For M28 students, IB exams take place in May 2028, typically after starting DP1 in August or September 2026.
Your M28 checklist should prioritise reliable subject routines, a proper start to CAS, an understanding of TOK and the Extended Essay, and one system for managing deadlines. You do not need to complete major coursework this term unless your school schedules it. Instead, build habits that will make later assessments manageable.
Understand Your M28 Diploma Structure
The IB Diploma Programme consists of six subjects and the DP core: Theory of Knowledge (TOK), Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS), and the Extended Essay (EE). Most students take three Higher Level and three Standard Level subjects, although some schools permit four at Higher Level.
During your first two weeks, record:
- Each official subject name and level
- The syllabus or course guide used by your cohort
- External examination and internal assessment components
- First-term units and deadlines
- Required calculators, texts, laboratory materials, or portfolios
Do not assume that an older cohort's guide applies to M28 because subjects are updated on different schedules. Confirm each guide with your teacher or coordinator and consult the IB's Diploma Programme curriculum overview.
DP1 First-Term Subject Checklist
Your goal is to turn classroom content into knowledge you can retrieve and apply. IB assessments require more than recognising familiar notes. Depending on the subject, you must explain, analyse, calculate, evaluate, interpret, or construct an argument.
The session frequencies below are starting suggestions, not official IB requirements.
| Area | First-term action | Evidence of progress |
|---|---|---|
| Every subject | Track completed syllabus topics | You can identify strengths and gaps |
| HL subjects | Schedule two focused weekly sessions | Difficult material is reviewed before tests |
| SL subjects | Schedule one focused weekly session | Content does not accumulate unnoticed |
| Mathematics and sciences | Practise without notes | You select methods and show full working |
| Languages | Practise receptive and productive skills | Vocabulary, fluency, and accuracy improve |
| Essay subjects | Use command terms and evidence | Responses address the precise question |
| Practical subjects | Maintain process documentation | Decisions and development remain traceable |
After each topic, create a compact summary and answer relevant questions. RevisionDojo's subject resources can support active recall and application alongside teacher materials.
Keep an error log for marked work. Record the topic, reason for each lost mark, and correction. Useful categories include knowledge gap, command-term error, incomplete working, weak evidence, poor timing, and careless reading.
CAS Checklist for the First Term
CAS is not an extracurricular points system. It is a sustained part of the core involving creativity, activity, or service, supported by reflection and the CAS learning outcomes.
By the end of the term:
- Read your school's CAS handbook
- Meet your CAS coordinator or adviser
- Begin experiences across more than one strand
- Record dates, roles, goals, and evidence promptly
- Reflect on decisions, challenges, learning, and change
- Discuss a possible collaborative CAS project
Schools manage portfolios and checkpoints differently, so follow local deadlines. The IB's official CAS overview explains the component's broader purpose.
TOK and Extended Essay Checklist
TOK examines how knowledge is produced, justified, interpreted, and challenged. It is assessed through the TOK exhibition and a 1,600-word essay, but first-term lessons generally develop concepts, examples, discussion, and analytical writing.
Keep a bank of real-world examples, practise claims and counterclaims, and learn the difference between description and analysis. The official TOK overview provides the course context.
M28 students follow the Extended Essay framework first assessed in May 2027. During the first term, understand the process and note possible subject areas, but do not force a final research question before receiving school guidance. The IB's Extended Essay curriculum update outlines the relevant framework.
Organisation Checklist
One trusted system is better than several incomplete calendars. Enter every known test, draft, meeting, event, and personal commitment in one calendar, then maintain a weekly action list.
Complete this routine weekly:
- Check subject platforms and school announcements.
- Add new deadlines to your calendar.
- Divide large assignments into 25-60 minute actions.
- Schedule difficult work when concentration is strongest.
- Reserve time for CAS, sleep, exercise, and rest.
- Reschedule unfinished work deliberately.
Each study block should specify an output. “Study chemistry” is vague; “complete ten bonding questions and correct errors” is measurable. The IB study-planner guide explains how to balance subjects and core work, while the RevisionDojo Study Planner can organise tasks around assessment dates.
Use Your First Assessments Diagnostically
Treat your first marked assignments as evidence about your current approach, not a prediction of your final Diploma result. Check the assessment criteria or markscheme with your teacher, then identify one specific improvement you can demonstrate next time. A disappointing mark becomes useful when it changes how you prepare or answer questions.
For example, if a history response contains accurate facts but little analysis, adding more revision notes may not address the problem. Practise explaining how each piece of evidence supports your argument instead. If mathematics errors come from choosing the wrong method, mix question types rather than repeating identical exercises. Ask for help when you cannot explain a correction independently, and revisit the corrected skill after several days to check that you retained it.
Common First-Term Mistakes
Delaying revision: First-term material remains examinable. Short weekly retrieval is easier than rebuilding months of content.
Using one method for every subject: Mathematics requires problem-solving practice, while literature requires close reading and interpretation. Match preparation to the assessment.
Overloading the timetable: An unrealistic plan quickly collapses. Begin with sustainable sessions and increase them when evidence shows it is necessary.
Ignoring feedback: Convert each comment into an action for the next assignment and track recurring issues.
Starting coursework without instructions: Explore interests, but wait for the correct guide, teacher briefing, and school timeline before beginning formal IA or EE work.
Your End-of-Term Check
Before the term ends, confirm that:
- You know all six subject names, levels, and assessment structures.
- Your files are organised by subject and topic.
- You practise retrieval and application every week.
- You act on feedback through an error log.
- You have begun CAS and recorded suitable evidence.
- You understand the purposes of TOK and the EE.
- All deadlines appear in one calendar.
- Your schedule protects sleep and non-IB commitments.
Conclusion
The central purpose of this DP1 first-term checklist is consistency. M28 students should finish the term with dependable routines for subjects, CAS, TOK, feedback, and deadlines, rather than trying to complete the Diploma early.
RevisionDojo can support this system through subject resources and planning tools. A useful next step is to enter your six subjects and schedule one review block for each next week.
Sources and referenced URLs
- IB Diploma Programme curriculum overview
- IB Creativity, Activity, Service overview
- IB Theory of Knowledge overview
- IB Extended Essay curriculum update
- RevisionDojo subject resources
- RevisionDojo guide to planning IA, EE, TOK, and examinations
- RevisionDojo Study Planner
- RevisionDojo guide to free and paid IB resources
- Create a free RevisionDojo account