How to prepare for the IB Diploma
Entering the Diploma Programme for the first time? Start with your subject choices, current skills, teaching language and weekly commitments. This guide helps you build a workable routine and useful questions for teachers before term begins, wherever you will study.
1. Confirm what your school expects before term starts
Ask for the subject-choice booklet for your entry year, admission requirements and any assigned preparation. Put deadlines, teacher contacts and unanswered questions in one checklist. Before buying a textbook, calculator or software subscription, confirm the exact course, edition or model with the school.
Check your proposed combination against the actual timetable. For example, if you want two sciences at HL, ask whether both run in your year, whether their lessons clash and what prior attainment each requires. Ask when choices become final and what happens if a course does not run. These are questions for your school, not assumptions to make from another student's timetable.
If you are still deciding whether to choose the Diploma, use the suitability guide below first. This preparation plan is for turning a likely choice into practical next steps; completing it does not establish whether the programme is right for you.
Is the IB Diploma right for me? Compare your options before committing
- Which subjects and levels will run for my entry year, and which combinations clash?
- What evidence is needed for admission and for my preferred HL subjects?
- Who should I contact about language support, learning needs and changing a subject?
2. Build a subject-choice sheet before buying resources
The IB Diploma combines six subjects with its core. Students take three or four subjects at higher level (HL), with the others at standard level (SL). An additional language, science or individuals-and-societies subject may replace an arts subject.
Make six rows, one per proposed subject, with columns for exact course name, level, school prerequisite, university requirement and a fallback. Check requirements on the actual degree pages you may apply to. Keep a link and the date checked; a friend's successful application is not evidence that your course accepts the same combination.
For mathematics, record the full course name rather than just 'Maths HL'. Ask the coordinator to check the completed combination against your possible university plans.
International Baccalaureate: Diploma curriculum and subject choices
3. Try three readiness tasks and keep the rough work
These are original practice tasks, not an admissions test, an IB assessment or a way to predict your grade. Use material you already studied. The useful result is a specific question to bring to a teacher.
| Task | What to produce | What to notice |
|---|---|---|
| Reading and writing: 30 minutes | Read a short article in your intended teaching language. Write a 150-word explanation of its claim, evidence and one limitation. | Where did vocabulary, comprehension or organising the paragraph slow you down? |
| Mathematics: 30 minutes | Choose three familiar questions: an equation, a graph and a percentage or ratio problem. Show each step and check the answers. | Separate a forgotten method from an arithmetic mistake or misunderstood wording. |
| Evidence: 30 minutes | Choose a published chart. Record its source, axes and units, then write one justified conclusion and one claim it cannot support. | Did you confuse association with an explanation, or overlook the sample and scale? |
- Keep the first attempt, your corrections and a one-sentence question together. Repeat the task with different material in week four; compare your process, not a made-up pass score.
4. Use this original four-week, five-hour plan
This is our suggested preparation budget, not a school requirement. Each week has 300 minutes: 90 for reading/writing, 90 for mathematics, 60 for evidence work, 30 for school planning and 30 for review. That is five hours weekly and 20 hours across four weeks. Split longer blocks if needed; follow assigned school work first.
| Week | Reading/writing · 90 min | Maths · 90 min | Evidence · 60 min | Planning · 30 min | Review · 30 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1: establish a starting point | Readiness task, then revise your paragraph | Readiness task, then correct and explain errors | Chart task, then check the original source | Draft the six-subject sheet | Choose two specific gaps |
| 2: repair one weakness | Read a new article; explain five unfamiliar terms in context | Practise one weak method and check every step | Compare two charts about the same question | Send your questions to the school | Retry last week's errors without notes |
| 3: combine skills | Write two paragraphs using evidence and noting one limitation | Mix familiar question types without method labels | Compare two sources and explain a disagreement | Map travel and fixed weekly commitments | Adjust one unrealistic time block |
| 4: prepare the handover | Repeat the writing task with new material | Repeat the maths task with new questions | Explain a new chart and its limits | Check school replies and outstanding choices | Write a first-week action list |
5. Practise working in the language of your classes
If your teaching language will change, practise explaining an idea aloud before polishing it in writing. Keep a small glossary with the term, your own explanation and a sentence from the subject. Translating a whole passage can hide the exact point you did not understand; underline that point and formulate a question instead.
Save source details when taking notes: author or organisation, title, link and the point supported. Keep copied words visibly separate from your own explanation. For any digital or AI tool, ask what your school permits and how its use should be acknowledged before using it in submitted work.
6. Arrive with questions you can act on
Bring your subject sheet, task attempts and weekly calendar to induction. Ask for one priority per subject. Leave room for assigned work, rest and activities; turn unfinished preparation into questions rather than extending every evening.
Already completed IB exams and looking for another sitting? That needs a different conversation about a host school, subjects and registration. Starting the Diploma and securing a retake place are separate processes; this preparation plan does not arrange either admission or exam hosting.
Already taken the exams? Read the IB retake guide · Understand the demands of the IB Diploma
Frequently asked questions
Must I take a paid preparation course?
Should I finish an IA or choose an Extended Essay topic before starting?
References
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