If you have any questions, PM me on reddit (user: u/Decent-Cheetah4742) or email me ([email protected])
<aside>
Study Resources
- Trying to understand the material for the first time
- TeachMe
- Whenever I needed to relearn content from DP1 or quickly cover units I hadn’t studied yet, these videos were incredibly helpful. The only drawback is that they tend to be a bit long, so I’d recommend watching them at 2x speed. He also provides accompanying notes for most topics—I didn’t use all of them, but the notes for C2.1 on chemical signaling stood out, especially for their helpful analogies. While many of the videos are now behind a paywall, with a bit of searching (ahem ibdocs), you can still access them.
- Sirius Revision
- Before I found Teach Me in DP2, I watched this channel all the time throughout DP1 and the beginning of DP2. Cheryl Hickman from Sirius Revision is truly a lifesaver when it comes to IB Biology—her explanations are clear, concise, and super easy to follow. I usually turn to her videos when I want to get a solid overview of a new unit or when I need a quick refresher right before an exam. Her content is great for priming your brain before diving deeper into the details.
- Hodder Education—Biology for the IB Diploma Third edition (Textbook)
- I can’t really speak about how good this book is in comparison to other books since I’ve only used this one, but I think this book did a really good job of going in depth and when paired with the TeachMe videos, it really allows for a comprehensive understanding of the content.
- Biology for Life
- Pretty much my entire cohort started using this website when the syllabus changed during DP1, and we continued using it in DP2. I’m not sure if their full website is finished yet, but they offer slides for every chapter that align directly with the content standards. The slides are super useful for review or even for first-time learning, especially if you’re looking for a resource that sticks closely to the syllabus.
- Review
- Biology Content Standards
- Let me put you guys ON… if you guys aren’t using the standards, what are you doing? PLEASE USE THIS like I’m genuinely not kidding it’s probably one of the most important and beneficial resources you need. The IB is quite literally handing you a “study guide” so you should use it to your advantage. Prior to exams in DP 2, I printed out all the standards and used highlighters to color code all the things I didn’t know, mandatory diagrams, and specific examples I needed to know.
- Oxford Biology Study Guide
- I found this to be SO incredibly helpful during the days leading up to exams. When I didn’t have time to review an entire unit, I would just read the chapter in the study guide which would typically be around 7 pages average (sometimes more, sometimes less) and go into practice problems.
- Practice problems
- Past papers
- This one’s pretty straightforward, but it’s worth emphasizing: doing past papers is hands down one of the best ways to prepare for IB Biology exams. In the weeks leading up to my exams, I created a spreadsheet to track my scores on practice mocks and wrote notes on the questions I got wrong. It helped me see patterns in my mistakes and focus on the areas I needed to improve. Past papers are the closest thing you’ll get to the real exam, so use them to your advantage—they're an essential part of effective revision.
- Revision Dojo
- To be completely honest, I didn’t find most of the Revision Dojo notes or resources very helpful—except for one thing: their past paper question sets. These are directly pulled from actual IB exams and come with the official markschemes, which makes them incredibly useful. It’s just another great place to access real IB-style questions, and I’d recommend doing as many of them as you can!
- ipassed
- When I was in the depths of my studying, I came across this link on the IBO subreddit that someone had shared, and I personally found it really fun and useful. It lets you choose specific topics you want to practice questions on, and it even tracks your progress over time. It made studying feel a bit more interactive and helped me stay organized with my revision.
</aside>
<aside>
Tips and Tricks
- Mark scheme studying
- When I was preparing for IB Biology, I created a running document where I collected all the key answers and phrases from the markschemes of past papers. Studying this document helped me spot patterns in how questions were answered and what the examiners consistently looked for. Instead of just practicing questions blindly, I focused on memorizing these markscheme responses, which made it easier to recall the precise scientific terms and explanations during the exam. This approach not only improved my understanding of the material but also helped me answer questions more efficiently and accurately, since I was following the exact structure and wording that earned marks. It definitely boosted my confidence and exam performance.
- Create a biology bulletin board/ wall
- I started doing this during DP2, but I wish I had began in DP1. Essentially what I would do is draw out important diagrams from a lesson I had in class and stick it onto my bulletin board in my room. These pictures would then accumulate and I would have a board of biology images in my room that would help me consistently review the information. By displaying important diagrams, charts, and summaries on a bulletin board where I can see them regularly, I was able to reinforce my visual memory without needing to sit down and study every time. Having these visuals in plain sight helped me recall details more quickly and made it easier to connect different topics together.
</aside>
<aside>
Other Valuable Resources
- ibdocs
- The amount of resources on this site is endless. You can find textbooks, savemyexams notes, past papers, TeachMe videos + notes, and SO much more. Not only is this site so useful for bio, but it’s also helpful for over classes too.
- bio letters
- They make notes for all the chapters and have also added question banks to go along with it!
</aside>
<aside>
Notes FEEDBACK IS WELCOME!!*
- I really want to make this page as helpful for IB Biology students as possible. PM me or email me asking me what resources would be the most helpful for you guys. There are already so many notes out there, so I’m thinking maybe some resources that would help when exams are approaching? Here are some examples of some documents I could put together:
- A biology formula sheet
- All diagrams you need to know
- Possible labs and experiments you could get asked about for paper 1b
- Tips for approaching exams
- IA help and advice (tips + tricks to score a 7)
- While I will be dedicating most of my time to making IB Biology Resources, I would also be more than happy to help with other content, so just shoot me an email or DM and let me know what other subjects you guys would like help in!
</aside>
<aside>
🫐
About me!!
Hi, I’m an M25 graduate who scored a 40/45 on the IB Diploma. I scored a 766 on my HLs (Biology, History, English Literature), and a 666 on my SLs (Math AA, Arabic B, Psychology). My EE in English scored an A (32/34), and I received an A in TOK as well (3 points). I also took ESS as an extra course and scored a 7. I created this page to support IB students—especially with the new Biology syllabus, but also across other subjects. Whether you’re looking for guidance, study strategies, or just have questions, I’m more than happy to help however I can!
</aside>