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Ex- IB Student (If you ever need help, just ask)

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Reply 20
Original post by lowshin-ji


Hi Yarashe,
I'm new to this forum and having problems understanding what IB Music is all about. I've read about on the IB site and whatever I could on the internet. I understand there is a solo, creating and group divisions? How is this structured and are any musical instruments allowed or just a select few?

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my post.


Hi,

Are you taking SL Music?

Internal Assessment

1. For SL Music, you will have to choose one of the three options:
1. Solo Performing
2. Composing
3. Group Performing (e.g Jazz band performances)

I chose Solo Performing and I played the violin and was accompanied by a pianist. I had to play a range of pieces (15 minutes worth) from different eras/styles to show that I had a diverse range of playing skills and styles. These pieces were recorded throughout the year with many takes so you will have plenty of chances to perfect them!

I think that any musical instruments are allowed (One of my classmates played the Yangqin for Solo Performing).

This component will be internally assessed but externally moderated.

External Assessment

1.
You will need to write a Musical Links Investigation (coursework).

This is a 2,000 word essay (in a chosen media transcript e.g magazine article) on comparing two pieces (finding musical links) from two distinct musical cultures.

2.
Exam on Musical Perception

Section A involves learning two set works over the two-year course. You must answer two questions (essay-based): One question on either set work and another question on comparing the two set works.

Section B involves aural analysis of four extracts (could basically be anything e.g World music, jazz, pop). Two will be named pieces, of which one will have a score provided. The other two will be unnamed.



If you take HL, then the Internal Assessment will involve Solo Performing (20 minutes) and Composing. In terms of the External Assessment, you will have to answer an extra question (Section C), which involves comparing two extracts from Section B.

Hope this helps!
Original post by j132
Hi,

Are you taking SL Music?

Internal Assessment

1. For SL Music, you will have to choose one of the three options:
1. Solo Performing
2. Composing
3. Group Performing (e.g Jazz band performances)

I chose Solo Performing and I played the violin and was accompanied by a pianist. I had to play a range of pieces (15 minutes worth) from different eras/styles to show that I had a diverse range of playing skills and styles. These pieces were recorded throughout the year with many takes so you will have plenty of chances to perfect them!

I think that any musical instruments are allowed (One of my classmates played the Yangqin for Solo Performing).

This component will be internally assessed but externally moderated.

External Assessment

1.
You will need to write a Musical Links Investigation (coursework).

This is a 2,000 word essay (in a chosen media transcript e.g magazine article) on comparing two pieces (finding musical links) from two distinct musical cultures.

2.
Exam on Musical Perception

Section A involves learning two set works over the two-year course. You must answer two questions (essay-based): One question on either set work and another question on comparing the two set works.

Section B involves aural analysis of four extracts (could basically be anything e.g World music, jazz, pop). Two will be named pieces, of which one will have a score provided. The other two will be unnamed.



If you take HL, then the Internal Assessment will involve Solo Performing (20 minutes) and Composing. In terms of the External Assessment, you will have to answer an extra question (Section C), which involves comparing two extracts from Section B.

Hope this helps!

Wow thank you very much for taking the time to reply my post.
I am deciding between taking SL Music or just taking another science or social science.

One more thing, do you think it would be possible for me to take SL Music as the instrument I play is drums. Another thing is that I don't have any formal certification that shows that I play drums. Haha I just play it a lot on my own. I do however have a certificate in Grade 5 Theory Piano, if that is relevant at all in this discussion.

Again, thank you very much and I look forward to your response.
Reply 22
Original post by lowshin-ji
Wow thank you very much for taking the time to reply my post.
I am deciding between taking SL Music or just taking another science or social science.

One more thing, do you think it would be possible for me to take SL Music as the instrument I play is drums. Another thing is that I don't have any formal certification that shows that I play drums. Haha I just play it a lot on my own. I do however have a certificate in Grade 5 Theory Piano, if that is relevant at all in this discussion.

Again, thank you very much and I look forward to your response.


