IB History HL
General Information
General Information for IB History HL Candidates and Test-Taking Supplementary Materials, May 2010
By Javier Ergueta
What Your IB History Scores Will Depend On
Your overall IB History score is determined as follows:
– Tests: HL, 80%; SL, 75%
– Historical Investigation: HL, 20%; SL: 25%
SL students sit for one “paper” (set of tests) at the end of their single year of study:
– “Paper 1”, a document-based test set on prescribed subjects drawn from the 20th century world history topics, 1 hour duration: Percent of your overall History score: HL, 20%; SL, 30%. This is the first part of the paper we call the “20th Century World History IB Test”
– “Paper 2”, an essay test set on prescribed subjects drawn from the 20th century world history topics, 1 ½ hours duration: Percent of your overall History score: HL, 25%; SL, 45%. This is the second part of the paper we call the “20th Century World History IB Test”
HL students sit for both of the above, at the end of their second year of study, plus an additional paper:
– “Paper 3”, an essay test requiring you to answer three questions drawn from the history of the Americas, 2 ½ hours. Percent of your overall History HL score: 35%. It is this paper that we might (although the IB does not) call the “History of the Americas IB Test”.
Note that the IBO does not regard History HL as being separated into two altogether separate parts, called “History of the Americas” and “20th Century World History Topics”. That is just how the WFS History/Social Sciences Department splits the overall IB history curriculum as one reasonable way to cover the material. But in fact, you should view both courses as complementary efforts to teach you a inter-related set of skills, perspectives and understandings of the world.
The Historical Investigation
HL students produce a Historical Investigation as part of the History of the Americas course. SL students produce one during the 20th Century World History course.
You have produced a first version of your Historical Investigation this May of your junior year History of the Americas course. You have received feedback on this version from me about how you did, by section, and how you could improve. You have also received an IB score (“mark”, in IB parlance) from me which will be close to your eventual final score, although it could still be slightly “moderated” by an IB examiner. See below for how to interpret your Historical Investigation score. It will be up to you to decide whether you prepare another version for submission for a final IB score by the first day of school in your senior year, 2009-10. If you do not, your first version will be treated as the definitive one.
Scoring the Historical Investigation
This paper offers a maximum IB score (“mark”) of 20. Here are my estimates of the grade boundaries that will be used by the IBO for the historical investigation (I have to estimate, because this is the first year of the new grading scheme and the IBO has not published markbands yet):
Historical 1 to 7 IB description
Investigation score of 1 to 7
score, 1 to 20 equivalent score
0-2 1 Very Poor
3-5 2 Poor
6-8 3 Mediocre
9-11 4 Satisfactory
12-15 5 Good
16-18 6 Very Good
19-25 7 Excellent
The scoring approach for this test looks at seven criteria, which summarize a large number of components each. You have received the a copy of the IB rubric along with my assessment of your Unit 4 historical investigation. I have also given you a more detailed, 2-page rubric that I prepared, which I used to calculate and assess historical investigation WFS grades for both IB and non-IB students in both Unit 2 and Unit 4 historical investigations. This is meant to serve as a detailed feedback to you about how you did, and how you might improve your work.
You may want to revise your paper even if you do earn at least a 4. This is because the historical investigation part of your History HL score is the portion most under your control. There is no time limit on how much time you take to complete it, and you have the benefit of my one round of feedback to you about what you would need to improve. It can make up for lower performance on the exam part of the History HL score. It might also be an easy place to rack up extra score points in case you don’t do as well as you’d like in other parts of the IB program.
IB Prescribed Subjects- Paper 1
The IBO defines three “prescribed subjects” for IB 20th century history, which are: Peacemaking, peacekeeping— international relations 1918-36, The Arab–Israeli conflict
1945-79, and Communism in crisis 1976-89. Every IB school selects one of these on which to focus and WFS has elected the first. One of the two exams required of every HL and SL students assesses students’ knowledge of their prescribed subject.
