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2. Assessment for Paper 2

Paper 2 essays are marked using the markbands which can be found in the IB history guide pages 79 and 80.

Unlike Paper 3, there are no indicative comment markschemes due to the fact that students can choose their own case studies.

The grid below sets out the markbands in a student friendly way.

Markbands for paper 2

The markbands for marking Paper 2 essays are set out here in a way that makes them easier to read. It is a good idea to give students this grid so that they can see how to get the the top markbands. They could, for example, hand in each essay with one of these grids and tick which boxes under which criteria they believe they have reached.

The system is to use 'best fit' so not all the criteria in each markband has to be met. Once the markband has been decided on, start in the middle and then move up or down according to how well the student has performed within that markband.

Please note that for the 2020 exams the knowledge category has been adjusted so that the 7 - 9 band is for 'partly accurate and relevant' knowledge.

  Markbands for Paper 2

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