the lanterna blog
Below you will find in-depth reports, thought pieces on modern education, as well as hundreds of tips on how to excel at the IB.
Things to keep you going during exams
As exams get nearer, it can be hard to keep yourself motivated. In the run up to my final IB exams, I distinctly remember having several moments of self doubt. I would think to myself- what am I doing this? What is the point? Am I even going to get the grades I want? …
The New 2018 Extended Essay Structure
The extended essay is changing! There are some significant changes to the EE syllabus that from this year onwards you have to bear in mind. In this blog I’m going to break down those changes, and give you some helpful hints for EE success. Out with the old, in with the new? While I began…
Motivation (and how to find it)
As a student, the phrase ‘I just can’t work’ was one I uttered frequently. I would convince myself of all number of reasons why I couldn’t work. I was tired, I was ill, I wasn’t in the right frame of mind– anything to avoid getting started. What I realised, however, is the underlying reason for…
Guide to the IB: Part 2 – Group 1 subjects
In my last blog post in the series, I set about to demystify the IB. In the next few posts, I am going to delve a little deeper into the specific subject groups of the IB to give you a little more insight in what will be required of you, and also some advise on…
Lanterna’s Ultimate Guide to the IB: Part 1 – The Basics
When it comes to choosing which curriculum to follow post 16, there’s a lot of options out there. Here at Lanterna, we are all about the IB—it shapes pretty much everything we do. In this series, therefore, I’m going to take a look at some of the reasons why we at Lanterna think the IB…
Responding to University Offers as an IB Student | University Series Pt 3
Back when I was completing the IB Diploma, my thoughts were frequently occupied with where I was going to study at university. Whilst I was SO excited to move onto uni life, I knew that choosing where I wanted to study was going to be a pretty big decision. But once you’ve applied and your…
The countdown to Christmas: managing mocks
Normally, when it comes to the Christmas holidays, students are desperately counting down the days till they can have two or three weeks of festive fun. I have discovered, however, as I travel around speaking to all you IB students out there, that many of you, especially second year diploma students with mocks coming up,…
Let’s TOK this… Part 3: Taking TOK to the next level
So here we are. We’ve looked at real-life situations. We’ve looked at knowledge questions. Now we can get right to the heart of things and figure out how we actually DO the TOK thing: namely the essay and presentation. If you haven’t yet read the first two installments of this blog series, go have a…
University Applications: Where are you now?
Where to start? There’s no denying it, this term is tough. From the insurmountable amount of IA deadlines to the onslaught of homework and revision, it can be easy to slip behind on certain things that seem less important. Perhaps the easiest to forget is university applications. In your final year of the IB, the…
The 10 Stages of Writing your Extended Essay
Every IB student does it. Writing your Extended Essay is unavoidable. This doesn’t mean, however, that there aren’t a few bumps along the way. I find the process of writing an EE goes like this for most people: 1. Confidence Starting strong is always a good position to be in. You’ve got your idea set. You’ve…
