到更多的協助。

4 記得要問「為什麼」（WHY）

可能聽起來感到很奇怪，但它對我們來說是十分重要。請要記得為什麼要如此努力學習。對我來說，我真的很想獲得最高分，從而投身香港的醫學界。在現實中，那真的需要高得離譜的分數，這也為我提供了動力。我只會專注於我的目標：成為醫學界的一分子，在IB結束後，我於13年級的暑假體驗到喜悅及輕鬆。老實說，那個夏天是我一生中最好的夏天，所以辛勞過後的喜悅是值得期待。

總體而言，IB的生活對我來說是艱辛且充滿挑戰，有好幾次我很想放棄，當時每天都在抱怨沉重的工作量和強大的壓力。但回想起來，這的確是我一生中美好的時光之一，因為它教會了我忍耐和紀律，並且最終的回報真是太美好。相信我，你的辛勤將得到回報。 IB之後，生活中其他一切的事，都會感覺輕而易舉（除非你正在香港大學學習醫學，這又是另外一回事了）。

我還必須感謝我的父母，他們在我準備投考IB的期間，大力支持我。媽媽會給我烤些美味的麵包、每天向我說鼓勵的話，我很幸運有這麼棒的父母。

但最終，我在IB做得那麼好的主因是上帝的恩典。我記得在13年級的每一天，我都為獲得IB的最高成績而努力祈禱，上帝聽了我的祈禱。這就是為什麼我要將所有榮耀和讚美奉獻給上帝，來結束這次分享的原因。確實，正如聖經所說：“忍受到最後的人將得救。” —馬太福音24:13

Beatrice Li

Endurance. You hear this word everywhere, but what does it really mean? For an athlete, it means hours of vigorous physical training. For us students, it means months of gruelling revision and studying to achieve that perfect grade. But let me tell you: in the end, it is totally worth it. Opening your results and seeing that your hard work paid off is the best feeling in the entire world.

IB was definitely challenging for me; there were endless assignments and presentations, hours spent studying and doing past papers, completing university applications and personal statements, writing up CAS reflections…the struggle is real. However, despite these challenges and the constant complaints I had about IB, I am still really glad and grateful that I did the IB programme, because it trained me to study effectively in university.

So what are these tips?

1 Time management

a Assignments

First of all, time management is crucial. Even from the start of IB in Year 12, I would start and complete all my assignments as soon as possible to get it out of the way, so that I wouldn't forget about it. This applies to basically everything, such as doing my CAS activities early on in the year and completing my EE, IAs and TOK essay and presentation as soon as possible. I remember completing my EE, university personal statements, majority of my IAs and my TOK essay in my Year 12 summer, so that I wouldn't have to worry about it when I got back to school, because Year 13 is one hectic year and it starts off with a massive bunch of deadlines for all these assignments.

Also, a quick tip for choosing EE subjects and IA topics: for the EE, I highly recommend you to choose language subjects, such as English or Chinese, simply because it tends to guarantee a higher grade, when compared to science subjects, which requires experiments and write-ups and overall, is a lot more time consuming. I personally did my EE in English. For IA topics, it is recommended to choose simpler topics with easy experiments. For instance, for my Biology IA, I did it on yeast fermentation, because the experiment is easy to carry out. The examiner will not base your grade on the experiment, but rather on the data write up and your analysis of the experiment.

b Internships

Year 12 summer is also the time to get an internship for something related to what you want to study in university, so for me, this was getting clinical attachments in hospitals and emailing doctors to ask if I could shadow them. Having an internship will enrich your personal statement, and you can also ask your boss or the professor to write a reference for you, which is really helpful for university applications as well.

c Start early

Time management is also vital when it comes to planning your revision schedule. Start revision early! Although I was studying continuously in the 2 year period, I started more hardcore revision around 5-6 months before my exams, after I had completed all my coursework. This is why completing your coursework early is so important, so then you can have more time to revise later.

d Plan your revision

During my IB years, I would set a to do list every day, and this is especially important during study leave, because without a routine, it is so easy to just slack off and let the whole day go to waste. I would typically study around 4 subjects a day, and because I study more efficiently in the morning, I would study the more gruelling and difficult subjects in the morning, such as Chemistry and Biology. However, having good time management also means dedicating time to your hobbies and social life, such as spending time with family and friends, and of course, leading a balanced life. Even during the study leave period, I was exercising 2-3 times a week at home, fuelling myself with a balanced diet, sleeping 7 hours a day and I would occasionally watch YouTube at night or just enjoy a good non-academically related book to relieve stress.

2 Study effectively

a Math and Science subjects

Secondly, it is just as important to study effectively. What do I mean by this? Well, studying effectively varies for different subjects. For maths and science based subjects such as Chemistry, I would recommend making notes on all the topics early on in the year, and then continuously doing past papers during the study leave period. I started doing past papers around 2 months before the exam. However, because there is so much material in the sciences,especially if you are doing higher level sciences, your school may not be able to teach all the topics in time, which is why I actually studied some of the topics myself earlier a few months prior to the exams, so that I would have enough time to go through past papers later on.

Effective revision also requires repetition, which is why I actually rewrote all my Biology notes at least 3 times throughout the course of IB, and I made them more concise every time, so that it would be easier to memorise them. Another tip to study effectively is to find your method of learning. Personally, I am a visual learner. I learn from diagrams and videos, which is why I would write my own notes with pictures and highlighted words.

b Language subjects

For subjects such as English and Chinese, practice makes perfect, so I would recommend doing a ton of past papers and studying specific quotes and themes in the books required, and also memorising specific vocabulary such as Chinese idioms, which the IB examiners love. By writing so many essays, you start to naturally memorise common terms and phrases which are applicable to many different essay titles. Reading model essays are also quite helpful in helping you understand the approach to analysing texts and passages, although I wouldn't rely solely on them, because everyone's writing style is different. There are also FOAs, IOCs and IOPs for language subjects, which are just oral examinations. However, these exams are quite nerve wracking, because you are put in a room alone with the teacher with a recorded device, so if you are like me and you get nervous easily, I highly recommend writing and memorising a script for the possible themes or poems that could come up and practicing it multiple times.

There are also learning objectives for a lot of the subjects, so as long as you understand and can answer those objectives, there is no need to do further research, because the examiners cannot ask you things that are beyond the syllabus.

3 Ask for help

IB exam questions are mostly based on your understanding and application of the subject, which is why it is crucial to ask questions if you don't understand the content, and there are actually great teaching videos online that can help in this aspect. Furthermore, there is no shame in asking for help, whether this means going to a tuition centre, asking your school teachers, etc.

4 Remember the WHY

My third tip may sound rather strange, but it is just as important, which is to remember why you are studying so hard. For me, I really wanted to get the top mark and I wanted to get into medicine in Hong Kong, and that required a ridiculously high mark, so whenever I got demotivated, I would just focus on my goal of getting into medicine and of the joy and relief I would experience in my Year 13 summer when IB would be over. And to be honest, that summer was the best summer of my entire life, so it is definitely something to look forward to.

Overall, my life in IB was tough and challenging, and there were multiple times when I just wanted to give up and I am sure that I complained daily about the workload and stress. But now, looking back, it was actually one of the best times of my life, because it taught me endurance and discipline, and because the end reward was just amazing. Believe me, you will be rewarded for your hard work. Everything else in life will feel like a breeze after IB （unless you are studying medicine in HKU, but that's a whole other story）.

I must also thank my parents, who were extremely supportive of me during the IB times. My mum would bake me these delicious buns and give me daily words of encouragement, and I am so blessed to have such amazing parents.

But ultimately, the most important reason that I did well for IB was because of the grace of God. I remember praying so hard every single day in Year 13 to get that top mark in IB, and God listened to my prayers, which is why I want to end this sharing by dedicating all the glory and praise to God. Indeed, as the Scriptures say: ‘The one who endures to the end will be saved.' - Matthew 24:13

Beatrice Li 訪問稿

母愛麵包為考生打氣忍耐生老練終達目標

試想想：當你在家中急趕著功課或公司文件，房門輕輕敞開，母親從後遞出了愛心湯水或是充飢的麵包，你的反應是如何？你還有沒有想過，母親親手做的麵包猶如卡通內的許願麵包般，吃下後可以實現願望？Beatrice Li笑說，在準備IB的過程中，母親會為她做麵包打打氣，有次母親在朱古力麵包上寫上「IB」及「45分」的字眼，寄望她可以取得佳績，怎料真的考取45分滿分，現在回想起來感覺挺有趣。她續說，感謝家人一直以來的支持，才讓她可以在這兩年堅持下去。

IB對Beatrice來說是一種挑戰，雖然考取45分滿分的佳績，她也沒有自滿，反而多次感謝家人及朋友的支持。她表示，朋友之間有時會一起埋怨功課量太多，但吐完苦水大家會互相鼓勵；她自己也會看書，或者上網看短片做運動減壓。說起壓力，Beatrice直言，有時在温習時都想過放棄，但會提醒自己「為何要堅持這麼久？如果現在放棄就十分不值」，又以運動員比喻自己：「IB就好像跑4K，你跑到3K時很辛苦，但想著還有1 K，就想堅持下去，盡力去完成目標」。

忍耐、堅持是Beatrice的座右銘。對於有效的學習方法，她也有自己的一套。她形容自己是視覺型的學習者，在這兩年期間抄寫了3次生物學的筆記，首次筆記是盡量記下所有學過的知識，第二次筆記就在12年級考試前撰寫，簡化相關重點，最後一次就是再簡化第二次的筆記，劃出重點以應付最終的考試，形容每次的筆記都是愈來愈簡潔。

被問到考取45分後，為何決定修讀醫學系？她表示，在7歲時感染水痘，那時候身體又痕又痛，會思考「為何病毒會影響到身體？」，康復後她對病毒感興趣，慢慢研究不同的疾病，如伊波拉病毒如何影響人類。她續指，最近發生的新冠肺炎事件，更加堅定她的想法，希望成為醫生為他人減輕痛苦。

Beatrice Li 現時就讀香港大學李嘉誠醫學院的醫學學士，料在2024年6月畢業。

Jonathan Lee

Jonathan Lee

IB成績表上的「45分」只是表面的光輝。我的IB旅程並不完美，如果能夠時光倒流，相信我可以在很多方面做得更好。毫無疑問IB不但提升了我的學術水平，而且增強了我的逆境自強能力。在分享考試技巧及個人經歷之前，我建議你預先思考兩個問題：「你為什麼想要在IB取得高分？」、「是什麼推動你要達成這個目標？」如果你無法將IB高分目標與你人生長遠的夢想互相聯繫，45分對你來說會是一個膚淺的成就。沒有明確的目標，是很難戰勝IB的考驗，因為IB整個課程猶如兩年漫長的馬拉松賽事，而不是短跑，需要毅力和鬥志。

即使你對考試及學習內容不感興趣甚至感到討厭，你都必須要仔細鑽研它，因為這是你通往人生志願或事業目標的的巨大墊腳石。對我而言，在IB學習及考試過程中，最大的動力來自於醫學院嚴格的入學要求，這是我達成“醫生夢想”的最直接方法。如果沒有這種感召，我不會這麼專注、認真地學習IB課程。

回顧過去兩年，我認為時間分配及自律是影響成績的關鍵因素。剛開始IB課程的朋友，我建議你在第一年就開始努力學習及準備，因為這樣才能令你們在每科奠定良好且堅實的知識基礎。盡早開始可讓你有更多時間嘗試不同的學習計劃、環境及參考資料，從中你將會發現每科都需要不同的技巧，你必須要設計適合自己的學習方式及温習流程，才能持續有效地學習。

舉例說，我發現English Language & Literature （Higher Level）的課程要求我對每種文學作品及其中心思想具有很透徹的理解。所以在12年級開始，我努力完成每項功課（不論是否評分），同時多次尋求老師的建議，期間我嘗試以不同方法去分析文學作品，希望從中找到最適合我的方式。在課程初期，我就對文學作品作出初步了解及前期準備，當我在第一學期收到老師提供長達11頁的「文學術語」（literary terms）之際，我就立即勾劃出重點及整理筆記。這是有回報的，因為我能夠快速識別文學作品，這不但在考卷Paper 1和Paper 2發揮作用，更在準備口頭評論（Individual Oral Commentary, IOC）和（Further Oral Activity, FOA）、寫作（Written Tasks）等項目時非常有用，使我能夠高效、高質及省時地分析文學作品。

為了讓大家更加了解我在英文考試備戰的策略，我將會闡述我在Paper 2的準備方法。在嘗試不同的寫筆記方法後，我設計了一套最適合自己的方法：首先確定文學作品的中心思想及寫作手法，之後查找過去多年的試卷，總結出較多出現的題型。我會按照每個中心思想製作出引文清單（Quotation List），確保每個引文（Quote）不超過1至2個句子，但當中包含豐富的文學技巧、形象提示等，並且與文學作品中的重要事件有所關連。為了有效實踐此方法，我會在過去的試卷中隨機抽取問題，並練習在限時內寫論文的草稿（Essay Plan）。我在文學作品中選取了3至4個中心思想，作為最有力的論據，及後引用文本中2至4個引文，作為論點去支持我的論述。在應用每個引文時，我都會指出此引文對故事及角色發展的重要性，同時指出其使用了哪一種的文學手法或舞台技巧，以及如何幫助作者或劇作家向觀眾傳達信息。

另外，當我完成寫作時，我會確保引用的例子是融入文章主調，不會偏離段落大意，藉此強化我的論點。很多人在寫作時會有一個段落專門談論故事背景或作者背景，但我認為更好的方法是在每個大段落當中插入故事背景或作者背景，因為這樣就可以更明顯地向考官展示我對那篇文學作品的深入理解。請記住，English Language & Literature的重點是要讓考官能夠很簡單和直接地理解複雜的論點，故你的思路愈清晰愈好。

然而，Chemistry （Higher Level）課程與英語完全不同，需要截然不同的學習策略。我會按課題去温習化學科，每天都會複習並完成1至2個課題。在每次温習課題之前，我會仔細閱讀老師的筆記，特別專注我之前勾劃出來的重點及註解的部份。然後，我會利用老師按照不同課題彙編的試題小冊子，去測試及鞏固我的知識。

練習完一系列的試題後，我一定會仔細的參考標準答案簿的評分準則。因為考官在改卷評分時會按照標準答案的學科詞彙來給分數，所以使用正確術語是非常關鍵的答題技巧。在正式考試前三四個月，我建議你把每份試卷整份做完，從中找出你的弱點，然後核對標準答案，了解評分方式，因為這段時間重讀筆記的效果比不上操練舊試卷。隨著不斷操練舊試卷和參考標準答案的過程，你就會慢慢學習從考官評分的角度來進行思考，讓你在回答每條試題時取到更高分數。

我個人認為在Core Topics當中，最難理解的是Organic Chemistry，而Measurement and Analysis （Higher Level）、Chemical Kinetics及Redox都比較難掌握。在Option Paper方面，我學校選擇教的課程是Biochemistry （Option B）。請不要忽略這份試卷，因為它佔總體成績的24%，同時也不要忘記練習在Section A出現的Compuslory Practical及Experimental Techniques試題。

HKDSE及A-LEVEL與IB考試最大的分別就是IB課程非常重視所有的Internally Assessed Components。由第一學期開始的那刻，某些科目已經會有Internal Assessments，所以差不多一開始就應該進入準備考試的狀態，不能懈怠，因為日後難以追上。請別忘記，由Internal Assessment所得的每一分，將與你在公開考試所獲得的分數有相同的價值。只要你願意努力做好這些Internal Assessment，就能夠得到一些比較容易掌握的分數，萬一在公開考試失手的話，最終都不會得到很差的成績。

我特別強調這一點，是因為我在English Language &Literature公開試失了手，差一點兒才可得到7分，幸好我的Internal Assessments（包括FOAs及IOC）取得高分，而它佔總得分的50%，所以最終才能獲得7分。此外，Internal Assessment是由學校老師評分，所以老師的教導和建議很重要，必須通過平時正面和積極的學習態度令老師對你留下良好的印象，與他們建立良好關係。舉個例子，老師的建議在我寫Chemistry Internal Assessment （IA）的過程有很大幫助。Chemistry IA以24分為滿分，可是我的初稿得分僅獲得單位數。當我咨詢老師的建議後，他告訴我，雖然我的調查和實驗概念很好，但是數據表達及撰寫方式與評分要求有很大落差。如我的文章欠缺‘Personal Engagement'，統計圖的標籤出錯，數據分析的水準也只是平平無奇。按照老師的建議，我花了很長時間去重新整理IA的文章結構及重做實驗，最終得到23分，這是該學年中得分最高的其中一份Chemistry IA，連老師也對我的進步感到驚訝。這充分說明了老師的指導在我的IB旅程中的重要性。

除了Internal Assessment之外，老師在Extended Essay （EE）都扮演著很重要的角色。儘管許多人都建議我選擇English Language & Literature作為寫EE的科目，但我最終選擇了Biology （Higher Level），因為我覺得透過此次深入研究的經驗，會更好地為我未來醫學的發展做好準備。如果你正準備寫科學的EE，那麼選擇適合的實驗很重要。我花了很多時間去思考應該擬定什麼研究題目，也參考了師兄師姐的EE範本及徵詢老師的意見，最終找出一個我認為是獨特、複雜的，但不能過於深奧難明的研究題目。

Biology EE與科學IA最相似的地方就是考官評分的時候都非常重視寫作結構。你要留意經常被忽略的地方，例如實驗的各種Variables（包括Uncontrolled Variables）、你選擇的研究規劃及數據分析技巧的細節，而明確解釋整個實驗的目的，儘量避免有什麼錯誤。我也要強調，文章‘Analysis and Discussion’的部份和‘Conclusion’應該分開來寫，不可混為一談。在‘Analysis and Discussion’方面，你應該要1）將數據及Hypothesis進行詳細比較；2）嘗試解釋你研究的實驗結果與Hypothesis和其他研究論文不同的地方；3）依據實驗結果和不足之處作出改良的建議。請留意，沒有瑕疵的實驗結果反而會引致低分的成績！在‘Conclusion'，你要用精簡的方法來總結你的調查結果，在老師的建議下，我還在EE的尾段提出一些‘Further investigation'，更能展示我的研究比其他考生更勝一籌。

在我的IB旅程中，其中一樣我應該更早做的事就是找同學來組織一個‘學習小組’。雖然IB表面上像一個單獨奮鬥的學習過程，但其實因為準備考試時需要學習大量的知識，所以單獨一個人是難以應付的。每一個IB學生都需要一個‘學習伙伴’或‘學習小組’ ，正如每個超級馬拉松運動員背後都需要一隊支援人員。但是，你必須確保學習伙伴或小組成員的學習目標和你一致。如果成員的學習進度和你距離太遠，整個小組的學習效果就會大打折扣。

如果找到合適的學習伙伴，就能夠互相測試及核對答案和一起督促鼓勵學習進度。請不要錯誤認為與同伴一起學習會減少你獲得好成績的機會！我和學習伙伴最終都得到45分，並入讀醫學院！

我最後的提示就是無論讀書或處事，都要保持正向思維和成長心態。每當我在生活或學習中遇到困難時都會記住這句諺語："every setback is a setup for a comeback" （失敗乃成功之母）。因此，不要因為遇到困難而感到灰心。儘管這困難看似令人生畏，但不要害怕失敗。當不可避免的時候，接納它，並用它作為踏上前進道路的墊腳石。回顧過去，你會發現個人成長過程中最快，最關鍵的時刻就是當我們犯下錯誤和經歷苦難的時候。我們的能力遠比想像中更強大，所以要對自己有信心，永遠不要放棄！

Jonathan Lee

Don't be fooled by the ‘45' on my transcript; my IBDP journey wasn't perfect, and if I could go back in time, there are multiple aspects that I'd change. However, there's no doubt that I emerged on the other end not only with better academic capabilities, but also a more resilient mentality that has proved useful beyond IB. Before going into the technical aspects behind my revision process and exam techniques, I believe that if you want to achieve a high grade in the IB, you have to ask yourself what drives you. Why do you want a good score? Getting a ‘45' on your final transcript is a shallow achievement if you can't link it to a greater, long-term purpose. Without such purpose, it's extremely hard to get through IB, because the whole curriculum is structured like a two-year marathon, not a sprint; you must grind through it, because regardless of your disinterest or hate towards the content and the exams, it's an undeniably huge stepping stone towards whatever long-term goal or career you desire. For me, the greatest driving force behind my work ethic was the desire to meet the admissions requirements for medical school, because I knew that it would make me one step closer to achieving my dream of becoming a doctor. Had I not felt this calling, I would have certainly been less dedicated to studying for the exams.

