Paper 1 ₍^. .^₎⟆⊹ ࣪ ˖

Paper 1 is out of 49 marks. 27 Marks are allocated to the SAQs (9 marks each) and 22 marks are allocated to the ERQs (Essay Question)
Section A is made up of three short answer questions on the core
Section B is made up of one essay question from a choice of three on the biological, cognitive and sociocultural approaches**.** For HL, one, two or three essay questions will be based on HL extensions. Students reference the HL extension in their essay answer.
COMMAND TERMS ARE IRRELEVANT FOR SAQs, ONLY RELEVANT FOR ERQs

SAQs and how to Score Highly in Them

Resources:

https://www.themantic-education.com/ibpsych/2019/07/29/7-simple-steps-to-better-exam-answers/

https://lomichelle42.medium.com/how-to-ace-saqs-in-ib-psychology-3330f799f968

Paper 1 SAQ Top Mark Band

From the mark scheme, we can determine several rules to follow in order to write a high scoring SAQ response.

1. Stay “fully focused” on the question.

Start by directly rephrasing the question as part of your thesis statement. If the question asks about “one model of memory”, use this phrase in the first sentence of your response!

2. Meet the “command term requirements”.

This is the most important tip that will move your response into the top grade. For an SAQ, always remember to talk about the how and the why. Most students can satisfactorily explain the how aspect of the SAQ prompt. For instance, if the question is “explain neuroplasticity”, many students will happily write about the processes behind how neuroplasticity occurs. However, a high scoring student should also write about why neuroplasticity occurs, and describe possible reasons and causes for the phenomenon.

3. Fully address the “main topics”, i.e. keywords in the question.

At the start of the response, define important, explicit keywords in the question. For instance, if the question asks about social cognitive theory, you must give a definition for what social cognitive theory is and its key principles.

Additionally, don’t forget to give some background information about implicittopics, e.g. if you get asked about genetics, explain what a gene is. EXPLAIN EVERYTHING you can. Whenever you can throw in relevant keywords from the question into your answer, do it.