Everything you need to prepare for IB Philosophy at SL and HL: a paper-by-paper strategy for the Paper 1 core-theme and optional-theme essays, the open-book Paper 2 prescribed-text essay, and the HL Paper 3 extension, a 6-week revision timeline, a unit checklist, and links to free notes and flashcards. Philosophy is a skill, not a body of facts — every markscheme rewards building AND evaluating an argument. This guide shows you how to practise exactly that.
Philosophy marks are won and lost on the command term — it tells you how much argument and judgement to show. The essays reward doing philosophy: explaining a position accurately, then evaluating it and reaching a defensible conclusion. Three are worth knowing cold before you sit the exam.
Explain
Give a detailed, accurate account of a position or argument — its claims, its reasons, and how the parts fit together. Examiners want you to reconstruct the view faithfully first; a distorted account undermines everything that follows. This is the necessary set-up before you evaluate, not the whole answer.
Evaluate
Weigh the strengths and weaknesses of an argument, raise the strongest objections, answer them, and reach a supported judgement. This is the top-band skill: examiners are looking for genuine critical engagement, not a list of pros and cons — commit to a position and defend it with reasons.
Discuss
Offer a balanced, considered review of an issue from more than one perspective, weighing competing arguments before reaching a reasoned position. Examiners reward candidates who take the opposing view seriously rather than knocking down a caricature, and who conclude rather than sit on the fence.
Not sure what you need on Paper 1 to push your overall grade to a 7? Use our interactive grade calculator to enter your mock or target percentages for each paper and the internal assessment, and see how they translate into final IB grades based on historical grade boundaries.
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Two essays. Section A is a compulsory 25-mark stimulus essay on the core theme "Being human" — you turn an unseen image, quotation or scenario into a philosophical argument. Section B is a 25-mark essay on the optional theme(s): SL answers one, HL answers two. Both sections reward a built, evaluated argument.
Section A: extract a philosophical question from the stimulus, then argue — do not describe the image
Keep every Section A answer anchored to the core theme "Being human"
Section B: answer the exact question and weigh counter-positions before you conclude
Structure each essay as a chain of reasons ending in a justified judgement
Paper 2SL & HL1 hour30% (SL) · 25% (HL)
A single 25-mark open-book essay on the studied prescribed text — one of twelve, from Plato’s Republic and Descartes’ Meditations to de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex and Mill’s On Liberty. You bring a clean, un-annotated copy into the exam and answer a set question by analysing AND evaluating the philosopher’s argument.
Use the clean copy for exact wording — the marks are in your analysis, not the quote
Reconstruct the author’s argument accurately, then press its weaknesses
Answer the set question; do not write a general essay about the text
Know the text well enough to criticise it — the open book is a reference, not a crutch
Paper 3HL only1 hour 15 minutes20% (HL)
HL extension — "Philosophy and contemporary issues". You respond to an unseen text about the nature and methodology of philosophy and its bearing on issues such as technology and the environment, arguing about what philosophy is and how it should be practised.
Practise responding to unseen texts about the nature and value of philosophy
Take a clear view on what philosophy is and defend it against the text
Link the methodological debate to contemporary issues like technology and the environment
Argue and evaluate — do not just paraphrase the unseen text
A philosophical analysis of a non-philosophical stimulus of your choice — a film, artwork, news story or advertisement. You identify a philosophical issue it raises and analyse it with the concepts and methods of the course, written up as a report (SL ≤ 2,000 words).
Choose a stimulus that genuinely raises a philosophical issue you can analyse
Identify one clear philosophical problem rather than several loosely-linked ones
Analyse with course concepts and arguments — not a general opinion piece
Keep the link between the stimulus and the issue explicit throughout
Starting 6 weeks out gives you enough time to go through all 11 units, identify weak spots, and do meaningful exam practice.
6+ weeks before
Foundation
Work through the notes for the core theme "Being human" and your optional theme — use the topic index on /ib-philosophy
Re-read your prescribed text and map its central argument and the standard objections to it
Make flashcards for the key thinkers, arguments and objections across all your topics
4–5 weeks before
Practice
Begin spaced flashcard review across the core theme, optional theme(s) and prescribed text
Drill the Paper 1 §A skill: turn a stimulus into a philosophical question, fast
Write one Paper 1 or Paper 2 essay under timed conditions and mark it against the criteria
2–3 weeks before
Consolidation
Complete a full Paper 1 (Sections A and B) and a Paper 2 open-book essay under timed conditions
HL: practise Paper 3 on an unseen text — argue about the nature and methodology of philosophy
Target weak topics and rehearse raising and answering the strongest objection to your view
1 week before
Final push
Review mark schemes — see exactly how the essay bands reward evaluation over description
Skim every topic summary and your objection maps — reinforce, don’t re-read in full
Continue daily flashcard review (due cards only)
Day before
Light review only
Quick scan of your core-theme concepts, your optional theme, and your prescribed text’s argument
Check command terms: explain, evaluate, discuss, to what extent
Prepare a clean, un-annotated copy of your prescribed text and get 8 hours of sleep
11
Units
Revise by unit
The core theme is tested in Paper 1 Section A; the optional themes in Section B; the prescribed text in the open-book Paper 2. HL students also study a second optional theme and sit Paper 3 on the HL extension. Each unit links straight to free notes and flashcards.
1
Core theme — Being human
Exam weight: Paper 1 Section A (stimulus essay) — identity, consciousness, freedom, personhood and human nature
identity & the selfconsciousnesspersonhoodhuman naturefreedom & determinismthe self and the other
Start dedicated Philosophy revision about 6 weeks before the exam. Because the marks are in the argument rather than in recall, you need time to re-read your prescribed text, map the standard objections to your optional theme, and — most importantly — write and mark timed essays. The skill of building and evaluating an argument only improves with practice, so start early and write often.
Is IB Philosophy hard?+
Philosophy is demanding in a different way from a content-heavy subject: there is little to memorise, but you have to think. The challenge is doing philosophy under time — turning a stimulus into a problem, reconstructing an argument accurately, raising the strongest objection, and reaching a judgement you can defend. Students who like arguing and writing tend to thrive; the top band is reached by evaluation, not by how much you can describe.
What is the difference between SL and HL Philosophy?+
SL and HL share the core theme "Being human", the open-book prescribed-text paper and the internal assessment. HL studies a second optional theme (so two Section B essays rather than one) and adds Paper 3 on "Philosophy and contemporary issues" — arguing from an unseen text about the nature and methodology of philosophy and its bearing on technology and the environment. HL also covers more content across the year.
How do you get a 7 in IB Philosophy?+
Argue, don’t describe. The top band rewards a clear, sustained line of argument that answers the exact question, engages seriously with counter-arguments, and reaches a justified conclusion. Master the command terms, practise turning a Paper 1 stimulus into a philosophical problem, know your prescribed text well enough to criticise it, and always leave time to weigh the strongest objection before you conclude.
First topic free
Turn your Philosophy revision plan into results
Aimnova builds a personalised study plan around your exam date — it tracks your progress, surfaces the arguments and objections you keep getting wrong, and schedules exactly what to review each day.