Another of my classmates also played the drums for his solo performance. I don't think you need any formal certification, but you must be able to play at a decent level! I played around Grade 7/8 pieces. I guess you could take another science/social science if you feel you're better at these subjects or that this will open up more options in terms of applying to uni. Good luck!
Reply 23
Original post by cheeriosarenice
Do HL's go into as much depth& breath as A level?


yes, they do, in some instances, they go into far more depth than A-Level; Maths HL & Physics HL are definitely harder than Maths & Physics A Level. English HL is also more challenging; our teacher who's taught both says it's much more rigorous, and we study 12 or 13 different texts, too, far more than A-Level. (Philosophy HL is also very, very tough, much harder than A Level.) It depends on the subject, how rigorous it is compared to A-Level, but generally, HLs are all at least as rigorous as their A-Level equivalent, some HL subjects even harder than the A-Level. (Hell, some SLs are just as challenging; Maths SL is roughly similar to Maths A2, and Physics SL is a bitch.)
Reply 24
Anyhow, I did my IB exams in May 2014, and I did;

Philosophy HL - 7
History HL - 7
English HL - 6 (but should go up in a remark)
Maths Studies SL - 7
French SL - 5
Physics SL - 5
EE - A
ToK - A

happy to help if anyone needs it!
Hi Im also an ex IB student so feel free to message me for help too :smile:
I took:

HL:
History
Biology
English lit

Sl
Environmental Science
German B
math studies :smile:
Reply 26
Original post by sunny1111
Hi Im also an ex IB student so feel free to message me for help too :smile:
I took:

HL:
History
Biology
English lit

Sl
Environmental Science
German B
math studies :smile:


If I intend on getting a 7 in higher level biology, is it necessary to review everything learn't in class on a daily/weekly basis? Or will reviewing things on a monthly basis suffice? Any tips on retaining the immense amount of information you've got memorise for the course? I'm good at memorising but I'm worried haha.
Hello! I wrote a thread on studying bio at http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?p=47080589#post47080589 if you're interested.

The frequency of revision depends on the individual. I usually mugged only when there was a test coming up. And spent a lot of time studying for the actual IB of course. Reviewing topics every week will be good. If you have the time, why not? The amount of content you learn per week is very manageable and you can even read ahead so you'll be prepared for class.

Make sure you understand what is taught in class and you'll be learning at the right pace. If you're good at memorising, you will be fine! Don't worry too much about it. You can always adjust your reviewing schedule based on how you perform for your first few tests. Remember to practice the papers!

All the best.
Original post by mnina19
yes, they do, in some instances, they go into far more depth than A-Level; Maths HL & Physics HL are definitely harder than Maths & Physics A Level. English HL is also more challenging; our teacher who's taught both says it's much more rigorous, and we study 12 or 13 different texts, too, far more than A-Level. (Philosophy HL is also very, very tough, much harder than A Level.) It depends on the subject, how rigorous it is compared to A-Level, but generally, HLs are all at least as rigorous as their A-Level equivalent, some HL subjects even harder than the A-Level. (Hell, some SLs are just as challenging; Maths SL is roughly similar to Maths A2, and Physics SL is a bitch.)
I never got my head around how individual IB subjects are said to be harder than A-levels, while you are expected to complete 6 IB subjects as opposed to only 3 A-levels. Somehow this does not add up. Would you mind clarifying this for me?

I am from another education system, by the way. We have to study 8 subjects and the only subject that can be studied to a lower level is mathematics.
Reply 29
Original post by Zefiros
I never got my head around how individual IB subjects are said to be harder than A-levels, while you are expected to complete 6 IB subjects as opposed to only 3 A-levels. Somehow this does not add up. Would you mind clarifying this for me?

I am from another education system, by the way. We have to study 8 subjects and the only subject that can be studied to a lower level is mathematics.


