IB history first assessment 2017; 2028 course recorded separately
School selects one of five prescribed subjects (both cases), two of twelve world-history topics; HL selects one region with three sections. No selection is silently implied. Future 2028 focused/thematic studies are a different course.
SL: source Paper 1 60 min 30%, essay Paper 2 90 min 45%, investigation 25%. HL: Paper 1 60 min 20%, Paper 2 90 min 25%, regional Paper 3 150 min 35%, investigation 20%.
Prescribed subject/P1 · Historical sources and contextual evaluation
A source's value depends on the inquiry question. Origin, purpose and content can explain what it reveals and what it cannot establish.
Source comparison identifies a precise agreement or difference, then supports it with evidence from both.
Checked example
A contemporary announcement can show the official explanation offered to an audience. A private letter can show one person's response.
Neither alone establishes the event's impact on everyone; compare with independent evidence and context.
Limits and practice
Do not write primary sources are reliable as a universal rule.
Use the actual prescribed case studies, dates and actors selected by the school; this skills lesson is not case-study coverage.
What can an official announcement establish most directly?
Answer: The public explanation offered by its issuing authority.
World history topics/P2 · Causation, change and comparative essays
A cause helps explain why an outcome occurred; a trigger may explain why it occurred at that moment.
Compare the mechanisms and relative significance of factors, using precise evidence and a counterargument.
Checked example
Organize a paragraph around one factor, then compare its operation in two relevant cases. Explain why the factor mattered differently.
End with a qualified judgement that answers the question, rather than declaring every factor equally important.
Limits and practice
Do not confuse a consequence with a cause or assume the earliest event was the most important.
A classroom hypothetical is not evidence for the selected historical topic; replace it with verified case detail.
What makes a causal paragraph analytical?
Answer: It explains how a factor produced an outcome and evaluates its importance.
Historical investigation · Inquiry, evidence and methodological reflection
A focused question names the subject, period and issue to investigate.
The investigation must distinguish source evaluation, the argument and reflection on methods used by historians.
Checked example
Begin with a small source inventory: what exists, who produced it and which groups are absent. Revise the question if evidence cannot support it.
Track citations while drafting and reflect on a real difficulty, such as unequal survival of records.
Limits and practice
Do not replace historical reflection with a diary of your effort.
The full guide governs IA section limits and criteria; school supervision verifies sources and independent authorship.
Which reflection concerns historical method?
Answer: Explain how uneven survival of records limits the groups whose experiences can be reconstructed.
HL regional depth/P3 · Regional arguments and historiography
Historiography examines how interpretations of the past are constructed and debated.
HL regional essays need detailed evidence, chronology and a sustained evaluative argument within the selected sections.
Checked example
Compare each historian's evidence, scope and causal explanation. Identify what each explains well and a difficulty raised by the other.
Use the comparison to refine your own judgement about the question.
Limits and practice
Do not use a historian's name as a substitute for an argument.
The 2028 course changes regional selection and assessment; these 2017 Paper 3 requirements cannot be carried across unchanged.
What should follow a historian's interpretation in an essay?
Answer: Analysis of its evidence, explanation and limitations for the question.