Exam Requirements
Paper 2 (SL and HL)
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Weighting: 45% SL, 25% HL
Paper 2 is an essay paper based on the 12 world history topics.
The paper consists of two questions for each of the 12 topics. Students must answer two questions, each selected from a different topic. Some comparative questions on this paper require that examples be drawn from more than one region. When the word “region” is used in a paper 2 question, it refers to one of the four regional options defined by the world map in the introduction to the world history topics in the “World history topics” section.
The maximum mark for this paper is 30. The paper is marked using generic markbands and a paper-specific markscheme.
Topics covered in depth:
Paper 2 (SL and HL)
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Weighting: 45% SL, 25% HL
Paper 2 is an essay paper based on the 12 world history topics.
The paper consists of two questions for each of the 12 topics. Students must answer two questions, each selected from a different topic. Some comparative questions on this paper require that examples be drawn from more than one region. When the word “region” is used in a paper 2 question, it refers to one of the four regional options defined by the world map in the introduction to the world history topics in the “World history topics” section.
The maximum mark for this paper is 30. The paper is marked using generic markbands and a paper-specific markscheme.
Topics covered in depth:
- World history topic 10: Authoritarian states (20th century)
- Hitler's Germany
- Mao's China
- Castro's Cuba
- World history topic 11: Causes and effects of 20th century wars
- First World War
- Second World War
- Chinese Civil War
- Civil War in Cuba
rubric_paper_2_2017.docx | |
File Size: | 184 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Examiner's tips on approaching this exam (taken from May 2010 subject report):
"5 - 10 minutes writing a plan of the response is time well-spent and can aid in producing a coherent and focused answer." It is actually not a bad idea to include your planning sheet with your essay when you hand in your script at the end of the exam - as long as it is legible - as this will allow the examiner to see your line of thought develop.
"A thematic approach to essays ... usually produces a more successful outcome" - approaching a question using a chronological narrative approach will push you towards the dreaded description at the expense of analysis. So use your planning time to identify the specific themes that you are going to take up in order to answer the question.
Understanding the question is absolutely central to doing well in this exam - time spent analysing past papers before the final exams, practicing working out the specific demands of each question, will not be time wasted! If you do not understand the question, you stand no chance of writing a good essay! Remember to look carefully at the 'command terms' (i.e. 'evaluate', 'to what extent' etc.) and any dates included in the question!
Make sure you answer the specific question set - and not the question that you wish you had been given (as you prepared a practice essay for this two days before the exam!) This means you must, must, must read the question very carefully during your five minutes reading time to make sure you have fully understood what it is asking you to look at.
Define any key terms and/or dates in your introduction in order to show (i) that you have successfully grasped the question and (ii) how you will be using such terms in your essay.
Answers need to include "sufficient, relevant, accurate historical knowledge" - too many students' essays consist of "sweeping generalizations" that are not supported by any historical evidence! A successful essay will be supported by reference to historical knowledge - this is a History exam, after all! As Dickens' character Gradgrind stresses (though in a slightly different context), you will need to learn your "facts, facts, facts" to do well in your History exams
Use historiography carefully: it should be a supplement to relevant historical knowledge, not a substitute for it. You will not receive high grades simply by spattering your essay with quotes from historians willy-nilly; instead, you need to use such quotes to support your own argument. A true mastery of historiography would include knowing what evidence different schools of thought base their views on, an awareness of how their interpretations are shaped by the times and circumstances in which they were made, and a willingness to challenge the views of historians by using detailed historical knowledge to argue against them!
For advice from the 2013 Examiner's Report see the document below
"5 - 10 minutes writing a plan of the response is time well-spent and can aid in producing a coherent and focused answer." It is actually not a bad idea to include your planning sheet with your essay when you hand in your script at the end of the exam - as long as it is legible - as this will allow the examiner to see your line of thought develop.
"A thematic approach to essays ... usually produces a more successful outcome" - approaching a question using a chronological narrative approach will push you towards the dreaded description at the expense of analysis. So use your planning time to identify the specific themes that you are going to take up in order to answer the question.
Understanding the question is absolutely central to doing well in this exam - time spent analysing past papers before the final exams, practicing working out the specific demands of each question, will not be time wasted! If you do not understand the question, you stand no chance of writing a good essay! Remember to look carefully at the 'command terms' (i.e. 'evaluate', 'to what extent' etc.) and any dates included in the question!
Make sure you answer the specific question set - and not the question that you wish you had been given (as you prepared a practice essay for this two days before the exam!) This means you must, must, must read the question very carefully during your five minutes reading time to make sure you have fully understood what it is asking you to look at.
Define any key terms and/or dates in your introduction in order to show (i) that you have successfully grasped the question and (ii) how you will be using such terms in your essay.
Answers need to include "sufficient, relevant, accurate historical knowledge" - too many students' essays consist of "sweeping generalizations" that are not supported by any historical evidence! A successful essay will be supported by reference to historical knowledge - this is a History exam, after all! As Dickens' character Gradgrind stresses (though in a slightly different context), you will need to learn your "facts, facts, facts" to do well in your History exams
Use historiography carefully: it should be a supplement to relevant historical knowledge, not a substitute for it. You will not receive high grades simply by spattering your essay with quotes from historians willy-nilly; instead, you need to use such quotes to support your own argument. A true mastery of historiography would include knowing what evidence different schools of thought base their views on, an awareness of how their interpretations are shaped by the times and circumstances in which they were made, and a willingness to challenge the views of historians by using detailed historical knowledge to argue against them!
For advice from the 2013 Examiner's Report see the document below
may_2013_subject_area_report_paper_2_student_version.docx | |
File Size: | 158 kb |
File Type: | docx |