ExamTeXHow do I turn my IB Maths AA notes into a Paper 1 practice test?
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IB Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches Paper 1 is the non-calculator paper: Section A short questions and Section B extended questions, every answer exact. The trap is practising with a calculator in reach. ExamTeX writes a new Paper 1-style test from your notes or the syllabus topics, marked the IB way with method, accuracy and reasoning marks, so you can sit it in 90 minutes (SL) or 2 hours (HL) with nothing but a pen.
Short answer
How can I make an IB Maths AA Paper 1 practice test from my notes?
Upload your IB Maths AA notes at examtex.com/create, or pick IB Math AA and tick the topics you are revising, write "Paper 1, no calculator, exact answers" in the instructions, set the time limit to 90 minutes (SL) or 120 (HL), and generate. ExamTeX writes short-answer and calculation questions in the AA style, typeset in LaTeX, with a markscheme that shows the method, accuracy and reasoning marks. Print it and sit it without a calculator.
How it works
1. Upload your notes or tick the topics
Class notes, worked examples, the formula booklet pages you rely on, or just the five syllabus topics ticked: number and algebra, functions, geometry and trigonometry, statistics and probability, calculus.
2. Set it up as Paper 1
Choose short-answer and calculation questions, no multiple choice (IB has none), and write "Paper 1: no calculator, exact answers, Section A short questions then a Section B extended question" in the instructions. Set the time limit.
3. Sit it without a calculator, then mark it
Exact values only: fractions, surds, multiples of pi. Mark against the markscheme and note where you lost method marks by not writing the equation you solved.
What to know
How the markscheme works
M marks for a correct method shown (writing the derivative equal to zero before solving), A marks for the exact answer that follows, R marks for a reason where one is asked. A wrong answer with the right method keeps most marks; a bare answer with no working can score zero.
SL and HL
HL Paper 1 is longer (2 hours, 110 marks) and includes HL content: complex numbers, induction, vectors, further calculus. Upload HL notes or say HL in the instructions; otherwise questions stay at SL level.
Paper 2 and Paper 3
For Paper 2, say "calculator allowed" so questions use technology (numerical answers to three significant figures). HL Paper 3 is two long problem-solving questions on an unfamiliar scenario; upload a past Paper 3 as the source to get that shape.
The paper you are practising for
Paper 1 (no calculator)
Section A: short questions across the syllabus. Section B: extended questions in several parts. Every answer exact.
Paper 2 (calculator)
Same Section A and B structure with a graphic display calculator required; answers to three significant figures unless an exact value is asked for.
Command terms
Write down (no working needed), Find and Determine (working expected), Show that (the answer is given; every step must appear), Hence (use the previous part), Justify and Explain (a reason in words).
Common mistakes
- Giving a rounded decimal where an exact value is required, which loses the final accuracy mark.
- Not writing down the equation being solved, so the method mark cannot be awarded when the arithmetic slips.
- Forgetting the second solution of a trigonometric equation in the given interval.
- Treating "Show that" as "Find": skipping steps because the answer is printed on the paper.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does ExamTeX typeset the maths properly?
Yes. Every question and solution is typeset in LaTeX, so fractions, surds, integrals and sigma notation print as they do on an IB paper, and the PDF is A4 and print-ready.
Will the questions be non-calculator?
When you say so in the instructions. The AA style plus "no calculator, exact answers" produces questions that resolve to exact values; check the first paper you generate and tighten the instruction if a question needs a decimal.
Does it follow the current AA syllabus?
The IB Math AA style uses the current five-topic syllabus, and questions come from the notes or topics you give it, so they stay within what you have covered. Tick only the topics you have studied so far for a mid-year test.
What about Applications and Interpretation?
Pick IB Math AI instead: every AI paper allows a calculator and the content leans to modelling and statistics. The two routes share topic names, not questions.
Is it free?
You can try it free, without a card. The free plan includes 2 practice exams a month, with a watermark on the PDF, and generating from the built-in sample notes does not use one of them. Pro costs €9.99 a month for unlimited practice exams without the watermark; the Exam Pass gives you the same for 30 days for a one-time €4.99 (exam-season price until 15 December; normally €9.99) and does not renew.
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