Six weeks is enough time to make substantial progress if your IB revision plan moves from diagnosis to targeted questions, timed papers, correction, and retesting. The aim is not to reread every textbook. It is to identify where marks are being lost, practise the relevant skills, and check whether each weakness has improved.
Begin with papers and mark schemes supplied legally by your school, the IB's official sample examination papers, and a syllabus-matched question bank. The RevisionDojo Study Planner can connect scheduled tasks with topics, questions, notes, videos, and flashcards. The plan below explains what to schedule during each of the final six weeks.
What this six-week IB revision plan does
Written examinations form the basis of assessment in most DP courses, although paper structures vary by subject and level. IB examinations may use essays, structured problems, short responses, data responses, text responses, and case-study questions. Effective preparation must therefore develop both subject knowledge and the ability to produce the required response under time pressure.
The plan combines four activities:
- Topic review repairs gaps in understanding.
- Practice questions develop application and exam technique.
- Timed past papers improve pacing, selection, and stamina.
- Error logs convert mistakes into follow-up tasks.
This structure is practical advice, not an official IB requirement. Adapt it to your subjects, school commitments, access arrangements, and examination timetable. Check the official IB examination schedule and confirm your personal schedule with your coordinator.
Set up your IB exam study schedule
Before Week 1, list every examination paper you will sit. Record the subject, level, paper, date, duration, permitted materials, confidence level, and latest practice result. Treat papers separately because Paper 1 and Paper 2 may require different knowledge, techniques, or pacing.
Rank topics using three categories:
- Red: you cannot answer typical questions without notes.
- Amber: you understand the content but lose marks through application, detail, or technique.
- Green: you can answer unfamiliar questions accurately under timed conditions.
Base these ratings on questions, tests, and teacher feedback rather than familiarity. A topic that feels recognisable may still be red if you cannot retrieve and apply it independently.
Build your weekly schedule from several types of study block:
| Block | Purpose | Suggested length |
|---|---|---|
| Recall | Definitions, formulas, quotations, examples, or vocabulary | 15-25 minutes |
| Topic repair | Review one narrow concept and explain it from memory | 30-45 minutes |
| Targeted questions | Practise one topic, command term, or question type | 35-60 minutes |
| Timed practice | Complete a section or paper without help | Paper-specific |
| Review | Mark work, classify errors, and schedule a retest | 30-60 minutes |
These lengths are recommendations, not IB rules. Shorten sessions when concentration falls, but preserve the sequence of attempt, feedback, repair, and retest.
The week-by-week six-week revision plan
| Week | Main objective | Practice focus | Timed work | Error-log action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Diagnose and organise | Use short mixed sets to identify red and amber topics | One timed section in each priority subject | Select the three most important weaknesses per subject |
| Week 2 | Repair major gaps | Review red topics, then answer focused questions without notes | Two timed sections across priority subjects | Retest Week 1 errors after 2-3 days |
| Week 3 | Build application | Mix topics and focus on command terms and multi-step questions | One substantial section or full paper per priority subject | Separate knowledge, technique, and timing errors |
| Week 4 | Increase realism | Use mixed sets with no hints | Complete several full or near-full papers | Identify recurring patterns across papers |
| Week 5 | Rehearse exam demands | Use short repair sets between simulations | Practise papers in realistic sequences where practical | Prioritise errors affecting multiple papers |
| Week 6 | Consolidate | Use brief recall and previously missed questions | Complete final simulations early, then reduce volume | Review concise correction rules |
Week 1: Diagnose before reviewing everything
Complete a short mixed set for each subject or paper. The purpose is to locate the topics and question types that deserve attention, not to achieve an impressive score.
For each lost mark, identify whether the cause was missing knowledge, incorrect interpretation, weak method, incomplete justification, or poor timing. The RevisionDojo Question Bank lets you filter by subject, level, paper, topic, and difficulty. Convert findings into precise tasks, such as “Biology HL, A2.2 cell structure, 12 questions, review every error,” rather than “revise Biology.”
Week 2: Repair the weakest topics
Use a three-stage block for each red topic. Review the underlying idea briefly, explain it without notes, and then complete relevant questions. If the explanation fails, return to the concept before attempting a large set.
Jojo AI can clarify why a method or explanation is incomplete, but attempt the question first. Requesting the answer immediately removes the retrieval and decision-making that revision should develop. Schedule a fresh question set on the same topic 2-3 days later.
Week 3: Connect knowledge to question demands
Move from isolated topics to questions requiring combined ideas or longer reasoning. Pay attention to command terms, evidence selection, working, units, structure, and the level of evaluation required. Knowing content is not the same as shaping it into a mark-earning response.
Add timed sections for priority subjects. The RevisionDojo Mock Exams guide helps distinguish targeted tests from full simulations. After marking, examine lost marks rather than recording only the total.