I don't know what you want me to clarify? The teachers I've had that have taught both A-Level and IB all concur with the notion that IB individual subjects are tougher than their A-Level equivalent, and they've all been teaching both for a long time. (I mean, the IB and A-Level are devised by completely different systems; it's not like there's a rule stating that if there's more subjects, then the subjects must be easier.)
Original post by mnina19
I don't know what you want me to clarify? The teachers I've had that have taught both A-Level and IB all concur with the notion that IB individual subjects are tougher than their A-Level equivalent, and they've all been teaching both for a long time. (I mean, the IB and A-Level are devised by completely different systems; it's not like there's a rule stating that if there's more subjects, then the subjects must be easier.)


3 A-levels (4 AS-levels) are supposed to take full-time studying. So how is it possible that people can study 6 more difficult subjects in the same time frame?
Reply 31
Original post by Zefiros
3 A-levels (4 AS-levels) are supposed to take full-time studying. So how is it possible that people can study 6 more difficult subjects in the same time frame?


exactly. welcome to the drama that is the IB. :frown:

that claim is supported by UCAS though; a score of 45 points in the IB gets you something like, 740 UCAS points, which is just, ridiculous.

like, occasionally you see students that take a ridiculous number of A-Levels? so it's technically possible to do more than 3 A-Levels, just. insanely hard. which is what the IB expects of you.

(not every subject is harder, of course - some are the same level; but Maths HL, Physics, English, some others, are considered more difficult)
Hello! I'm not sure how A levels is done overseas but in Singapore the subject combinations go something like this: http://www.moe.gov.sg/cpdd/alevel2006/experience/sub_comb.htm

So yes, you do 6 subjects or more in A levels as well. With the H2 subjects being similar to IB Higher Level and H1 subjects being similar to IB Standard level. I haven't heard of merely taking 3 subjects before.

Moreover, I don't believe in the IB versus A level which is better yadayada battle. Both have their merits. I took IB and I believe that A levels is NO LESS difficult than IB. They go in depth into some topics IB only touches on.
And IB has its IAs and stuff. So yeah.

All the best!
Original post by hipsterrapunzel
Hello! I'm not sure how A levels is done overseas but in Singapore the subject combinations go something like this: http://www.moe.gov.sg/cpdd/alevel2006/experience/sub_comb.htm

So yes, you do 6 subjects or more in A levels as well. With the H2 subjects being similar to IB Higher Level and H1 subjects being similar to IB Standard level. I haven't heard of merely taking 3 subjects before.

Moreover, I don't believe in the IB versus A level which is better yadayada battle. Both have their merits. I took IB and I believe that A levels is NO LESS difficult than IB. They go in depth into some topics IB only touches on.
And IB has its IAs and stuff. So yeah.

All the best!
That's because Singapore A-levels are different from international A-levels. The international A-levels do not have the H1/H2 distinction, for instance. Singapore A-levels do not have the A* grade. For university entrance students only need three (international) A-levels and most people study only these three (plus one subject to AS level).
Hi I'm planning on doing ITGS for my EE. I have gotten my topic which is the effectiveness of solutions in online fraud but I'm having problems with my research question. I need assistance. Any ideas for a new topic or research question. Thanks
Original post by Zefiros
I never got my head around how individual IB subjects are said to be harder than A-levels, while you are expected to complete 6 IB subjects as opposed to only 3 A-levels. Somehow this does not add up. Would you mind clarifying this for me?

I am from another education system, by the way. We have to study 8 subjects and the only subject that can be studied to a lower level is mathematics.


Long post! I can't do short posts. Ever. Sorry. I'm going to have to disagree with what some of the others have said. They're very different systems. This is simplifying it but I would say that, typically, SL subjects are the equivalent of AS-level subjects and HL subjects are like A-level subjects.

This still means you're doing the equivalent of three A-levels and three AS though I know a lot of people who did a fourth AS or A-level and some crazy ones who would do five or six. Ignoring that, this does not mean the IB is better, simply that it is more challenging. These two things are not synonymous with each other. IB demands that you must be well-rounded - it prides itself in not just being about exams but also interaction with the community (CAS), independent study (coursework, EE) and forming opinions on education and the international world (ToK, languages, translated literature) - but A-level allows you to specialise to a greater extent by purely focusing on sciences or humanities. At my school, A-Level students had more lessons for each subject than IB students did.

