IB Diploma Examinations May 2015 Final advice and explanation of conditions

1) Examination Times: All morning examinations take place at 8:30am Be at school by 8am All afternoon examinations take place at 1:30pm Be at school by 1pm

2) Conduct in examinations You have all been sent a document called ‘Conduct of the Examinations’. Please read it. It covers such things as: Arrival at the exams Leaving an exam temporarily (eg: bathroom break) Academic Misconduct Early departures Ending of the exams

3) Important general things to note about the rules: You each have a designated seat – please check the seating plan that will be posted on the board outside the room You will have your session number on your desk You may take in drinking water Paper tissues will be available in the room Do not bring your phone Do not bring your watch Do not have anything in your pockets Do not bring correcting fluid Bring all pens etc in a clear plastic bag (blue / black pens / soft pencil) Don’t forget your calculator – it will be checked – clear it before you get to the door and show it to an invigilator on entry – you cannot share Do not talk or communicate with any other student once in the room You have 5 minutes reading time in all exams except multi-choice papers

4) Things noticed in the mocks: Some people talked to each other on entry into the room – you must not do this, even if it is just to say good luck – you must also be silent at the end of an exam Some people arrived late– this must not happen in the finals – the exam will begin without you and you will miss all of the instructions at the start – leave home earlier than needed Some people turned around to look at the people behind them – this is not allowed – face the front of the room at all times Some people forgot their calculators – this is not a good way to start an exam – be organized! Some people wrote before they were told to – this is not allowed – to be safe in this regard – do not pick up a pen at all until the reading time is over

5) Writing the exam papers – general On your desk you may have: a water bottle clear plastic bag with stationery requirements a calculator a small good luck charm the cover sheet the examination paper answer booklets formula booklets / case studies as applicable

6) Writing on the exam papers – general When the exam papers are sent to be marked they are scanned, therefore: You must use blue or black pen Your writing must be legible Graphs, diagrams, charts and multi-choice forms must be written / filled out in dark lead pencil (you cannot use pencil for any other parts of an answer) Plans or extra working out for questions must be crossed out Instructions for completing cover sheets must be strictly observed You must not tear out any pages from an answer booklet

7) Cover sheets During every examination you will receive a cover sheet that looks like this. It is personalized to you and it will be on your desk at the start of each exam. This is the first thing you must check as you sit down – is it your cover sheet? Take a look at this cover sheet and the instructions before the exams so you are familiar with what to do.

8) Answer pages – what to expect You will write many of your answers on 4 page answer booklets – this is called an unstructured paper. Sometimes you will answer directly on the examination booklet provided – this is called a structured paper. Sometimes you will use multi-choice forms to answer on – this happens in Paper 1 science exams. Sometimes you may answer part of a question on graph paper – this is only for drawing graphs. Listen carefully and follow the instructions of the invigilator so you understand which kind of answer pages apply in each exam and how to use them. If you don’t understand – ask an invigilator.

9) Using Answer booklets At the end of this presentation you will be given a pamphlet that contains exact details about how to use the answer booklets. It is very important that you read this pamphlet so that you are familiar with how to write in the boxes and how to number your answers correctly. You must always indicate question number and parts of a question in order for your answers to be marked correctly. There will be extra copies of this answer booklet pamphlet in the Common Room throughout the examination period – please review this regularly.

10)Answering on Multi-choice sheets These sheets are used in Paper 1 science exams They must be filled in using pencils. The pencils must be HB or B – dark lead pencils. Mechanical pencils are not suitable – they are too light. Follow the instructions on the sheet carefully.

11) Filling in and attaching cover sheets This is done at the end of the examination – write very clearly: 1)Fill in the section or option boxes on the left – check your exam carefully Which sections did you answer? 2)Fill in the question boxes correctly – check carefully Which questions did you answer? Write ALL if applicable. 3) How many answer booklets did you use? Write this number in the box on the bottom right 4) Attach all answer booklets / pages to the cover sheet with the string tag you are given

12) At the end of each examination: When the invigilator says to stop writing, immediately put pens down Collect papers together– cover sheet on top and all answer booklets / pages underneath in a logical order Fill in the cover sheet as directed – section, questions and answer booklet number Tie all pages together with the string you have been given Do not talk or turn around – wait patiently until your scripts have been collected Leave the room silently only when told to by the invigilator

13) In the case of illness: If you feel ill – please let me or an invigilator or Ms Trinh in the Secondary Office know just before or during the exam. Continue with the exam. The IB does not allow exams to be rescheduled Do not stay home and miss the exam – this would result in the loss of your Diploma status - this would be appropriate only in cases of extreme illness (…not a cold or a sore stomach or a slight fever!) After the examination a special form called ‘Adverse Circumstances’ can be filled in and sent to the IB. In order for this to happen, however, a doctor’s note will be required.

If you need help during an examination: Put your hand up and wait for an invigilator to walk to your desk Between now and May 4 th – study well and go into your exams feeling confident! Are there any immediate questions? Best of Luck!