Retrospectively, I think organizational skills and self-discipline were the biggest factors contributing to my final score. To those who are just starting the IB, I recommend working hard from the beginning of your first year, because it really helped me set a solid foundation for each subject. Starting early also allows you to experiment with different study schedules, working environments, and resource materials. You'll find that every subject requires a different skill set, meaning that you'll have to create a slightly different learning-style or work-flow to stay on track.

To give a practical example of this, I found that English Lang & Lit （HL） required me to have a very clear understanding of how the central themes develop in each set-text. I started in Y12 by working hard on every assignment, whether it be graded or non-graded, and consistently sought out advice from teachers; I used this to try out different methods of analyzing texts to see which worked best for me. Additionally, I made sure that early in the course, I was extremely familiar with literary devices to the point that I could identify them without much effort; when I received the 11-page ‘literary terms' sheet from my teacher in the first term, I made highlights to all the devices I felt significant and made notes under them. This paid off, as being able to quickly identify literary devices is not only useful in both paper 1 and 2, but also when preparing for FOAs, IOCs, and written tasks, making it one of the most fundamental skills for delivering a time-efficient and high-quality analysis.

To give an example of the strategies that I used to prepare for my English exams, I'll talk about my approach to paper 2. After experimenting with different approaches to note-taking, I ended up compiling notes by first identifying the central themes and motifs of a text, then scanning previous past paper questions to find out which were most prevalent; after this, I made quotation lists for each theme, making sure to include quotes no more than 1-2 sentences long that were rich in literary technique/ stage devices and that linked to the most important moments in the text. To ensure I could incorporate this, I would randomly select questions from past papers, and practice making essay plans under timed conditions. In these plans, I selected 3-4 central themes from the text from which I could make the strongest argument; under each theme, I listed 2-4 quotes that were supportive of my argument, and underneath each, I would bullet point how the quote was significant to the development of the story and the character, note which literary or stage devices were used, and how they aided the author/ playwright in conveying their message to the audience. Additionally, when I wrote the essay in full, I ensured that I drew upon contextual knowledge within my main body paragraphs so that it could be incorporated into my argument;many people would have a paragraph dedicated to context, but I believed that this technique could show the examiner that I had a clear understanding of how context influenced the author/playwright. Remember, English Lang & Lit is all about structuring arguments in a way that allows the examiner to comprehend a sophisticated point without having to do a double-take. The clearer your line of thinking, the better.

On the other hand, Chemistry （HL） required a very different strategy. I revised Chemistry mostly by topic （including both the SL and HL parts）, going through one or two topics per day. At the start of each study session, I would go over my tutor's notes, specifically focusing on the areas which I had previously highlighted and annotated on. Then, I would consolidate and test my knowledge by doing questions from my tutor's topic-specific past paper booklets, or from a question bank. After doing a set of questions, I never skipped the answer booklet; since the mark scheme is objective, hitting the correct terms from the mark scheme is just as important as understanding the content. When you approach the exams, rather than re-reading notes, I'd recommend shifting your focus towards doing past papers in full, as you can use it to find your weak spots, and revising the mark scheme of those questions before the exam. Over time, this will allow yourself to approach exam questions in a different manner; instead of simply answering what you think is the right answer, your mind will be able to adjust your thought process to think from the perspective of the examiner. Personally, out of the core topics, I remember finding Organic Chemistry the hardest, while Measurement and Analysis （HL specifically）, Chemical Kinetics, and Redox were also tricky. As for the option paper, my school taught Biochemistry （Option B）, which was favorable as I did Biology HL; don't overlook this paper, as it's worth 24% of the final grade, and don't forget to revise for the questions about the compulsory practicals and experimental techniques.

Apart from studying for exams, the feature that sets the IB apart from others like the HKDSE and A-Levels is the fact that a huge emphasis is placed on internal assessments. This means that you can't slack off at the start and catch up later, as every mark earned through coursework will have the same weighting as the marks you achieve in the exam hall. As long as you're willing to put in the time and effort into your coursework, those are relatively ‘easier' marks that you can fall back on in case you don't do optimally in the exam paper. Personally, because I tried my hardest for the internally assessed parts of the IB and had scored mostly level 7s, it made the final stretch of studying for exams less stressful and gave me more confidence. The reason why I like to emphasize this aspect of the IB is that I know that in my final exam, my English Lang & Lit paper 1 fell just short of a 7; had I not gotten high grades in the written tasks, FOAs and IOC, which were all internally conducted and together encompass 50% of the final grading, I might not have achieved the overall 7 points. Additionally, because coursework is graded by your teachers （before being externally moderated）, it's important to establish a good relationship with them so that you can ask for help and advice. My Chemistry IA is a prime example of how important a teacher's advice can be; my first draft achieved a mere single-digit score out of 24! When I consulted advice from my teacher, I was told that although the concept of my investigation and experiment was good, the manner of data presentation and the writeup of the IA was very different from what was expected of me in the mark scheme. For example, my writeup was lacking in personal engagement, the graphs weren't labeled correctly, units weren't standardized, and the analysis was mediocre at best. Following my teacher's advice, I spent long hours completely restructuring my IA writeup and redoing experiments; ultimately, my teacher gave me a raw mark of 23/24, one of the highest in the year group, which speaks volumes about how crucial teachers were in my IB journey.

Apart from the coursework, teachers also play a huge role in writing up your EE. Although many people recommended me to choose English, which has the reputation of being easier, I chose Biology as I felt that the experience of conducting a proper investigation would better prepare me for Medicine. If you're doing a science EE, the importance of choosing the ‘right' experiment cannot be understated; I spent a lot of time brainstorming topics, looking at EE samples from seniors, and most importantly seeking advice from my supervisor, before finally settling on a topic that I felt was focused,sophisticated, and yet not overly ambitious. Similarly to a science IA, the structure and writeup of the investigation is the most important aspect that determines how your EE is graded. You need to make sure that the often overlooked aspects such as the variables （including uncontrolled variables）, your choice of methodology, and your choice of data handling techniques, are all clearly justified and properly stated with no margin for error. Furthermore, I'd also stress that the‘analysis and discussion' portion of the writeup should be distinct from the ‘conclusion'. In your ‘analysis and discussion', you should 1） compare your data with your hypothesis in detail, 2） attempt to explain why your results are slightly different from your hypothesis and the previous research that was used to come to the hypothesis, 3） come up with various improvements you would make to your investigation. Remember that a perfect investigation with no flaws will often result in a bad EE score! In your ‘conclusion', concisely summarise the results of your investigation. Personally, under the advice of my supervisor, I also included a paragraph mentioning some ‘further investigations' that could be carried out to build upon the research that I had done in my EE.

One thing that I wish I had done earlier, was forming a study group or finding an accountability partner. Although the IB seems like an individual process at first glance, the large amount of content that needs to be studied in the buildup to an exam makes it very draining for an individual to handle. Every ultramarathon runner needs a support crew, and every IB student needs a study partner or a study group. However, you've got to make sure your study partner/group has similar aspirations; if you group up with people who are much less driven, or who love to procrastinate, just because you're friends with them, it will definitely pull you down and suck the motivation out of you. Once you find the right study partners, there are numerous benefits such as being able to test each other on tricky course content, cross-check answers, and keep each other in check with your study schedules. Don't be selfish, and think that studying with them will lessen your chances of getting a good grade; I had a study partner for Biology （HL） and Chemistry （HL）, and we both scored 45 points and got into medical school!

Finally, apart from studying, I have to stress the importance of maintaining a positive mentality and a growth mindset, which should apply not only to your IB journey but to life in general. One quote that sticks with me whenever I encounter difficulties in my personal life or in my studies is that ‘every setback is a setup for a comeback', so you shouldn't be discouraged by the hardships you might go through. Although it seems daunting at first, don't fear failure; when it inevitably comes, embrace it, and use it as a stepping stone to build your way forward. Retrospectively, you'll often find that the mistakes we've made and the hardships we've been through are responsible for the greatest positive changes that have shaped our personal growth. Remember, our minds are more powerful than we can ever imagine, so don't ever give up!

Jonathan Lee 訪問稿

與朋友齊齊讀書雙雙考入醫學院

「有個一起温習和準備考試的朋友真好」 !Jonathan Lee表示，如果時光可以倒流，他會更加早去尋找學習伙伴或小組，無論是一起做筆記，抑或温書都很重要。他說有朋友也是想考進醫學院，大家有相同的方向，會一起學習及為面試做準備及訓練，大家互相討論及互相督促溫習的進度，最終他考進了中文大學醫學院，而他的朋友就考進了香港大學李嘉誠醫學院。他建議大家要尋找志同道合的朋友，一起成長。

Jonathan指，因為IB課程內容很廣泛，有時可能會偏離或者遺漏了重要的學習內容，所以有學習伙伴可以互相提醒。他認為每個人都一定會在IB面對挫折，例如考試沒有7分、老師批評文章寫得差，會感到氣餒，但應該要思考如何改進。他建議考生，不要停留在負面情緒，反而要改變心態，想一下如何在此方面進步多一點，慢慢就會變得更好。

被問到為何會想成為醫生，Jonathan說，他在8歲時已經想成為醫生，當初是因為爸爸也是醫生，認為醫生可以幫助他人，在9年級時就認真考慮是否修讀醫科。在10年級時他參加了中大的暑期臨床體驗計畫，觀看癌症、手術等部門，然後12年級時去了跟隨公立醫院老人專科部門的醫生，觀察到醫院的實際工作情況和體驗到做醫生的難處，慢慢了解到好醫生的道德和心理素質上的要求。「原來做醫生不單止醫治身體上的疾病和「救命」，而且還要有同理心，要了解病人的感受和真正的需要，才能從身體和心理方面上都幫助病人」。

在面對危險時要堅強、冷靜及有自信，不會因為病人的情況受到影響，反而是專注如何令病人感到舒服及有良好狀況。

入讀醫學院後，Jonathan對外科產生興趣，特別欣賞外科醫生做手術遇到困難時需要的判斷能力和自信，也認為他的性格比較適合與病人溝通和做手術而不適合在實驗室中從事醫學研究。Jonathan覺得很幸運能獲得家長從小以來的悉心培養和教導，感謝家人在心理及學術上一直以來的協助及支持。

Megan Lee

Megan Lee

2019年7月6日，當我與家人一起在意大利登高時，快到山頂之際，我看了一下手錶。那時是下午2時零6分，這意味著國際文憑大學預科課程（The International Baccalaureate®），以下簡稱為「IB」）的結果已經公佈。我立即拿起手機並登錄了國際文憑組織的網站。這個分數將反映這兩年的學習的價值，深吸一口氣後，我低頭看著手機，當時我不敢相信自己的眼晴，我的手還在顫抖，並向家人宣佈： 「我取得45分！」

我一生從未期望獲取滿分，我想就讀的大學不需我得到滿分。我不是想說是靠運氣而取得IB的45分，而是想表達的是結果超出我的預期。雖然我不確定自己如何取得理想成績，但是人們總是問我如何做到。以下我將分享一些在IB的經驗及小貼士。

1 學習態度

在我孩提時代，我的父母總是向我強調學習的重要性而不是只專注於我的成績。每當我處理大型的項目或功課時，感到壓力時，我都會記得他們很平靜地告訴我，擔心是毫無意義的。相反，他們會提醒我，凡事都要盡力而為，當我做盡一切努力去完成一件事，那就是最重要的部份。我父母與我同齡朋友的父母不一樣強調取得高分的重要性，而我從來未有接受這種教育，反而我相信我在每件事上都竭盡所能，不管當時我的嘗試看起來多麼徒勞無功。

以這種心態，我報考了IB。我在每個學科都很努力學習，從來沒有過分要求自己要提高成績。當然，有時我都相當重視成績，但只是因為我知道它對於我未來起了決定性的作用，是非常重要。所以，你必須知道壓力是來自於你內心。我的父母沒有一次對我說：「你一定要在這試卷或論文取得7分」，而有關標準是由我自己設定，因為我相信：如果我盡力而為，這些都是可以達成的目標或結果。

我報考IB另一個的重要態度是：關注或是重視我所做的事情。在過去兩年，我非常重視我在每個學科學習的內容及是否取得進步。雖然有些學科我的表現較出眾，但我仍有動力去學習及更進一步，直至5月份最後一次的考試。隨著時間的流逝，我留意到身邊的同學漸漸失去動力，有部份甚至是在考試的關鍵時期。那些不再關心自己的進步或所學知識的人，也是未能取得更高分數的原因。

因此，我有一些建議：首先你要選擇你真正感興趣的學科。如果你選取自己喜歡的學科，你會更願意付出更多的努力，通常這樣也會提昇你的成績。我有一個學科就是這種情況：我對課堂上涉及主題很著迷，但是很可惜的是沒有合適的老師。我很渴望可以了解更多有關的主題，並渴望在該主題取得不錯的成績，這驅使我進行額外的研究及做了大量筆記，也為了所有單元測試和考試做好準備。

我的老師並不總是為我解難，但這並不重要。我關心這個學科，我想深入了解並擅長該學科，最終我在學習及追求高分的過程上投入更多的精力。其次，在12年級開始踏出正確的一步是很重要，你要盡一切努力去保持良好的成績，這樣你就不會陷入成績很糟糕的地步。如果你只是投放一半的努力，你在整個的IB過程中，你有時會想放棄。

這也帶到下一個我想表達的重點： IB最基本的態度是願意付出努力並努力學習。有句名言：「你得到的是你所付出的」（you get what you give），這句話也適用於這種情況。如果你只付出50% 的努力於你的學業，你只會得到50% 的回報。因此，我想說的是，如果你不學習或不投入精神於課堂上，你不要期望可以取得高分。

你需要明白的是，IB是一個為期兩年的項目，你必須投放大量的時間及精力，這不是一項一勞永逸的任務，你可以一次又一次地努力，慢慢累積，然後不必再擔心。如果你要做好，就必須持續努力及毫不間斷。有時我在學校完成一整天的學習，並完成籃球比賽後回家，我仍然會堅持花一至兩個小時去完成作業或準備測試。因為我關心自己在課堂上的表現，及知道每個學科的分數都會影響我的總成績。

我不能不做任何事，而只是乾巴巴的期望著我期末考的所有學科都取得7分。故此，準備報考IB的人，其主要的學習態度是：1/ 想要學習（Wanting to learn）,2/ 保持動力（Staying motivated）,3/ 努力學習（Working hard）

2 一般提示

首先，井然有序是非常重要。我製訂了個人時間表，以便我為每天要做的事情分配好時間。這樣，我可以視覺化我需要多少時間來學習，及還剩下多少時間去做自己想做的事。在IB期間，你會有很多事情要做，如果你不做相應的計劃，你將會不知所措、壓力重重、甚至有可能錯過期限（deadlines）。我很記得一句話： 「不要把今日可以做的事，留到明日」（don't leave until tomorrow what you can do today.）這句話經常在我腦海中浮現，所以我會把校內評核（Internal Assessments, IAs）、拓展論文（Extended Essay, EE）等，都放在單元測試之前完成，這樣我的工作不會太急趕，並且盡可能將最好的能力展示出來。

我還相信，盡可能在功課或學習上保持領先是很明智的。以拓展論文（Extended Essay, EE）為例，我曾經與已畢業的前輩交談過，他們都建議最好在13年級前的夏天完成EE。儘管這不是我原本的暑期計劃，因為我正全神貫注於為模擬考試學習及思考有關大學申請。很自然地，第一次撰寫學術論文（對我來說，用中文寫4,500字！）是一項極其艱鉅的任務，但是我發現，當我每天寫幾百字時，這令任務變得更易於管理，到8月左右，我已經完成了大部份的初稿。

每當我意識到，我在完成EE或其他更具挑戰性的課程（例如運動，鍛煉和健康科學的校內評核）中，苦惱掙扎時，我發現直接找老師交談及徵求他們的意見是最有效的。通過與他們交談，我找到了很有趣的研究題目。同時我發現與他們交談的次數愈多，他們愈能引導我，以符合標準和高分的方式，去對外介紹我的作品。很多老師已經花了多年時間去教授IB，而他們也是考官，他們知道課程的內部要求，及如何幫助你盡可能獲取更多的分數。如果你有需要，我建議你與老師聯繫，因為這將使你長遠受益。

對於IA及EE，我的最後一項建議是，選擇你感興趣的主題。在我所有的學科中，我都是決定對自己感興趣的主題進行研究，即使這意味著某些閱讀材料和概念會稍微困難些。但正因為我對主題感興趣，即使某些概念很難理解，但我還是想理解它，故此我投放了額外的工作來進行研究和撰寫論文。尤其是你真心對該主題有興趣，你會發現進行研究和撰寫時，將會容易得多。

3 考試貼士

如果要取得好成績，就必須努力學習，這沒有其他辦法。在休假期間，我大部份時間都在準備筆記、閱讀它們及就課程內容上進行自我測試，確保自己了解所有內容。我的筆記緊貼課程大綱，並且確保與每個大綱要點都有相應的筆記。因為考試中，有很多問題都是按照課程大綱來組織及編寫的，所以熟悉與課程大綱相關的內容，是準備考試的最有效的方法。在某些情況下，如科學，我可以說的是，了解課程大綱比只知道課程內容更為重要！

另外一個考試技巧是，直接從過去的試卷中學習。當你準備好筆記及全面理解課程內容後，你應該要開始練習以往的試題。這有助於你掌握考題的題型及難度，通常有些試題會每年重複出現，如果沒有，它們的格式也會類似，所以練習試題及從中學習，對你準備考試極為有益。

