How do I use past papers and predicted papers?

How the two sections differ

Past papers are the real IB exams that students have already sat. They are grouped by subject, exam session, timezone, paper and level. Open a session and you get a video walkthrough for each question in it. This section holds the video solutions, not copies of the exam papers themselves.

Predicted papers are new practice papers written by IB examiners. Each one has a question paper, nearly all of them come with a markscheme, and some also carry a model answer or a source booklet. They open in a reader on the site and download as PDFs.

Both are built subject by subject. A subject page carries a Past Papers tab or a Predicted Papers tab only when there is content for it, so a tab you cannot see means nothing is there yet rather than something locked.

What you need to open them

Most predicted papers need Pro. Without it, the paper page shows a card headed Unlock this paper with Pro instead of the PDF. A smaller set of papers is open to anyone with an account. You have to be signed in either way, because paper files are never served to a signed-out browser.

Pro is applied per subject. If you are on a plan that covers specific subjects, predicted papers unlock for the subjects on that plan and stay locked for the rest. Plus does not include predicted papers.

Past paper videos work the same way. Pro plays all of them, and questions labelled Free play for everyone.

Working through a paper

1. Open a predicted paper and read it in the viewer, or use Download PDF to print it.
2. Sit it under exam conditions, full timing and no notes. The target time is shown as Duration on the paper.
3. Mark your own work against the Markscheme tab at the top of the viewer.
4. Choose Add attempt, enter your score, your time and any notes, then Save Attempt.

Saved attempts stay on the paper under My past attempts, so you can see how your score and timing changed between sittings.

Treat past papers the same way, then come back and watch the video for each question you got wrong, plus any you got right on a guess. Watching every video in order is a much weaker use of them.