Master the IB Global Politics Standard Level exam. Paper structures, command terms, source and essay technique, essay markbands, and the engagement project — everything you need to score top marks.
150 teaching hours • Paper 1 (source analysis) + Paper 2 (thematic essays) • 1 engagement project
Know exactly what to expect in each paper and how to maximise your marks.
What to expect:
Key Tips
Easy Marks
Watch Out
What to expect:
Key Tips
Easy Marks
Watch Out
Command terms tell you exactly what the examiner expects. Filter by Assessment Objective (AO).
Match your answer depth to the marks available.
Example questions:
On the explain question, use the source AS evidence for a reasoned point — don’t simply restate what it says.
Example questions:
Never write about one source then the other — weave them together in each comparative point.
Example questions:
This is not a source summary — group sources into arguments, weave in own knowledge, and reach a conclusion.
Example questions:
The top-band discriminator is evaluation — a description of viewpoints with no weighing caps in the middle bands.
These concepts appear throughout Global Politics SL exams. Master them to score higher.
Paper 1 always follows the same shape: identify, explain-using-a-source, compare-and-contrast, and an evaluation using the sources with your own knowledge. Practise each until the technique is automatic — especially the final evaluation, where most Paper 1 marks are won.
Power, sovereignty, legitimacy and interdependence are analytical tools, not just definitions. Frame answers around them — who holds power, whether it is legitimate, how sovereignty is challenged, how actors depend on each other — to lift your analysis.
For each thematic study keep two or three detailed, recent examples (ideally from the last two decades) — with named actors, places and outcomes — so you can support whatever the question asks with precise, current evidence.
"Discuss", "examine", "evaluate", and "to what extent" all demand more than one perspective explored AND weighed against each other, ending in a judgement. Underline the command term, plan both sides, then decide — the evaluation is the top-band skill.
On the Paper 1 evaluation, group the sources into arguments and add precise own knowledge beyond them; on Paper 2, support every claim with a specific example. Source evidence plus wider context is what reaches the top band.
HL students sit Paper 3 on a global political challenge — borders, environment or equality. Practise analysing an unseen stimulus, recommending a justified course of action, and synthesising across the challenge, rather than just describing it.
Learn from others' mistakes. These cost students marks every exam session.
Describing viewpoints instead of evaluating them
Explore more than one perspective AND weigh them against each other, then reach a justified judgement — evaluation is what lifts an essay into the top band.
Summarising the two sources separately on compare-and-contrast
Write a running comparison — "both sources…", "whereas Source B…" — covering similarities and differences point by point, referring to both throughout.
Treating the Paper 1 evaluation as a source summary
Group the sources into arguments, add your own detailed knowledge beyond them, and reach a supported judgement — do not just describe each source in turn.
Vague, dateless evidence
Use precise, contemporary examples with named actors, places and outcomes. "Some countries did this" earns far less than a specific, recent, named case.
Ignoring the key concepts
Frame answers around power, sovereignty, legitimacy and interdependence — using them as analytical tools signals conceptual understanding to the examiner.
Running out of time on the essays
Paper 2 is two essays in 1h 45m — budget time for each, leave time to plan, and do not let one essay eat into the other.
30% of final grade • ≤ 2,000 words
An individual engagement project: you engage with a political issue of your choice, then write a report analysing it through the tools of political science and reflecting on your engagement. It links a real-world issue to the course concepts, and is completed before the exams and marked out of 24 at SL.
Marking Criteria
Tips for Top Marks
Apply these exam skills with our Global Politics SL practice questions. Get instant AI feedback that shows exactly what scored marks and how to improve.