IB DP History (DP History): World history topics – Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions. They follow Paper 2’s essay format and 15-mark tariff, but not the paper’s exact selection of questions – the IB holds copyright in its own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available through your school or the IB store.

Related: World history topics revision notes and the world history topics study guide.

IB DP History Paper 2 asks for two essays in 1 hour 30 minutes, each from a different world history topic, each marked out of 15. Below is one practice question for each of the twelve topics, followed by indicative content: the knowledge and lines of argument an examiner would expect, not a model answer. Answer the questions for the two topics your school studies, under timed conditions of about 45 minutes each.

How the essays are marked

Marks	Summary of the IB Paper 2 markband
13-15	Clear understanding of the question’s demands; accurate, relevant knowledge; effective comparison where asked; clear argument; evaluation of different perspectives; consistent focus
10-12	Demands understood; mostly accurate knowledge; some critical analysis and evaluation; mostly focused
7-9	Generally understood; some knowledge, more description; limited analysis
4-6	Some understanding; limited knowledge; narrative
1-3	Little understanding or relevant knowledge

The questions

1. Society and economy (750-1400). Discuss the impact of trade on the economy of one society you have studied. [15]

Indicative content (Song China as example): growth of internal and maritime trade; paper money (jiaozi); commercialisation of agriculture through new rice strains; urban growth (Kaifeng, Hangzhou); state monopolies and taxation of trade. Balance: agriculture remained the economic base; limits on merchants’ status in Confucian society. Judgement on the extent of impact.

2. Causes and effects of wars (750-1500). Compare and contrast the causes of two medieval wars, each chosen from a different region. [15]

Indicative content (First Crusade and Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire): religious motivation and papal appeal at Clermont (1095) against the Mongols’ response to the murder of envoys and merchants at Otrar (1218); territorial and economic motives in both; leadership of Urban II versus Genghis Khan. Comparative structure by type of cause.

3. Dynasties and rulers (750-1500). Evaluate the methods used by one ruler to maintain power. [15]

Indicative content (Charlemagne): military campaigns (Saxony, Lombardy); missi dominici and counts; alliance with the papacy and imperial coronation (800); capitularies; patronage of learning. Limits: dependence on personal authority; division of the empire after Louis the Pious.

4. Societies in transition (1400-1700). To what extent did religious change transform one society between 1400 and 1700? [15]

Indicative content (German lands): Luther’s 95 Theses (1517); spread through printing; Peasants’ War (1524-25); Peace of Augsburg (1555) and cuius regio, eius religio; changes to church property and education. Continuities: princely power, social hierarchy, persistence of Catholicism in the south.

5. Early Modern states (1450-1789). Compare and contrast the ways in which two rulers, each chosen from a different region, strengthened central government. [15]

Indicative content (Louis XIV and Tokugawa Ieyasu and successors): control of nobles (Versailles; sankin-kōtai alternate attendance); bureaucracy (intendants; bakufu officials); control of religion (Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 1685; suppression of Christianity in Japan); differences in military and foreign policy – French wars versus Tokugawa restrictions on foreign contact.

6. Causes and effects of Early Modern wars (1500-1750). Examine the political effects of one Early Modern war. [15]

Indicative content (Thirty Years’ War): Peace of Westphalia (1648); recognition of Calvinism alongside Lutheranism and Catholicism; increased sovereignty of German princes; decline of Habsburg imperial authority; rise of France and Sweden; independence of the Dutch Republic confirmed. Debate on Westphalia as the origin of state sovereignty.

7. Industrialization (1750-2005). “Government policy was the most important factor in the industrialization of a country.” With reference to two countries, each chosen from a different region, to what extent do you agree? [15]

Indicative content (Britain and Meiji Japan): Britain: limited direct state role, but enclosure, patents, empire and navy; coal, capital, technology and labour. Japan: state-led modernisation after 1868 – railways, model factories, education, sale of industries to zaibatsu. Judgement: decisive in Japan, enabling but secondary in Britain.

8. Independence movements (1800-2000). Compare and contrast the methods used by two independence movements, each chosen from a different region. [15]

Indicative content (India and Algeria): Indian National Congress and Gandhi’s non-violence (Salt March, 1930; Quit India, 1942), alongside negotiation and the impact of the Second World War; the FLN’s armed struggle from 1954, terrorism and guerrilla war, the Battle of Algiers, international diplomacy; independence in 1947 and 1962. Comparison of effectiveness of methods.

9. Emergence and development of democratic states (1848-2000). Evaluate the success of one democratic state in responding to the challenges it faced. [15]

Indicative content (Weimar Germany): responses to uprisings (1919-23), hyperinflation and Stresemann’s recovery; constitutional weaknesses (proportional representation, Article 48); failure in the Depression; collapse by 1933. Alternative example: South Africa after 1994 – constitution, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, economic inequality.

10. Authoritarian states (20th century). Compare and contrast the use of propaganda by two authoritarian leaders, each chosen from a different region. [15]

Indicative content (Hitler and Mao): Goebbels’ ministry, radio and rallies versus mass campaigns, posters and the “Little Red Book”; personality cults; youth organisations (Hitler Youth, Red Guards); differences in targets (racial community versus class struggle) and in effectiveness.

11. Causes and effects of 20th-century wars. Examine the reasons for the outcome of one civil war. [15]

Indicative content (Chinese Civil War, 1946-49): communist land reform and peasant support; Guomindang corruption, inflation and military errors; Soviet assistance in Manchuria; communist strategy and leadership (Mao, Lin Biao); limited US support after the Marshall mission. Judgement on the most important factor.

12. The Cold War. “The Cuban Missile Crisis was a turning point in the Cold War.” Discuss. [15]

Indicative content: the crisis (October 1962) and its resolution; the hotline and Partial Test Ban Treaty (1963); a move towards managed rivalry and later détente. Counter-arguments: the arms race accelerated; proxy wars continued (Vietnam); the Soviet resolve never again to be outgunned. Historians’ perspectives on Khrushchev’s motives may be evaluated.

Planning drill

For each question: (1) choose your examples and check they meet any regional requirement; (2) write a one-sentence thesis; (3) set three or four analytical themes as paragraph headings; (4) note two pieces of precise evidence per theme for each example; (5) write a conclusion that answers the question directly.

Frequently asked questions

Must I use two examples in every Paper 2 question? Only when the question asks for them. Questions with “one” allow a single example; comparison questions need two.

How much historiography should I include? Enough to evaluate different perspectives where it helps the argument. It is not compulsory, and a vague or inaccurate reference to a historian weakens an answer rather than strengthening it.

What if my example is from the wrong region? Read the question again: “each chosen from a different region” is a requirement, and the IB History guide defines the four regions you must choose from.