IB History SL
Flashcards

The two courses are structurally similar and assess the same core skills, but Higher Level (HL) History requires students to study a greater breadth of content. However, the requirements for SL History students are still demanding. While SL students are not required to complete the third paper, this means a larger percentage of their overall mark in the course will be based upon the remaining components, with a substantial percentage based on Paper 2, the World History Topics.

IB History at the Standard Level (SL) includes two primary external assessments and one internal assessment. Paper 1 is a source-based exam centered on one of the course’s five Prescribed Subjects (e.g., The Move to Global War). It features three short, source-driven questions and one longer, extended response. Paper 2 consists of two extended essay-style questions, each addressing a different topic from the twelve available World History Topics like topic 12, The Cold War: Superpower tensions and rivalries (20th century). For the internal assessment, students conduct an independent historical investigation on a topic and research question of their choice.

Revision Village’s IB History platform currently offers two key resources to support students throughout the Diploma Programme: 1) the Questionbank features targeted short-answer questions (some incorporating the use of historical sources) to help students review specific topics and 2) Essay Question Practice presents a curated set of sources paired with scaffolded questions that build toward answering a broader Guiding Question, modeled after the extended response questions found in Papers 1 and 2 of the SL History exam. More features and extended topic coverage are coming soon!