IB Math RevisionIB Math AA SL November 2026: final 3-week revision plan
21 days, one focused task a day, counted back from AA SL Paper 1 on Monday 9 November 2026, then what to do on each exam day. Every task links a free page on this site, built from the topics and mistakes the IB’s own subject reports flag. Tick each day off: your ticks are saved in this browser.
Your November 2026 paper dates
| Paper | Date | Session | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | Monday 9 November 2026 | afternoon | 1h 30m |
| Paper 2 | Tuesday 10 November 2026 | morning | 1h 30m |
Source: IB November 2026 examination schedule (PDF), checked 5 October 2026. Start times depend on your time zone: your IB coordinator confirms them. All sessions: IB Maths exam dates.
How to revise for each paper
How to revise for Paper 1
90 minutes, 80 marks, no calculator, in 2 sections (Section A, Section B). About 1.1 minutes a mark.
In the 5 AA SL Paper 1s mapped on Examiner Insights (May 2024 TZ2, November 2024 TZ2, May 2025 TZ1, May 2025 TZ2, November 2025 TZ3), the most questions touched Calculus (15 of 45) and Functions (15 of 45). That is what came up before, not a forecast.
Timed practice: practice Paper 1 · Prediction Paper 1 (our prediction) · past papers
How to revise for Paper 2
90 minutes, 80 marks, calculator allowed, in 2 sections (Section A, Section B). About 1.1 minutes a mark.
In the 5 AA SL Paper 2s mapped on Examiner Insights (May 2024 TZ2, November 2024 TZ2, May 2025 TZ1, May 2025 TZ2, November 2025 TZ3), the most questions touched Statistics and probability (14 of 45) and Geometry and trigonometry (13 of 45). That is what came up before, not a forecast.
Timed practice: Prediction Paper 2 (our prediction) · past papers
The 21 days
Week 1: find your gaps and fix the big topics
- Day 1
Rate every topic, then put your dates in a plan
Monday 19 October
Go through the AA SL syllabus checklist and mark each topic red, amber or green. Then add your paper dates to the study planner: it builds a week-by-week timetable from your own weak topics.
- Day 2
A timed Paper 1 to find your gaps
Tuesday 20 October
Sit our AA SL practice Paper 1 in one go (90 minutes, 80 marks, no calculator), marked instantly. Put every lost mark in My mistakes: that list drives the rest of the plan.
- Day 3
Calculus in context: kinematics, integration with a boundary condition, optimisation
Wednesday 21 October
Calculus questions appear in every paper we mapped, and kinematics or integrating with a boundary condition is named as difficult in every session (maximum speed, distance, fastest rate, "closest").
- Day 4
Probability and distributions: conditional probability, binomial inequalities, normal bounds
Thursday 22 October
Probability parts were left blank or badly answered in four of five sessions; the reports single out assuming independence, conditional probability with complements and binomial/normal set-up.
Notes · Practise Unit 4: Statistics and probability · What the examiners say
- Day 5
Functions: rational functions, transformations, inverses and logs
Friday 23 October
Rational functions and transformations recur on Paper 1 every session, with marks lost on asymptote notation, incomplete transformation descriptions and log laws.
- Day 6
The formula booklet: what is in it, and what is not
Saturday 24 October
Find your way around the AA SL formula booklet: you get a clean copy in every paper. Then learn the formulas that are not in the booklet.
- Day 7
Review the week
Sunday 25 October
Redo every question in My mistakes without looking at the answer. Read how mark schemes work (M, A, R and AG marks), so you know where the method marks are.
Week 2: full papers, marked like the real thing
- Day 8
Prediction Paper 1, timed (our prediction)
Monday 26 October
Sit Paper 1 from our Prediction Papers under exam conditions (90 minutes, 80 marks, no calculator). They are our own papers in the IB format, not IB papers. Paper 1 of each course is free with a free account.
- Day 9
Mark it line by line
Tuesday 27 October
Mark yesterday’s paper with its markscheme, code by code. Log every lost mark in My mistakes with the topic it came from.
- Day 10
Trigonometry: equations with several solutions, radians, triangles in context
Wednesday 28 October
Trigonometric equations, sector formulas and 3D or bearing contexts are named as difficult in four sessions; degree/radian mode errors keep appearing.
Notes · Practise Unit 3: Geometry and trigonometry · What the examiners say
- Day 11
Calculator: exam mode and the skills you will need
Thursday 29 October
Practise turning on exam mode on your own calculator (for Papers 2: Paper 1 is non-calculator). Then run through: Solving equations · Graphs: intersections, zeros, max and min · Numerical derivative and integral · Normal distribution.