In Paper 1, students are presented with three sets of questions, one for each of the prescribed subjects. Students choose one set of questions to answer. Paper 1 lasts for one hour and takes the form that we have called a “DBQ” test. Students must analyze documents pertaining to their selected prescribed subject. WFS students should make sure to write only about prescribed subject 1, the one that we actually cover in the WFS history curriculum:
Prescribed Subject 1- Peacemaking, peacekeeping— international relations 1918-36
Areas on which test questions will focus are:
• aims of the participants and peacemakers: Wilson and theFourteen Points
• terms of the Paris Peace Treaties1919-20: Versailles, St Germain, Trianon, Neuilly, Sèvres/Lausanne 1923
• the geopolitical and economic impact of the treaties on Europe; the establishment and impact of the mandate system
• enforcement of the provisions of the treaties: US isolationism—the retreat from the Anglo–American Guarantee; disarmament –Washington, London, Geneva conferences
• the League of Nations: effects of the absence of major powers;the principle of collective security and early attempts at peacekeeping (1920-5)
• the Ruhr Crisis (1923); Locarno and the “Locarno Spring” (1925)
• Depression and threats to international peace and collective security: Manchuria (1931-3) and Abyssinia (1935-6).
Paper 1 Structure, Scoring and Supplementary Materials
Paper 1 includes no more than six documents, which are meant to serve as the basis for answering four questions:
1. The first question assesses your knowledge and understanding. It tests a student’s ability simply to understand historical sources. It consists of two related short sub-questions, (a) and (b).
2. The second question assesses your interpretation and application of knowledge. It tests a student’s ability to apply and interpret two sources, and to compare and contrast them.
3. The third question assesses your synthesis and evaluation skills. It asks students to discuss two sources in relation to their origin, purpose, value and limitations.
4. The fourth question again assesses your knowledge and understanding and synthesis and evaluation skills, but at different levels. It tests your evaluation of sources and contextual knowledge.
To date, Paper 1 has consisted of five accessible sources; written sources are rarely more than 200 words long, and there is usually at least one visual source such as a cartoon or photograph among these. The four questions, adding up to 25 possible points, follow a predictable format, with a clear system for assigning point value:
· Question 1a. “Why, according to Source A,…” (3 points);
· Question 1b. “What message is conveyed by Source B…” (2 points);
· Question 2. “Compare and contrast the views expressed by Sources C and D…” (6 points);
· Question 3. “With reference to their origins and purpose, assess the values and limitation of source A & D to this historian studying…” (6 points);
· Question “Using the sources and your own knowledge, explain to what extent you agree that…” (8 points).
Given the point values above and the availability of only one hour for the entire paper, experienced IB teachers recommend the following time distribution among the questions:
· Q1: 10 minutes
· Q2: 15 minutes
· Q3: 15 minutes
· Q4: 20 minutes
The most typical problem students have is to write too long on one section.
Other Recommendations
See the attached documents for additional recommendations of ways to improve your writing of DBQ tests:
· “Dos and Don’ts for DBQs”
· “Dos and Don’ts for DBQ Essays (Q.4)”
· “How To Do Sourcework in IB History”
IB Topics- Paper 2
The IBO defines five thematic “topics” for IB 20th century history, and each IB school selects a subset of these on which to focus. At WFS, we focus on: Causes, practices, and effects of war, and The rise and rule of single-party states.
Paper 2, which lasts for one hour and a half, presents 25 questions, six on each of the five 20th Century topics. Students must choose two questions to answer, each chosen from a different topic. WFS students should make sure to select only among the two topics that we have actually covered in the WFS history curriculum.
Paper 2 Structure, Scoring and Supplementary Materials
The six questions within each section range from the narrowly specific (“To what extent was the rise to power of either Hitler or Mao due to personal appeal and ability?”) to the very open-ended (“Assess the importance of ideology for rulers of twentieth century single party states”). Another popular style of question in Paper 2 involves the comparison of different regions ("Analyse the foreign policy of two rulers of single-party states, each chosen from a different region."). This genuinely synoptic approach to History – chronologically, geographically and thematically – is one of the most challenging but stimulating aspects of the IB course.
Paper 2 offers a maximum IB score (“mark”) of 40, equally distributed over the two essays, with a maximum mark of 20 apiece.
I have photocopied the rubric for this test and include it in this packet (“Markbands for Paper 2”). This rubric is slightly different and somewhat less demanding than the rubric for Paper 3, the one on History of the Americas topics, but the general approach is the same, and so are the skills that they are trying to assess and develop, so the general recommendations I include in my separate History of the Americas packet apply to both tests.
I am also attaching lists of all questions included as parts of Paper 2 exams between 2002 and 2006 in each of the two topics selected by us at WFS. These are included as part of this packet. (“IB History, [Topic Title]”)
J. Ergueta, 2010 1 9/9/10