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If you're wondering about what assessments make up your final IB History grade, you've come to the right place. In this post we will break down each component of the IB History course.
IB History Exam + Assessment
Paper 1
- For SL, Paper 1 contributes 30% to the overall subject grade, while for HL, it accounts for 20%.
- Students my score up to 24 marks.
- Both SL and HL students are given 1 hour to complete Paper 1.
- Paper 1 is made up of two seperate booklets – the question booklet, and the source booklet. Students refer to the source booklet to answer the exam questions.
- Students answer all 4 questions.
- Click here for more information and sample Paper 1 questions.
Paper 2
- At SL, Paper 2 contributes 45% to the overall subject grade while at HL it amounts to 25%.
- Paper 2 is an essay-based paper.
- Both SL and HL students must answer 2 essay questions, each from a different topic.
- Students may score up to 30 marks (15 marks per question).
- Students have 1 hour 30 minutes for the paper.
- Click here for more information and sample Paper 2 questions.
Paper 3 (HL only)
- Accounts for 35% of the student's subject grade.
- Students have 2 hours 30 minutes to complete Paper 3.
- Students can score up to 45 marks.
- Students answer three essay questions, each worth 15 marks.
- Click here for more information and sample Paper 3 questions.
Internal Assessment (IA)
- For both SL and HL, the Internal Assessment contributes 20% to the overall subject grade.
- The History IA is a historical investigation completed individually.
- It is assessed internally by the teacher and externally moderated by the IB. This means that a sample of investigations from your class will be sent to the IB for moderation.
- Students come up with a specific research question for which they formulate an answer through exploring, evaluating, and analysing sources. Click here for a guide on choosing a research question and here for a list of examples of topics and research questions to explore.
- The investigation must demonstrate historical understanding, critical analysis, and clear, structured writing.
- The IA is marked out of 25 using three assessment criteria: Identification and evaluation of sources, Investigation, and Reflection. Click here for examiner-reviewed exemplars.
We hope you found this post helpful. For more useful materials associated with the IB check out the wide variety of IA, EE and TOK exemplars available at Clastify and other guides available on our blog.
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