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IB Digital Society Paper 2: Evaluating Concepts and Cases
Digital society: concepts, cases and the evaluative register
This paper asks you to explain real cases through course concepts, and the usual loss is description rather than analysis: how a platform works is written, but not whose power, whose data or whose choices it changes. Marks come from naming the concept, citing a specific case and closing with a judgement.
How is IB Digital Society Paper 2 assessed, and what does each part carry?
Paper 2 (common to SL and HL): Four source-based questions, all compulsory (Q1 2 / Q2 4 / Q3 6 / Q4 1 (SL 30% / HL 20%); Paper 1 (SL/HL): Two of four structured questions (a 6 / b 6 / c 8); HL adds a 12-mark (SL 40% / HL 35%); Paper 3 (HL only): Four compulsory questions (4 + 6 + 8 + 12) evaluating an intervention (HL 25%); Internal assessment: inquiry project: Inquiry process document (max 1,500 words) + recorded presentation (ma (SL 30% / HL 20%)
Assessment at a glance (2027)
| Component | Content | Weighting | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 2 (common to SL and HL) | Four source-based questions, all compulsory (Q1 2 / Q2 4 / Q3 6 / Q4 12 marks) | SL 30% / HL 20% | 1 h 15 min |
| Paper 1 (SL/HL) | Two of four structured questions (a 6 / b 6 / c 8); HL adds a 12-mark extended response | SL 40% / HL 35% | SL 1 h 30 min / HL 2 h 15 min |
| Paper 3 (HL only) | Four compulsory questions (4 + 6 + 8 + 12) evaluating an intervention against the pre-release statement issued four months earlier | HL 25% | 1 h 15 min |
| Internal assessment: inquiry project | Inquiry process document (max 1,500 words) + recorded presentation (max 10 min); criteria A 3 / B 6 / C 6 / D 6 / E 3 | SL 30% / HL 20% | 30 hours |
Drilling technique for source-based questions: label every source three ways – origin (who wrote it), purpose (what they want the reader to do) and date (is it still current); Q3 must use comparative language (whereas, by contrast, both), because describing two sources side by side is not a comparison; Q4 runs define, both sides with the sources integrated, explicit criteria, conclusion – naming which source each paragraph uses.
What each paper is actually testing
| Paper | Drill focus | How marks are lost |
|---|---|---|
| Paper 2 (common to SL and HL) | Mark origin and date first; Q3 needs comparative language; Q4 is a three-move evaluation | The answer becomes a product manual: features and user flow described in detail, with no statement of which course concept relationship has changed, so no analysis is visible. |
| Paper 1 (SL/HL) | Concept x content x context with a real example each time | Cases stay generic – social media, artificial intelligence – with no named platform, date, policy or figure, so persuasion and marks go together. |
| Paper 3 (HL only) | Effectiveness, limits and future action | A tidy list of benefits and harms with no judgement: the conclusion never says which side weighs more or why, so the evaluative marks are lost. |
| Internal assessment: inquiry project | Focus, analysis and evaluation, conclusion, communication | A concept is misnamed or swapped midway: one concept opens the answer and a near-neighbour replaces it, with different definitions, and the argument breaks. |
What is each IB Digital Society Paper 2 paper really testing, and what should you drill?
Paper 2 (common to SL and HL): Mark origin and date first; Q3 needs comparative language; Q4 is a three-move evaluation; Paper 1 (SL/HL): Concept x content x context with a real example each time; Paper 3 (HL only): Effectiveness, limits and future action; Internal assessment: inquiry project: Focus, analysis and evaluation, conclusion, communication
Drill order: by topic, then by year, then the mark scheme
| Step | What you do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1. By topic | Work through each topic, starting with the paper that allows least help (no calculator / closed book) | Exposes what is genuinely not understood |
| 2. By year | Whole papers to time, one or two a week | Trains pace, stamina and question selection |
| 3. Mark scheme | Go through the marking scheme question by question and log the scoring steps you missed | Most lost marks are written wrong, not thought wrong |
Should drilling go by topic first or by year?
By topic first, then whole papers by year, then the mark scheme. The first third of the time goes topic by topic (8-10 years of the same topic back to back), the middle switches to timed whole papers, and the last fortnight only redoes the recurring errors from your log.
