International Baccalaureate History asks students to think like historians: evaluate sources, compare perspectives and build sustained arguments across Papers 1, 2 and 3. This page explains each part of the course, the SL and HL differences, revision and how online tutoring sessions work.
International Baccalaureate History rewards historical thinking more than memorisation. Students analyse primary and secondary sources, weigh competing interpretations and write thesis-driven essays under timed conditions. Knowing what happened matters, but the marks come from what you do with that knowledge: judging how reliable a source is, explaining why historians disagree, and building an argument that stays focused from the opening line to the conclusion.
That shift surprises many students, especially those arriving from MYP courses where expectations were different. A tutor can help by making the habits of the course visible: how to read a source with a question in mind, how to plan before writing, and how to check an answer against the marking criteria. This page walks through Papers 1, 2 and 3, the Internal Assessment, revision and the way sessions run, so you can see where support fits.
The course is offered at Standard Level and Higher Level, and the two share a lot. Both levels include the Internal Assessment, the Historical Investigation. SL students complete Papers 1 and 2. HL students complete those papers and add Paper 3, which asks for three essays in two hours and thirty minutes on a regional depth study. In practice, the extra paper means HL students need more depth, more engagement with historians' interpretations and the stamina for sustained writing.
For SL students, the main habit is steady practice on source questions and essays so that both papers feel familiar. For HL students, the same habits apply, plus a plan for the regional depth study that starts early rather than being squeezed in close to the exams. Whichever level you take, ask your teacher which units your school has chosen and keep notes organised by paper, so tutoring time can go on skills rather than sorting material.
Paper 1 is built around source work on the prescribed subject. Many students find it difficult because it requires moving beyond comprehension to evaluation. Describing what a source says is only the starting point. The higher-value skill is judging it using origin, purpose, value and limitation, often called the OPVL framework: who produced it, why, what it helps a historian understand, and where it falls short.
A useful habit is to read the question first, then read the source with that question in mind. Annotate the margin with short notes on who is speaking, who the audience might be and what the source leaves out. Then write sentences that make a judgement and support it with a detail from the source, rather than paraphrasing the extract from start to finish.
Time pressure is the other challenge. Practise under timed conditions early, and review each answer against the marking criteria so you can see what an examiner is rewarding. A tutor can read your annotations, point out where description slipped in where evaluation was needed, and help you build a rhythm you can repeat in the exam room.
Paper 2 covers world history units and is assessed through essays. Strong answers share three features: a clear thesis that responds directly to the question, evidence that is chosen rather than simply listed, and analysis that explains why the evidence matters. Many students know plenty of content but lose marks because the essay reads like a narrative instead of an argument.
Planning is the most reliable fix. Before writing, spend a few minutes deciding your line of argument, the main points that support it and the evidence for each point. Open with a focused thesis, give each paragraph one job, and finish each paragraph by linking back to the question.
Balance matters too: acknowledge a counter-argument and explain why your position still holds.
Comparison is a skill worth practising across your units. When you revise one case, ask how it resembles or differs from another you have studied, and note those links in your own words. Cross-unit comparative practice helps you adapt to unfamiliar question wording.
A tutor can set questions, review your plans and show how to tighten a thesis before you write the full essay.
Paper 3 is the extra paper for Higher Level students. You write three essays in two hours and thirty minutes on a regional depth study, which calls for greater depth, engagement with historians' interpretations and sustained argument. The challenge is rarely just knowledge. It is keeping the quality of the argument steady across three answers while the clock keeps moving.
Pacing starts with question choice. Read the paper carefully, pick the questions where you can build the strongest argument, and give yourself a rough time budget before you begin writing. Leave a short window at the end to check that each essay still answers its question. Practising full sets under timed conditions teaches you how long a planned essay really takes.
Depth comes from revision that goes beyond a timeline of events. Note how different historians interpret key developments, and prepare a small bank of evidence you can use flexibly. Schools make their own selections for the regional depth study, so tutoring can follow the units your school has chosen and keep your practice aligned to your syllabus.
