History HL

By: J. Campos

When it comes to picking your higher level choices, it's always very challenging, and a lot of thought must be put into it. I decided to choose History HL for the simple reason that I loved history and did so well on it in the IGCSE.

However, my A* in the IGCSE History far from guaranteed me good grades in the IB. All the essays we had in the first semester showed me how much more hard work history higher level entailed. The class grades in the End of Terms varied between 4 or 5, with no 6s; this was a clear wake up call to all of us that the work we did for the IGCSE would not suffice for the level and depth of knowledge required in the IB.

History HL requires a lot of reading, essay writing and annotating. It is extremely time consuming and you must make sure that you are ready to put in the time. However, all this does not stop it from being a subject that I love. The topics are extremely interesting and from doing so many essays you start to get a hang of the techniques that are required.

One of the key things I would recommend for those who decide to take history HL is to not take it lightly: it is a very hard subject. Yet, it is not impossible and, with just the right amount of motivation and determination, you can score excellent grades.