Sources, world history, and an HL regional study

IB History SL sits Paper 1 (source-based analysis of a prescribed subject) and Paper 2 (essays on world history topics). HL adds Paper 3, an in-depth regional study examined through extended essays. What's tested throughout is sustained analytical argument: weighing evidence and interpretations, not narrating what happened in order.

Paper 1: working with sources under time pressure

Source questions reward weighing up provenance, purpose and reliability specifically against the question asked, cross-referenced with your own contextual knowledge, not summarising what each source says on its own. Practise every question type, comprehension, cross-referencing, evaluation, and the longer extended-response question, under timed conditions.

Paper 2: comparative essays across world history

Paper 2 essays generally expect you to draw on more than one region or case study to build a comparative argument. An essay that only discusses a single country in depth, when the question wants genuine comparison, is unlikely to reach the top band, however strong the single-case analysis is.

Paper 3 (HL): depth and historiography

The regional depth study wants detailed, specific knowledge combined with engagement with how historians have read the period. Explain why historians might disagree, grounded in their evidence and context, rather than just listing names and differing views.

Building a sustained analytical essay

  • State a clear line of argument early, rather than building to it gradually.
  • Keep the analysis going throughout, not the narrative. Every paragraph should be doing analytical work.
  • Use specific, accurate evidence, dates, named events, figures, instead of generalisation.

Where marks go missing

  • Slipping into narrative under exam pressure instead of sustaining analysis.
  • Single-case answers on questions that need genuine comparison across regions.
  • Listing historians' views without explaining the basis of their disagreement.

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