In one week the IB history exams begin

To steal from Lenin, ‘What is to be done?’  The burning questions of IB history may include how to get the elusive 7 or how to pass if you haven’t opened your textbook in the past year.  Although these are very different scenarios they both involve how to prepare for the IB in this last week.

Usually I write about getting a good night’s sleep and making sure that you have your lucky pen but today I feel like being more exam specific.

Paper 1: Review the content, but don’t obsess.  You cannot learn the entirety of a Prescribed Subject in one week.  Instead, focus on the skills.  If you have access to an old Paper 1, go through each question and break it down.  The ‘message conveyed’ question is always on the non-print source.  Question 2 always treats one subject with two different types of sources.  The mini essay should provide the examiner with an answer to the question that uses as many sources as you can manage.

Paper 2: Here you need to use content so that you can show conceptual understanding but again, you cannot learn everything from the 20th century world history topics that you need to know in 10 days.  Use tables like the one below to organize your notes in a manner that allows you to see easy comparisons or trends.   Make sure you have material for detailed study from at least two different regions.  Review the command terms.  Refresh yourself on what is meant by a running comparison.  And examine, discuss, evaluate, to what extent and how far …

Single Party and Authoritarian State Worksheet (Download here)

Paper 3: You have nearly two weeks to review, and good thing.  I’m sure that the most recent topics are fresh in your mind, but many schools do the HL option in Year I and you probably need to review.  This paper is content-focused, and the questions are much more focused than Paper 2.  You need to know this information very well, and understand how to apply concepts such as continuity, change, and perspective.  You need to demonstrate that you know the different views on a subject such as the New Deal or the Bolshevik Revolution.