IB Diploma · session May 2027
History
Guide first assessed in May 2017.
4 subtopics14 diagrams23,473 words
0 of 4 read
The higher-level subtopics are hidden, and so is the higher-level material inside the rest.
Paper 1 Prescribed subjectsTest setThe theoryWorked examplesPractice testMark scheme
- PS1 Military leaders what made Genghis Khan and Richard I successful military leaders, and what did their campaigns cost and change?
- PS2 Conquest and its impact why did Spain conquer Granada, Mexico and Peru, and what did conquest do to the people who lived there?
- PS3 The move to global war why did Japan, Italy and Germany expand by force between 1931 and 1941, and why did the rest of the world fail to stop them?
Paper 3 History of Asia and Oceania
Nothing matches that.
The course in one page
The course in one page. Standard and higher level, for the guide first assessed in May 2017.
This is the oldest guide still in force. The rewritten History course is first assessed in May 2028, so May 2027 is one of the last sittings of this one. That is unusually good news: there are more past papers, examiner reports and mark schemes for this course than for any other IB subject you might be taking. Use them.
What the course is
History in the DP is not the memorisation of events. It is the study of how historians know things and why they disagree — and every paper is built to test that.
The content you study depends on choices your school made:
| Paper | What it assesses | Chosen from |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Source analysis on one prescribed subject | 5 prescribed subjects |
| 2 | Two comparative essays on two world history topics | 12 world history topics |
| 3 (HL) | Three essays on one regional option | 4 regional options |
The prescribed subjects are: military leaders; conquest and its impact; the move to global war; rights and protest; conflict and intervention. The world history topics span society and economy from 750 CE through to the Cold War. The HL regional options are Africa and the Middle East, the Americas, Asia and Oceania, and Europe.
Ask your teacher which you are doing. Revising the wrong prescribed subject is a real and recurring disaster.
The papers
| Standard level | Higher level | |
|---|---|---|
| Paper 1: source analysis | 60 min, 24 marks | 60 min, 24 marks |
| Paper 2: comparative essays | 90 min, 30 marks | 90 min, 30 marks |
| Paper 3: regional option | — | 150 min, 45 marks |
Paper 1 has a fixed shape, and that is a gift
The same four questions appear every session, in the same order, for the same marks. You can rehearse the structure until it is automatic and spend the exam thinking about content instead.
| Q | Task | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1a | What does a source say? | 3 | 5 min |
| 1b | What is the message of the visual source? | 2 | 5 min |
| 2 | Value and limitations of one source, with reference to its origin, purpose and content | 4 | 10 min |
| 3 | Compare and contrast two sources | 6 | 15 min |
| 4 | Using the sources and your own knowledge, evaluate a claim | 9 | 25 min |
Question 4 is worth more than questions 1 to 3 combined and is the one most often rushed. Watch the clock.
What actually earns marks in each
Question 2 — value and limitations. Work through origin, purpose and content in order, and for each say what it makes the source good for and what it makes it bad for. The fatal error is generic evaluation: "it is biased because it is a primary source" earns nothing, because primary sources are not automatically unreliable and bias is often exactly what makes a source valuable — it tells you what someone wanted believed. Always ask: valuable for finding out what?
Question 3 — compare and contrast. Both halves are required, and the answer must be written linked, not as two separate paragraphs. Use running comparison — "Source A argues…, whereas Source C claims…" — and cover roughly equal amounts of similarity and difference.
Question 4 — the essay. Use at least four sources, cited explicitly by letter, and weave in your own knowledge — specific dates, names, figures, events not in the sources. An answer built only from the sources caps low, and so does one that ignores them. It needs a clear argument and a conclusion that answers the question asked.
Assessment objectives
| Roughly | ||
|---|---|---|
| AO1 | Knowledge and understanding | demonstrate detailed, accurate knowledge |
| AO2 | Application and analysis | analyse and interpret sources; use knowledge to support argument |
| AO3 | Synthesis and evaluation | integrate sources with own knowledge; evaluate perspectives |
| AO4 | Use and application of skills | structure a coherent, well-supported answer |
Command terms
| Term | What must appear on the page |
|---|---|
| Compare and contrast | Similarities and differences, written as a linked comparison. |
| Evaluate | Strengths and limitations, then a judgement. |
| Discuss | A balanced review of more than one interpretation. |
| Examine | The issue and its underlying assumptions. |
| To what extent | A judgement with a degree — never simply yes or no. |
| Analyse | Break down and show how the parts relate. |
| Assess | Weigh the factors and reach a conclusion about their relative importance. |
Educerie · written from the published IB Diploma Programme structure for History, first assessment 2017. Original text. Paper durations and mark totals checked against the May 2027 examination schedule. Last reviewed 5 September 2026.