IB History SL study plan

Map the Paper 1 source-analysis skill set (origin, purpose, value, limitation, cross-referencing, own-knowledge corroboration) onto a one-page checklist you can apply to any source set

Classify ten sample source extracts by type (primary/secondary, official/private, contemporaneous/retrospective) and label the provenance facts each type typically exposes and conceals

Draft a reusable sentence bank of eight stems for 'value' and eight for 'limitations' that force you to argue from provenance rather than from whether you agree with the source

Write two full OPVL paragraphs on a single source and self-mark against a provenance-first rubric you write yourself

Practise the two-source comparison question under a 20-minute timer, twice, and annotate where you lost time

Build a cross-referencing drill: take two sources that disagree and write a paragraph that states the disagreement, explains it by purpose or audience, then adjudicates using own knowledge

Identify how purpose (persuade, justify, record, memorialise) shapes emphasis in five short extracts and note the giveaway wording for each

Convert three weak 'this source is biased' statements into provenance-specific limitation claims

Assemble a full four-source Paper 1 set on one prescribed-subject topic from material you already hold, and write all four question types against it

Answer the full set in 60 minutes under exam conditions without notes

Mark your script against the markband descriptors for source comprehension, comparison, evaluation and synthesis with own knowledge

Rewrite your weakest answer so that every claim is anchored to a specific phrase or provenance detail in the source

Build a comparative grid for two authoritarian states covering rise to power, consolidation of control, treatment of opposition, economic policy and extent of change

Write three thesis statements that take a clear line on a comparative question and test each against the grid for evidential support

Draft six topic sentences for a comparative essay and check each one names both states and a mechanism of control

Identify five specific pieces of evidence (law, institution, event, statistic, speech) per state that you can deploy without notes

Map the causes of one 20th-century conflict into long-term, short-term and immediate layers, with at least three factors per layer

Distinguish structural causes from trigger events in writing and explain in one paragraph why the distinction changes the answer to 'to what extent'

Write a causes essay in 45 minutes that weighs factors against each other rather than listing them

Self-mark for argument coherence: does every paragraph advance the thesis, and does the conclusion resolve the weighing rather than restate it

Analyse the consequences of one conflict or authoritarian regime across political, economic, social and international dimensions, with continuity as well as change

Complete a change-and-continuity table for one region across a defined period, marking what changed, what persisted and for whom

Write two 'to what extent' paragraphs that use the continuity evidence to qualify a change claim

Identify three perspectives (victor, victim, successor state, neighbouring state) on the same consequence and note how each would weight it differently

Build a regional case-study sheet covering causes, consequences and pace of change, with a dated timeline of no more than twelve turning points

Practise the historical-skill vocabulary: write one paragraph each that demonstrates causation, consequence, change, continuity and significance on the same case study

Draft a significance judgement that explains why an event matters beyond its own period, and defend it against one counter-argument

Compare two perspectives on the same regional development and explain the origin of the disagreement rather than just stating it

Sit one full Paper 2 mock (two essays, 90 minutes total) on your two strongest topics, open book only for the first 15 minutes of planning

Mark both essays against the Paper 2 criteria for focus, argument, use of evidence and synthesis, and record a score per criterion

Compile a one-page evidence bank of the twenty facts you most often reached for, and flag any you used inaccurately

Write a final revision sheet naming the three argument habits that cost you the most marks across all eight weeks and the fix for each