在練習以往的試題時，記錄你所有的錯誤也是至關重要。在完成整份試卷時，我會研究評分標準及就我遺漏的重點做筆記。了解自己的錯誤後，我會花更多時間去研究這些章節，並防止在下一份試卷中，犯同樣的錯誤。我的同學很多都認為，練習以往的試題是第一步，他們想在不重温任何課程材料的情況下完成試卷，及後在錯誤中學習。

我並不建議這樣做，如果你首先複習好所有內容後，才做試卷練習，你可能可以回答所有試題。同時，如果你將試題練習放在最後，那你複習所有內容之後，將會發現不是很多試卷需要用來練習，這也可以更有效、更準確的為你的期末考做好準備。

最後，我想特別強調的是，休息及放鬆的重要性。在全年當中，我有幾次都覺得自己淹沒在工作裡面，而且無論一天完成多少工作，第二天仍有很多事情要做。的確，最重要的是你要有時間休息和放鬆，否則你將精疲力盡。我知道有人因為過度專注於學習，而在考試期間沒有考慮自己的健康而住院。

我是這樣平衡學習及休息：學習幾個小時後，我會花一個小時作為休息時間。我又發現將學習時間與其他我想做的休閒活動區分開來，是很有效的；做運動有助於減輕壓力和精神疲勞。在學習時，你要知道的是聰明地學習比努力學習更為重要。例如，如果一天不斷學習12個小時，期間你一直分心或感到疲倦，甚至是沒有處理任何事情，這也是無濟於事。相反，你在學習期間騰出一個休息時間，你將會提昇工作效率及吸收到最多的知識。

有了這種心態，我可以充分利用學習的時間，去盡力吸取所需的知識，最終在考試中表現出色。此外，更聰明地學習意味著在考試之前，學習適當的考試技巧。與其撰寫長篇大論的文章去回答問題，倒不如撰寫較短的文章，但擊中所有的重點。不過要做到這一點，你必須花大量時間去了解課程大綱及在過去的試題中學習。

IB絕非易事，有時候我覺得自己受夠了，我想放棄，希望一切都結束。但是我相信這些困難和課程要求的嚴謹程度，為我人生提供了許多寶貴的經驗。這是很艱難，但我在經歷中改善了自己這個事實不會改變，畢竟它讓我成為一個具有應變能力、努力學習的人，並為現在的我發揮了一定的作用。

至於我上述提及的貼士或建議，不一定保證你必定取得高分，但可以讓你在IB的旅程中取得成功。IB可能令人恐懼，但是如果你以正確的心態去面對，那麼你已經有了堅實的基礎。無論你的學術能力如何，如果你準備努力學習及有動力去突破極限，那麼你已經走向成功之路。

Megan Lee

On July 6th, 2019, I was hiking in Italy with my family. We were nearing the summit and I checked my watch. It was 2:06pm, meaning that the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program （IBDP） results were out. Scrambling to the summit, I took out my phone and logged in to the International Baccalaureate Organization website. Two years worth of work would be reflected by this one score… Taking a deep breath, I looked down at my phone… I could not believe my eyes. My hands were shaking as I announced to my family: “I got a 45.”

Never in my life did I expect to achieve a full score. The universities I had offers from did not require it and I did not ever hope for it. This is not to say I achieved a 45 in IBDP by luck, but more so that I never expected these results. While I am not entirely sure how I achieved a perfect score, people always ask me how I did it, so below, I will share some tips regarding my experience in the IBDP.

1 Learning attitude

When I was younger, my parents always made sure to emphasize the importance of learning, rather than focusing solely on my grades. Whenever I was stressed about a big project or assignment, I remember them calmly telling me that it was senseless to worry;instead, they reminded me that as long as I tried my best and did whatever it was to the best of my ability, that was all that mattered. Unlike many of my peers whose parents stressed the importance of achieving high grades, I was never subject to this kind of teaching, and vowed to try my best in whatever I did, regardless of how futile my attempts may have seemed at the time. With this mindset, I took on the IBDP. I worked hard in all of my subjects and was never overly worked up about my grades. Of course, there were times where I placed importance on my grades, but this was solely because I knew that they were important in determining my future. Thus, it is important to note that this pressure came entirely from within. Not once did my parents say to me “you have to get a level 7 for this paper, ” these standards were set by myself, because I believed that if I tried my best, these were achievable results.

Another key attitude I had going into the program was caring about, or attaching importance to what I did. Throughout my two years, I placed great importance on my learning and progress in all of my chosen classes. While there were subjects I preferred over others, I was always motivated to study, up until the very last exam in May. As time passed, I noticed that many of my peers lost motivation -some even during the crucial exam period. It became apparent that those who no longer cared about their progress or what they were learning failed to achieve higher marks. Therefore, some advice I have is firstly, to choose subjects which actually interest you. If you choose a subject you like, you are more likely to put in more effort, which generally results in better grades. This was the case for one of my subjects, where I was fascinated by the topics that were covered in class, but unfortunately did not have the best teachers. My eagerness to learn more about the subject and appear competent in the subject drove me to do extra research whenever necessary and I made extensive notes so that I would be prepared for all the unit tests and exams. It did not matter that my teachers were not always helpful; I cared about the subject, thus I wanted to be good at it and ultimately put more effort into learning and achieving high marks.Secondly, it is important to start off Year 12 on the right foot, making every effort to maintain good grades. This way, you will never be at the point where your grades are so poor that you just decide to give up and finish IB with only half of your efforts.

This brings me to my next point. The most essential attitude with IB is the willingness to put in the effort and work hard. There is a famous saying “you get what you give” and it is certainly applicable in this context. If you put in 50% into your work, you can expect 50% back. Therefore, what I am trying to say is that if you do not study or put in the effort in class, you cannot expect to achieve a high score. Something to understand is that IB is a two-year project into which you must invest a lot of time and effort; it is not a one-and-done task that you can put effort into once and then never have to worry about again. You constantly have to put in work if you want to do well. There were times where it was late, I had a long day at school and just come home from a basketball game, but I would still put in an hour or two to complete my homework or study for a test, because I cared about my performance in my classes and understood that every grade contributed to my overall score. I could not just do nothing now and hope that I would get 7's in all of my final exams. Thus, the key learning attitudes for anyone preparing to take on the IBDP is 1. Wanting to learn, 2. Staying motivated, and 3. Working hard.

2 General tips

First and foremost, it is extremely important to stay organized. Personally, I constructed a timetable so that I could allocate time slots for things I would do each day. This way, I could visualize how much time I needed to dedicate to work, and how much time I had left over to do whatever I wanted. During IB, there is so much to do that if you do not plan things out accordingly, you will be overwhelmed, stressed, and possibly miss deadlines. A saying that I live by is “don't leave until tomorrow what you can do today.” Because that was always in the back of my mind, I chose to stay on top of my Internal Assessments （IAs）, Extended Essay （EE）, and unit test deadlines, so that my work would not be rushed and could reflect the best of my abilities. I also believe that it is smart to be ahead in your work whenever possible, and this is especially the case for the EE. I have spoken to those who have graduated before me, and all of them recommend the EE to be mostly completed over the summer before Year 13. While these certainly were not my ideal summer plans, having the majority of it written spared me a lot of time when Year 13 began, as I was preoccupied with studying for mock exams and thinking about university applications. Naturally, writing an academic essay for the first time （4500 words and in Chinese for my case!） was an extremely daunting task. Nevertheless, I found that writing a few hundred words every day made the task much more manageable and by the time August came around, I already had a first draft mostly completed.

Whenever I found myself struggling during the process of completing my EE or my other more challenging coursework such as the Sports, Exercise, and Health Sciences IA, I found that it was most effective to talk to my teachers directly and ask for their advice. Speaking to them, I was able to come up with interesting research questions. I discovered that the more that I spoke to them, the more they were able to guide me to present my work in a way that would meet the criteria and score high marks. Many of the teachers have spent years teaching the IBDP and are examiners themselves; they know the course inside out and how to help you score as many points as possible. Therefore, I recommend reaching out to teachers if you ever need help because it will benefit you in the long run.

My last piece of advice for IAs and the EE is to choose a topic that is of interest to you. For all of my subjects, I decided to do my research on topics that I found intriguing, even if this meant that some of the readings and concepts would be slightly more difficult. Because I was genuinely interested in the topics, even though some of the concepts were more difficult to grasp, I wanted to understand it, therefore I put in the extra work to do research and write the paper. Especially if you are truly interested in the topic, you will find that doing research and the final write up will be much easier.

3 Exam tips

If you want good grades, you have to study hard. There is no way around it. During study leave, I spent most of my time preparing notes, going over them, testing myself on the course content, and making sure I knew things inside out. My notes followed the course syllabus closely, and I made sure that I had notes corresponding to each syllabus point. Many of the questions in the exams are structured following the syllabus, therefore, being familiar with the content directly related to the syllabus is an extremely helpful way of preparing for the exams. In some cases, such as the sciences, I may even say that it is more important to know the syllabus than to just know the course content!

Another essential exam tip is to study directly from past papers. Once you have made sufficient notes and understood the course content holistically, you should start practicing with past papers. This is useful in helping you grasp the level of difficulty of the exam questions. Often, questions are also repeated from year to year, or if not, they will have a similar format. Thus, studying from the past papers is extremely beneficial to exam preparation. When practicing from past papers, it is also vital to record all of your mistakes. After completing every past paper, I would look at the mark scheme and make notes on the points that I missed. By understanding my mistakes, I was able to devote more time to studying those chapters and prevent making the same errors when a similar question came up in the next paper. Many of my peers preferred to attempt the past paper as the first step of their studying; they would complete a paper without reviewing any of the course material, then see what they got wrong and study from there. I would not recommend this because if you review all the content first, you are more likely to be able to answer all the questions in the paper. Also, if you leave the past papers to the end, when you have reviewed all the content, you will have more unseen papers to practice on, which will more accurately reflect how prepared you are for the final exams.

Lastly, an exam tip I would like to greatly stress is the importance of taking breaks and resting. Throughout the year, there were definitely times when I felt like I was drowning in work and no matter how much I completed in a day, there was still so much to do the next day. Still, it is vital that you find time to rest and relax, or else you will get burnt out and exhausted. I know people who have been hospitalized because they were too concerned with studying and did not consider their wellbeing during the exam period. I was able to balance my work and rest by studying for a couple of hours at a time and then taking hour-long breaks in between. I found that breaking up my study time with other leisure activities I wanted to do in between was helpful, and doing exercise especially helped with mitigating feelings of stress and mental fatigue. When studying, it is important to work smarter, not harder. For example, studying for 12 hours a day will not help if you are constantly getting distracted or are so tired that you are not processing anything. Instead, you should take sufficient breaks so that whenever you are studying, you are actually being productive and retaining the most information. With this mindset, I was able to make the most out of my time studying, ultimately storing all the information I needed to perform well in the exams. Moreover, working smarter means learning proper exam techniques prior to the exams. Instead of writing large paragraphs for the longer essay questions, it can be more effective to write less, as long as you hit all the key points. However, to do this, you must spend a significant amount of time understanding the syllabus and learning from past papers.

The IBDP is not easy in any way. There were times where I felt like I had had enough. I wanted to give up; I wanted for it to be all over. However, I believe that these hardships and the rigor of the program have taught me many invaluable lessons along the way. It was tough, but there is nothing I would change about my experience. After all, it has played a large role in shaping me into the resilient, hardworking, and determined individual that I am today. As for the tips I have given above, they may not guarantee a top score, but they will guarantee success during your IB journey. The IBDP can be scary, but if you enter with the right mindset, you already have a solid foundation. Regardless of what your academic capabilities are, if you are prepared to work hard and are motivated to push your limits, you are already on the path to success.

Megan Lee 訪問稿

凡事盡心盡力未來皆可期

七人欖球賽講求速度，比賽時間短，賽事期間不乏奔跑追逐、踢球射門等刺激場面。運動難免受傷，Megan Lee曾在七人欖球賽時受過傷，當時肩頭被對手撞到差不多脫臼，及後在練習時與其他學校觀摩，見到有教練為球員做復康，慢慢對人體運動學、運動科學產生興趣。她續指，本來不知道自己未來想做什麼，但在IB過程中慢慢學到新知識及了解自己，知道自己喜歡生物科、對運動有興趣，慢慢向此方向發展，未來她也想成為職業的運動治療師。

Megan指，父母從小到大沒有給她壓力，沒有限制她一定要修讀哪個學科或選擇職業，反而是她真心喜歡及願意付出。她續指，每個人也不一樣，有些人是不想讀書，反而對其他事物有天賦或者興趣，要他們自己慢慢找到答案，建議未找到明確目標的學生，對某些科目或者議題有興趣的，就要花心力去了解更多，尋找更多，選科時找有興趣的，那就不會那麼辛苦。

不過她說，在IB後期她看到有同學慢慢失去動力，原因是他知道大學錄取了他，他想著： 「那我就不用再俾心機去讀書」。Megan認為，無論是否獲得學校的錄取，都不應該那麼快放軟手腳，「大家都為IB準備了那麼久，明知可以考得好一點，應該要盡力，不要浪費一番心血」。

她續指，大學生活與原本想像的是有出入，如大學功課不是想像中那麼難，IB反而是更難，但因為IB讀書的技巧及知識在大學仍可應用，應是這樣令她感到輕鬆，算是鬆一口氣。她又建議考生要著重休息，否則你將精疲力盡。

Megan正就讀美國維珍尼亞大學（ University of Virginia）的人體運動學（Kinesiology），料在2023年畢業。

George Su

George Su

我是George Su，剛於沙田學院正式畢業，獲得國際文憑大學預科課程（The International Baccalaureate®Diploma Program ，以下簡稱為「IB」）的文憑。我修讀的高級程度學科包括：物理（Physics, Higher Level, HL），數學（Mathematics, Higher Level, HL）及經濟（Economics, Higher Level, HL）；我修讀的標準程度學科包括：中國語言及文學（第一語言）（Chinese A Language and Literature, Standard Level, SL）,英國文學（第一語言）（English A Literature, Standard Level, SL）及哲學（Philosophy, Standard Level, SL）。

在接下來的文章，我將盡我所能分享在IB課程中的經驗，並就如何獲得優異成績，為大家提供實用的建議。

1 選科：

與其他人一樣，我的IB旅程始於10年級，當時我正面臨著選科這個艱鉅任務。我保證以下所述的是真誠分享，並非甜言蜜語。我認為選科是一個學生在學習生涯中，必須要做出的最艱難的選擇。但好消息的是：如果你被嚇壞了，請明白你不是唯一的一個。實際上，我在選科時也感到迷茫及困惑：我一直都很喜歡閱讀文學，並對歷史著迷，一段時間也想成為建築師，又擅長數學及喜歡通過科學去探究自然世界。是的，我並非是那種在5歲就確切知道自己未來想幹什麼的那種超人，但我認為我們這類凡人也可以作出很好的選擇。

以下是一些實用的建議，可以幫助及啟發你的決策：

1．選擇你真正感興趣的學科。我相信你已經聽過這一點，但我仍然想再強調一次。在13年級，每個高級程度的科目，每兩周會有9個小時的課程。同時你在課餘時間還要顧及校內評核（Internal Assessment, IA）。你的熱誠將會是你完成此等難關的原動力。此外，當你真心喜歡這個學科，你會更容易投入額外的時間及精力，去理解及吸收內容，這對你獲取理想佳績來說至關重要。

2．選擇適合你的科目，而不是為你的父母，或純粹是為了職業。儘管醫生、工程師及律師，無疑是令人讚嘆不已的職業，但是生活的意義不只是穩定的未來及一份高薪的工作。我們很幸運可以生於一個多元化的時代，只要在某個領域表現出色，你都可以找到成功之道。歸根究底，那些總是加倍努力並追逐自己夢想的人，才能在人類的發展里程中留下重大的印記。另外，如果你打算在美國接受高等教育，你也可以在大學期間更改你的主修學系。

3．取得良好的平衡。IB是一個十分費力費時的課程，它會讓你面對難以想像的任務。其實，不同的學科難易度大不相同。所以我強烈建議你，在難易度不同的科目之間，取得良好的平衡，讓自己在每個學科上都能取得最高分。以下是我個人認為需要投入精力較多（功課量較多）的科目：數學（高級程度）（Mathematics, Higher Level, HL）、藝術與設計（Art and Design）、生物、化學及物理（都是高級程度）（Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Higher Level, HL）。

4．做好深入的研究。 綜上所述，如果你確實有職業發展路向的想法，特別是如果你想去歐洲（包括是英國）或是亞洲，那你務必要在選擇學系前，確保你在IB的研究是符合學系的要求。有時你可能感到驚訝，如有很多醫學系要求的是你在IB修讀的是化學（高級程度）（Chemistry, Higher Level, HL）、而不是嚴格的需要你必修生物（高級程度）（Biology, Higher Level, HL）；又如你是香港人，某些學校希望學生選擇的是中文（第一語言）（Chinese A），而不是中文（第二語言）（高級程度）（Chinese B, Higher Level, HL）。

2 如何在IB中取得好成績

理解甚於記憶

（Understanding Trumps Memorization）

IB最重視培養出能真正理解他們所學習的內容，並且能在未來有所創新的年輕人才。這也解釋了為何IB課程中會有一門獨立的知識理論課程（Theory of Knowledge, TOK），以增強學生的批判思維能力，及在多份的校內評核（Internal Assessments, IAs）及拓展論文（Extended Essay, EE），讓學生可以親自動手進行研究或者是探索學科主題。要在此類課程中脫穎而出，只是依賴記憶去記下所有內容及公式是不夠的，相反你應該以深層的理解為學習的目標。

這意味著什麼？你要學會探究公式與定律背後的含義，通常這需要花時間去查證，包括查找教科書、或花時間去思考及整理，這些理論對你來說是否合理。我曾經為最基本的概念去做過此類思想實驗，當我學習物理學的光折射（light diffraction）時，我會花時間去思考，為何白光透過折射時，會形成色彩鮮豔的光譜？最初的答案很簡單：因為「光」實際上是由不同波長組成，這些不同波長的光在透過棱鏡時的彎曲不同，而引致不同角度的折射而產生不同的顏色。這已經是比「就是這樣」（it just does）更好的答案，但是我會繼續問：為什麼波長較長和波長較短透過棱鏡時彎曲程度會有分別？及後，我會在基於此問題再深入發堀，直至我達到一個解釋，而這個解釋可能會超出我認知的範圍，或者沒有人知道。

這剛開始可能看似會很麻煩，但是經過少量的提問練習，我對光及波（light and waves）有更深入的了解，這會使我受益匪淺。它建立了良好的知識基礎，當我日後遇到更難的概念時，我會好像面對以上提到的光折射問題一樣，重複思考過程一遍，這有助我更輕鬆地消化有關內容。此外，當我們理解事情後，會讓我們的大腦更易保留或記下有關的信息。有一位劍橋數學家向我說，他不仔細記得任何一條數學公式，但他有能力去推導出每一條數學公式。

不幸的是，面對嚴峻緊迫的截止日期，老師們都經常教導他們的學生要去記住知識而不是理解。你應該把教科書當成是你最好的朋友，在測試前或上課後，花一些時間重讀教科書來温故知新，通常你將會對有關知識更加了解及對此更有信心。

效率是關鍵

IB有一句諺語說— 你只可以在以下的三項中3選2：充足的睡眠、社交活動和好成績。我在這裡告訴你，如果你可以有效地學習，在大多數的情況下這句話並不正確。我從來不是一個很有條理的人，實際上，我相信到目前為止，我已丟失了大約12個水瓶，幸而我仍保存我的錢包，但是我通過學習的高效率彌補了我這一項的不足。

效率意味著能夠快速、高質量地學習，當中的關鍵是在於專心、專注。我敢肯定，在這瞬息萬變的時代，我們每個人都會更容易被分散注意力，以下有一些如何避免的實用技巧和你分享。

首先，在學習時要遠離手機，同時要關閉通知的聲音（the sound of notifications）。如果手機放在可觸及範圍之外10厘米，你將會很驚訝地發現，你很少去接觸或者使用你的手機。

其次，我發現我在外面或是會所（work outside my home and at my clubhouse instead）温習時，我的效率有很大的提昇。嘗試找一個安靜的地方，讓你可以專心學習，可以是你的學校、會所或者是咖啡館。通過休閒環境及學習環境的轉換，可以讓你的思維、意識在兩者之間建立分區，這也幫助我減輕在考試季節的失眠問題。

第三，我們必須為自己設定切實可行的目標。你當天的目標不應該是「做更多數學的練習」，而應該是「完成關於二項式定理（binomial-expansion）」的練習。通常設定這些可實現的目標，我們會給自己更大的動力去學習，因為我們知道每當完成這些目標，會帶來更大的成就感，再推動自我前進。

總結

我獲得邀請撰寫1,500字的文章，向大家提供有關IB的建議，我盡力去寫下上述幾點，相信這些將會為正在或將會接受這個瘋狂經歷的你提供協助。我還想給予你一些希望，請記住，IB並不是生命的盡頭，不，這僅僅是開始。在高中最後的兩年，這無疑是一次很緊張的經歷，但這也是我一生中最好的兩年。這是由你自己去開展的新生活及負責任的時刻，這該是時候你去意識你想關注的事及想成為怎樣的人。想像自己在高高的懸崖上，看著藏紅色的太陽緩緩升起，在這充滿機遇的廣闊文明裡，你有機會去開拓自己、糾正以往的錯失，甚至是改變世界的機會。因為你位於高位，你也可以感受到風掠過你的身體，不管發生什麼事，這就是你在未來的兩年後會達到的的地方。

George Su

My name is George Su and I recently graduated from ESF Sha Tin College studying the IB program. My higher-level subjects were:Physics, Mathematics and Economics and my standard-level subjects were: Chinese A Language and Literature, English A Literature as well as Philosophy. In the following essay, I will share my experiences with the IB program as candidly as possible and provide some practical advice on how to achieve an outstanding result.