For some things, IB is not a fantastic choice. I found, as someone applying to do Physics, that I had missed out on some useful things like matrices (they just cut it out this year for some stupid reason), capacitors and atomic physics, by picking IB. I'd still do IB if given the choice again because I'm not british and as a foreigner in this country I have a poor opinion of A-level as a system (for a different reason) but IB wasn't the magically ~*better*~ exam system for me in every sense.

The major exception to the above rule is maths. I can't tell you anything about Maths Studies - other than it's beyond GCSEs, not that that's hard, and doesn't cover integration - but SL Maths is like A-level maths and HL maths is the equivalent of Further Maths. HL Maths doesn't cover as much as Further Maths (it covers a lot more than A-Level Maths, mind you, such as by doing 3D planes) but all of the information is crammed into three papers instead of a lot more, meaning different sections of maths get used together.

Philosophy is hugely different in IB to A-level and it is probably the only subject where I would confidently say IB is better than A-level if you're interested in doing actual philosophy but the majority of subjects aren't like that. I can explain in more detail if wanted but I would not include maths or philosophy in the comparison because they are outliers.

tl;dr: IB is more challenging but that ≠ better. It is much more well-rounded and demands more from you as an individual but A-Level allows you to specialise a lot more and and is useful if you have a strong sense of what you want to do or are very much a humanities or science person. SL=AS, HL=A-Level, maths and philosophy not included.
Original post by JukeOfYork
this does not mean the IB is better, simply that it is more challenging.
Thanks for you exhaustive post. This was exactly my conclusion after reading the other posts. :wink:

As I mentioned earlier, I am from a different education system. Here, the top 15 or 20 percent of students go to pre-university education. Its sixth form equivalent takes three years. Here, besides all the CAS/ToK/EE stuff (because we have those too!), we must take at least 8 (major) subjects. Admittedly, these curricula do not all cover the material of the A-levels. One of the main differences is how it is presented, though. In A-level maths you could be asked to 'integrate this'. In our maths you would be given a real world problem in half a page text and would need to find out for yourself that the actual question asked was to 'integrate this'.
Original post by mnina19
Anyhow, I did my IB exams in May 2014, and I did;

Philosophy HL - 7
History HL - 7
English HL - 6 (but should go up in a remark)
Maths Studies SL - 7
French SL - 5
Physics SL - 5
EE - A
ToK - A

happy to help if anyone needs it!


Hi, i was wondering if you have any spare copies of notes/ revision cards for History and Maths St. I would be super grateful for whatever you can send!
Thanks :smile:
- Rachel
Original post by JukeOfYork
Ex-IB student, finished 2014. Happy to help anyone!
HLs
Physics - 7
Chemistry - 7
Maths - 7
English - 6

SLs
French - 6
Philosophy - 7
EE: Physics, A






how did you achieve a 7 in maths? I need a 7 in maths to go to Cambridge, so please can you give me some tips, recommended websites and books etc to help me.

Also, how difficult would you say it is to attain a 7 in maths and physics?

Can you also give me some advice on achieving well in French?

Thanks:colondollar:

:smile:x
Reply 39
Original post by honeybadgerkid
Hi, also an ex-IB student here! :smile:

HLs:

English A: Literature - 6
History - 6
Economics - 7

SLs:

French B - 6
Biology - 6
Math Studies - 7

So if anyone wants to ask anything about any of those subjects then I'd be happy to answer!

Hi there! I'm choosing subjects for IB next year. Im considering economics - but I haven't done economics before, it just sounds interesting! Also, would you recommend it at HL or SL? And what's the course about, is it interesting, boring, hard etc? Thanks :smile: (btw my other choices are: HL english lit, HL history, SL bio, SL maths, SL spanish - maybe do spanish HL if i do economics at SL)

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