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Parent Guide: Everything DP2

Parent Guide: Everything DP2

5 min read | Mark Buckley | January 26, 2026

Master DP2 with this free Parent's Checklist and Consolidation Guide. Get expert tips for parental support, plus student planners, IA trackers, and revision tools for the final IB year.

The DP2 Consolidation Guide: A Parent’s Checklist

This guide is designed to help parents support their DP2 child during the critical "consolidation phase": the pivotal weeks where Internal Assessments (IAs), the TOK essay, and mock exam preparations converge.

At Lanterna, we understand that this is often the most stressful period of the IB Diploma. The difference between burnout and a confidence-boosting mock exam session is often organisation.

By using this guide, you will be able to:

  • Audit current workloads instantly using the "IA & Core Status Tracker."
  • Visualise the path through mock exams with a simplified, adaptable 4-Week Revision Block plan.
  • Monitor effectiveness using the Past Paper Accountability Grid.
  • Reduce household stress by clearly separating "University Admin" from "Academic Study."

Part 1: The "State of Play" Audit

Before new revision starts, a plan for existing coursework must be developed. Use this table to sit down with your child for 30 minutes and map out exactly what is outstanding (edit as necessary according to your child's subjects).

Subject / Core ElementCurrent StatusHard DeadlineSafe Date (2 days prior)
Math IA   
Science IA   
Humanities IA   
Language A Essay   
TOK Essay   
EE (Final Polish)   
University Apps   
The Lanterna Tip: If more than three items are in the "Drafting" phase, prioritise finishing one completely before starting mock revision. Clearing the mental deck is crucial for focus.

Part 2: The 4-Week Pre-Mock Strategy

Avoid vague advice like "study more." Use this framework to structure the weeks leading up to the exams. Intelligent prompting and critical evaluation with AI can yield excellent results in revision resources.

Week 1: Content Consolidation

Focus: Reviewing notes from DP1 material that hasn't been touched in months. Do more than just read. Re-draft and summarise topics.

Goal: Identify "Red" topics (concepts completely forgotten) and turn them into "Yellow" topics.

Week 2: Active Recall

Focus: Doing practice questions by topic (not full papers yet) to test specific knowledge areas.

Goal: Transitioning from reading textbooks to solving problems.

Week 3: Past Paper Simulation

Focus: Timed conditions. No phones, no music.

Goal: Building exam stamina and learning time management.

Week 4: Review & Refine

Focus: Reviewing answers with the mark schemes of the papers done in Week 3.

Goal: Understanding why marks were lost (content error vs. phrasing error).

Part 3: The Past-Paper Scheduling Grid

Ask subject teachers for past-papers. Encourage your child to track quality over quantity. A low score analysed well is better than a high score ignored.

SubjectPaper (P1/P2)Date TakenScore %Top 3 Topics to Review
     
     
     
     

Part 4: The Wellness Non-Negotiables

During this consolidation month, the parent's primary job is Resource Management (Food, Sleep, Mood).

  1. The "No-Fly" Zone: No university application talk after dinner. Keep evenings for decompression or light review.
  2. Sleep Bank: Ensure your child is not "borrowing" hours from sleep to study. It backfires during exams.
  3. Hydration Station: It sounds simple, but keep a full water jug on their desk. Brain function drops significantly with minor dehydration.
  4. Balanced Exercise: Small amounts of activity are good for mental health, and you cannot just abandon CAS!
Mark Buckley
Mark Buckley
I'm Mark Buckley, an IB educator and DP Coordinator with 20 years of experience teaching Visual Arts and TOK. My goal is to help students understand themselves and their own approaches to learning. By empowering and inspiring students, I support them to get the best out of themselves and really own their learning, regardless of the subject. Away from education, I love running, skiing and stimulating podcasts.

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The DP2 consolidation phase is notoriously intense. The first step is to open a supportive dialogue and help them break down their workload (IAs, EE, TOK, exam revision) into smaller, manageable tasks. Creating a visual timeline can reduce anxiety. If you're unsure how to structure this, a free consultation with a Lanterna Student Success Expert can provide a clear, personalised plan.

An effective plan should balance all subjects (HL and SL), core components, and crucial downtime to prevent burnout. Prioritise topics based on confidence levels and exam weighting, and systematically integrate past paper practice under timed conditions. Our tutors, all expert IB graduates, specialise in helping students build and stick to these high-impact revision plans.

Lanterna’s IB consultation is a free, 20–30 minute call with a Student Success Expert. It's a chance for students and parents to discuss their unique IB challenges, from managing the DP2 workload to exam strategy, and receive a personalised plan with clear next steps. There is no obligation to purchase tutoring.

Focus on being a facilitator. You can help by creating a quiet study space, ensuring they have healthy meals and get enough sleep, and encouraging regular breaks. Offer to proofread or listen to them explain a concept, but empower them to own their revision schedule. Acknowledging their effort over just their grades can significantly reduce pressure.

Absolutely. Our tutors are high-achieving IB graduates who have excelled in these exact components. They provide expert, one-on-one guidance on everything from refining a research question and structuring an essay to understanding the IB's specific assessment criteria for IAs and the EE in nearly any subject.

Yes, the 20-30 minute consultation is completely free and carries no obligation. Our goal is to provide genuine value and expert guidance to IB families. You will leave the call with an actionable plan, whether or not you decide that tutoring is the right next step for you.

Students should begin using past papers as soon as they finish a topic to test their understanding. In the final 3-4 months before exams, the focus should shift to completing full papers under timed, exam-like conditions. This builds stamina and time management skills. A Lanterna tutor can help analyse performance on these papers to target any remaining weak areas.

Our Student Success Experts are IB specialists dedicated to helping families navigate the Diploma Programme. They are your first point of contact and use their deep knowledge of the IB's challenges to provide strategic advice during your free consultation, helping you identify priorities and create a personalised roadmap for academic success.

Lanterna provides personalised, one-on-one support that complements school teaching. Where a teacher manages a whole class, a Lanterna tutor focuses entirely on one student's needs. We can help with specific weak points in a subject, IA and EE guidance, or overall exam strategy, providing the focused attention needed to boost grades and confidence.

You will leave the call with a clear, expert-validated plan to tackle the final stages of the IB. If you feel one-on-one support would be beneficial, your Student Success Expert can match you with the ideal tutor for your needs from our global network of elite IB graduates. However, there is absolutely no pressure to proceed with tutoring.


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