How should my time be managed during the IB History Paper One?

For the paper one, unfortunately time is not on your side. You have one hour to complete 4 comprehensive questions in the best way possible. You should think of the exam in terms of precision, don't waste your time by re-writing questions or over-writing responses. When you begin the reading time, you should look immediately to the questions at the end, and read question #4 - it will tell you exactly what the topic is for the entire paper, giving you much needed context. Then, instead of reading all of the sources, you should try to begin answering the first question in your head. You want to have questions 1a.) and 1b.) answered within the first ten minutes, so beginning to answer them mentally will give you an extra time advantage. Keep the answers to 1a.) and 1b.) as concise as possible - the examiners are looking for direct quotations pulled from the text in 1a.) and clear symbols pulled from the graphics for 1b.).

Once you have finished question 1, you should move on to question two: the OPCVL. Begin by just looking at the source information - if you are strapped for content after scouring that, then move on to the "C" category of content and fill in any gaps. You want 3 values and 3 limitations, from the source's origin and purpose. A good argument that you can always use and tailor to the gaps that you may have is to look at the year the source was published. You can argue that the year is good or bad depending on what the topic of the source is. Again, answer this question as quickly and concisely as possible, including trigger words such as "a value of this source is", or "in accordance to origin". Do not use the word "bias". You want to finish this in about ten minutes.

For question number 3, the compare and contrast, look to what each source says that the other doesn't - it is an easy way to score points without putting in a lot of effort. You can fill in a formula, such as "Source A mentions ______, whereas Source B doesn't" - this works and will give you a few points. Then, look to certain people that they talk about in both sources and look to the language that they use with those figures - that can easily be used to create new points. You want to finish this question in about fifteen minutes.

For the 25 remaining minutes, you want to focus all of your energy on question number four. They are looking for a developed argument, not a well crafted essay, so keep things clear and to the point. For your introduction, just your thesis statement will suffice. Then have body paragraphs that argue towards that point and reference sources frequently, even incorporating direct quotations if possible. Keep your argument clear and easy to follow - shorter paragraphs are always easier to comprehend by examiners so try and keep just one piece of evidence to each paragraph. By the time you have written your essay, you will probably have just enough time to read over your answers and ensure that you have included enough evidence for each question - then the time should be up!