History HL

Tips for success in HL History

History can be one of the easier subjects to have success in through the IB Program. However, this does not mean you can slack off in this class. Success in HL History is primarily based on a few things:

• Paying attention in class. It may seem obvious, but absorbing the information while your teacher is explaining the events will make it easier to remember facts later on when you need to prepare for an exam or essay.

• Taking notes. Taking notes on your teachers explanations of events, as well as the information off the slideshows will make it easier to study in the future, as your notes will all be in one place. When studying for the final exam, there will not be much time to read the full textbook chapters so it is preferable to have something concise to review.

• Reviewing your notes. Your exams in history will be based off your memory of the information in your notes. The better you understand the information in your notes, the better you'll be able to remember the information for your papers.

• Preparing for your papers. Your papers are when you will be evaluated on your knowledge of not only the events themselves, but the impacts they had, as well as connections to other events you've learned. You will need to prepare ahead of time, do not rely on your general knowledge of the subjects from time in class. Review your notes and prepare ahead of time!

• Number 1 tip for preparing for exams: study information based on the history guide for each section. Any questions asked will only ever pertain to the ideas listed in the outcomes. These outcomes will be shown down below.

Note: Don't be too hard on yourself if you don't get a 6 or a 7 in this class. Worldwide, only 2% of people score a 7 in History HL!*

*according to the IB Statistical Bulletin for May 2019

What are the papers and IA in HL History?

Paper 1 Rights and Protests

• 1 hour - On either American Civil Rights movements or South African Apartheid. There is no choice over which one you do--it is random every year.

• Document based questions using 5 provided sources

  • These can include political cartoons, excerpts from academic journals, excerpts from official documents, etc.

• Total of 4 questions which require you to talk about OCPVL (Origin, Content, Purpose, Value, Limitations)

• Worth 20% of your final mark

For our school, paper 1 will be focused on Rights and Protests.

Outcomes from the History Guide:

Paper 2

• 1.5 hours

• There are 2 questions per topic, you must answer 1 each, in essay form. Aim to have at least 4 body paragraphs, but 3 is acceptable if they are well written and argued.

• 25% of your final mark

For our school, paper 2 will be focused on 20th Century Wars and the Cold War, but the exam will contain questions from all 12 sections. You are free to choose a question from outside of the topics taught in class if you have studied it on your own and feel confident that you know enough.

Paper 3

• 2.5 hours

• Must answer any 3 out of 36 questions (only 6 of them are from the 3 sections we cover in class)

• Most questions will be centered around information covered in grade 11

• 35% of your final mark

For our school, paper 3 will be focused on the History of the Americas, and it is required that we cover 3 of the 18 sections. These will be Section 6: Independence Movements, Section 7: Nation Building, Section 17: Civil Rights and Social Movements).

However, you are free to choose a question from any of the 18 sections. It is likely for question you could answer to appear in the other sections, as they may relate to some of the paper 2 topics, such as the Cold War and the Second World War (but specifically for countries in the Americas).

IA

The IA in IB History is referred to as a historical investigation (HI). As stated in the name, for this IA you will be investigating an event or a person in history. This IA will be completed in Year 2 and will be worth 20% of your final IB grade.

• 2200 word paper

• Separated into three sections:

  • Identification and Evaluation of Sources

  • Investigation

  • Reflection

• Use this website to see examples of past IA's, their marks, and also their guidance on how to score well:

  • https://sites.google.com/site/historicalinvestigationsite/home/examples-from-ib

Writing the Historical Investigation (also known as the HI)

Finding an idea

• Find a topic you're interested in (repetitive, I know but soo important!)

• If possible, try finding a topic that connects with what you're learning in the course. It could help you on an exam question!

• The History Guide states: "A crucial element of this section of the internal assessment task is formulating an appropriate question to investigate. The six key concepts for the history course (causation, consequence, continuity, change, significance and perspectives) can be a very useful starting point in helping students to formulate a question"

Starting the process

• Research!!

• If at all possible, make sure you have a mixture of primary and secondary sources

• If you cannot find at least 5-8 good sources on your topic, you may have to shift your focus to something that is better documented. Investigations that do not consider a range of different sources will be unlikely to score high.

• Make sure your sources are reliable (NO Wikipedia!)

Identification and Evaluation of Sources

This section is going to be the first part of your finished paper. You will need to choose 2 of your sources and evaluate them. This is similar to what you will need to do on Paper 1 of exams. To do this:

• OCPVL each source in individual paragraphs

  • Origin

  • Content

  • Purpose

  • Value

  • Limitations

• Through OCPVL, you must discuss how the source's origin, purpose, and content are valuable and limited. Carefully consider the author, organization, date, country of origin, and other aspects.

Writing the essay (also known as the Investigation)

This is the first step in the process and frankly, the easiest. It is very similar to the process of writing any history essay, by the time you start your HI, you will have done multiple and will be prepared.

1. Start by making an outline with your research

2. Write your essay. You must not be simply regurgitating facts, but instead analyzing your research to eventually reach a solid conclusion to your question

3. Add your in-text citations and your work cited page. Any citation format is acceptable, but the most common format would be MLA.

4. The recommended word count for this section is 1200-1300 words. If you're a bit over, that's okay! Just make sure the entire paper is under 2200 words.

The Reflection

This is where you reflect on the process itself.

• Discuss the process (research, writing, etc.)

• Talk about any difficulties

• Compare your process/difficulties with that of actual historians

Resources

Watching videos and documentaries can be particularly useful if you find it difficult to pay attention when reading textbooks. You could learn enough from these channels to never have to use a single textbook! Here are some channels that have great information:

• History Crash Course

  • www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse

• OverSimplified (informative while also very funny!)

  • https://www.youtube.com/user/Webzwithaz

• The Armchair Historian

  • https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeUJFQ0D9qs6aVNyUt9fkeQ

• Extra Credits

  • https://www.youtube.com/extracredits

• History Channel

  • www.youtube.com/user/historychannel

• Exam playlist

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjaWkb2oePedes4NzFKWLR51O6lX3TQBF

This playlist contains videos that cover most of the topics we go over in this course, at Colonel Gray. Feel free to scroll through this playlist for some help on any topics you are lost on. I found this playlist especially helpful in the months before the exam