IB prep, coached not shortcut.
IB Diploma prep, HL and SL, all six subjects.
The International Baccalaureate Diploma is the most demanding standardized secondary-education program in wide use. Six subjects (three HL, three SL), Theory of Knowledge (TOK), a 4,000-word Extended Essay (EE), and Creativity/Activity/Service (CAS) requirements — all across two years, all assessed by external markers using specific rubrics.
IB rewards students who can produce sustained, argument-driven work across disciplines. The failure mode for AI-assisted IB students is invisible during the two years and catastrophic in May of Year 2 — the exam markers can distinguish AI-generated prose from real student writing, and the rubrics reward specificity that AI doesn't produce.
Brainback trains for the IB assessment reality: command terms matter, source-integrated argumentation matters, subject-specific vocabulary matters. The tutor's response format matches IB expectations per command term. TOK arguments get coached through Learn mode; Extended Essay research questions get refined without ghost-writing the essay itself.
The two-year DP cycle is where compounding matters most. Recall queues built in Year 1 pay back at the May exams in Year 2. Brain score's subject decomposition helps you decide where to focus each week across six subjects — a decision that's otherwise made by whoever's most anxious that week.
What our IB beta cohort has measured.
What you’re actually facing on test day.
Total: varies by subject (typically 2-5 hours per subject across multiple papers). Below is every section, with its duration, question count, and scoring role.
| section | duration | questions | scoring |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 (varies by subject) | typically 1-1.5h | MC or SAQ | counts toward subject grade |
| Paper 2 (varies by subject) | typically 1.5-2h | structured or essay | counts |
| Paper 3 (HL only) | typically 1-1.5h | advanced content | counts (HL only) |
| Internal Assessment (IA) | coursework | project/report | 20-25% of subject grade |
| TOK Essay + Presentation | coursework | 1600 word essay + 10 min pres | up to 3 bonus points |
| Extended Essay (EE) | coursework | 4000 word research paper | up to 3 bonus points (combined with TOK) |
Each subject 1-7 (7 highest). Diploma = sum of six subjects + up to 3 bonus points from TOK/EE. Passing: 24+ points. Competitive: 38+. Perfect: 45.
A week-by-week rhythm.
Rehearsable. Predictable. Adjustable for your calendar. Each week has one focus and one specific Brainback move.
| when | focus | brainback move |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 · Fall | Foundations across six subjects | Every homework problem in Learn mode. Recall queue starts filling per subject. |
| Year 1 · Spring | Mid-DP internal assessments | IA drafts through Learn mode (outlining, not writing). Recall queue at 200+ cards. |
| Year 1 · Summer | Extended Essay research question + EE plan | Learn mode coaches EE research question refinement. Zero writing until Year 2. |
| Year 2 · Fall | Advanced content + EE drafting | Recall queue at 400+ cards across six subjects. Weekly Brain score by subject. |
| Year 2 · Winter | Past-paper practice + IA finalization | One past paper per weekend across weakest subject. |
| Year 2 · Spring | May exams — full-length past papers weekly | Full-length past paper Saturday. Learn mode Sunday on every wrong answer. |
| Final month | Rest week + rubric practice + sleep | Recall queue only in final 5 days. Trust two years of compounding. |
Add all six subjects as Learn subjects on day one. Attach the IB subject guide PDFs as materials.
What Learn mode actually does on an IB question.
A representative exchange: the problem, your attempt, the tutor’s response, your follow-up, the downstream card. Notice the tutor never solves.
TOK: 'To what extent does the language we use shape the knowledge we can produce?' Draft your thesis.
Language significantly shapes knowledge by providing the categories through which we perceive the world.
You've named a strong claim — linguistic categorization — but IB TOK markers want the counter-argument named too. What's the STRONGEST counter-position, and how does your thesis handle it?
Counter would be: some knowledge is pre-linguistic (mathematical intuitions, spatial reasoning). But my thesis could handle that by distinguishing 'produced' knowledge (which requires linguistic encoding to be shared) from 'experienced' knowledge (which doesn't).
Three Brainback pieces matter most for IB.
All seven product surfaces are always on. For this exam specifically, these three carry the load. Each has its own dedicated page.
Three ways IB prep quietly fails.
And the specific Brainback mechanism that catches each one. This isn’t a promise — it’s what the workflow is designed to do.
AI-drafting Extended Essay draft in Year 2 Winter
Learn mode won't draft the EE — it coaches the research question, outline, and specific argument structure. What you turn in is yours.
Year 1 content forgotten by May of Year 2
Recall queue explicitly designed for two-year retention. Cards return at 30, 90, 180, 365-day intervals.
TOK essay written the week before deadline
Learn mode coaches TOK argumentation from Year 1; by Year 2 Winter you have the argument structure in your head, not scrambling.
Four anti-patterns to skip.
Common approaches that feel productive but produce nothing. Skipping these is worth as much as adding a technique.
because · The Diploma requires 24+ points across ALL six. Weakest subject drags down your total.
because · The recall queue built over two years is what carries you. If it wasn't built, cramming won't fix it.
because · CAS reflections are meant to be personal. AI-drafted ones get flagged by DP coordinators; the risk is loss of the Diploma.
What movement is realistic.
Realistic range: +3 to +6 points on the 45-point Diploma scale across a full two-year cycle. Students who start mid-Year-1 or later see smaller gains (+1 to +3). The strongest gains show up in HL subjects with heavy essay components (History HL, English Lit HL, Philosophy HL) and in the TOK + EE bonus points.
Student annual — $59/yr. Two-year DP cycle. Annual is the right dosing. See all plans →
Everything IB prep folks ask.
Does it handle IB command terms?▾
Yes — 'evaluate', 'discuss', 'to what extent', etc. The tutor's response format matches IB expectations for each command term.
Extended Essay help?▾
Coaching, yes. Writing, no. Learn mode helps with research question refinement + argument structure. The essay body stays yours.
TOK support?▾
Learn mode is a natural fit for TOK — it's a Socratic dialogue subject already. The tutor pushes back on shallow argumentation the same way an IB TOK marker will.
Can I use it for the Internal Assessments (IAs)?▾
Yes — Learn mode coaches IA structure, methodology critique, and rubric-aligned drafting. The work itself is yours; the coaching is the value.
What about MYP or IB Career-related Programme?▾
The DP is our primary focus. MYP and CP students can use Brainback but the tuning is DP-specific. The workflow generalizes.
Does the tutor know the current IB syllabi?▾
The tutor is trained on the current IB subject guides. When guides update (typically every 5-7 years), we update the tutor's prompt within a month of the new syllabus becoming operational.
Read the full high school playbook.
The years when learning habits either form or don't. Brainback makes the habit inevitable.
Prepping for something else? Read the other pages.
IB prep
Start free. Upgrade when the cycle demands it.
Student annual — $59/yr · cancel anytime.