IB English Survivors Share Their Top Tips

It’s New Year’s Day. The spring exams are ahead, and graduation is finally in sight.

Here is some hard-earned advice from students who’ve already made it through. Each quote comes from a high‑scoring student at an international school in Hong Kong. (Names have been changed to safeguard identity.)

Take what helps, leave what doesn’t, and remember: you’re closer to the finish line than you think.

Paper 1 — Unseen Analysis (Lit or Non‑Lit)

“I didn’t memorize devices. I asked questions.

Stuff like: What’s this line assuming? What’s it doing to the reader?
In the exam, I just locked onto what the passage wanted the reader to know and followed through on it.” 

— Leo, 7 in Literature (St. Paul’s Co‑educational College, 2025)

“I stopped trying to sound smart and started trying to sound clear.

Short sentences. Active verbs: ‘The ad hides the cost’ hits harder than ‘fails to mention.’”

— Alex, 7 in Lang & Lit (Chinese International School, Hong Kong, 2024)

“I wrote a 3—sentence analysis and freaked out, then realized I’d done exactly what Paper 1 wants.

I broke down one metaphor properly instead of listing five techniques.”

— May, 7 in Literature (Hong Kong International School, 2025)

Paper 2 — Comparative Literature Essay

“Paper 2 isn’t about knowing everything about two books.

It’s about knowing one idea well enough to track it across both books separately. Once I zoomed in and focused on one idea, the essay actually worked.”

— Dev, 7 in Literature (Canadian International School of Hong Kong, 2024)

“My biggest Paper 2 glow‑up was realizing the question isn’t a checklist.

It’s a lens. I stopped forcing balance and started asking: How does each writer deal with this differently?

— Chloe, 7 in Literature (ESF King George V School, Hong Kong, 2025)

IO — Individual Oral (Lang & Lit or Literature)

“The IO isn’t about being perfect. It’s about thinking out loud.

My voice shook. I butchered ‘hegemony.’ Still got a 7 because I showed how the text works, not because I sounded smooth.”

— Taylor, 7 in Lang & Lit (German Swiss International School, 2025)

“My first IO scripts sounded low‑key painful.

Then I recorded myself explaining the text like I was telling a friend. That version got me a 7.”

— Allen, 7 in Lang & Lit (Diocesan Boys’ School, 2023).

“I completely tanked my mock IO and cried in the stairwell.

Then I asked: What part actually felt real? It was my point about silence in Beloved. I rebuilt everything around that.”

— Aisha, 6→7 on the official IO (Harrow International School Hong Kong, 2024)

“My non‑lit text was a TikTok. Yes, seriously.

58 seconds on Deaf culture, and I analysed it like a poem. The IO doesn’t care how ‘academic’ the text looks. It cares how well you analyse it.”

— Nick, 7 in Lang & Lit (Singapore International School, 2023)

“I wore my mom’s cultural dress to the IO. My lit text was Persepolis.

I felt grounded, and my analysis was better for it. When you feel like yourself, you think better.”

— Elena, 7 in Lang & Lit (Renaissance College, ESF, 2023)

HLE — Higher Level Essay

“My HLE was on ‘the aesthetics of poverty in influencer travel content.’

It worked not because it sounded fancy, but because I actually cared and could stick with it for 1,200 words.”

— Sof, 7 in Lang & Lit (Po Leung Kuk Choi Kai Yau School, Hong Kong, 2024)

“The HLE taught me that IB isn’t testing genius, it’s testing stamina.

Can you follow one idea patiently and properly on your own? Once I got that, the essay stopped being scary.”

— Ben, 7 in Lang & Lit (Nord Anglia International School Hong Kong, 2024)

If there’s one thing these students have in common, it’s not talent or confidence, it’s that they figured out what each task actually wanted before trying to impress the examiner.

As you head into the spring exams, remember this: you don’t need to reinvent yourself as an English student. You just need to trust your thinking, stay focused on the task, and keep going when it feels uncomfortable. Everyone quoted here felt stressed at some point, and they still finished strong.

Graduation is closer than it feels. Do the work, ask smart questions, and take it one assessment at a time. You’re almost there.