Top 10 mistakes IB students make in Paper 2 (and how to avoid them)

1. Ignoring the command term

"Analyse" and "Discuss" are not synonyms. Yet every May, examiner reports flag thousands of scripts that treat them as such. Analyse asks you to break a concept down using a framework. Discuss asks you to weigh up at least two views. Evaluate requires a final judgement.

The first word of the question dictates 50% of your answer structure. Read it twice, then write your plan around it.

2. No reference to the stimulus

Paper 2 is built around an unseen case study. Markers reward application. If your essay would work for any firm in the world, you have under-applied. Quote the case. Use names from the stimulus. Reference numbers.

Rule of thumb. Every paragraph should contain at least one direct reference to the case material: a name, a figure or a quotation. If a paragraph doesn't, rewrite it.

3. Listing frameworks without applying them

Writing "SWOT analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats" earns no marks. Markers want to see the framework used on the case. Build a populated SWOT, draw a conclusion from it, link back to the question.

4. Forgetting the judgement on Evaluate

"Evaluate the proposed expansion" without a final judgement is incomplete. Markers withhold the top band until you say which side you come down on, and why. Use a phrase like "On balance, the expansion is justified because…".

5. Time mismanagement

Paper 2 has tight time pressure. Allocate about 2 minutes per mark (90 minutes for 40 marks at SL, 105 for 50 at HL): a 10-mark question deserves about 20 minutes, not 30. Going long on early questions starves the high-mark essay at the end.

6. Calculation errors in finance questions

If asked to calculate break-even, contribution per unit or a ratio, show every step. Method marks are awarded even if the final number is wrong. Skipping working forfeits those marks completely.

7. Generic "real-world" examples

"Like Apple" is not a real-world example, it's a brand name. A real example specifies what Apple did, when, and what happened next. "When Apple launched the Vision Pro in 2024, sales fell short of analyst expectations, illustrating the risk of skimming pricing" is a real example.

8. Missing the HL-specific extension

HL students must use HL content (industrial relations, NPV/ARR, 7Ps, location, R&D, MIS) when relevant. Writing a strictly-SL answer in an HL paper caps you in the middle band.

9. Poor structure on 10-mark questions

The structure that works:

1. 1 short intro: define key terms, state position.
2. 2 to 3 body paragraphs: each one tool/argument, applied to the case, evaluated.
3. 1 short conclusion: judgement with reasoning.

Five short paragraphs beat one long ramble every time.

10. Not checking the working

Leave 3 to 5 minutes at the end. Check: did you address every part of every question? Did you make a judgement on Evaluate? Did you reference the stimulus in every paragraph? Tiny fixes here can move you a whole grade band.