IB HL Paper 3 History Exam ~ general tips (May 2014)

RELAX … but be sure to study!

• No other tests on this day – just (HOA) P3.• You know more than you think you do.• You have learned about P3 content in HOA, various

English classes (novels etc.), Spanish class, IB 20th Century; EE/IA topics; AP Gov; movies, etc.• You have been practicing IB history exam writing for

two years, too.

• CTHS P3 exam scores have been consistently high; P3 is usually not what holds students back.• Ironically, students often are most fearful of P3.• However, students have often said that they

wish they had “studied more” for P3.

Bottom line?

• The P3 exam essays that earn the highest marks/points are:• well-structured• full of detailed evidence• include more than one perspective and/or any

possible critical commentary (historiography)• …EASY TO READ ! • Don’t annoy the examiner! Among other

things: include a cogent thesis – and explicit topic sentences, etc.

Tips for studying:• Ideally, attend at least 3 of the 4 review

sessions.• Read through entire HOA binder – and check

out Schoology information, posted by Ms. Phillips.• Lecture notes, PLOs, essays, IAs, etc.

• Take the initiative when/if needed!• Kelsey K. → watched the first part of Ken Burns’ CW

documentary: Episode 1, “The Cause” on Netflix• How will YOU fill in holes in content from absences

from HOA – or in those areas that might need some work?

“Two countries in the region…”• Warning: There are more and more of

these questions each year.• If you feel confident about the U.S.

history piece of a topic but not confident about a second country’s history for that topic, you will need to work to fill in that gap….• To see which topics will ask you about

two countries, check the HOA syllabus. If it only says “one country” in the region (or if it does not stipulate “two countries” in the region, you can assume that knowledge of just U.S. History for that topic is sufficient).

Paper 3 Exam:• There are 12 HOA units of study.• Recommended: Print copy of “curricular topics” from

Schoology.• The exam will include two questions from each of

these units for a total of 24 questions.• You must choose any three of these 24 on which to write.

• Schools are required to teach a minimum of three of these units. We did more than that (see syllabus)• (Most schools, teaching HOA, emphasize U.S. history

to meet the state requirement for U.S. history.)• Basically, during the exam, avoid questions that

pertain to topics with which you are not familiar.

Does the order of Essays on the test matter? NO.

•Your first essay should be the one based on the topic about which you feel the most confident…and so on….•For example, you might choose to write on essay ?s: 17, 21, & 3 – in that order.

Timing? (You must budget your own time.)• 5 mins. during which students are not allowed to

write anything•Use this time to select your three essays to consider various subtopics, perspectives, etc.

• You have 150 mins. to take the Paper 3 exam.• The 5 mins. w/o writing leaves 145 mins. • This breaks down to 48 mins. p/question• It’s suggested that for each essay ? you spend 3 mins. outlining your approach and then 42 minutes writing that essay (obviously, this is approximate).

Write w/ a professional, impartial voice:• Yes: “American Civil War” (1st time only CW is

mentioned in essay)• No: “the Civil War” (this sounds arrogant…as if

Americans are the only country to have ever had a Civil War)•Write so that your examiner is not able to tell what your nationality is.

• Use the third person (he, she, they, them, one)• and always avoid the second person (you)•…and, of course, the first person (I, we, us, me)

Scope of exam questions?•Sometimes they’re broad.• Assess the foreign policies of two presidents between 1948 - 1968.

•Sometimes they’re really focused/narrow•Discuss the impact of slave rebellions on one country in the region.• So expect both….

Answer the question :

• You’d be amazed at how often the question is not answered….• “For what reasons, and in what ways, did

supporters of slavery in the 19th century use legal, religious, and economic arguments in its defense?”• What, exactly is this question asking?

• “The atomic bombs were necessary to end the Second World War. To what extent do you agree with this statement?”• What, exactly, is this question asking?

“Challenging an assumption in the question:”

• Do this whenever you can – if applicable – to score higher on the markband. Most questions do not lend themselves to this, but some do, and if you can challenge an assumption successfully, it will move you into the higher level of the markband….• Where? In introductory paragraph.• How? Use exact phrasing: There is an “assumption in the question,”

which is ____, which is erroneous because….

• For example, what is assumed in the following question?(from May 2010’s P3 exam)

• Explain how and why the position of African Americans improved in United States society between 1877 – 1945.• Indeed, the assumption is that their lives largely improved when, in fact,

they did not – for the most part.

Evidence:

•Be as detailed as you can as often as you can.•This is THE biggest problem, worldwide, with IB history exams.

Proofreading at the end

• Most students claim that they run out of time on the history exam…• However, if you have a few extra minutes, return to

your essays and proofread for mechanical errors.•Graders are always partial to well-written work (with minimal mechanical errors/typos).

How to approach ?s• To what extent was the victory of the North in

the U.S. Civil War due to its superior industrial resources and manpower?•What exactly is this question asking?• possible thesis? subtopics? (brainstorm w/ neighbors…discuss)

• See next slide for markband information.

