IB History Revision Guide
Everything you need to revise for IB History — the Paper 1 prescribed subjects and the Paper 2 world-history topics broken down, a revision timetable, exam tips for source analysis and comparative essays, and AI-powered study tools.
IB History Topics to Revise
Paper 1 — Prescribed subjects
Source-based study of one prescribed subject: military leaders (Genghis Khan, Richard I), conquest and its impact, the move to global war, rights and protest, and conflict and intervention.
Paper 2 — Authoritarian states & wars
Authoritarian states (emergence, consolidation, and policies) alongside the causes, practices, and effects of 20th-century wars — the most-tested Paper 2 combination.
Paper 2 — The Cold War
Rivalry, mistrust and accord; leaders and nations; and Cold War crises across the second half of the 20th century.
Paper 2 — Change over time
Society and economy (750–1400), medieval wars, industrialization (1750–2005), independence movements, and the emergence and development of democratic states.
History Revision Timetable (10 Weeks)
Top History Revision Tips
- Nail OPVL on Paper 1 — explain how a source’s origin and purpose give it value AND limitations for a historian, never just "it is biased".
- Answer the command term — "evaluate", "examine", "compare and contrast" and "to what extent" each demand a balanced argument and a clear judgement.
- Build a case-study bank — two or three detailed, contrasting examples per Paper 2 topic, with precise names, dates, and figures.
- For Paper 2, draw examples from more than one region — comparative range is what lifts an essay into the top band.
- Weave in historians’ interpretations to show you understand that the past is debated, not settled.
- Treat the historical investigation IA (25%) as marks in the bank — evaluate your sources rigorously and edit to the word limit.