1 Choosing Subjects:

As with everyone, my IB journey began at the end of year 10/grade 9 when I was confronted with the daunting task of choosing my subjects. I promise to keep this reflection honest, so without sugar coating, I will confirm that this is perhaps the most important decision a student will have to make in the whole program. But the good news is if you are freaking out, understand that you are far from the only one! In fact, I believe I was as lost and confused as they come when choosing my subjects. I have always enjoyed reading literature, been fascinated by history, wanted to become an architect at some point, and on top of all that excelled at mathematics and loved learning about the natural world through the sciences. So yeah, I was far from one of those blessed individuals who knew exactly what they wanted to be since the age of 5, but I am proof that the rest of us will end up just fine too. Here is practical advice that will help enlighten you through this limbo of decisions:

· Choose the subjects that you are genuinely interested in. This is a point I'm sure you've heard already, yet I still cannot stress it enough. By year 13, you will have around 9 hours of lesson time on each of your HL subjects in a fortnight, in addition to IAs outside of class. Your passion would have to be your driving force to get you through all of this. Furthermore, when you love a subject, you will find it easier to put in the extra work to fully understand and absorb the content, which is crucial for obtaining the top marks.

· Choose your subjects for you, not your parents, and not purely for an occupation. While doctors, engineers and lawyers are certainly amazing careers, there is much more to life than a stable future and a well-paying job. We are lucky enough to live in a diverse age where you will find success in any field if you are able to excel in it. At the end of the day its always those who double down and follow their dreams that leave the biggest mark on humanity's progress. Furthermore, if you are aiming to go to the US for higher education, you can always change your major when in university.

· Achieve a good balance. IB is a program that will spread you incredibly thin with all the tasks it throws at you. And in all honestly, not all subjects are created equal in terms of difficulty. Hence, I strongly suggest choosing a good balance of difficult and easy subjects to allow yourself to score the top marks in each. The following subjects are the ones that I personally believe are the most labor intensive in IB: HL Mathematics, Art and Design, HL of Bio/Chem/Physics.

· Do your research. With all that being said, if you do have a career path in mind, and especially if you wish to go to university in Europe （including the UK） or Asia, make sure you research the IB subject requirements for your course before choosing. Sometimes you might be surprised, such as how many Medicine courses require HL Chemistry but not strictly HL Biology, or how certain schools prefer students to take Chinese A and not Chinese B HL if you are from Hong Kong.

2 Doing well in IB

Understanding Trumps Memorization

Perhaps one of the most unique aspect of the IB is its focus on creating young talent that truly understands the content they are learning and can bring upon innovation in the future. This is why there is a standalone Theory of Knowledge （TOK） course that sharpens students' critical thinking abilities, and there are so many Internal Assessments （IAs） and the Extended Essay （EE） that force students to be hands on and investigate or explore the subject themselves. To excel in a this type of program, it is not enough to just be able to regurgitate the content you have learnt or to memorize the formulas. Instead you must be learning with the end goal of understanding.

Now what does that mean in practical terms? Learning to understand means that you know why a formula, or a certain theorem is the way it is. Often that means taking time to look at the proof behind theorems which you can find in your textbooks, or just taking some time to think about the theorem in your mind to see if it makes logical sense to you. I used to do this for even the most basic of concepts. When learning about light diffraction in Physics, I would take some time to really just think about why white light diffracts into a spectrum of vibrant colors when it passes through a prism. At first the answer seems simple: because white light is really made up of a spectrum of different light waves with varying wavelengths that are bent differently by the prism. And that's already a better answer than “it just does”. But then I would continue to ask: so why are longer wavelengths bent less and short-wave lengths bent more by the prism? And I would go on and on down this cascading stairwell of questions until eventually I reach a point where the explanation was either just way beyond me, or that no one knows.

This might seem troublesome at first, however just by doing that little exercise of questioning, I have gained a much deeper understanding of light and waves that well benefit me immensely down the road. It builds a good foundation of knowledge that helps me digest more difficult concept later with much more ease than someone who just repeats “blue bends best” to himself whenever he sees a prism. In addition, understanding something makes it much easier for our brains to retain information. A Cambridge mathematician once said to me that he doesn't remember a single math formula by heart, but he has the understanding to derive every single one.

Unfortunately, when faced with tough deadlines, teachers often teach their classes to memorize rather than understand. This is when your textbook becomes your best friend. Spend a little bit of time before tests, or after classes to read about the content you have learnt. Often you will come out the other end with much more understanding of the content and much more confidence.

Efficiency is key

There is a saying in IB that claims you can only choose 2 out of the following 3: Enough sleep, a social life, or good grades. And I'm here to tell you that this saying is simply not true… most of the time… if you work efficiently. I have never been the most organized person- in fact, I believe I have lost around 12 water bottles by now and still leave my wallet behind today. However, I make up for it by being very efficient. Efficiency means being able to do your work quickly and to a high quality. And the key to being efficient is a lack of distractions. I'm sure we've all experience how easily it is to be distracted in this day and age, so here's some practical tips and how to not be.

First things first, put your phone far way from you when you work, and turn the sound of notifications off. You'd be surprised how much less you reach for your phone when it is just 10 centimeters out of reach.

Secondly, I have noticed a huge improvement in my productivity and efficiency when I started to work outside my home and at my clubhouse instead. Try find somewhere quiet that you can work at outside of your home. This can be your school, your clubhouse or a café. By having a different work environment to your relaxation environment, you help your mind create a distinction between the two and increase your efficiency and enjoyment of both. This has also helped me alleviate my sleeping problems near exam seasons.

Thirdly, we must set achievable and incremental goals for ourselves. Your goal for the day shouldn't be “do some more math revision” but rather: “finish the exercises and review sets on binomial-expansion”. By setting these achievable goals, we give ourselves more motivation knowing that they can be completed in one sitting and provide us with a greater sense of accomplishment when they are done.

Conclusion

I was asked to write a 1500-word essay giving some advice on IB so I tried my best to jot down the points that I believe will help you most through this crazy experience. But I want to part you with some hope. Remember, IB is not the end of your life. No. It is merely the beginning. The last 2 years of high school was undoubtedly a stressful experience, but it was also the best 2 years of my life. It's a dawn of liberty and responsibility for your new life as your own individual. It is the time you realize who you care about the most and who you want to become. Imagine yourself on top of a tall cliff watching the saffron sun rise over a vast civilization filled with opportunities. The opportunity to carve your own path, the opportunity to right your past wrongs, the opportunities to change the world. Feeling the wind graze your body due to your high altitude. No matter what happens, that is where you will end up by the end of the next 2 years.

George Su 訪問稿

不要成為倒模人要活出真我

每個人都是獨一無二，當你找到你自己的價值後，就能發光發亮。 George Su表示，我們很幸運可以生於一個多元化的時代，只要在某個領域表現出色，你都可以找到成功之道，並指生命很短暫，要聆聽你的心及夢想，不應該嘗試倒模別人的生活，要活出屬於自己的模樣。他指，知道家長對年輕人有很大的期望，但相信只要你做好及真的為自己目標奮鬥，做你喜愛之事，最終家長都會為你而感到驕傲。

George指，很多大學生畢業後再進修，可以選擇不同的科目，認為學生仍有很多機會可以追尋及學習自己喜愛之事，不用太擔心選擇錯誤，但最重要是要知道自己想要什麼。他說，他的父母曾建議他成為醫生等擁有較穩定未來的職業，但他們也知道生命的質素不在於金錢，而是找到屬於自己的路。最後他選擇在倫敦帝國學院（Imperial College London）就讀理論物理學（Physics with Theoretical Physics），也得到父母的支持，建議學生可以與父母討論，相信父母理解子女想法後都會支持。George說，父母只是擔心子女做事前未經過深思熟慮，只要子女平心靜氣慢慢向父母解釋清楚，相信不會有太大的問題，並指每個人都有自己的價值，人生很短，如果有想嘗試的事都可以一試。他認為，那些總是加倍努力並追逐自己夢想的人，才能在人類的發展里程中留下重大的印記。

被問到為何在IB期間遺失了12個水瓶，George說他只能專注於一件事，有時因此忽略小事，並笑說他仍將銀包保存得很好。他又指，他對於世界萬事萬物很感興趣，「我們為什麼會存在？」、「我們未來又會如何？」，認為物理可以協助他找到答案，也期望未來能成為物理學家或者研究員。但有些事沒有答案怎麼辦？George指，他仍會嘗試努力找出答案，承認自己是喜歡尋根問底的人I love to find out WHY , I want to know WHY。

Candy Wong

Candy Wong

我在2017年的夏季完成IB課程，並以45分的成績從高中畢業。我修讀的高級程度學科是化學（Chemistry, Higher Level, HL）、生物學（Biology, Higher Level, HL）、經濟學（Economics, Higher Level, HL）及中文（第二語言）（Chinese B, Higher Level, HL）；標準程度的學科是數學（Mathematics, Standard Level, SL）、英文語言及文學（English Language and Literature, Standard Level, SL）。

回顧過去，這確實是艱難的旅程，但在艱難時期中，也有美好的時光。在高中最後的兩年，我喜歡參加「創意、行動與服務」（Creativity, Activity, Service, CAS）活動，如參與慈善活動及擔任學生領袖。在IB最困難的事情是為校內評核（Internal Assessments, IA）確立主題、應付繁重的工作量及面對考試臨近而隨之襲來的壓力。以下我將會與你分享一些貼士，這可能對你有所幫助。

1 預估分數

學校給你的預估分數是非常重要，因為你將會使用這個分數去申請大學，並獲得面試機會。這包括你全年付出的努力、與老師保持良好健康的關係，並在遞交額外論文及作業時，要提高你的技能及知識。

校內評核 （Internal Assessments, IA）

首先，我想強調一下校內評核的重要性。你應優先考慮校內評核，並以最大能力去盡可能達成最好的成績，因為這些微的分數，足以改變你總體分數。每個學科都有不同的方法去完成校內評核，但大多數都是：

·由於你的所有作品均經過內部評估和評分，因此請務必認真遵循老師的指導

·保持主題簡單清晰，選擇恰好在你的知識和能力範圍內的主題，並於IA內發揮出來

·編寫簡潔明瞭的文章，向考官解釋你選擇的主題與課程大綱的關係，及展示你的中心思想及思維過程

·遵守文檔格式要求，並且不要超過字數限制

我發現，科學的校內評核（化學、生物學、數學）比人文學科及語文學科的校內評核更具挑戰性，因為你必須設計自己的研究題目，完成實驗並撰寫論文。

對於提出研究問題：

· 不要嘗試非常困難或幻想的實驗。在決定研究問題之前，請確保你的學校能夠提供所需的設備

· 在網上搜索或聯繫前輩去獲取靈感，這有助你找到已存在的實驗並根據你個人的興趣調整及變量

· 選擇主題時要說明為何會選擇該主題，並將其與你的個人生活經歷聯繫起來。在個人參與段落（Personal engagement paragraph）中，學生需要解釋那些個人經歷啟發他/她決定有關的實驗主題—如我喜歡中秋節，想了解為何熒光棒發光，所以選擇了有關實驗。

· 提出一個非常具體的研究問題，其中要在標題中列出自變量和因變量

對於有關科學的校內評核：

· 採用清晰的佈局，並帶有清晰的副標題，例如假設（hypothesis）、方法（method）、原始數據（raw data），處理後的數據（processed data）等。這使考官可以準確指出他們正在評分的是哪一部分

· 提供實驗每個階段的設置圖片，仔細記錄使用的每種儀器以及每種儀器的不確定度 （apparatus uncertanities）

· 展示最少一種的計算/實驗，並詳細說明如何獲取及處理數據

· 如果你有大量原始數據，請在正文中包含具有代表性數據，並將原始數據放入附錄中（請與你的老師確認）

對於人文學科的校內評核，我建議你養成閱讀新聞的習慣。請允許我強調一下，在「準備階段」（preparation phase）投放時間的重要性。由於我的英文寫作功課是有關於文化語境中的語言，故此我花更多時間於前期準備，這的確比實際撰寫論文的時間更多，但是十分有效及值得。我花了逾一星期去決定主題並閱讀小說來理解主題，但我只花了3天的時間去撰寫和修改論文。如果一開始沒有良好的計劃及明確的方向，在撰寫校內評核時，你很會很容易陷入生產質量低劣的情況，或者在過程中被卡住。

知識理論（Theory of Knowledge , TOK）/拓展論文（Extended Essay, EE）

TOK是非常主觀的，因此最好的做法是遵循IB課程及老師給予的指引。你將會在文章或者演說介紹（presentation）中，使用或運用到TOK特定的關鍵術語，如「知識主張」（knowledge claims），你的題目將會與最近發生的國際新聞、實際情況（Real Life Situations, RLS）有關，請盡量避免使用歷史事件來建立你的知識主張和評價，盡量在新聞及網上尋找靈感。

對於EE，我建議你決定EE主題時，選擇與你大學感興趣的學系或領域相關的主題，這你可以在大學面試時談及你的EE（這不是必須）。由於該是外部評分，請確保你的EE是嚴格遵循IB準則。如果你的老師不同意（有關主題），請與他們進行討論，及遵循他們的建議。

考試準備

熟悉IB課程大綱及根據IB課程指引做筆記，不要依賴你的教科書，因為沒有一本教科書是完美的。

練習過去的試卷是非常重要。即使你記住教科書的內容，但如果你未能按照IB考官的期望提供答案，你也不會獲得任何分數。練習試卷可以幫你熟悉問題風格和評分標準，如你要知道試題中使用的關鍵術語，如「討論、描述、評價」（discuss, describe, evaluate），去做出最佳的答案。例如，如果他們提及「討論」，那你要提出兩方的論點和可能的結論，你才能獲得滿分。你可以根據過去試題的評分標準去做筆記，我有文件記錄了過去多年的試題答案，那我可以在考試前的假期快速温習。

最好在考試前一個月，至少複習一次所有筆記，然後再盡量多做試題練習。絕對不要依靠那一個月的學習時間，來為你所有學過的知識及學科做筆記！全年你都要努力，並為每個章節或單元的測試準備好筆記。我向你保證，你每次為考試而學習，所付出的時間及努力學習，將會一點一滴成為你的長期記憶。同時，設定學習時間表也很有效，我會從不太自信的學科開始學習，每天都練習2個不同的科目。

快將接近尾聲時，你要保持積極的態度及冷靜，同時也要吃得好（不過不要吃不健康的零食），要有充足的睡眠，並在白天分配幾個小時作為休息。避免對自己施加過多壓力：如一定要取得該成績，或對可能的結果感到折磨，這只會使你感到巨大的壓力。請專注於過程。

2 額外的學術支持

如果你覺得自己在學校，老師的支持不足夠，或者覺得上課的節奏太慢或太快，請不要羞於報讀補習中心或尋找個人補習老師。在12年級開始之前，我開始在iStudy教育中心學習數學（標準程度）（Mathematics, Standard Level, SL），我發現在起初非常有效。在學校的課堂上做好練習本沒有很大的用處，因為題型風格與以往試題不符。在練習過去的試題期間，我的補習導師揭示了每種問題類型的有效公式和方法，讓我在練習時效率更高。

創意行動與服務 （Creativity, Activity, Service, CAS）

CAS活動是一件幸事，因為其使你在高中最後幾年充滿樂趣並富有成果。儘管聽起來有些陳詞濫調，但不要忘記，在畢業之前，你應該與朋友們一起度過一段美好的時光，因為你們大部份人很快會分散到不同的國家去升讀大學。由於你們也沒有足夠的時間去參與所有活動，因為參與你真正喜歡的活動，也不會對你的生活造成額外的壓力。

對於CAS的項目，其中一種方法是加入學校現有的CAS團隊。如果沒有，你可以與香港歷史悠久的慈善機構聯繫，尋找他們的對外關係職員並與他們作出聯繫，向他們發送你的提案及想法，了解他們如何為你提供支持。如果你對某件事非常熱衷，你可以從頭開始該項目，但要有詳細的計劃和願景。

精神健康

儘管IB很艱辛，但我向你保證，一切都會好的。嘗試習慣及感受繁重的工作量，但要知道的是：「就算你不是每次，100% ，都在這場遊戲中處於頂峰狀態，這也是沒有問題。」不要試圖抑制壓力或焦慮的想法，而要讓自己感覺到這些情緒並以健康的方式表達出來。輕鬆地離開當前的學習或工作，休息一會後再回來。與家人和朋友交談，並在需要時向老師尋求額外幫助。

為了達到「完美的45分」而犧牲精神健康是不值得的。請記住，IB只是一個踏腳石，你將在高中畢業後，經歷一個完全不同的世界，並遇到令人興奮的挑戰。IB並不是讓你在將來可能實現所有偉大成就的「終點」，而是「起點」。

最後，我要給予你最終的建議是：勤奮、盡力而為、不要過度關注可能的結果並按照IB規則盡力發揮。祝你一切順利。

如果你是有宗教信仰（基督徒），請記得要堅持不懈地祈禱，並相信上帝會為你實現計劃。「耶和華說：我知道我向你們所懷的意念是賜平安的意念，不是降災禍的意念，要叫你們末後有指望。」耶利米書29:11

Candy Wong

沙田學院校友，2017年班

Candy Wong

I finished IB in the summer of 2017 and graduated from high school with 45 IB points. My subjects were HL Chemistry, Biology, Economics, Chinese B, SL Mathematics, and English Language and Literature. Looking back, it was indeed a tough journey, but there were good times amongst hardship. During the last 2 years of high school, I enjoyed doing CAS activities such as going on charity trips and being a student leader for my house. The most difficult things about IB were coming up with IA ideas, dealing with the heavy workload, and constant pressure as exams drew closer. Here, I will share with you some tips you may find useful.

