From the tutor's desk.
Notes from our tutors on TOK, EE, exam technique, and university applications. Nothing sponsored, nothing generic.
Fresh from our tutors.
How to fix a failing HL Economics grade in 8 weeks
A failing grade in HL Econ eight weeks out of prelims is almost always a technique problem, not a content problem. Here's the framework we use at IB Lounge to move students 1.5–2 grades before the paper.
TOK: Five tips to get an A
The TOK essay is strange. It rewards a very specific kind of thinking that the rest of the IB does not. Here are five things that separate an A from a B.
TOK: examples that land, and ones that don't
A strong TOK essay rises and falls on its real-world examples. Most students pick the wrong ones. Here is how to tell the difference.
Study tips that actually work.
Practical advice from tutors who recently sat the exam. Short reads.
TOK, EE, and the rest of the Core.
The two parts of the IB that reward a specific kind of thinking. We spell out what that thinking looks like.
TOK: Five tips to get an A
The TOK essay is strange. It rewards a very specific kind of thinking that the rest of the IB does not. Here are five things that separate an A from a B.
TOK: examples that land, and ones that don't
A strong TOK essay rises and falls on its real-world examples. Most students pick the wrong ones. Here is how to tell the difference.
EE: the research question is half the work
Students spend weeks writing, revising, stressing about word count. Almost no one spends enough time picking the right research question. That is usually where EE marks are won or lost.
Applications, honestly.
Honest takes on local vs overseas, specific programmes, and applications.
Local vs overseas university: the honest version
Most of the advice out there is written by people trying to sell you something. Here is the un-sponsored version, from someone who chose local and (partly) regrets it.
NUS Business School: the inside view from a graduate
A lot of the chatter about NUS Business is second-hand. Here is the first-hand version. The parts that were worth it, and the parts I'd warn you about.
US applications from Singapore: a realistic timeline
The US process is front-loaded in a way the UK process isn't. If you are starting in DP2 first term, you are already late for early decision. Here is what to do when.
Liberal Arts in the US: what you trade for breadth
Liberal Arts colleges sell breadth, discussion, and pastoral care. They deliver, mostly. Here are the trade-offs that nobody mentions in the glossy brochures.
Oxbridge: the honest application timeline
Oxbridge applications look simple on paper. One form, one essay, one interview. What they actually ask of you is a full academic specialisation by October of DP2.
If you don't know what you want to do in university, read this
A lot of DP2 students arrive at application season without a clear sense of what they want to study. That is more normal than the system lets on. Here is how to make the decision anyway.
SMU Law: what the application actually rewards
SMU Law has its own application logic. It is not A-level Cambridge law admissions and it is not NUS Law either. Here is what actually moves the needle.
From inside the subject.
Subject-specific notes and common gaps, from the inside.
Chemistry: three things DP1s need to get right early
IB Chemistry rewards the student who nails foundations in the first three months. Miss those, and every topic afterwards feels harder than it should.
Biology was the bane of my existence. Then this happened.
I hated IB Biology in DP1. Too many names, too much memorising, no structure. In DP2 I scored a 7. The thing that changed was not effort. It was approach.
HL Lang & Lit: scoring a 5 was fine, and what I'd do differently
I scored a 5 in HL Lang and Lit. Not a disaster, not a brag. Here is what got me there and what I'd change if I sat it again next year.
Life through the DP.
The human side of DP1 and DP2. What no one tells you.