Paper 1 is common to both HL and SL students. Paper 2 is also taken by HL and SL students, but HL students answer three questions while SL students only answer two. Paper 3 is a one hour paper only studied by HL students. Both HL and SL students complete and internal assessment of 2,500 words. For further details and the structure and weighting of the papers, please read the information below.
SL Assessment Outline:
Assessment component
Weighting
Total External assessment (2 hours 50 minutes) IB Paper 1 (1 hour 30 minutes)
Syllabus content: Core theme
Assessment objectives 1–4
Section A: Students answer all short‑answer questions. Some include data. (45 marks)
Section B: Students answer one extended response question. (15 marks)
Section A and section B are common to both SL and HL assessment.
(60 marks)
75% 40%
IB Paper 2 (1 hour 20 minutes)
Syllabus content: Two optional themes
Assessment objectives 1–4
Students answer two structured questions based on stimulus material, each selected from a different optional theme. For each theme there is a choice of two questions. (20 marks per question)
Some stimulus material is included in the resources booklet.
This paper is common to both SL and HL assessment.
(40 marks)
35%
Internal assessment (20 hours)
This component is internally assessed by the teacher and externally moderated by the IB at the end of the course.
Syllabus content: Any topic from the syllabus
Assessment objectives 1–4
Written report based on fieldwork. Maximum 2,500 words
(30 marks)
25%
HL Assessment Outline
Assessment component
Weighting
Total External assessment (4 hours 30 minutes) IB Paper 1 (1 hour 30 minutes)
Syllabus content: Core theme
Assessment objectives 1–4
Section A: Students answer all short‑answer questions. Some include data. (45 marks)
Section B: Students answer one extended response question. (15 marks)
Section A and section B are common to both SL and HL assessment.
(60 marks)
80% 25%
IB Paper 2 (2 hours)
Syllabus content: Three optional themes
Assessment objectives 1–4
Students answer three structured questions based on stimulus material, each selected from a different theme. For each theme there is a choice of two questions. (20 marks per question)
Some stimulus material is included in the resources booklet.
This paper is common to both SL and HL assessment.
(60 marks)
35%
IB Paper 3 (1 hour)
Syllabus content: Higher level extension
Assessment objectives 1–4
Students answer one of three essay questions.
(25 marks)
20%
Internal assessment (20 hours)
This component is internally assessed by the teacher and externally moderated by the IB at the end of the course.
Syllabus content: Any topic from the syllabus
Assessment objectives 1–4
Written report based on fieldwork. Maximum 2,500 words
(30 marks)
Assessment Outline
Paper 1 is common to both HL and SL students. Paper 2 is also taken by HL and SL students, but HL students answer three questions while SL students only answer two. Paper 3 is a one hour paper only studied by HL students. Both HL and SL students complete and internal assessment of 2,500 words. For further details and the structure and weighting of the papers, please read the information below.
SL Assessment Outline:
IB Paper 1 (1 hour 30 minutes)
Syllabus content: Core theme
Assessment objectives 1–4
Section A: Students answer all short‑answer questions. Some include data. (45 marks)
Section B: Students answer one extended response question. (15 marks)
Section A and section B are common to both SL and HL assessment.
(60 marks)
40%
Syllabus content: Two optional themes
Assessment objectives 1–4
Students answer two structured questions based on stimulus material, each selected from a different optional theme. For each theme there is a choice of two questions. (20 marks per question)
Some stimulus material is included in the resources booklet.
This paper is common to both SL and HL assessment.
(40 marks)
This component is internally assessed by the teacher and externally moderated by the IB at the end of the course.
Syllabus content: Any topic from the syllabus
Assessment objectives 1–4
Written report based on fieldwork. Maximum 2,500 words
(30 marks)
HL Assessment Outline
IB Paper 1 (1 hour 30 minutes)
Syllabus content: Core theme
Assessment objectives 1–4
Section A: Students answer all short‑answer questions. Some include data. (45 marks)
Section B: Students answer one extended response question. (15 marks)
Section A and section B are common to both SL and HL assessment.
(60 marks)
25%
Syllabus content: Three optional themes
Assessment objectives 1–4
Students answer three structured questions based on stimulus material, each selected from a different theme. For each theme there is a choice of two questions. (20 marks per question)
Some stimulus material is included in the resources booklet.
This paper is common to both SL and HL assessment.
(60 marks)
Syllabus content: Higher level extension
Assessment objectives 1–4
Students answer one of three essay questions.
(25 marks)
This component is internally assessed by the teacher and externally moderated by the IB at the end of the course.
Syllabus content: Any topic from the syllabus
Assessment objectives 1–4
Written report based on fieldwork. Maximum 2,500 words
(30 marks)
IB Assessment objectives
IB Command words