1 Predicated Grades

Your PG is important as you will be using these grades to apply to colleges and secure interviews for your programs. This includes working hard throughout the year, keeping healthy relationships with your teachers, and handing in extra essays and assignments to refine your skills and knowledge if necessary.

Internal Assessments （IA）

First of all, I would like to emphasize the importance of your IAs. IAs should be prioritized to maximize points for your final grade, as a few marks can make a difference to increase your borderline grade. There are different approaches to tackling each subjects' IAs, but in general:

· Always carefully follow guidelines from teachers as all your works are internally assessed and graded.

· Keep your topics simple. Choose topics that are well within your scope of knowledge and your capability to execute your IA well.

· Recognize the importance of writing clear and concise rationales that explain to examiners how your chosen topics relate to the syllabi, as well as the key ideas and thought processes you most want to convey.

· Always follow document format requirements and don't go over the maximum word count.

I personally found Science IAs （Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics） more challenging than humanities and language IAs, as you have to design your own research question, complete your own experiments and write up.

For coming up with the research question:

· Do not attempt extremely difficult or fancy experiments. Always make sure your school is capable of providing the equipment you need before deciding on a research question.

· Search on the internet or approach your seniors for inspiration. It works to find already existing experiments and adjusting the variables according to your own interests.

· ‘Personal engagement paragraph' is a paragraph that explains with convincing reasons why you were inspired to choose this topic, and relate this to your personal life experiences'. E.g I like mid autumn festival hence I chose to experiment on glow sticks.

· Come up with a very specific research question that includes listing out the independent and dependent variables in the title.

For the science IA write up report:

· Adopt a clear layout, with clear subheadings e.g. hypothesis, method, raw data, processed data, etc. This allows the examiners to pinpoint exactly which part of the mark scheme they are assessing.

· Include pictures of your set up for each stage of the experiment. Carefully record each apparatus used and the uncertainties of each one.

· Show at least one set of calculations with detailed units on how you obtained processed data.

· If you have a lot of raw data, include representative data in the main text and put raw data in the appendix （check with your teachers）.

For humanities IAs, I suggest you keep a habit of reading the news for inspiration. Allow me to emphasize the importance of taking your time in the ‘preparation phase'. As my English written task is a narrative related to Language in a Cultural Context, I spent more time planning than actually writing the essay, and it was more effective. I used 1.5 weeks coming up with a topic and reading novels to understand that topic, whereas I only spent 3 days writing up and revising it. It is very easy to fall into the trap of producing bad quality work or getting stuck while writing the IA without good planning and clear directions from the beginning.

TOK/EE

TOK is very subjective, thus the best thing to do is to follow guidelines given by IB and you teachers very closely. You should always include TOK specific key terms such as ‘knowledge claims' in your essay and presentation. Always connect your topics to very recent world news for your RLS, avoid using historical cases to build up your knowledge claims and evaluations. Always check in on the news and the internet for inspiration.For EE, it is recommended to choose a topic related to the subject/field you are interested in studying in college so you can talk about your EE in your interviews （not compulsory）. As it is externally marked, make sure to follow IB guidelines carefully. If your supervisor disagrees, discuss and compromise before following their suggestions.

Exam Preparation

Be familiar with the IB syllabus and make notes according to the IB guidelines. Don't rely on your textbooks as no textbook is perfect.

Doing past papers is extremely important. Even if you memorize an entire textbook, you will not be awarded any marks if you fail to deliver your answers in the way IB examiners expect. Doing past papers will familiarize you with the style of questions in the papers and the mark schemes' expectations. For example, you must understand the different key terms they ask such as ‘discuss, describe, evaluate' to respond with the best answer structure. For example, if they say ‘discuss' then you will only be awarded full marks if you give two-sided arguments and possibly a conclusion. You may also make notes according to past papers mark schemes. I have documents that record all my practice past paper answers so I could quickly refer to them during the study leave before exams.

The month before exams is best used to review all your notes at least once, then do a lot of practice past papers. Absolutely do not rely on that one-month study break to make notes for all your materials! Work hard throughout the year and prepare good notes for every single chapter/unit test. I assure you that every time and everything you studied for a test will be stored in your long-term memories. It is useful to come up with a study timetable. I started with subjects I was less confident in and studied 2 different subjects each day.

Maintain a positive attitude and keep calm as you are drawing close to the end. Eat well （don't binge on unhealthy snacks though）, get enough sleep, and allocate hours during the day for breaks. Avoid pressurizing yourself to get certain grades or dwell on the possible outcome, it will only stress you out. Focus on the process.

2 Extra Academic Support

If you feel like you lack adequate support from teachers at school or find the pace in class too slow or quick for you, don't hesitate to enrol in tuition centres or find individual tutors. I started going to iStudy Learning Center for SL Mathematics before Year 12 started, and I found the head start extremely beneficial. Doing mathematics exercise books in classes were not useful, as the style of questions doesn't align with past papers. I found it more productive doing past papers and having my tutor reveal effective formulas and methods for each question type.

CAS Activities

CAS activities are a blessing, as they make your last years of high school fun and fruitful. Although it sounds cliché, don't forget that you should make the best out of your limited time with your friends before graduation, as most of you would soon be scattered in different countries for college. Since you won't have enough time to participate in everything, only join activities you truly enjoy and won't add extra pressure in your life.

For CAS project, one approach is to join existing CAS teams in your school. If not, you can always reach out to well-established charities in HK, contact their external relations officers, and send them your proposals and ideas to see how they can support you. If you are very passionate about something, you can always start your project from scratch, but with a detailed plan and vision.

Mental Health

Although IB is tough, I assure you it's all going to be okay. Get used to feeling overwhelmed by the heavy workload but know that it is fine to not be at the top of your game 100% of the time. Don't try to suppress your stress or anxious thoughts, and instead allow yourself to feel those emotions and express them in healthy ways. Simply walk away from your current task and come back after taking a relaxing break. Talk to your family and friends outside of school and ask teachers for extra help whenever you need to.

It is not worth messing up your mental health for the sake of trying to achieve the ‘perfect 45 points'. Remember, IB is just a stepping stone, you will experience a whole different world and undertake exciting challenges in your life after high school. IB is not ‘the end' nor ‘the beginning' of all the great things you can potentially accomplish in the future.

Finally, the ultimate advice I'd give is - be diligent, aim to do your best, do not focus too much on the possible outcome, and play smart by the IB rules. I wish you all the best.

If you are religious （christian）, remember to be have confidence in the good gifts and talents God has given us to bring Him glory. Be constant in prayers, rely on Him for strength and have faith that God's plan for you will be fulfilled.

For I know the plans I have for you, ” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. JERMIAH 29:11 NIV

Candy Wong

STC alumni, class of 2017

Candy Wong 訪問稿

分數代表一切？

雖說分數不代表一切，但考試結果或影響考生對心儀學校及學系的選擇權，不期然壓力猶如鬼魅如形隨影，網絡搜尋器也展示考生在網上訴苦：「讀書讀到崩潰」、「讀書讀到哭」之類—原來這些情況或是考生正經歷焦慮症。Candy Wong形容大家都有一定的心理壓力，但期望不要過度強迫自己，直言「畢業後有好多條路，分數不是代表一切」

Candy表示，當時給自己很大壓力，同時要處理功課及申請大學的手續，很多事也牽連到情緒。她建議考生，在IB這兩年有很多事情可以做，不一定要每一個測驗都過度投入，直言「不要將分數看得太重」，又認為IB對於18歲的孩子來說，是極具挑戰性，但期間是收穫豐富，畢業後有好多發展機會，每一個人都有優點缺點，不需要給自己太大的壓力。她笑說，當年在學校與同學、師弟妹一起排舞表演，期間又臨近期末考，雖然很辛苦但很開心，回憶滿滿。

談到現時就讀的香港大學牙醫學院牙醫學士， Candy指這也與原定計劃有些不一樣。她形容自己「起初不知道想讀什麼」，本來打算考試後到加拿大進修，但在2017年的暑假，在朋友親戚的牙醫中心視察後，覺得有關技術有趣及別具義意，故訂立目標，在得知IB獲取45分後，決定嘗試「叩門」面試，在短時間內收到通知要面試，急忙完成後幸獲錄取。

Candy說，起初覺得去不到加拿大進修感到有點可惜，但慢慢發現留在香港也不差，期望十年後可以擁有自己的私人診所，笑說這是每個牙科醫學生都有的想法。

她補充，如果你是有宗教信仰（基督徒），請記得要堅持不懈地祈禱，並相信上帝會為你實現計劃。又提供以下章節為大家打打氣： 「耶和華說：我知道我向你們所懷的意念是賜平安的意念，不是降災禍的意念，要叫你們末後有指望。」耶利米書29:11

Brian Li

Brian Li

我的國際文憑大學預科課程（The International Baccalaureate®，以下簡稱為 [IB]）旅程與其他考生的旅程一樣，當中包含了很多屬於自己的經歷與心得。要成為一名全能學生，不但要認識及改善自己的學術能力，更重要的是培養個人應付挫折與管理情緒的能力。再者，“工欲善其事，必先利其器”，正確的温習方法與老師的全方面溝通都是IB考試成敗的關鍵。由於我有志從事於醫學專業，我的選課如下：

· 生物 （高級程度）-Biology HL

· 化學 （高級程度）-Chemistry HL

· 中文B （高級程度）-Chinese B HL

· 英文語文及文學 （標準程度）-English Language and Literature, SL

· 數學 （標準程度）-Mathematics SL

· 歷史 （標準程度）-History SL

在談及整體內容之前，我認為在這兩年的學習過程中，保持一致水準的努力很重要，而這也適用於IB文憑中每個學科。現在回顧，化學及歷史科的成績，不但在我選擇的六個學科中脫穎而出，更在這兩年的學習過程中讓我獲得極大的回報。

1 化學科

化學是IB文憑課程中第4組別中可選取的科目之一，而其高級程度（HL）課程包含四個組成部分：

1．試卷一 （Paper 1）：當中涉及四十條多項選擇題 （MCQ）

2．試卷二 （Paper 2）：當中涉及多條簡短問答題 （Short answer）

3．試卷三 （Paper 3）：涉及一項HL專屬的拓展選項 （Extended option，該選項通常由學校選擇）

4．校本評核 （Internal Assessment，簡稱IA），旨在強調學生的計劃及進行科學研究的能力

針對IB化學科來說，IB第一年教授的主題都是IB第二年教授的題目的基礎課程。舉個例子，很多考生認為IB第二年教授的有機化學（organic chemistry）是整個化學科難度最深的一個題目。可是，第一年教授的原子結構 （atomic structure）卻是有機化學的基礎課程。考生只要對第一年教授的題目有充分的理解，第二年教授的題目之難處也將會迎刃而解。

對於即將考試的考生，另一個貼士是要根據自己的優、缺點制定適合自己的温習方法。考生應採用"攻堅為上"的策略，先將認為困難的主題仔細復習，而將簡單的題目放在其次。這可確保考生有足夠的温習時間。

在IA的方面，考生須先了解老師的意見，避免走彎路。因為IA是由學校老師內部評分，老師對學生的印象也自然地成為了一個關鍵的環節。考生應更主動地與老師進行全方面的溝通，例如對IA的研究問題的合適性、實驗方法及撰寫報告等問題交流意見，從而加深老師對學生的良好印象。

2 歷史

歷史是IB文憑課程中第2組別中可選取的科目之一，而其標準程度（SL）課程包含三個組成部分：

· 試卷一 （Paper 1）：涉及歷史資料題

· 試卷二 （Paper 2）：涉及論文題目

· 校內評核 （IA）：旨在強調學生進行歷史研究的能力

我個人認為，IB歷史中極為重要的是論文的結構與寫作技巧。雖然準確地記住歷史資料固然重要，但IB不會給搬字過紙的考生給予高分，而是向論述有理有據、思維清晰的考生給予高分。IB認為一個好的論文不但要有準確的歷史資料（例如日期、事物、及相關人員），更要有鮮明的觀點，符合邏輯的論證，再加上對不同論點的批判性思考。考生也可以在論文中加入自己獨特的見解，爭取高分。

針對温習方法來說，寫作技巧及時間管理是可以通過反復練習而掌握的。但是，更重要的是培養出獨特的觀點與批判性的思考。考生應多讀關於題目的課外書，從而了解不同歷史學家的觀點及論證方法。我對歷史IA的建議與化學IA大約相同：考生應主動地與老師探討雙方對IA的意見，加深老師對考生的正面印象。

3 知識理論（TOK）與拓展論文（EE）

IB另一個核心部分是TOK及EE，這兩個核心部分加在一起的滿分為3分，只有這樣總體分數才可達至45分滿分。這兩份卷評分為外部評分，而這也成為TOK與EE難取高分的原因。EE也稱為拓展論文，要求考生撰寫一篇4000字的論文，題目則由考生在自己選修的六個科目內選一（化學，歷史，英文，音樂等）。考生也可選擇兩個學科（例如歷史與生物）組成的"世界研究" EE；但是內容必須符合IB提出的條件：研究題目必須關注一項21世紀的全球性議題，例如 " 公共衛生 " 或者是"文化及社會"。

因為EE是IB學生首次深入研究及撰寫的一篇論文，故EE極具挑戰性。考生應當盡早開始EE的準備工作，包括資料整理與訂立適合的研究題目等等。如同上述的IA一樣，考生應與EE的負責老師建立起良好的合作關係及溝通環境。這樣可以確保研究的內容不會離題。撰寫EE的過程中，考生務必清楚地點名資料的來源；作為一篇長達4000字的論文，每個考生所運用的資料來源也最少有40-50個，而考生很容易粗心大意地忘記點名某些資料來源，但是IB會因此扣考生的分數。另外，在選擇EE的研究題目時，考生應該首先從個人的興趣出發，讓寫作的過程更加輕鬆。

第二個核心部分為TOK。TOK有口試（presentation）及論文（essay）兩個部分。前者為校內評分，後者為校外評分。個人認為TOK的難處在於IB新介紹的概念，包括：知識領域（AOK）與知識之道（WOK）。TOK的兩份卷（口試與論文）都會運用這些新介紹的概念，而很多考生卻沒有對AOK和WOK有充分的理解。在撰寫TOK論文時，IB通常會提供六個選題；考生應從AOK與WOK的不同角度去選擇題目（題目1能運用多少AOK和WOK呢？）。TOK論文要求考生的論點、論述必須非常深入，並且要展示批判性思考，才能獲得高分。考生的研究問題必須清晰而明確，並且在論述時必須貫穿始終地展示考生的論點及思路。

4 我的旅途

IB對我來說，不但在學術領域上具有挑戰性，更是一個精神與情緒的考驗。在12年級剛開始時，我從前輩身上汲取了教訓，試圖做好時間管理。我當時已盡力平均地分配每個學科的温習時間，也留下足夠放鬆時間給予愛好與家人。在學習過程中，我也得到家人及身邊的朋友及前輩的支持，而他們也在我感到迷茫的時候成為我的精神支柱。即使我在13年級面對龐大的工作量，我也是靠著自己的努力與準備功夫以及家人與朋友的支持下度過難關。

我想再次叮囑各位考生：一路走來，IB之路確實艱辛。但通過自身的準備和家人與朋友的支持，這路上也充滿陽光與歡笑。請記住：“你並不孤單”。

Brian Li

My International Baccalaureate DP journey, like many others, contains many things that make it an individual process. The expectations of being an all-rounded student have allowed me to recognize my academic capacity; yet, it is undeniable that this intellectual journey of mine has witnessed many trials and tribulations. Of course, the technical aspects of the exam will be handled in the following sections, but I consider the emotional aspects to be of crucial importance in ensuring your success in the IBDP examinations, and the support of family, friends and teachers cannot be underestimated.

One of the more pressing concerns on any IB student's mind is the technical aspects of the exam, or more specifically, how to get a ‘7' in each of the six subjects, in addition to achieving the full three marks for the TOK/EE component of the Diploma. Each subject must be chosen from each of the 6 key areas, emphasizing the well-roundedness of the student. As I had aspirations to pursue a medical profession, I chose HL Biology, Chemistry and Chinese B, while also taking SL English Language and Literature, Mathematics and History. In hindsight, the subjects of Chemistry and History not only stand out as the more difficult subjects out of the six I have chosen, but were also immensely rewarding throughout the entire two year process.

1 Chemistry

Chemistry is one of the subjects offered in Group 4 in the IB Diploma, and introduces students to a variety of topics including periodicity,equilibrium, enthalpy, organic chemistry and biochemistry. The IB Chemistry HL course in particular has four components: Papers 1 and 2, which refer to multiple-choice and short answer question papers; the extended option tested in Paper 3 （the option is typically chosen by the school）; and the Internal Assessment, which emphasizes the student's ability to plan and conduct a scientific investigation and present a scientific report equivalent to that of a university level research paper.

Speaking about the general content first, I believe that it is important to sustain a consistent level of effort throughout the entire two year process, and this applies to every subject in the IB diploma. Many of the topics taught further on in the course depend on knowledge gained in earlier topics for students to gain a full understanding. My main tip would be that since Chemistry is such a content-heavy subject, it's incredibly important to use your time wisely and to make sure you really know and understand the earlier topics since they're the foundation for what's to come. For example, a good knowledge of bonding and atomic structures will greatly help in the later organic chemistry topic, which is one of, if not the hardest IB Chemistry topic in my opinion. Another tip for students closer to their exams is to plan their revision carefully according to their strengths and weaknesses. Try and grind through the topics you find difficult first, as this ensures that you won't forget to revise the topics you have difficulty in, while also treating the topics you are confident as a reward of sorts, and this can help boost your self-confidence and self-esteem.