Week 4: Shift toward full-paper performance
Most sessions should now involve mixed questions, extended sections, or complete papers. Reproduce the real duration, permitted materials, reading arrangements, and stopping time as closely as possible. Check the current subject format before using older papers because syllabus content and assessment structures can change.
Do not complete full papers every day. They are demanding and provide limited benefit without detailed review. Alternate simulations with correction sessions and focused repair sets.
Week 5: Rehearse the examination sequence
Use your timetable to practise demanding papers at approximately the relevant time of day where practical. If two papers occur close together, occasionally rehearse that sequence. This helps you test recovery routines and settle pacing decisions, including when to leave a difficult sub-question temporarily.
Use Exam Mode and RevisionDojo's connected study features for realistic practice, then return to focused questions. This paper-to-diagnosis-to-repair cycle is more useful than repeatedly sitting papers without changing your preparation.
Week 6: Consolidate without exhaustion
Complete final demanding simulations early enough to correct them. During the last few days before each examination, use shorter sessions involving recall, selected questions, formulas, essay plans, vocabulary, and error-log entries. Avoid trying to relearn an entire course immediately before a paper.
Protect sleep, meals, movement, and practical preparation. Revision should become lighter before an examination because the goal is reliable retrieval, not maximum study volume.
IB study planner template
Copy this table into a spreadsheet, document, or notes app, or recreate each row in the RevisionDojo Study Planner.
| Date | Subject and paper | Topic or skill | Task type | Time limit | Result | Errors | Retest date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topic review | Not started | |||||||
| Practice questions | Not started | |||||||
| Timed section | Not started | |||||||
| Full paper | Not started | |||||||
| Error retest | Not started |
In the RevisionDojo Study Planner, enter your subject, level, examination date, and realistic study days. Turn weaknesses into named tasks and link each task to the relevant resource. Review the plan weekly, move unfinished work deliberately, and replace low-value activities with practice supported by your latest results.
Build an error log that changes your next session
An effective error log explains the cause of a mistake and the action needed to prevent it. Copying a correct answer creates a record, but does not necessarily produce learning.
| Error category | Example | Corrective action |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge | Could not recall a process | Use active recall, then attempt a fresh question |
| Interpretation | Misread “evaluate” as “explain” | Review command terms and practise evaluation questions |
| Method | Chose an unsuitable approach | Compare methods, write a decision rule, and retest |
| Communication | Omitted units or justification | Add a final-answer checklist |
| Timing | Spent too long on a low-mark part | Set checkpoints and practise moving on |
| Careless execution | Made a sign or calculator error | Verify the relevant step before submission |
For each entry, record the paper, topic, lost marks, cause, correction rule, and retest date. Jojo AI is most useful when given a narrow diagnostic prompt such as, “Which part of my reasoning failed, and what similar question should I attempt next?” Its purpose should be to make you more independent on the retest.
Choosing practice paper resources fairly
Choose resources that match your current syllabus, provide reliable feedback, and help you act on mistakes. Official samples demonstrate authentic formats, while your school may provide authorised access to additional papers and mark schemes. Topic-filtered questions are especially useful after a paper exposes a narrow weakness.
Students often compare RevisionDojo with Revision Village and Save My Exams:
| Platform | Particularly useful for |
|---|---|
| RevisionDojo | Connected planning, topic-filtered questions, timed practice, mistakes review, and Jojo AI support |
| Revision Village | Question banks, video solutions, practice examinations, and established mathematics support |
| Save My Exams | Syllabus-organised notes, topic questions, model answers, flashcards, and supported mock resources |
Revision Village's feature overview describes question banks, solutions, practice exams, flashcards, and AI support. The Save My Exams IB hub highlights notes, exam questions, model answers, flashcards, and practice papers. Coverage may differ by subject and subscription, so inspect current course pages before choosing.
RevisionDojo fits this six-week plan particularly well because its planner, Question Bank, Exam Mode, mistakes workflow, and Jojo AI support the same scheduling and feedback cycle. This does not make other platforms unsuitable; the best choice depends on your subjects and preferred explanation format.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Saving every past paper for the final week, leaving no time to repair weaknesses.
- Using old papers without checking the syllabus and current paper structure.
- Recording total scores without analysing topics and error categories.
- Repeating the same question immediately and mistaking familiarity for mastery.
- Giving every subject equal time despite different weaknesses and exam dates.
- Replacing sleep with extra papers, which weakens concentration and recall.
Conclusion
A strong six-week IB revision plan progresses through diagnosis, targeted repair, mixed practice, realistic simulation, and final consolidation. Past papers reveal performance under pressure, while focused questions and error logs ensure that mistakes influence the next session.
Keep the schedule flexible and judge progress through evidence rather than hours alone. RevisionDojo's Study Planner, Question Bank, mistakes review, Mock Exams, and Jojo AI can help turn each practice result into a clear next task.