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.
How to Remember Equations and Models (Maths/Physics)
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” This phrase is often (mis)attributed to Einstein and is eerily apt for IB revision. Despite its suspected apocryphal nature, I have found the witticism to hold true for IB maths with its equations and models especially. Too often, I have witnessed a student…
How to Remember Stages of Reactions (Chemistry/Biology)
Have you ever found yourself panicking when your teacher asked you to draw the mechanism for the nitration of benzene? Or blanked on a test when you had to suggest the steps necessary to turn propane into propanoic acid? You are not alone with struggling with stages of reactions! As a tutor, I have found…
How to Remember General Statistics and Dates
For subjects like geography, history, and psychology there are a lot of statistics and dates to remember during exams. Memorising this information can be very tricky. However, without this information it is almost impossible to score high marks on essays. Here we’ll take you through our top tips and tricks for remembering general statistics during…
Finn’s Study Tips – How to Improve Languages
This week we’re hearing from Finn, one of our school presenters, about how to improve your languages. Check out Finn’s study tips below! How to Improve Languages Languages are a huge part of the IB, with both Studies in Language and Literature and Language Acquisition being compulsory areas of study. For some students, this is…
Maja’s Study Tips – Organising
This week we’re hearing from Maja, another one of our amazing school presenters. Maja is a top IB grad who has extensive experience tutoring with us in addition to presenting at IB schools around the world. Here we’ll take you through Maja’s study tips for revision season. Tip 1: Get organised! You’ve probably…
Yi’s Study Tips – Notetaking
If you’re at an IB school, chances are that you’ve been to a presentation from one of our amazing school presenters! All top IB grads, our school presenters travel round the world sharing their best tips and tricks for getting through the Diploma Programme. This week we’re sharing Yi’s study tips for effective note taking. …
The TOK Exhibition
If you’ve been in an IB school for awhile, you probably remember hearing older students talking about their Theory of Knowledge presentations. You may have even watched some of them. These presentations formed the ‘internal assessment’ section of TOK, with the TOK essay as the ‘external assessment’. The IBO recently changed the structure of the…
Extended Essay Tips from Grads Who Got an A
Getting an A on your Extended Essay certainly isn’t easy, but it is possible! In this article we’re giving you the insider knowledge on how to get an A, from IB grads who did. We’ve asked our tutors for their best tips and consolidated them for you! Tip 1: Start early! You’ve probably heard this…
How to Write an Extended Essay Proposal – Part 2
This week we’re continuing our “How to Write an Extended Essay Proposal” series. Check out the first part of this series here for a rundown of the different sections that your proposal should include. Here we’ll take a look at a few common problems people encounter when writing their proposal. Problem 1: “I don’t have…
Top 5 Essentials for Studying Social and Cultural Anthropology
IB Anthropology is not as content-heavy as some other IB subjects. This can make it more manageable if you’re not great at memorising facts, but it is by no means easy! Anthropology requires you to challenge your perceptions about the world, understand complex theories, and apply these theories to a wide variety of contexts. This…