Markscheme info for this question:• Note: if only one aspect (perspective) included,

grader can’t award more than 12 pts.• “Candidates should recognize that the North’s

overwhelming superiority in industrial resources, manpower, & logistical capacity was a necessary condition for Northern victory, but that is not a sufficient explanation. Victory does not always go to the side that is stronger in numbers and resources, as is well known with the Vietnam War.”• Other factors: military leaders (Grant, Sherman =

hard-war strategists); use of USA’s Total War tactics; CSA merely had to defend itself while USA had to invade & then destroy CSA’s capacity to wage war, which was harder….

Tips from IB guru John Burton:•Paper 3 exam: • The reader should not be able to tell you’re American.• Stay within the time frame of the question.• These three are different: compare & contrast; compare; contrast.• (However, of these three, you will mostly see “compare &

contrast” questions.)

•Don’t make it hard for the examiner! Identify the main points of information in the thesis (or introductory sentence(s)) – e.g. year(s) or era, country/countries, main players/people, etc. Set the scene as concisely as possible.

The 24 P3 essay/exam questions…

•…are always in chronological order. • So, for example, the first two questions will pertain to topic 1, and the last two questions (#s 23 & 24) will pertain to topic 12. If you can’t remember dates, this will at least give you a general sense of chronology….

Practice how to approach Paper 3 Essay Questions:

• First, history essay exam writing is formulaic, so it doesn’t have to be fancy. • Examiners are looking for structure (PEEL etc.).

This is not your history doctoral dissertation . Keep it simple!• There are benefits to keeping your sentences

focused and to the point; use the active voice and write concisely.

Thesis statements:• It’s a good idea to incorporate direct

words/phrases into your thesis statements.• This will show the examiner not only that you

understand the entire question, but also, that you plan to address the entire question.

• Question: In what ways, and with what results, did slaves in the southern United States resist slavery?• (Only half of the possible points could be earned if

you only addressed half of this question.)

Organization/structure is REALLY

important!

Suggested Paper 3 Essay Formatting:• INTRO:

1-2 sentences of background information (and no more!)…bring the reader up to speed

Not a bad idea to do this last if it’s delaying you. If you don’t have time for this, don’t worry about it.

thesis (1. answer the question/prompt, 2. allow for more than one perspective; 3. argue/don’t report)

• BODY:5-7 PEEL paragraphs = ideal

At least 3 pieces of evidence in each paragraph

• CONCLUSION:1-2 sentences (simply re-state essay’s thesis) - KIS

Reminder about theses….• address the entire question/prompt• Incorporate wording from question into

your thesis.• argue/don’t report

e.g. :Question/prompt: Analyze the successes & failures of President Kennedy’s foreign policies towards Latin America between 1961 – 1963.Thesis: President Kennedy’s foreign policies toward LA between 1961 – 1963 were mostly successful (OR whatever you feel you can argue, based on the evidence you have).

Subtopics for body paragraphs:• set up subtopics during pre-writing• e.g. the SPICE (social, political, foreign policy,

militaristic, cultural, economic) lenses of history often work well.• e.g. possible subtopic ideas for the extent to which

Gettysburg can be considered turning point in American Civil War…?• Yes, it can; no, B. of Antietam was; death of Stonewall

Jackson was• Good to use → “Some historians argue that; while others argue

that…” (particularly if you can’t remember an historian’s name).

• e.g. possible subtopics for JFK’s Latin American foreign policy assessment?• Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile Crisis, Alliance for Progress, Peace

Corps (global organization, which included LA)

Structure for compare & contrast questions ~ synthesis preferred!• easily identifiable via

specific words…• “compare &

contrast”• …similar? …alike?

…different?• Both variables (e.g.

presidents, wars, countries, etc.) MUST be discussed in every single body paragraph – as much as you possibly can.

e.g. for comparing apples & oranges!

• possible subtopics for body paragraphs include:

• body P #1: taste of both fruits.• body P #2: texture

of both fruits.• body P #3: cooking

w/ both fruits.• body P #4: health

benefits of both fruits.• etc.

PEEL (proper format for BODY paragraphs):

• POINT (topic sentence)–must argue/make a claim (not report); must address

prompt; must explicitly state the paragraph’s topic

• EVIDENCE– include at least three points of evidence

• EXPLAIN–…each piece of evidence (i.e. how does it connect to

the thesis?)– Without any explanations, you’ll end up with merely a laundry

list of items without any analysis .– Example of a useful phrase to improve

analysis/argument:• “This is further proof/evidence that….”

• LINK– This is your concluding sentence that must explicitly

link back to the topic sentence (re-phrase P’s topic & main point here).

Stay w/in the region & time frame!• “the Americas region” = “the

region” = “the western hemisphere” = “the hemisphere”• Don’t forget that Cuba is in the

Americas region, too!

• If the ? demands it, keep your answers focused on the region – or political leaders in the region.• Exceptions: If the question asks

you to address the Korean War etc. (but you’re still focusing on the U.S. role (U.S. is in the region), not China’s role etc. – unless you’re discussing U.S. interactions with China re. Korea.