IB History

What this covers

• Working through the Paper 1 question set in order: the 3-mark and 2-mark comprehension answers, the 4-mark value and limitations question anchored in origin and purpose, the 6-mark compare and contrast, and the 9-mark answer that integrates all four sources with own knowledge
• Building Paper 2 essays that answer the command term — 'to what extent', 'evaluate', 'examine', 'discuss' — using two contrasting examples drawn from different regions, as the topics require
• Paper 3 (HL) depth: writing three essays in 2.5 hours on a single regional option, with the specific detail, dates and named figures examiners expect at that level
• Planning and drafting the Historical Investigation: framing a question narrow enough to answer, evaluating two sources in Section 1, and writing a Section 3 reflection about historical method rather than personal experience
• Using historiography properly — engaging with what a historian argues and why, instead of appending a quotation to a finished paragraph
• Reading IB markbands aloud against your own writing so you can see where an essay sits and what moves it up a band

Where learners get stuck

Treating OPCVL as a checklist and listing origin and purpose without ever deriving a value or a limitation from them

The acronym is taught as five boxes, so students fill them in sequence. The marks come from the causal link — because this was a private diary written during the crisis, it is valuable for X but limited for Y — and that link is the part most often left out.

Answering 'compare and contrast' as two separate paragraphs, one on each source, with no explicit points of similarity or difference

Students default to source-by-source description because it mirrors how they read. Examiners want running comparison with linked references to both sources in the same sentence.

Writing Paper 2 essays that narrate events instead of arguing a case, and reusing the same case study material across both answers

Under time pressure, narrative feels safer and more complete. But the markbands reward sustained argument and clear evaluation, and the rubric restricts using the same examples in two answers.

Turning the IA Section 3 reflection into a diary of research problems — 'I found it hard to locate sources'

The word 'reflection' suggests personal response. The criterion actually asks what the investigation revealed about the methods and limitations facing historians, illustrated from the work itself.

What a session looks like

A typical session runs 25 to 50 minutes by voice. You might spend one on a timed Paper 1 question set — writing under the clock, then reading your answer back and comparing it against the markband — and the next talking through the argument structure of a Paper 2 essay before you write it. IA sessions usually work on one section at a time: sharpening the question, then the source evaluation, then the reflection. You can bring a source extract, a past question or a paragraph you've drafted.

Helpful to know first

• Enrolment in IB History SL or HL, or preparation to start it
• Knowing which Paper 1 prescribed subject, Paper 2 world history topics and (for HL) regional option your school teaches
• Familiarity with essay writing in a humanities subject at pre-IB or MYP level
• Access to your class notes or textbook for the specific case studies you have studied

Questions

What is the difference between IB History SL and HL?

Both sit Paper 1 (source-based, on a prescribed subject) and Paper 2 (two world history essays) and complete the Historical Investigation. HL students additionally sit Paper 3, three essays in 2.5 hours on one regional option, which demands considerably more depth and detail than Paper 2.

Can this help with my school's specific prescribed subject and regional option?

Yes. Tell the tutor which routes you are studying — for example Rights and Protest for Paper 1, Authoritarian States for Paper 2, History of the Americas for Paper 3 — and practice questions and examples will be drawn from those.

How is the Historical Investigation marked?

It is marked out of 25 across three criteria: identification and evaluation of sources, the investigation itself, and the reflection. Sessions can work on each section separately, including whether your research question is answerable within the word count.

How do I finish Paper 1 in the time given?

The paper is one hour for four questions, and most students lose marks by over-writing the 3-mark and 2-mark questions. Timed practice with a rough allocation — a few minutes on the short answers, the bulk on the 9-mark question — is a common focus for sessions in the term before exams.