IB History SL study guide
IB History SL · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
IB History SL is the standard-level course in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, assessed by external written examinations and internal assessment. It suits students who want a rigorous, evidence-based history course that rewards argument and source handling rather than memorised narrative alone. The IB History SL study guide has 5 sections and about 1,577 words.
01Paper 1: Source Analysis and Evaluation - How the Source Paper Is Built
This domain is Paper 1: a one-hour source paper built around one prescribed subject (for example 'The move to global war' or 'Rights and protest'). You answer five structured questions on four or five short sources, totalling 24 marks and 30% of the SL grade.
325 words, about 2 min02Paper 2: Authoritarian States and 20th-Century Conflicts
Paper 2 is a 1 hour 30 minute essay paper worth 45% of the SL grade: you write two essays, each 25 marks, on two different world history topics. Most centres teach either Authoritarian States or Causes and Effects of 20th-Century Wars; whichever you choose, the examiner marks argument, not coverage.
306 words, about 2 min03Regional and Global Thematic Study: Causes, Consequences and Change
This is the comparative, thematic dimension of the course - the organising logic of Paper 3 at HL and the best training for comparative essay questions at SL. Rather than narrating one country, you take a theme (causes of independence movements, consequences of war, drivers of change) and test it across two or three cases inside a region: Africa and the Middle East, the Americas, Asia and Oceania, or Europe.
304 words, about 2 min04Historical Skills: Causation, Consequence, Change, Significance, Perspectives
These concepts are the verbs of every essay you write; the examiner rewards students who use them deliberately rather than as synonyms. Sort causes before weighing them: long-term/structural (Weimar's proportional representation and Article 48), medium-term (the 1929 Depression), short-term/contingent (the Backstairs Intrigue; Hindenburg appointing Hitler on 30 January 1933).
309 words, about 2 min05Using Historical Sources: Provenance, Purpose, Value and Limitations
Every source question is really an OPCVL question, whether or not the acronym appears in the wording. Work through four layers and let value and limitation fall out of them.
333 words, about 2 min