The Internal Assessment is the Historical Investigation, and both SL and HL students complete it. You formulate a question, select and evaluate sources, and produce a structured written account. It needs a clear, focused question, a range of relevant sources and explicit evaluation using origin, purpose, value and limitation. Progress often stalls at the start, when the question is too broad or the sources do not fit it.
Tutoring support is practical and step by step. The aim is to help you keep ownership of your investigation while making each stage clearer, so that the final account is organised and the evaluation is visible on the page. Deadlines often cluster with other Diploma coursework, so breaking the task into stages also makes it feel more manageable.
Certain pressure points come up again and again. Source evaluation under time pressure, thesis-driven essay structure, choosing an IA question and sources, balancing History with other Diploma deadlines, moving from MYP to DP expectations, and managing the depth and length of Paper 3 at HL. None of these means a student is not capable. They usually mean a skill has not yet been broken into steps.
A tutor helps by isolating the stuck point. If evaluation is thin, practise one source at a time with the OPVL prompts. If essays wander, work on planning and the thesis sentence before writing. If the IA question is too wide, narrow it together. If the workload is the issue, build a realistic order of tasks across subjects.
Timing in the school year matters too, as planning context only. MYP students in the autumn term may be handling summative tasks, Personal Project work and decisions about Diploma subjects at once, so History can feel like one more demand. Learning what the Diploma course expects, without starting coursework early, can make the transition feel clearer.
Good revision for International Baccalaureate History is active. Rereading notes feels productive but rarely builds the skills the papers test. Organise your notes by paper so you know which units, sources and evidence belong to Paper 1, Paper 2 and, at HL, Paper 3. Keep each set short enough to review quickly, and mark the places where you are unsure.
Practise the skills regularly rather than saving them for the weeks before the exams. Work through source extracts with OPVL prompts, write essay plans for past-style questions and compare them with the marking criteria, then turn some plans into full timed essays. Model answers help you see what a strong response looks like, but compare them with your own work instead of only reading them.
Finally, revise across units. Note links and contrasts between cases so you can adapt when a question is worded unexpectedly. Balance History with your other subjects by setting small, repeatable study blocks rather than occasional long ones. If one area keeps slipping, bring a specific example to your tutor so the session starts from real work.
Sessions take place online with an experienced subject tutor. They build the skills described above through timed practice, model answers and a review of the explicit marking criteria, so you learn what examiners reward in each question type. Support is aligned to the SL and HL syllabus, and it can follow the school-specific selections your class is working through.
A session might focus on a Paper 1 source set, an essay plan for Paper 2, an HL Paper 3 question, or the next stage of your Historical Investigation. To get started, fill in the consultation form. It is the first step toward working out which part of the course needs attention and how support could fit around your other Diploma work.
International Baccalaureate History is a Diploma Programme subject that asks students to think like historians. You evaluate primary and secondary sources, compare perspectives and write sustained arguments across Papers 1, 2 and 3, while the Internal Assessment is a Historical Investigation. Standard Level and Higher Level are both available.
Both levels include the Internal Assessment. SL students complete Papers 1 and 2. HL students complete those and add Paper 3, which asks for three essays in two hours and thirty minutes on a regional depth study. HL therefore requires more depth, historiographical engagement and sustained argument.
Yes. Support covers the main stages: shaping a clear, focused question, choosing a range of relevant sources, evaluating them with origin, purpose, value and limitation, and structuring the written account. The investigation stays your own work, with the tutor helping you see what each stage needs.
Sessions are held online with an experienced subject tutor and use timed practice, model answers and a review of marking criteria. They are aligned to SL and HL and can follow your school's selections. To begin, use the consultation form so the right area of the course can be identified.
History is one subject within the Diploma Programme, so it sits alongside other coursework and deadlines. Students coming from MYP may notice that expectations around evaluation and argument change. Understanding what the course asks for early can make the move into the Diploma Programme feel clearer.
Organise notes by paper, practise source questions regularly, plan essays against the marking criteria and do timed practice. Use model answers to compare with your own work, and revise across units so you can make comparisons. Short, regular study blocks usually work better than occasional long ones.
Use the consultation form to tell us your level, the paper or Internal Assessment stage you want to work on, and what feels difficult right now. Support follows the IB course you are taking.