Writing IB History Essays and the Internal Assessment

The essay papers (Paper 2 and Paper 3) and the Internal Assessment reward structured argument built on evidence and, where possible, historiography. This lesson gives you a dependable framework for both, so that under exam pressure you produce analysis rather than narrative.

Reading the command term

Every essay question opens with a command term that defines your task. Misreading it is the most common way to lose marks. Key IB command terms include:

• Evaluate / To what extent / Discuss: weigh arguments for and against a claim and reach a judgment.
• Compare and contrast: identify similarities and differences, running the two cases together.
• Examine / Analyze: break the issue into parts and consider each with evidence.
• Assess the causes / consequences: explain and prioritize the factors invol