For the IA, my suggestion would be to take the initiative and try to discuss with your teacher more about the topic you're doing and the overall IA itself; this is because the IA is internally marked, and it is important to initiate discussions with your teacher on issues such as the suitability of your research question, experimental methodology and report writing; your teacher can then observe the effort and attitude that you put in which may increase your grade.

2 History

History is a subject in Group 2 of the IBDP, which mainly comprises the humanities. History is an extremely content-intensive subject, but the more important aspect is how a candidate approaches their Paper 1 and 2 answers, which are in the form of source questions and essays respectively. Additionally, students must also complete a History IA, which examines their skills as a historian including their ability to present a balanced argument while offering critical examination of evidence supporting relevant perspectives （e.g. orthodox and revisionist） pertaining to a research question of the student's choice. For HL students, there is an additional Paper 3 in which the candidate is tested on further world history options chosen by the school.

In my opinion, one aspect of significant importance in IB History is essay writing technique and structure. Yes, memorizing content accurately is important, but the IBO does not give high marks to students who simply regurgitate their notes onto the examination paper. What the IBO does reward is thoughtful essay writing characterized by clarity and ease of expression, and the use of relevant evidence, including both historical dates, events and quotes by relevant people. Additionally, the IBO looks for critical thinking in essay writing, which involves discussing multiple perspectives and integrating them into one conclusive argument. My main tip in general for History would be to practice, practice and practice writing essays over and over once you have memorized the content. This helps you to sort out any issues with your essay writing with your teacher so you can express your ideas and arguments in a clear and concise manner. Setting a time limit or practicing under exam conditions can also help you to improve your concentration while writing. For memorizing content, I tend to find flashcards very useful, along with using spaced repetition to ensure that all the content can be memorized. My advice for a History IA is generally the same as a Chemistry IA, despite the change in the nature of the content; good communication with teachers is especially important for any piece of coursework, and remember that a good piece of coursework can easily save your overall final grade!

3 TOK/EE

Another core part of the IB is the TOK/EE, both comprising 3 points towards a maximum potential score of 45. Both of these components are quite difficult to get good scores in, since they are externally marked. The EE （extended essay） is a 4000 word thesis on one of the six subjects the candidate has chosen, or they may choose the multidisciplinary ‘World Studies', which combines two subjects from different groups but requires the student to adhere to a certain theme of global significance, such as ‘Health and Development', or ‘Science, Technology and Society'. A general tip for the EE is to start early and be punctual with deadlines, since the EE is extremely challenging and is typically a student's first attempt at extended research and thesis writing. Again, communication with your EE supervisor is essential to ensure that your content is on the right track and you do not deviate from your research question. In addition, an important aspect of the EE is citing sources and it is important that you do this correctly to avoid accusations of plagiarism. Your chosen EE research question should be one that is personally significant and carefully planned; using mind maps and brainstorming topics based on personally significant events or interests is a good place to start.

The TOK portion of the equation is split into the TOK Presentation and Essay; the former is internally marked, and the latter externally. The TOK programme of IB focuses on key aspects such as the different AOKs （Areas of Knowledge） and WOKs （Ways of Knowing）, and a good foundation in these aspects is essential, especially in the essay, which is widely regarded as the more difficult of the two. When writing the TOK Essay, try to choose AOKs that you feel more confident in, as the arguments needed in the essay must be very in depth and require a great deal of critical thinking in order to gain top marks. The research question must again be specific and clear, and the essay must flow throughout, showing your train of thought with clarity and conciseness.

4 My Journey

The IBDP for me was not only academically challenging, but also presented difficulties on an emotional level. At the start of Year 12, learning from the anecdotal experience from seniors, I tried to manage my time between studying different subjects and made sure that no subject was overemphasized, while leaving me enough time for hobbies and relaxation. This approach initially worked quite well and I performed well in class tests due to the large amounts of new information. However, the emphasis on coursework in every subject was also one that I was wary of, and I took precautions by communicating with my teachers and making sure I adhered to deadlines. I felt that by setting up an efficient system for content, I managed to avoid overworking and continued to maintain a healthy emotional state and attitude towards learning. Of course, I had much support from my friends and seniors as well, and we often shared our experiences of IB together as a form of solidarity. During the latter half of the year, the TOK and EE components began to become more prominent, and a slew of coursework deadlines soon followed in addition to more complicated content. This was a turning point in my IB journey as I soon began to feel overwhelmed by the sheer workload, despite the systems I had put into place. I began to ruthlessly prioritize according to deadlines and put an emphasis on finishing coursework first before revising for the Y12 mocks. The summer holidays were also useful in finishing the EE's first draft and other outstanding IAs. As Y13 arrived, stress was now at an all time high as both the EE and TOK components were required to be sent off; I therefore placed a greater emphasis on emotional management to prevent burnout. Talking with teachers and friends also helped me to grind through the emotionally fatiguing stages of IB, which of course included the period leading up to exams. My biggest takeaway from IB would be that though it is certainly tough, life can be made easier through careful preparation and planning, and that you are not alone in the struggle.

Brian Li 訪問稿

良師啟發望能醫人又醫心

「師者，所以傳道、授業、解惑也」，老師對學生的影響力不亞於父母，老師的話常常被學生奉為真理。Brian Li表示，在年幼時曾認為，老師說什麼也是對的，但經過IB的課程訓練後，他明白了「大膽假設，小心求證」的科學思維，也明白了「師不必賢於弟子」的道理。他續指，老師的教學態度及人生觀，啟發他修讀醫科，期望未來能活躍於臨床前線。

Brian現時就讀香港中文大學醫學院的醫科，料2025年畢業。他表示，在中三、中四時發現自己對自然科學很感興趣，但未有學醫的念頭，及後教授生物學及化學的老師很好，不只是教授書本的知識，更強調學生未來要將所學所知的貢獻於社會，啟發他修讀醫科。

他表示，因為現時只是初步學習的階段，未有真正接觸專科，所以現時未能肯定要向哪個方向發展，仍要花時間思考，但形容「開始有少少想法」。被問到十年後的自己會變成怎樣時，他料自己十年後仍在香港，畢業後會做醫生，並繼續深造，成為專科醫生。

Brian認為，IB是長達2年的心理戰，想要取得佳績取決於心理質素，打好基礎及做好每一份功課，這樣才能減輕考試前夕的緊張。他又說，考生在這兩年也要有鬆有弛，文武結合。有人說這兩年的生活如「地獄」，但他認為如何在壓力之下能順利備戰，成功過關，靠的是毅力、智慧和一份運氣。

Carliss Ling

Carliss Ling

作為一年前完成國際文憑大學預科課程 （The International Baccalaureate®，以下簡稱為「IB」）的過來人，我明白學生在IB過程中所遇到的挑戰。希望透過分享我的經歷及建議，讓現在或將來的IB學生能得到啟發及從中受益！

1 計劃你的學習時間表：

在IB旅程中，學習顯然佔了很大的比重，但是人性傾向拖延及逃避責任，故當中困難重重。為此，我建立了屬於自己的學習時間表。清晰的學習時間表能確保我有充足的時間分配予所有必修科，這可避免我在最後關頭或期限臨近時，才意識到仍有功課要做的困局。同時，設計屬於自己的時間表具有一定的靈活性，你可以根據你的長處或短處去分配時間，花更多時間在你較弱的科目，從而改善自己的學習技巧。例如，由於我的第一個考試是地理科，而最後的考試是化學科，我會在study leave先温習化學科，然後才温習地理科。

2 尋找最適合你的學習方法：

每個人都有他們的學習方式，因此其他人的學習方法不一定對你有效，故此找到最適合你的學習方法是最重要，同時也能提高你的學習效率。就個人而言，我發現編寫筆記及整理、回答過去多年的試題，是最適合我的方式。我喜歡用手撰寫筆記，而不是透過鍵盤輸入的筆記，因為此方式能增強我的記憶力；在試題練習方面，我透過練習多年的試題來鞏固知識，並使自己熟悉考試的模式及評分標準。另外，我發現與朋友一起温習也很有幫助，這不僅意味著他們可以為我解答或闡明某些概念，澄清我的任何疑問或誤解，更可以推動我和他們一起奮鬥。

3 從試題中學習：

如上所述，除了做筆記和在學校上課外，複習過去多年的試題及整理試題庫也十分重要，這確保我提前了解及熟習在考試中可能出現的問題。複習試題是測試你對該科目知識程度的好方法，並確認你是否真正了解該主題，不過要留意的是，在做試題及複習課本兩者之間，你要取得平衡，兩者不能互相取締，反而是互相補足。

4 注意健康：

儘管學習是很重要，但亦不能忽略身心健康。有部份學生為了爭取更多時間去學習，情願犧牲睡眠時間，這可能對部份人奏效，但我個人更喜歡早睡早起的節奏。充足的睡眠很重要，這讓你能更有活力及在課堂上更專注，特別在考試季節，這將使你有足夠的精力在第二天進行考試。

此外，請確保你不會過度勞累，並記得定時休息。作為考生感到壓力是很正常，但如果它嚴重影響你的正常生活，那你確實需要抽出一些時間，去做一些讓自己減壓的事情。

5 拓展論文（Extended Essay , EE）的小貼士：

拓展論文在你的整體成績中，起著至關重要的作用。如果不合格的話會讓你降低總分數，得不償失，故此你要深思並選擇你感興趣或有信心的主題。如果你未有想法或感到不確定，可以選擇與你未來專業相關的主題，但這不是強制性的選擇。當你決定好主題，而該主題獲得老師的批准，就必須盡快分配充足的時間及開始研究，因為拓展論文要求你作出廣泛的研究，這絕不可能在短時間內就可以完成。

此外，與老師保持積極合作的關係也很重要，因為他們會為你的論文提供有用的指導，出席在學期內的面談是非常重要，這確保你獲得充分且具有建設性的建議，令你的論文進一步昇華。每間學校就拓展論文都有既定的時間表及最後期限，因此請務必清楚及再三確認你的論文的最後期限。對我而言，我在12年級升至13年級之間的暑假就完成了論文的草稿。這不但使我在13年級時擁有更多時間為草稿作出修改及編輯，同時也減輕了壓力，因為13年級時你會忙於處理大學申請及其他科目的校內評估。

回顧過去，即使IB之旅是一個挑戰，但它讓我掌握了各種技能和特質，為將來做好準備。

Carliss Ling

As someone who had completed the IB exams a year ago, I understand all the challenges students encounter whilst completing their IB diplomas. By sharing some thoughts and advice on how I completed this journey, hopefully current or future IBDP students will be able to gain some insight and benefit from it!

1 Plan your study schedule:

Studying for exams obviously plays a huge part in the IB journey, yet often this can be hard, as we tend to procrastinate and avoid completing our responsibilities. As such, I created my own study calendar. Having a clear study calendar/schedule ensured that I delegated enough time on all of my subjects or coursework that I had to complete, and would not end up realising I still had work to do especially when the deadlines were near. Creating my own study calendar also allowed an element of flexibility: depending on your strengths and weaknesses, you may want to focus more on certain subjects instead （ie. spending more time on subjects you struggle more with）. For example, when my study leave started I revised the subjects that would come later, which was Chemistry for me, and as the first exam neared I began to study for that subject, which was Geography.

2 Discover your best study method:

Different people have different methods of studying, so consequently other people's studying methods may not necessarily work for you.As such, it is important to identify how you study best to maximise your efforts and efficiency. Personally, I found that writing my own notes and working on past papers worked best for me. I prefer to write rather than type my notes, as it helps me remember them better. Afterwards, I would do past papers to consolidate what I know, and familiarise myself with the exam criteria and format. In addition, I found studying with friends helpful as well. Not only did this mean that they could immediately clarify certain concepts and clarify any doubts or misunderstandings I had, but seeing everyone around me work hard also motivated me to study more.

3 Work on past papers:

As mentioned previously, aside from making notes and going to classes in school, it is also important to work on past papers and question banks. Working on past papers will ensure that you understand the format and style of possible questions that may come up in your exam. Completing past papers is also a good way of putting what you know to the test, and ascertain whether you actually understand the topic at hand. However, it should be noted that there needs to be an adequate balance between doing past papers and studying for the content. You can't substitute one for the other - in other words you cannot just study content but not apply what you have studied through doing past papers, nor can you just do past papers without a foundation of knowledge on the actual content.

4 Take care of your health:

Although studying is important, it is also equally important to look after your physical and mental health. Some students may have a mindset of sleeping late so they can spend more time revising. Whilst this may work for some, I preferred to sleep early and wake up early to study instead. Having enough sleep is always important, as you will be able to feel more energised and focus in class better, but it is especially important during exam season, as it will allow you to have full energy to tackle the exam the next day.

Moreover, make sure that you do not overwork yourself, and remember to give yourself regular breaks. It is normal to feel stressed;however, if it gets to the point where it significantly affects your normal life, then you really need to take some time off. Stop for a minute, do something you like to relieve your stress.

5 Tips on EEs:

The Extended Essay plays a crucial part of your overall grade, as failing it would cost you your whole diploma. As such, you may want to consider choosing to write you EE on the subjects that you have more interest in or are more confident at. If you are still unsure and lack ideas, you could select a topic related to your future major, but it is not compulsory. Once you have a topic, and it is approved by your supervisor, it is imperative to start researching as soon as possible and allocating adequate time to work on it. Given the extensive research you have to commit to work on your EE, it is impossible to finish it at the last minute.Furthermore, it is also important to be proactive with your supervisor, as they will provide useful guidance on your essay. It is important to attend all of your meetings with them to ensure you receive adequate and constructive feedback.

Each school has their own internal deadlines for the Extended Essay, so be sure to be clear on when your essay is due. Personally, I completed a full draft of my EE during the summer between Y12 and Y13, and I found that it saved me a lot of time and stress, since in the beginning of Y13 you will be extremely busy with university applications and other IAs. Also, having a proper draft will allow more time for revisions and edits.

Looking back, although the IB journey was definitely a challenge, ultimately it not only equipped me with various skills and attributes useful in the future, but also prepared me in becoming a better individual.

Carliss Ling 訪問稿

打造專屬筆記家人默默支持

每個人的學習方式不一樣，對Carliss Ling來說，她比較喜歡用手撰寫筆記，而不是透過鍵盤輸入筆記。她表示，筆記不是最後一刻才寫，而是學習初期已經慢慢寫出來，漸漸就會轉化成為自己的知識，但不是所有學科都適合做筆記，如數學科及中文科宜做歷代試題，訓練技巧。Carliss認為，IB是很吃力及辛苦的過程，但建議考生不要給太大壓力自己，盡力就好，總會找到屬於自己的路。

Carliss現時就讀香港大學工商管理學學士（法學）及法學士 （雙學位課程），她說本身對這兩科有一點興趣，加上母親之前有做過類似的工作，耳濡目染之下認識更深，故最終選擇了此科。她續指，雖然暫時未有很明確的方向，但是這兩科都有很大的彈性，讓自己未來有多一點選擇，嘗試不同的事物。被問到母親是否對她的影響很大，Carliss說與母親的關係猶如朋友，「大家可以傾心事」，在考試過程中給予她很大的支持及鼓勵。她直言，IB考試期間壓力很大，有時對父母的態度不太好，甚至將情緒發洩到他們身上，但他們都對她包容及忍耐，所以很感謝他們一直以來的支持。

被問到大學學習與IB學習最大的差別，Carliss認為IB的訓練對大學學習有很大的幫助，因為IB要分配好時間去學習及做功課、做調查，這些經驗的累積對她現在的大學生活很有禆益。不過因為新冠肺炎影響學校生活，首個學期大多是網上授課，未能真正體驗大學繽紛多彩的生活，期望疫情過去可以親身體驗。

Alex Xia

Alex Xia

國際文憑大學預科課程（The International Baccalaureate® ，以下簡稱為「IB」）因其難度較高而享負盛名，但實際上並不像人們想像的那樣糟糕。我將與你分享，我的IB旅程及我是如何取得45分的成續，期間會談及這兩年我的所學所感，從中或會幫助作為IB學生的你。

首先，我在沙田學院修畢及取得IB文憑，我的科目為英文語言及文學（標準程度）（English Language and Literature Standard Level, SL），化學（標準程度）（Chemistry, Standard Level, SL），中文第二語言（高級程度）（Chinese B, Higher Level, HL），經濟（高級程度）（Economics, Higher Level, HL），數學（高級程度）（Mathematics, Higher Level, HL）及物理（高級程度）（Physics, Higher Level, HL）。

是的，你可能已經注意到，我有4個高級程度的科目及2個標準程度的科目，我這樣做的其中一個原因是，中文第二語言（高級程度）的科目比中文第一語言（標準程度）容易。在報考IB之前，我在同一間學校考了IGCSE（International General Certificate of Secondary Education, 「國際中學教育普通證書」），其中一個科目是中文第一語言，而學校有一項「政策」：如果學生在IGCSE報考了中文科目作為第一語言，則不允許他們修讀中文作為第二語言（標準程度）或以下的程度，所以在IB選擇報考中文第二語言（高級程度）及第一語言（標準程度）之間，我選擇的是中文第二語言（高級程度）。

這是我的第一項建議：如果你可以採取簡單的方法去達成目標，就請使用它。在決定報讀IB課程之前，我已經知道我在大學從事的工作（或學習），不需要很高的中文水平，故在選擇中文的考核等級時，我的考量是：如何在不影響我的成績的情況下，讓我可以騰出更多時間在其他學科上學習。這不僅適用於科目選擇，還適用於任何事情，包括在決定校內評估（Internal Assessment, IA）、知識理論（Theory of Knowledge, TOK）的主題，或寫作主題時，你要清楚了解哪些因素會誘使你取得好成績；哪些反成阻礙。

我在準備英文的拓展口頭論述（Further Oral Activity, FOA）期間，上了一課。你可以按照自我意願去進行任意次數的FOA，從中選取最好的FOA予IB作為官方口試的審核。對我來說，我的英文老師只允許我們在上課時做2次FOA：我的第一次FOA是選擇對電影預告片進行分析，這是我非常熱衷的電影預告片，但要分析起來並不容易。儘管我為論述付出了很大的努力及進行練習，但最終只是得到5分。

在一年後，當我們的班級進行第二次的FOA時，是次主題為廣告，我選擇了一個海報廣告，而這廣告實際上是4年前的試題，有了評分準則，加上廣告本身很容易分析，在是次的FOA我獲得了滿分，這就是我之前所說的「取易不取難」：如果你想獲得好成績，就要做出必要的抉擇才能達到目標。

我想明確指出，我不主張任何人用盡一切方法去取得優異的成績，這不是、也不包括是IB的目的，這是我（從IB課程中）學到的非常重要的一課。歸根究底，IB只是一條路、一種方法，去讓你達到入大學的目的，而不是終點。正在修讀IB的朋友，我想你認真思考，「你真正想要的是什麼？」你想找到自己感興趣的事物？你想挑戰自我及了解你一直想知道的事情？抑或你只是想獲取好成績，再進入一所好的大學？請認真思考，然後朝著這個目標努力。為自己訂立標準，然後努力將其實現。