- Day 12
A timed Paper 2
Friday 30 October
Sit Paper 2 from the Prediction Papers (90 minutes, 80 marks, calculator allowed). Mark it and log the lost marks.
- Day 13
Three mistakes that cost marks
Saturday 31 October
From the IB’s own subject reports, as summarised on Examiner Insights: Doing by hand what the GDC should do on Paper 2, and not writing what you solved; Answer in the wrong form: asymptotes not as equations, coordinates vs values, unfinished answers; Ignoring "hence" and the links between parts. Read each fix, then find one question where you made it.
- Day 14
Sequences, logs and proof, with exact Paper 1 answers
Sunday 1 November
Sequences and logarithms appear every session, usually as the algebra that decides the marks; proof by testing values scored nothing when it came up.
Notes · Practise Unit 1: Number and algebra · What the examiners say
Week 3: sharpen, then rest
- Day 15
One more paper, timed
Monday 2 November
Sit a paper from the AA SL past papers or the free 20-question sample (PDF), timed, and log the lost marks.
- Day 16
Redo every question in My mistakes
Tuesday 3 November
Open My mistakes and redo each one. Anything you still get wrong goes on a single sheet for the last week.
- Day 17
Command terms: what each question asks for
Wednesday 4 November
Read the maths command terms: “show that”, “hence”, “justify” and “write down” each want something different.
- Day 18
A mixed set of questions
Thursday 5 November
Twenty minutes of mixed review questions across the course, then the question of the day.
- Day 19
Formulas to know by heart
Friday 6 November
Test yourself on the formulas that are not in the booklet, with the AA SL formula sheet beside you.
- Day 20
A light day: calculator check and your bag
Saturday 7 November
Go through the calculator exam-day checklist and how to reset it. One short topic only, then stop.
- Day 21
The night before Paper 1
Sunday 8 November
No new topics. Read the night-before checklist below, pack your bag and get an early night.
Exam days
- Monday 9 November, afternoon
Paper 1 (1h 30m)
No calculator on this paper. Skim your formula list and two questions you got right, then go in calm. Pace: about 1.1 minutes a mark.
Afterwards, don’t redo it from memory: Paper 2 is on Tuesday 10 November (morning). Twenty minutes on the calculator skills above, then sleep.
- Tuesday 10 November, morning
Paper 2 (1h 30m)
Calculator charged and in exam mode. Write the equation or integral down before you use the calculator, so the method marks are on the page. Pace: about 1.1 minutes a mark.
The night before
- Pack pens, a pencil, ruler and eraser, and your calculator (Paper 2): charged or with fresh batteries. Your school tells you what ID to bring.
- Know how to turn on exam mode on your model, and check the angle mode at the start: degrees or radians.
- You get a clean copy of the formula booklet in every paper. Read your list of formulas that are not in it once.
- Plan your time: Paper 1 is 90 minutes for 80 marks; Paper 2 is 90 minutes for 80 marks.
- No new topics. An early night does more than one more hour of revision.
In the exam room
- Accuracy: 2 s.f. answers, early rounding and ignored accuracy instructions. Keep full calculator values (store them) until the very last line. Give final answers exactly or to 3 s.f. unless the question says otherwise, and when a given answer has more figures, show your value to more figures than that before rounding. (Examiner Insights)
- "Show that": substituting or working back from the given answer. Start from the information in the question and write every step, left-hand side to right-hand side, until you reach the printed result, then say "as required". If you reject a value, give the reason in words. (Examiner Insights)
- Missing brackets and arithmetic slips on Paper 1 (subtracting, squaring, simplifying). Put brackets round every expression you subtract or square, and expand them on a separate line. Work in fractions rather than long decimals on Paper 1, and simplify fully (integers as integers, surds simplified). (Examiner Insights)
- Show your method. Method marks are given for correct working even when the final answer is wrong: how mark schemes work.
- Stuck? Leave a gap, move on, and come back with the time you have left.
Free account: save your plan and progress
With a free account (no card), the study planner saves your paper dates and builds a week-by-week timetable from your weak topics, your checklist ratings and My mistakes follow you to any device, and Paper 1 of our Prediction Papers opens in full.
Free account, no card: 5 more practice questions on every topic with instant feedback, full worked answers on free questions, and your streak and progress on any device. Join free
More for the final weeks
- IB Maths AA SL exam countdown a shorter checklist
- IB Maths AA SL Examiner Insights where marks are lost
- Formula booklet PDFs
- Grade boundaries
Other plans for IB Maths AA SL: Mock prep · Exam countdown · Back to school · Results day · 30-day challenge · IA rescue week · Mock Season Plan (free, 4 weeks) · Final 6 Weeks (free plan) · all exam-season plans