The best IB Math AA SL Paper 1 tips come down to three things: work in exact values and fractions, write every line so the method marks are on the page, and give each answer in exactly the form the question asks for. Paper 1 is 90 minutes and 80 marks with no calculator, so it rewards careful algebra much more than speed. For the November 2026 session it is on the afternoon of Monday 9 November.
Below are the habits that make the most difference, with two short worked examples of the kind of question where marks usually slip.
1. Know the shape of the paper
Paper 1 has two sections. Section A is shorter questions; Section B is longer, structured questions where later parts build on earlier ones. At 80 marks in 90 minutes you have roughly 1.1 minutes a mark, so a 6-mark question deserves about 7 minutes, not 15.
Read the whole of a Section B question before you start it. The later parts often tell you something you need, and they are often easier than they look. If part (b) defeats you, part (c) may still be accessible using a result that is printed in the question.
2. Exact values, always
Without a calculator, decimals become a trap. Keep fractions as fractions, surds as surds and $\pi$ as $\pi$. Integers should be written as integers: if your answer is $\frac{12}{4}$, write $3$.
You need the exact values of sine, cosine and tangent at $0$, $\frac{\pi}{6}$, $\frac{\pi}{4}$, $\frac{\pi}{3}$ and $\frac{\pi}{2}$, and you need to place them in all four quadrants. If you hesitate over $\cos \frac{2\pi}{3}$, practise the unit circle until you do not.
Example 1 · Paper 1 style · 6 marks
Solve $2\sin^2 x - \sin x - 1 = 0$ for $0 \le x \le 2\pi$.
Solution
This is a quadratic in $\sin x$. Factorise:
$$(2\sin x + 1)(\sin x - 1) = 0$$
So $\sin x = 1$ or $\sin x = -\frac{1}{2}$.
$\sin x = 1$ gives $x = \frac{\pi}{2}$.
$\sin x = -\frac{1}{2}$: the reference angle is $\frac{\pi}{6}$, and sine is negative in the third and fourth quadrants, so $x = \pi + \frac{\pi}{6} = \frac{7\pi}{6}$ or $x = 2\pi - \frac{\pi}{6} = \frac{11\pi}{6}$.
Solutions: $x = \frac{\pi}{2}, \frac{7\pi}{6}, \frac{11\pi}{6}$.
The usual loss here is the third solution. Before you move on, check the interval in the question and ask yourself how many solutions you would expect.
3. Brackets on everything you subtract or square
Most Paper 1 marks that disappear do so in the algebra, not the method. When you subtract an expression, put it in brackets and expand on a separate line. When you square a binomial, write it out as a product so the middle term cannot vanish. When you use the quotient rule, bracket the whole numerator. It costs a few seconds and protects marks you have already earned.
4. Give the answer in the form asked
Read the last few words of the question again before you write your answer. "Find the coordinates" wants a point. "Find the value of $x$" wants a number. "Write down the equation of the asymptote" wants an equation, not a number.
Example 2 · Paper 1 style · 4 marks
The function $f$ is defined by $f(x) = \dfrac{2x + 3}{x - 1}$, $x \neq 1$. Write down the equations of the vertical and horizontal asymptotes of the graph of $f$, and find the coordinates of its axis intercepts.
Solution
Vertical asymptote: the denominator is zero when $x = 1$, so the asymptote is $x = 1$.
Horizontal asymptote: as $x$ becomes large, $f(x)$ approaches $\frac{2}{1} = 2$, so the asymptote is $y = 2$.
$y$-intercept: $f(0) = \frac{3}{-1} = -3$, so $(0, -3)$.
$x$-intercept: $2x + 3 = 0$ gives $x = -\frac{3}{2}$, so $\left(-\frac{3}{2}, 0\right)$.
Writing "VA $= 1$, HA $= 2$" or just "1 and 2" can cost the marks even though you clearly know the answer. An asymptote is a line, so its answer is an equation.
5. "Show that" means derive it
When the answer is printed, it earns nothing by itself. Start from the information in the question and write each step until you reach the given result. Substituting the printed answer to check it, or working backwards from it, does not show that it must be true. If you reject a value along the way, say why in words.
6. Use "hence"
"Hence" tells you to use the result you have just found. If part (a) asked you to factorise and part (b) says "hence solve", the factorisation is the method. Starting again from scratch wastes time and often misses the marks the question was designed to give.
7. Know your formula booklet, and what is not in it
You get a clean copy of the formula booklet in the exam. Learn where things are in it, so you are not hunting for the arithmetic series formula with the clock running. Some results you need are not printed there, such as exact trigonometric values, perpendicular gradients and the equation of a tangent or normal at a point. Our list of AA SL formulas not in the booklet is the one to learn this week.
8. Do the arithmetic you can check
Paper 1 has integrals and derivatives that you evaluate by hand. Set them out so each number is easy to check. For example, $\int_1^4 3\sqrt{x}\,dx = \left[2x^{3/2}\right]_1^4 = 2(8) - 2(1) = 14$. Write the antiderivative, then the substitution, then the answer. If the final number is wrong, the method marks are still visible.
9. Do not get stuck
If a part is not working after a couple of minutes, leave a gap and move on. Come back with the time you have left. A blank part costs you its marks; ten minutes lost on it can cost you a whole question elsewhere.
Practise in the right conditions
All of these habits only stick if you practise without a calculator, against the clock. Try the AA SL Paper 1 practice questions, then sit a full 90-minute paper and mark it line by line. If you have three weeks left, the AA SL final 3-week plan sets out a task for each day up to 9 November. The AA SL Examiner Insights page summarises, in our own words, where the IB's subject reports say students lose marks.
A free account (no card) adds 5 more practice questions on every topic with instant feedback, full worked answers on free questions, and your streak and progress on any device. Create a free account to keep track of the questions you get wrong between now and the exam.
Practise this topic
FAQ
How long is IB Math AA SL Paper 1?
1 hour 30 minutes for 80 marks, with no calculator, in two sections (Section A and Section B). That is a little over a minute a mark.
Do you get a formula booklet in AA SL Paper 1?
Yes. You get a clean copy of the formula booklet in every paper. Some formulas you need are not in it, so learn those separately.
When is AA SL Paper 1 in November 2026?
Monday 9 November 2026, in the afternoon. Paper 2 follows on the morning of Tuesday 10 November.
Non-calculator AA SL questions in the Paper 1 style, each with a step-by-step mark scheme.
Try AA SL Paper 1 questions →