對我來說，我的目標不是要考取45分滿分的成績。我最初的目標只是盡我所能，考入最好的大學，這也是一個非常普通的目標。因此，我在拓展論文（Extended Essay, EE）中選擇了物理學，儘管物理學在EE是很難取得高分，但因為我想在大學修讀物理學及個人興趣，我仍然堅持這個選擇。我知道有很多人會選擇英文去作為EE的科目，因為很容易獲得良好的成績，但是我沒有選擇它，因為我對英文不感興趣。

最後，由於我在EE上很努力，而且幸好我的評分者很寬容，所以我取得A的級別。我個人認為，取得優異成績可能是非常重要，但能夠追求自己的興趣和目標是更加重要，因為成績只能幫助你達成目標而已。

當我得到美國加州大學洛杉磯分校（University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA）及英國倫敦帝國學院（Imperial College）的錄取通知書後，我的目標有所改變。我要滿足其要求才獲得正式錄取：這就需要42分，幸好我可以達成目標。在面對申請大學的壓力時，我只是簡單地告訴自己，在每個學科上都要盡力而為，這也鼓勵著我、推動著我。我看見很多人提供了有關休息及放鬆的建議，但這對我來說並不管用，我傾向的是激勵自己。當我厭倦學習，我會嘗試再激勵自己努力多一點，及後如果真的太累，我會小休一下。

對於很難抗拒的拖延慾望，可能是學習過程中最難的部份，但我鼓勵大家繼續戰鬥！我發現，設定小目標對完成任務有很大的幫助，例如我沒有告訴自己要在早上學習4小時，而是告訴自己完成一份物理選擇題（Multiple-choice Questions, MCQ）及數學試卷一。這對我來說是很好，但可能對你來說不太適用。尋找適合自己的學習習慣及思維可能是帶點挑戰，但此不但對IB，而且對你的餘生都極其有益，這也是我在文章的開初提及，你要先了解自己，盡力去提昇自身水平，在IB考試發揮最好的表現。

以下是我對我所報讀的特定科目發表意見或者看法：

在數學科方面，我想我的建議與其他人一樣，就是：練習、練習、練習，沒有比這個更簡單了。練習試題或其他問題是提高數學水平的不二法門。在課堂上學習理論後，我會從試題或相關的問題中找出相關理論，做完一遍練習後，對相關概念加深了認識。有人可能會意識到，自從2016年更新考試的課程大綱後，只有幾年的試卷可以作為參考。這意味著在2016年前的試卷，當中的題目不包含在現時的課程大綱，但這不代表可以忽略以往的試卷。總的來說，盡可能做有益你IB數學的事，多做試題是其中之一。

我記得我做遍了2013年至2018年的試卷，當我完成上述年份的試卷後，我會再重做，從中有助大腦像評分準則一樣思考，同時也可以訓練你的答題速度。我發現這對我的準備工作很有幫助，同時此方法也適用於物理科目。

對於需要撰寫論文的經濟學和英文等科目，我建議你要練習撰寫大量論文。儘管寫作及協助記憶的筆記很重要，但它們僅是構成過程的一半，特別是對我這種不擅長寫論文的人來說，盡可能多寫論文是很好的方法。當我完成以往的試題後，我會自己寫問題。對於經濟學及英文，你可以很容易編寫論文問題，因為它們的問題大多數是重複。

此外，取得反饋也很重要，我很幸運，我的老師很樂意就我寫的文章提供反饋。通過定期撰寫論文及獲取反饋，我對如何撰寫論文多了見識，這也增強我對實際考試的信心。

是否決定循我的建議完全取決於你，因為到了最後，你應當由自己決定要在IB中獲取什麼。如果取得好成績是你的重中之重，除了上面提到的事情之外，我認為最重要的是擁有正確的心態。哪種思維方式適合你，將由你決定。對我來說，無論我做什麼，無論是在課堂上聽書、做練習、與同學討論問題，我都會思考期末考試及我如何做得更好。找到適合自己的東西，然後把握住它，成功一定會隨之而來。

Alex Xia

The IB has a rather notorious reputation for being difficult, however, it is actually not as bad as people make it out to be. I will share with you, my journey with the IB and how I got the grade that I achieved. I will talk about how I changed throughout those two years and how the things that I learnt may help you improve yourself as an IB student.

A bit about me first, I took the IB Diploma at Sha Tin College, Hong Kong, and my subjects were: SL English LAL, SL Chemistry, HL Chinese B, HL Economics, HL Mathematics, and HL Physics. Yes, as you may have noticed, I have 4 higher levels and 2 standard levels. The reason for this is because one of my higher levels is Chinese B, which is easier than SL Chinese A. Before taking the IB, I took the IGCSE at the same school, and one of my subjects was IGCSE Chinese First Language. My school has a “policy”, where if a student as taken IGCSE Chinese First Language, they are not allowed to take Chinese B SL or below. Hence, I had to option of either taking B HL or A SL, the obvious choice was B HL.

That is my first piece of advice - if you can take the easy way out, take the easy way out. In this example, long before I decided on my IB subjects, I already knew that what I wanted to do at university did not require a high level of proficiency in Chinese. Hence, the evident choice was to select a level of Chinese, that would maximise the amount of time that I could spend on other subjects, without sacrificing my grade. This applies not only to subject choices, but to anything you do. When choosing an IA topic, or choosing a Written Task topic, or choosing a TOK presentation topic, it is always important to have a clear understanding of what will and will not allow you to get good grades.

I learnt this lesson during my English FOA. In English LAL, you are allowed to do as many FOAs as you like, and then choose the best one to submit to the IB as the official oral grade. In my case, my English teacher only allowed us to do 2 during class times. In my first FOA, I chose to do an analysis of a movie trailer. It was a movie trailer that I was very passionate about, but it wasn't very easy to analyse. Despite working and practicing very hard for that presentation, I ended up with a 5. Around a year later, when our class did the second round of FOAs, since the theme was advertisements, I chose a poster ad that actually appeared as a paper 2 analysis question 4 years ago. With the mark scheme already there, as well as the ad itself being very easy to analyse, I got full marks for that FOA. That is why, if you want to get a good grade, you need to make the necessary choices to get it.

I should make it clear that I am not advocating for anyone to do anything and everything they can to achieve a good grade. That's not what this is about. That's not what the IB is about. This is a very important lesson that I learnt. At the end of the day, the IB is just a path. It's a means to an end. For those who are taking the IB now, I think you should think very hard about what exactly it is you want to get out of it. Do you want to find what you're passionate about? Do you want to challenge yourself and learn about things that you've always wanted to know about? Do you just want good grades to get into a good university? Think about it hard, and then work towards that goal. Set standards for yourself and then work to achieve those standards. Results will follow.

For me, my goal was not to achieve 45. My initial goal was just to get myself into the best university that I could get into - a very common goal. Hence, for my EE, I chose Physics because at one point, I wanted to major in physics. Even though an EE in Physics is notoriously hard to get a good grade in, I still stuck with it because of university as well as my personal interest. I know that many people choose English for their EE because it's easy to get good grades. However, I didn't choose that because I wasn't interested in English. In the end, because I worked very hard on my EE and my grader, in my opinion, was quite lenient, I ended up with an A. But my point is that while getting good grades can be very important, it's also important to be able to pursue your own interests and goals because grades can only get you so far.

Once I got my offer from UCLA and Imperial College, my goals changed. All I had to do was meet my offer: 42/45, and then I was set. With the pressure of university applications out of the way, I simply told myself to try my very hardest in every subject. These goals were what motivated me and drove me. I see many people giving advice about taking breaks and relaxing. But that didn't really work for me. What worked for me was pushing myself until I was too tired of studying, and then pushing myself a little more. After that, I was too tired to do anything but to take a break. Fighting the irresistible urge to procrastinate is perhaps the hardest part about studying, but I encourage you all to continue fighting. Personally, I found setting small goals centred around certain tasks very helpful.For example, instead of telling myself that I would study for 4 hours in the morning, I would tell myself to complete one Physics MCQ and a Math paper 1. This worked very well for me, but it might not for you. Finding the right study habit and mindset can be a bit challenging, but it is extremely beneficial not only for the IB, but for the rest of your life. Hence, this is why the first part of this essay is all about how you can improve yourself to get the most out of the IB Diploma.

Now, in this next part, I will give my opinions about the specific subjects that I took.

For Mathematics, I think that my advice is really the same as many people. Practice. Practice. Practice. It doesn't get much simpler than that. The only way to get better at Math is to do questions, regardless of the level. After learning a certain theorem in class, I would find my understanding of the concepts further deepened after I did past paper questions related to it. Some people may realize that there are only so many past papers to do since the syllabus was last updated on 2016. This means that there may be some question in past papers dated before 2016 that are not in the current syllabus. However, that does not mean that you shouldn't do the past papers before 2016. In general, doing as many IB math questions as possible is only going to benefit you. I remember doing every single past paper from 2013 to 2018, and if I ran out of past papers, I would redo the past papers. Personally, I found this to be very helpful in my preparation since it helps with wiring your brain to think like the mark scheme while also training your speed. This also applies to subjects like Physics.

For subjects like Economics and English that require essay writing, I would recommend practice writing a lot of essays. Even though, writing and memorizing notes are very important, they only make up half the process. Especially for people who people who are bad at writing essays like me, it was very helpful to just write as many essays as I could. When I ran out of past paper questions, I made up my own questions. For Economics and English, it is quite easy to make up your own essay questions since they are so repetitive. Moreover, getting feedback is also important. Luckily, my teachers were more than happy to give feedback on the essays I wrote. From the experience of writing essays under timed conditions as well as the critical feedback, I gained a lot of insight on how to write essays, giving me a boost in confidence in the actual exams.

Whether or not you decide to follow my advice is all up to you, because at the end of the day, you should decide what you want to get out of the IB. If getting good grades is your top priority, then aside from the things that I mentioned above, then I think that the most important thing is to have the right mindset. Whether which kind of mindset is ‘right' for you is up to you to decide. For me, no matter what I did, whether it be listening in class, doing exercises, discussing problems with fellow classmates, I would be thinking about the final exam and what I could do better to perform well. Find what is right for you, and then take hold of it, success will surely follow.

Alex Xia 訪問稿

每個人都是主角尋找必定尋見

電競產業近年興起，當中強調人與人或是人與電腦之間的智力、反應的對抗，讓家長對子女「打機」（玩電子遊戲）的看法有所改變。Alex Xia小時候與一般的男孩沒有太大的分別，他很喜歡「打機」，甚至在中學時期曾創作兩款遊戲，同學試玩後都覺得很有趣，及後發現自己對電腦科學很感興趣，便努力鑽研有關知識並於大學修讀相關學系。

Alex分享，在中學時期曾創作兩款遊戲，其中一款是貪食蛇遊戲，與傳統的貪食蛇遊戲類近，「那時剛想創作一個遊戲，但不知道做哪款好，查看不同資料後，覺得貪食蛇遊戲有點意思及較為簡單，所以就創作出來了，前後大約花了一至兩個星期便完成遊戲」。及後他有給予朋友試玩，反應不錯。他續指，他之後有設計角色扮演遊戲（Role-playing game），遊戲者可以根據自己的選擇去決定故事發展，直言每個人都是主角。

被問到修讀加利福尼亞大學洛杉磯分校（The University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA）的電腦科學（Computer science）一科，未來會否打算成為電子遊戲的設計師，Alex說暫時未有想到將來要做什麼，因為入大學之前他想做研究，但正式入讀大學後，發現很多科目也很有趣，而他也有太多事也不知道，想多學一點，認為未來的可能性很多，不想局限自己。

有不少狀元都建議考生，要思考清楚自己真正想要的是什麼，但有些人就是想不到或者真的不知道自己的目標，那怎麼辦？Alex表示，暫時沒有想法，或者不知道自己想要什麼，那沒有關係，但可以不停思考、嘗試及努力，你總會找到你的目標。他續指，有些同學說他與父母，對於大學選科或者未來發展的意見不一，不知如何是好，但認為只要向父母細心解釋自己未來想做什麼，有什麼計劃，相信他們會明白。

Alex說，IB這兩年是困難的，但期望大家在過程中找到自己真正渴求的目標是什麼。雖然有時想放棄，但是感謝父母及朋友的支持，寄語其他人勇敢尋找自己想要的事。

George Shen

George Shen

大家好，我是George Shen。我在2018年於沙田學院正式畢業，並獲取國際文憑大學預科課程（The International Baccalaureate® ，以下簡稱為「IB」）45分，目前在英國劍橋大學修讀經濟學系。我在IB選修的科目包括高級數學（Mathematics High Level, HL）、經濟學、地理學及中文（第二語言，高級）（Chinese B, Higher Level）、英文語言及文學（標準程度）（ English Language and Literature Standard Level, SL）及物理學。我希望透過分享個人的學習經驗和想法，為日後打算修讀IB的朋友提供幫助，讓你在準備考試過程中表現更佳。

首先，我認為同學們應該認真考慮要選修的科目，因為這需要兼顧課程進度及自身的學習能力，了解自身優點和缺點，以及每個科目及程度的相對難度。除了你目標升讀的大學學系所必需的科目外，我建議同學們可以在其餘科目上選擇較簡單的程度，減低障礙。以我自己為例，我選擇了地理學為第三個高級程度科目（Higher Level），因為地理對我來說相對簡單；在高級程度科目中，我選取了4個高級程度科目，因為學校建議我考中文（第二語言，高級）（Chinese B, Higher Level），但我認為同時修讀4個高級程度科目會增加難度而且幾乎沒有回報，因為大學和僱主最終看重的只是你的總分數。

在IB兩年的準備過程中，我認為成功的關鍵是要有良好的時間管理及明確的目標，因為在申請大學過程中，需要準備很多文件及留意截止日期，的確有很多工作要做，但如果能有效地運用時間，就有充足的時間來完成所需要的作業，增加成功機會。

為了能在校內評估（Internal Assessment, IA），拓展論文（Extended Essay, EE）及校內口語評估（Internal Oral Commentary, IOC）等評估中取得優良的成績，你需要具戰略性的計劃。對於校內評估，我會嚴格地遵循教師的建議，因為他們是評估者；校外評估方面，我仍會接受老師的建議，但如果與老師意見不合，不會害怕稍微偏離。另外，做好事前計劃及時間管理的話，我相信在完成考試的那一刻，你將會感謝自己，比如我知道我的弱項是寫作，但寫作評估的功課佔該科目的50%，我充分利用這一個機會，盡最大的努力去完成課程作業，正因為事前準備做的好，我在考試最後關頭減輕了不少壓力，因為我知道即使在考試中取得60分，我在作業的分數會令我在語文科目取得7分的高分。

對我而言，考試前最後兩個月的準備是最為重要，我會花部份篇幅去分享我的經驗和提供建議。在考試的過程中，你可能和我一樣，落後於課程進度，這也是很常見的，但你不需要花太多時間去檢討及再訂立新的學習計劃，但你的計劃必須具有戰略性並且你有能力將其實現。簡單來說，在兩個月內你要準備6個科目，即每個科目大約有10天的時間去復習，如果你根據科目的難度分配好時間及按計劃進行，你不需要過於擔心。考試前準備的關鍵是，要記住你不需要完美地完成每一個科目的復習，不需要拿100分，只需領回理想的成績，例如，一旦我知道在校內評估獲得7分時，或者我在數學科練習時取得理想的成績，我便會繼續復習其他科目。我在數學科花了40% 時間去練習；經濟學花了5%；地理學花了5%；物理學花了20%；英語花了15%；中文花了15%。請記住，這純粹是兩個月的時間分配。每個人需要就自己的優點及缺點，去進行個人化的準備方案。

對於基本科目的備戰，我發現做筆記是很有用，關鍵是如何整合過去學習過的概念、理論及公式，我建議筆記以過去多年的考試論文及練習題作為基礎，再加以個人的理解及意見。我做了13年的數學考試練習題（Past Paper），了解當中的題型及考題作答方式，故我在高級數學取得7分，才能獲取心儀大學的錄取通知書。如果你想在高級數學取得高分的成績，就要按時完成過去的考試練習題及論文，相應地你就會知道自己有把握在考試中穩定地發揮。對我而言，我發現通過模擬考試及在「國際中學教育普通證書」（International General Certificate of Secondary Education, IGCSE）的經驗中，考試成績始終比練習時更好，所以在練習時當我在數學科取得7分我感到信心十足。大家都應該了解自己的特點並做好相應的準備。

對於經濟學和地理等學科的論文，它們遵循且一致的模式。根據我的經驗，當我使用「論點」（Point）, 「證據」（Evidence）,「解釋」（Explanation）及「關連」（Link），並實施課程重點中講授的理論來支持論點，就可以得到很高的分數。這就是我為何花較少時間來復習。

在中文及英文語言及文學語言主題的論文，是我最難的一關。我不建議像在語言科目上試圖尋找類似經濟學和地理學科的捷徑，因為同樣的寫作結構套用在各式主題中，是難以符合考官的期望，所以我在考試前一個月，每天為每種語言科目，會撰寫1篇論文，而我的老師也很慷慨地幫助我，為我的寫作打分數。

有部份科目需要大量的記憶力，包括生物學、化學、地理等，我強烈建議兩年之內花時間去做筆記，因為這可以提升你的記憶力，並且在你進行復習時也更容易理解。我個人在考試前2至3天進行復習，而不是每隔3至4天重温，畢竟要在2個月內復習6個學科，是很難「完美」地完成復習每一個學科，需要在當中取捨。我參加了兩次模擬考試，在當中已復習了相關科目，這無疑使我更容易為考試作準備。在準備過程中，我的策略是先把一個主題温習一遍，再合上我的筆記並嘗試記住所有細節。

希望我個人經驗的分享，能對大家們的學習提供一些建議和見解。感謝你的閱讀！

George Shen

Hi everyone, I am George Shen. I graduated from Sha Tin College in 2018, receiving 45 points for the IB. I currently study Economics at the University of Cambridge. I took HL Mathematics, Economics, Geography and Chinese B, and SL English Language and Literature and Physics. I hope to help everyone for the exams by sharing some of my experiences and thoughts on the IB. It is important to work hard, but more important to work smart.

Firstly, I believe it is important to spend time considering the subjects you choose. Often students are unsure of the university degree they want to pursue and hence take a lot of difficult subjects to keep all paths open. In this case, I would personally choose easier Standard Level subjects to achieve higher grades. In my experience, I was required to take HL Mathematics and Economics for a degree in Economics, but I chose my final HL to be Geography, a relatively strong subject for me. I took 4 HLs because my school forced me to take Chinese B HL - although I could have taken it as a third HL, given my Chinese background, universities may have interpreted this subject choice as lazy. However, in hindsight, most universities are only concerned about whether you took the required subjects, and your final score.

During the two years of IB, the key thing is to be organised and have clear goals. There were a lot of deadlines, especially during university applications. What I found useful was to keep a checklist of the important deadlines and allocate adequate time to meet them. It is true that there is a lot of work to do, but I found there was enough time to complete work to a very high standard if you use your time efficiently.

