European Baccalaureate Philosophy cheat sheet

Paper 1 (Philosophy) is a compulsory written examination of 4 hours; it carries the largest weighting of the written papers and is marked out of 60 in most sessions, combining commentary and essay tasks.

Written papers are graded on a 0-100 scale per subject; the final Baccalaureate subject mark blends the written examination (typically 50-60% of the subject mark) with the A and B marks.

Essay questions require a thesis, an argumentative structure (introduction, development in 2-3 parts, conclusion), and explicit reference to at least two authors or philosophical traditions studied.

Commentary questions (explication de texte) must identify the thesis, reconstruct the argumentative structure, evaluate the argument, and situate the passage in the author's wider work.

Quotations from primary texts are permitted in the written paper only if the exam rubric allows an authorised text; otherwise candidates cite from memory with author, work and approximate location.

Time allocation rule: roughly 20-25% of the total paper time for planning, 60-65% for writing, and 10-15% for revision; a 4-hour paper typically offers a choice between two essay topics.

Marking rewards conceptual precision, use of technical vocabulary (e.g. a priori, teleological, categorical), and problematisation of the question rather than description of doctrines.

Five written examinations in the European Baccalaureate span the compulsory and elective subjects; for Philosophy the written component is the principal summative instrument of the subject.

The Philosophy oral examination is a 20-minute examination: approximately 15 minutes of candidate presentation and 5 minutes of questions from the two-member jury (examiner and observer).

Preparation time for the oral is 20 minutes with a drawn question (une question tirée au sort); candidates may use the authorised programme texts and prepare notes during this period.

Oral questions are drawn from the official Philosophy programme and may combine a doctrinal question with a text extract; the candidate must present both the problem and its treatment.

Assessment criteria for the oral include mastery of content, clarity and coherence of the argument, capacity for dialogue in the question phase, and correct use of philosophical terminology.

The oral is marked out of 100 by the jury; the two examiners' marks are reconciled, and the observer's mark is used when the examiner and observer diverge, following the school's harmonisation procedure.

Three oral examinations occur across the Baccalaureate: the compulsory oral examination (often in a language or in philosophy depending on the school's arrangement) plus elective oral examinations.

Candidates must be able to defend a position under questioning: the jury tests whether the candidate can justify a claim, concede a limit, and reformulate rather than merely recite prepared notes.

A common failure mode is reading a prepared text; the oral rewards structured but spontaneous exposition with a clear plan announced at the start.

The preliminary mark in each subject combines A marks (formative assessment during the year) and B marks (the Pre-Baccalaureate examinations taken in the second semester of the final year).

A marks are awarded on the basis of continuous assessment: classwork, homework, oral participation, tests and projects, recorded by the teacher throughout the school year.

B marks come from the Pre-Baccalaureate examinations, which are set and marked under the same conditions as the final written examinations and serve as a rehearsal for them.

The preliminary mark is calculated as a weighted combination of A and B marks; the weighting is fixed by the school's pedagogical council within the European Schools' framework, commonly with A marks carrying substantial weight.

The preliminary mark is converted to a 0-100 scale and counts towards the final Baccalaureate mark for the subject, alongside the written and oral examination marks.

A marks must be based on a sufficient number of assessed tasks distributed across the year; a single test cannot constitute the whole A mark.

The Pre-Baccalaureate B examinations are compulsory for all final-year candidates and their results are communicated to candidates before the final examinations.

Where the preliminary mark and the final examination mark diverge sharply, the harmonisation procedure of the European Baccalaureate may adjust the final subject mark.