Revision guide
IB History
Source analysis, structured essays, and the argument skills that decide IB History grades.
IB History is an essay and source-analysis subject disguised as a content subject. Students who memorize extensive factual knowledge but haven't practised constructing arguments under time pressure typically score in the 4–5 range. Those who combine a solid factual base with fast, structured essay-writing skills regularly reach 6–7. The course covers a huge amount of content, but the exam tests very specific skills: argument construction, evidence integration, source evaluation, and comparative reasoning.
The IB History curriculum divides into prescribed subjects (Paper 1), world history topics (Paper 2), and depth studies (Paper 3, HL). Each paper tests the same underlying skill — using evidence to build a sustained historical argument — in a slightly different format. Students who understand this underlying pattern can transfer preparation across papers far more efficiently than those who treat each paper as entirely separate.
How you're assessed
Paper 1 (Source Analysis)
Five sources on a prescribed subject (case studies include move to global war, rights and protest, authoritarian states, and others). Four questions: source value, comparison, mini-essay synthesis. Question 1 asks you to use a source; Questions 2–3 ask you to compare and evaluate two sources; Question 4 requires a mini-essay integrating multiple sources. OPVL (Origin, Purpose, Value, Limitation) is the structure for evaluation, but the highest marks come from explaining the link between origin/purpose and what can or cannot be inferred from that source.
Paper 2 (Essay on World History Topics)
Two essays, each from a different topic, under timed conditions. Topic 10 (Authoritarian States), Topic 11 (Causes and Effects of 20th-century Wars), and Topic 12 (Cold War) are among the most commonly taught. Each essay should open with a clear thesis addressing the question directly, support it with specific named evidence, and include counter-argument before returning to the main claim.
Paper 3 (HL Depth Study)
Three essays from a regional depth study. HL students have significantly more content but the essay skill is the same as Paper 2 — the difference is specificity: Paper 3 rewards precise dates, named policies, and detailed consequences that demonstrate deep knowledge of one region.
Internal Assessment (Historical Investigation)
A 2,200-word investigation with a focused research question, two source evaluations (using the OPCVL/OPVL method), and an analysis section. The best IAs choose a narrow, specific question that genuine historical evidence can answer, rather than a broad debate where secondary sources dominate.
How to revise
Build a flashcard bank by topic and keyword
Each flashcard: one named event, date, cause, consequence, or historian's view. Knowing Mao's Great Leap Forward killed an estimated 15–45 million people (Dikötter) is more valuable in an essay than knowing 'millions died under communist rule.'
Practise timed essays from the first term
An untimed essay is a different skill from a timed one. Write Paper 2 essays in 45 minutes from the start of revision. The habit of writing a thesis in the first paragraph and maintaining it through the essay only develops through repetition under time pressure.
Structure every essay with PEEL paragraphs anchored to the question
Point (linked to the thesis), Evidence (specific named evidence), Explanation (how the evidence supports the point), Link (back to the question). Examiners follow whether each paragraph advances the argument; a fact dropped without explanation is never awarded a mark.
Prepare source evaluation language in advance
For Paper 1, you should be able to evaluate any source by its origin (who created it, when, in what context), its purpose (what it was designed to do), and the link between those factors and what the source can reliably tell a historian. Practise writing this in three to four sentences, not a list.
Mistakes examiners see every year
Narrating events instead of arguing — 'Hitler did X then Y' earns no marks compared to 'X was driven by Y because…'
Ignoring the question wording and writing a prepared essay that doesn't address the specific terms ('assess', 'compare', 'to what extent').
In Paper 1, listing OPVL without explaining how origin and purpose make the source more or less reliable for a specific historical question.
Spending too long on the first Paper 2 essay and writing an incomplete second one — marks are earned per essay, not cumulatively.
IA: choosing a question so broad that the investigation becomes a book report rather than an independent historical inquiry.
What's in the syllabus
Paper 1 source skills
Origin, purpose, value and limitation · Compare and contrast sources · Source inference · Mini-essay structure
Authoritarian states
Emergence of leaders · Consolidation of power · Domestic policies · Propaganda · Opposition · Foreign policy
Causes and effects of twentieth-century wars
Long-term causes · Short-term causes · Practices of war · Home fronts · Peace settlements
Cold War
Ideological rivalry · Superpower relations · Crises · Détente · Proxy wars · End of the Cold War
Essay skills
Thesis construction · Historiography · Thematic paragraphs · Evidence selection · Judgement
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know historians' names?
Naming historians earns marks in the HL depth study and the IA, and adds authority to Paper 2 essays. For Paper 2, two or three well-attributed historian views (e.g., Taylor on the origins of World War Two, Kershaw on Hitler's role in the Holocaust) are enough to lift an essay significantly.
How do I pick a good IA question?
Narrow, specific, and answerable with primary sources. 'Why did Germany lose World War Two?' is too broad. 'To what extent did Soviet supply failures contribute to the German defeat at Stalingrad?' is arguable, specific, and supported by available evidence.
Is HL History much harder than SL?
HL adds Paper 3 (three essays on a depth study), which is more content but the same skill set as Paper 2. HL students who genuinely engage with the depth study often find Paper 3 easier than Paper 2 because they know the material in greater detail.
Put this guide into practice
Everything above — topic-filtered practice questions, spaced-repetition flashcards, and a syllabus checklist for History — is free on Baccly.
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