To perform well in IAs, EEs, IOCs etc, I find it important to be strategic. For coursework marked internally by teachers in school, I would follow their advice much more rigorously, because they are the assessor, whereas if it was marked externally, I would still take their advice, but would not be afraid to deviate slightly if I had conviction in my approach. Ideally you want to be getting as high as possible in these assignments, because compared to the finals, you have much more time to prepare. I knew my weakness was in essay writing for languages, and the coursework accounted for 50% of the grade. Because I received high grades in the IAs, I would be able to secure a 7 even with a 60/100 performance in the final exams, which then implies I could spend more time revising other subjects. I hope that demonstrates the importance of IAs and IOCs.

For me, the final two month stretch towards exams are by far the most important, therefore I will spend the majority of this extract discussing my experiences and advice. At this stage everyone was behind the course content, but there is time to catch up. Often people say making a revision schedule is a form of procrastination, but personally, having a very detailed plan I can execute on was paramount. Two months for six subjects is only 10 days per subject, but if you have a mix of easy and difficult subjects, you can allocate time according to difficulty. Roughly, to give an example, I spent around 40% of my time in Math, 5% on Economics, 5% on Geography, 20% on Physics and 15% on English and 15% on Chinese. The key is to remember you do not need to ‘perfect' a subject - your goal is to know enough to get the grade you are looking for. For example, I was satisfied once I was getting 7s in essays my teachers marked, or past paper practices in Math.

With regards to revision technique, I chose a different approach for each subject, which were based on my strengths and weaknesses.

For calculation-based subjects, I found it useful to make notes during the year on important concepts, formulas and theories that would be required, but the key is learning how to apply them to questions, hence I would recommend a more past paper/practice questions based approach to revision. I personally had to guarantee a 7 in Math to pursue any of my university offers, hence I did around 13 years of past papers, which is definitely excessive. You should do them to the point where you are achieving your wanted grade consistently, e.g. if you are aiming for a 7 in HL Math, do timed past papers and ensure you are getting in the high 80s consistently. Oddly, I perform better in exams than in practice, so once I was getting 7s in practice I felt quite confident. Conversely, if you perform below your norm in exams you just need to prepare more!

For essays in subjects like English, Economics and Geography, I followed a very consistent structure that would cover what the examiner was looking for. Everyone is taught to use Point, Evidence, Explanation, Link, which is all that is required. With that structure, and knowing the correct theory to use in the “Explanation”, is often good enough for a 6/7 in long essays. With this approach to the essays, all I did for revision was to memorise the theories needed.

For creative writing essays in subjects like Chinese, I definitely struggled. My method to essays did not work in Chinese because the structure of a creative piece should depend on the topic. To improve my creative writing, there were no shortcuts but for me to practice- during the first month of revision before IB exams, I was writing a few essays a week, and my teacher was generous enough to provide feedback.

Some subjects require a lot of memorisation, such as Biology, Chemistry, Geography etc. I found the key was to write notes during the year. Writing/typing notes is proven to improve memory, but also allows you to revisit the material in a way you already understand. During the two years, I was explaining concepts in my notes, so that when I was revising at the end, under time pressure, I could easily understand it. For my Geography exam, I spent 2-3 days cramming before the exam, which is not advised by teachers but I found it gave time to revise subjects I struggled more in. Since I had two mock exams throughout the two years, I had experience with cramming, which made it easier to cram for finals. My strategy was to revise a subtopic, close my notes and try to remember all the key details, and only move onto the next subtopic if I can recall all the details correctly. If there is time, repeating this on the same subtopic helps to solidify information in our minds to deploy in an exam.

I hope this extract is useful to provide some advice and some insight to my personal experiences. Thank you for reading!

George Shen訪問稿

勿忘初心

英國劍橋大學對考生及家長來說，猶如是學術界重要戰堡之一，與艱深的試題及考驗意志的考試激戰後，踏進戰堡內，看著「舊我」死去時，「新我」將面對新挑戰，這是一條長期戰爭的道路。George Shen憶述當時收到劍橋大學有條件取錄（conditional offer）時，「要IB考44分才可以正式取錄，當時我後感到非常驚訝，因為44分是很難達到的分數，花了數天才可以回神過來」。他承認感到很大的壓力，有找朋友分享及尋求協助。

George多次提醒自己：「要相信自己」，並堅持自己一路以來的讀書計劃，慢慢改善自己。他續指，同路人的支持很重要，在大家想懶惰、放棄的時候，朋友之間會互相打氣，有時更會一起計劃放學後到圖書館温習。他說：「就算想放棄、甚至逃避時，你都要面對現實，事情正在發生，你不可以浪費時間」，又建議大家在低潮時，可以思考你是為什麼正在努力及奮鬥，勿忘初心。

被問到大學與IB之間的差別，George說，IB以記憶為主，而且每個科目都有特定的範圍，如果有合適的方法就可以取得不錯的成績；大學要求先理解後應用，死記硬背是不可取，如果只是記下理論及將其寫下來，但沒有任何內在的消化，你是難以再進入新的階段及獲取進步。他又說，大學生活不是很容易，因為要照顧自己、融入大學及社會生活，並認為同學們都很聰明，但不是想像中那麼可怕，與他們討論學科時都找到樂趣。

他認為，讀IB時的情緒猶如坐過山車，有時興奮，有時失望，但每一步都要自己去努力學習，建議考生要有良好的時間管理及明確的目標。

George目前在英國劍橋大學修讀經濟學，他期望十年後會成為企業金融管理人士，或會在香港或新加坡工作。

Joey Wong

Jeoy Wong

Joey Wong曾在國際文憑大學預科課程（The International Baccalaureate® ，以下簡稱為「IB」）中獲得滿分，其拓展論文及知識理論均取得A的佳績。及後她在英國劍橋大學就讀人文、社會及政治科學，並取得一級榮譽學位。她同時是香港卓越獎學金及英國劍橋大學耶魯學院獎學金的得獎者。

IB既充滿挑戰但帶來豐富的收穫。從開啟我的第一個通宵學習，到領導一個涉及40多名學生的「創意、行動與服務」（Creativity, Activity, Service, CAS）項目，我從該項目中脫穎而出，成為了一個更加自信和思慮周全的思想家。回顧三年來的經驗，我將與你分享一些在開始IB之前，就想知道的事情！

1 你對IB學生有什麼建議嗎？

1 善用課程大綱

每個課程大綱都明確羅列特定主題及考試需要了解的內容。因此，全面了解課程大綱對於獲得佳績有很大的幫助。我建議你你打印所有科目的課程提綱，並在學習過程中將其製作成簡易版的清單，這可使你温故知新之餘，確保已學會的知識與課程要求沒有任何偏離，也讓你更加熟悉主題內的特定的術語。

2 佔得先機，保持領先

鑑於IB需要學生對知識的廣度和深度，在整個學年如能提前預習課堂材料或及早完成作業，對你來說是百利而無一害，否則你會在數個月後，為自己增加工作量。當然，這並不意味著你要自學學校未曾教授或涵蓋的範疇，但你的確要温故知新，鞏固知識以應付考試。

3 不要忽視大局

在為期兩年的IB旅程中，你會很容易失去動力，因此，我建議你將眼光放在著重更遠大的目標上。無論是就讀夢想的大學，還是想獲得一份令人垂涎的工作，只要將目光專注於得著或結果上，即使在苦悶平凡的學習過程中，你也可以找到意義。

4 積極主動，尋求他人協助

IB是非常困難，所以不要害怕尋求幫助！除了向老師求助外，你亦可於YouTube上觀看教學視頻，我還報讀iStudy教育中心的數學課程。在那裡，有一位耐心的導師，他細心的為我講解各種數學理論，讓我可以鞏固知識及熟習技能，能於考試中解決棘手的問題。

5 拼命學習，拼命玩（Work hard, Play hard）

除了專注學術研究外，你還應嘗試參與各種課外活動。這不僅是一個結識新朋友的渠道，期間也會讓你成為積極主動的人，在申請大學過程中或會令你加分，你的履歷將會更加立體及全面，在眾多考生之中突圍而出。

2 學生如何應對知識理論（Theory of Knowledge , TOK）及拓展論文（Extended Essay , EE）？

a 知識理論（Theory of Knowledge , TOK）

為了讓我的TOK演講和論文與其他學生有所不同，我引用了很多第一手的資料或示例，當中包括我個人的經驗。為了持續發展我的想法，在12年級開始之前，我就立即撰寫《TOK日記》，每當我發現令人興奮或發人深省的事物（無論是YouTube上的TED演講還是我在電影院看過的電影）時，我都會迅速將其記載到我的日記，然後再進行反思。

以下是我的日記其中一頁：

b 拓展論文（Extended Essay, EE）

關於EE，我有三點建議：

1 明智地選擇你的EE主題

EE為學生提供了一個很好的機會，去探索他們感興趣的學術主題。我建議你，選擇與你心儀大學學系相關的主題，以便你更易在報讀大學時，在個人陳述中展示你的熱情及對指定學科具有一定的知識。

2 儘早開始

由於EE是一項相對繁重的工作，因此請儘早開始，讓自己更多時間去準備。我打算在升讀13年級之前，已完成對EE的研究及準備好計劃予老師，這不會佔用你太多的暑假時間，但在開學時你可以掌握進度，以舒適的速度去學習。

3 善用評分制度

在計劃和編寫EE之前，請嘗試花一些時間研究評分標準。如果你了解審查員或考官的要求，則可以相應地構想文章結構及論據，以爭取最好的分數。

3 你最喜歡的IB課程是什麼？你是如何學習的？

歷史科是我最喜歡的IB課程。我發現歷史科不但內容引人入勝，而且我還很享受當中的討論及寫作，這技能對於我大學生涯中，發揮很大的作用。以下是在整個課程中，對我有幫助的一些技巧：

1 制定論文計劃

我建議你閱讀過去試題中的論文，從中得到更好的概念及深入了解考官想提問的問題。隨後，通過你的筆記及想法，整理成有效且具有條理的論點、論據。此時你可以靈活地運用知識，並根據問題的風格來制定答案。

2 論文結構是關鍵

我從學校老師身上得到一個很重要的建議，就是將每個段落的結構當成是一篇小論文。意味著每提出一個核心論點，你都要換位思考，探索可能反駁的論點或論據，最後得出一個合理的結論。為了闡述上述幾點，我在論文計劃中，提及有關希特勒在德國上台的部分：

·核心論點：德國魏瑪共和國的政治和經濟動盪，促使群眾走向政治極端主義，希特勒後來承諾恢復常態和民族榮耀，從而獲得了民眾的支持。

·魏瑪共和國不僅不受歡迎，而且憲法上薄弱。

◆ 比例代表制將國家和議會分開

◆ 德國從未準備建立民主制度，但在盟國的巨大壓力下實行

·外部經濟壓力（例如賠償，魯爾（Ruhr）入侵以及華爾街崩潰和惡性通貨膨脹）進一步加劇了魏瑪共和國的憲法劣勢。還存在許多系統性問題（例如，世界出口急劇下降，工業生產率下降）

·反駁：魏瑪共和國的弱點可能被誇大了

◆ 在斯特雷塞曼（Stresemann）的領導下，德國迎來1924-29年的「黃金時代」

◆ 魏瑪政府結束了被動抵抗，保衛了巴伐利亞（Bavaria），通過倫滕馬克（Rentenmark）穩定了經濟，並在《洛迦諾條約》（Locarno Treaty）中保存了德國的西部邊界

·結論

◆ 儘管如此，即使取得了這些小小的政策勝利，德國仍然被解除了武裝並被佔領。此外，許多德國人將魏瑪的實現政策等同於投降政策，從而加劇了敵對情緒，加劇了希特勒等極端主義者的崛起。

4 最後，你還有其他建議嗎？

我最後的建議是享受當中的樂趣！儘管IB有時會讓人感到壓力和不堪重負，但請盡量珍惜自己在中學的最後兩年。IB可為你帶來極為充實的體驗，不但讓你擁有果斷的態度、韌性和強大的支持網絡（例如iStudy教育中心），更可為你的未來開闢一條康莊大道。

Joey Wong

Joey Wong was awarded full marks in the International Baccalaureate （IB）, achieving an A in both her Extended Essay and the Theory of Knowledge. She went on to read Human, Social and Political Sciences at the University of Cambridge, graduating with First Class Honours. She is an awardee of the Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence and a Jesus College Cambridge Scholar.

The IB was both challenging and rewarding. From pulling my first all-nighter to heading a CAS project involving over forty students, I emerged from the programme as a more confident and well-rounded thinker. Reflecting on my experiences three years down the line, I'm going to share with you some of the things I wish I knew before starting the IB!

1 Do you have any general advice for IB students

1. Use the syllabus

The course syllabus sets out exactly what you need to know for a particular subject exam. Therefore, understanding this document inside and out is crucial to obtaining a good grade. I recommend printing out the relevant syllabus for all your subjects and using it as a checklist during revision. This allows you to ensure that there are no gaps in your knowledge, while also familiarising you with subject-specific terminology.

2. Always stay ahead

Given the breadth and depth of knowledge required for the IB, it's vital to stay ahead of the class material throughout the academic year. Otherwise, you'll create a heavier workload for yourself a few months down the line. Of course, this doesn't mean that you should self-learn material which hasn't been covered in school; but it does mean continually revisiting past topics to consolidate your knowledge of the exam content. This can be done during mid-term breaks and longer holidays.

3. Don't lose sight of the bigger picture

It's very easy to lose motivation throughout your two-year IB journey, which is why I recommend focusing on a larger end goal. Whether this concerns attending your dream university or landing a coveted job, by keeping your eyes on the prize, you can find meaning even in mundane tasks.

4. Be proactive and seek extra support

The IB is notoriously difficult, so don't be afraid to ask for help! In addition to reaching out to schoolteachers and watching educational videos on YouTube, I attended mathematics classes at the iStudy Learning Center. Under the guidance of a tutor who patiently explained various mathematical theories to me, I was able to apply my knowledge and skills to tough exam questions.

5. Work hard, play hard

Aside from focusing on your academic studies, try to get involved in a wide range of extracurricular activities. Not only is it a great way to meet new friends, but it also strengthens your university application by distinguishing you as a proactive and well-rounded candidate.

2 How should students tackle Theory of Knowledge （TOK） and the Extended Essay （EE）?

a Theory of Knowledge （TOK）

To differentiate my TOK presentation and essay from that of other students, I deployed a number of original examples, including my own personal experiences. To keep track of all my ideas, I started a TOK Journal as soon as I entered Year 12. Whenever I found something exciting or thought-provoking （whether it's a TED Talk on YouTube or a film I watched at the cinema）, I would quickly jot it down in my journal and reflect upon it later.

Below is a page from my TOK journal:

b Extended Essay （EE）

I have three pieces of advice in relation to the EE:

1. Select your EE topic wisely

The EE provides a fantastic opportunity for students to explore an academic topic which they find interesting. I recommend choosing a topic in relation to your university course, so you can demonstrate your passion and subject-specific knowledge in your personal statement.

2. Start early

Since the EE is a relatively large piece of work, try to give yourself more time by starting early. Before entering Year 13, I aimed to have already completed research for my EE and prepared a brief plan for my supervisor. This won't take too much time out of your summer holiday, but it will allow you to work at a much more comfortable pace once school starts.

3. Make use of the marking criteria

Before planning and writing your EE, try to spend some time studying the marking criteria. If you understand what the examiner is looking for, you can structure your argument accordingly to maximise marks.

3 What was your favourite IB subject? And how did you revise for it?

History was my favourite IB subject. Not only did I find the content extremely engaging, but I also enjoyed working on my argumentative writing - a skill which proved to be extremely useful at university! Below are some tips which helped me throughout the course:

1. Produce essay plans

I recommend going through IB past papers to get a better sense of what questions examiners like to ask. Subsequently, begin revision by organising your notes and ideas into active lines of arguments. This will allow you to flexibly deploy your knowledge in the exam and tailor your response to the terms of the question.

2. Essay structure is key

A great piece of advice which I received from a schoolteacher is to structure each paragraph as if it were a mini essay. This means presenting a core argument, exploring alternative ideas which may refute it, and finally arriving at a reasoned conclusion.

To illustrate the aforementioned points, here is a section from my essay plan on Hitler's rise to power in Germany.

· Core argument: The political and economic instability of Weimar Germany drove the masses toward political extremism, allowing Hitler to later gain popular support by promising to restore normalcy and national glory.

◆ The Weimar Republic was not only unpopular, but constitutionally weak.

The system of proportional representation divided the nation and the Parliament.

Germany was never prepared to install a democratic system but did so under extreme pressure from the Allies.

◆The constitutional weakness of the Weimar Republic was further worsened by external economic pressures （e.g. reparations, the Ruhr invasion, and the Wall Street Crash and hyperinflation）. There were also a number of systemic problems （e.g. the dramatic decline of world exports, and declining industrial productivity）.

· Counterargument: However, the weakness of the Weimar Republic may be exaggerated.

◆Under the leadership of Stresemann, Germany enjoyed the‘Golden Era' of 1924-29.

◆The Weimar government ended passive resistance, secured Bavaria, stabilised the economy through the Rentenmark, and guaranteed Germany's western borders in the Locarno Treaty.

· Conclusion: Nonetheless, even with these small policy victories, Germany remained disarmed and occupied. Furthermore, many Germans equated the Weimar policy of fulfilment with capitulation, thus prompting ever greater hostility and fueling the rise of extremists such as Hitler.

4 Do you have any final words of advice?

My final piece of advice is to have fun! Although the IB can be stressful and overwhelming at times, do try to cherish your final two years at secondary school. With a can-do attitude, resilience, and a strong support network such as the iStudy Learning Center, the IB can be an extremely fulfilling experience which paves the way for your future endeavours.

Joey Wong 訪問稿

「尋夢？撐一支長篙，向青草更青處漫溯」

「輕輕的我走了，正如我輕輕的來」詩人徐志摩的《再別康橋》點出他對英國劍橋大學的留戀之情，這種心情也發生在Joey Wong的身上。她表示，在兒時看書看戲都被劍橋大學濃濃的「書卷氣」吸引著，盼望長大後可以在該校讀書。經過一番努力她終於如願以償。在學習時期，她認識來自各國的好友，並學會處世之道，可惜新冠肺炎突襲令她要短時間回港，未能參與畢業典禮及與好友好好道別。

Joey表示，她在報讀劍橋大學期間，正值準備IB考試，收到大學面試邀請，獨自飛抵英國面試，期間要接受兩次面試。Joey認為她當時的表現不好，很大機會不能入讀夢寐以求的大學，只好回到酒店獨自哭泣，回港後也要專心準備考試。及後收到劍橋大學的有條件取錄通知，要求她要在IB考取42分或以上方能就讀。

她說，收到通知那晚她睡不著，「好緊張，但之後我更加努力讀書」。經過努力及堅持後。Joey終於入讀劍橋大學，並指學校的學習氣氛及環境，沒有讓她失望，「大學有114間圖書館，有些圖書館很古老，你經過時地板會發出古木磨擦的聲音」。

她又指，在大學她可以做自己喜歡的事，包括閱讀及學術研究，同時也認識了來自世界各地的朋友，包括英國、意大利、葡萄牙等國家，體會各地文化及與他人的相處之道。Joey認為，今次學習之行最大的得著是認識了這一生的朋友，即使大家分隔兩地，也會每天聯繫「不會斷線」。

「我輕輕的招手，作別西天的雲彩。」