Top Mistakes Students Make in ESS — and How Online Lessons Fix Them

21 Dec Top Mistakes Students Make in ESS — and How Online Lessons Fix Them

Top Mistakes Students Make in ESS — and How Online Lessons Fix Them

Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS) is one of the most loved and interesting IB subjects. It is considered not that difficult subject, but it’s also the subject where students lose their marks where they dont expect. ESS is not a subject where you need to memorize facts only, but it is important that students know how to think. So, system thinking is important as well as the application of the knowledge that you have required. Every year and every exam session, students make similar mistakes. Understanding these similar ESS study mistakes and how ESS lessons can help you with them will make the important step when it comes your final ESS grade.

Only memorizing data

One of the largest Environmental Systems and Societies study mistakes is only memorizing definitions, key terms and case studies. It is not expected that you only memorize data in ESS but apply it. While definitions and case studies are important, ESS exams require from you do much more. What students need to focus more is application, analysis, and evaluation of key terms and concepts. Students mainly revise their definitions and key terms but somehow forget how to apply the knowledge on a real world situation. If you only read notes you will struggle hard when exam questions require you to explain the relations in some real world system such as rainforest.

Quality online ESS lessons can train you how to exactly answer complicated ESS questions and real-world environmental problems. You will learn data and definitions, but you will be guided through how to apply different environmental concepts like sustainability or sustainable development. You will learn how to think not only in familiar situations but also unfamiliar. Interactive lessons with pictures, maps and food webs and explanations help students think like a very successful ESS learner.

Not Thinking as a System

Since this subject is Environmental systems and societies (ESS), system thinking is required. The system is made of parts that work together and make a functional whole. Students often understand ESS chapters and topics, but have a hard time when they need to connect them or make a system approach. They often need to analyze the topic and data and come up with a solution that is not general.

Online ESS lessons use platforms that are interactive where a system diagram can be represented and a student can see how it works. They will have a chance to understand how one aspect in a system change a different one. Many online ESS lessons challenge students to think in a system manner creating a space for critical thinking.

Students Forget to Use Case Studies

Many times in ESS exam, case studies use is required. Many students unfortunately fail in using them. Case studies need to be used in certain examples:

• Use specific examples such as renewable energy source

• Key data

• Explain specific situation regarding pollution

• They may repeat one case study for every singe answer and we should use many different

This mistakes can limit your marks, especially in Paper 2 questions and long essay questions.

Our online ESS lessons provide a student with many case studies that they can implement in their learning and answers. It is important to know exactly which case study to use and where and not to mix them up. Students learn most important data points from case studies, how to interpret them and where to use them. They also learn to evaluate solutions. In our lessons we teach student how many marks will they answer achieve, so they learn exactly how to answer the ESS questions.

NOT using Key terms

Sometimes students just fail to use enough key terms and definitions. They use common language when answering scientific questions and that is not enough for a good grade. If you want to score high in ESS key terms are essential.

ESS lessons help you with this because we learn and explain the key terms so a student understands them completely. They know how to use key terms and in what situation so they can score high.

NOT connecting ESS and real world situations

Sometimes you just need to make a connection between what you learn in ESS and what is happening in the world. If you read an article about the climate change and its effects, you are expected to come up with the reasons why we have climate chsnge in the first place. Who is responsible for that and what is it leading to. Students are expected to give solutions and to evaluate solutions to climate change. Are they the same in every country or it depends. Since every country has its own energy sources, renewable or non renewable, the measures are going to be totally different. ESS student needs to predict all of this.