A 12-week drilling timetable
| Week | Phase | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-3 | By topic: foundation | Topic by topic, starting with the easiest marks, building habits and recall |
| Weeks 4-6 | By topic: core | 8-10 years of the same topic back to back, errors classified by topic |
| Weeks 7-8 | By topic: advanced and electives | Elective and higher-order topics, now under time pressure |
| Weeks 9-10 | By year: timed papers | One full paper a week, timed, no reference materials |
| Week 11 | Mark scheme work | Question by question against the marking scheme; list the scoring steps you omitted |
| Week 12 | Plug holes and simulate | Only the recurring errors from your log, then one full exam simulation |
Subject-specific weighting for this timetable: Weeks 1-3: a concept deck. One card per course concept with its definition, one supporting case and one challenging case; draw three a day and talk each through in a minute.\nWeeks 4-6: a case bank. Two specific cases per concept with platform, date, point of dispute and affected group, written so that they can be reused across questions.\nWeeks 7-9: answer structure. Fix the five moves – definition, case, analysis, evaluation, judgement – and drill each to time until it comes without prompts.\nWeeks 10-12: timed papers; before handing in, check every answer for a judgement and a counter-case.
Use it properly: this is not a checklist to finish. Every week must keep time for redoing errors, or from week 9 you will be repeating the same batch.
Pacing
| Paper | Time | Suggested split |
|---|---|---|
| Paper 2 (common to SL and HL) | 1 h 15 min | Q1 4 min, Q2 9 min, Q3 17 min, Q4 40 min (keep 5 min to check) |
| Paper 1 (SL/HL) | SL 1 h 30 min / HL 2 h 15 min | about 40 min per structured question (a 12, b 12, c 16) |
| Paper 3 (HL only) | 1 h 15 min | 10 min on the pre-release statement, then 65 min by mark share |
| Internal assessment: inquiry project | 30 hours | Inquiry question first, then primary data |
How should the time be split inside each IB Digital Society Paper 2 paper?
Paper 2 (common to SL and HL): Q1 4 min, Q2 9 min, Q3 17 min, Q4 40 min (keep 5 min to check); Paper 1 (SL/HL): about 40 min per structured question (a 12, b 12, c 16); Paper 3 (HL only): 10 min on the pre-release statement, then 65 min by mark share; Internal assessment: inquiry project: Inquiry question first, then primary data
The drilling mistakes that cost the most marks
| Mistake | What it looks like | What actually happens | Instead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 copies the source | Lifting a whole paragraph | 1 mark only – reason or evidence missing | Write one sentence of reason and one of evidence |
| Q3 describes instead of comparing | Source B, then Source C, in turn | A 6-mark question usually lands on 2-3 | Compare point by point with ‘whereas’ or ‘both’, citing each source |
| Q4 never integrates the sources | Opinion only | Level descriptors require source integration, so 4-6 at most | Name the source each paragraph uses and say which side it supports |
| Ignoring origin and date | Treating a press release as an audit report | The analysis loses its basis and part b suffers | Note origin, purpose and date first |
| Reading a percentage as a conclusion | Use fell, therefore the policy works | The limits of an average are ignored | Say what the figure measures and what it does not |
The error log and the mark scheme
Three columns: the question and the concept used; the concept and case the question actually called for; and whether the loss was concept, case or missing judgement. A missing judgement earns the closing sentence rewritten with the phrase which side weighs more.
How many years should you drill?
Digital Society is a new course, so published past papers are limited and By Year alone will not carry you. Work from the official guide specimen items and original mocks, and build cases from news and regulator reports, provided you can state each case date and source, since an unsourced case weakens the evaluation.
How many years of past papers is enough?
Digital Society is a new course, so published past papers are limited and By Year alone will not carry you. Work from the official guide specimen items and original mocks, and build cases from news and regulator reports, provided you can state each case date and source, since an unsourced case weakens the evaluation.
Frequently asked questions
Is this page a mock paper or a drilling guide?
This is the IB Digital Society Paper 2 drilling guide: assessment structure, drill order, a 12-week timetable, pacing, common mark losses and the error-log method. For questions with answers, use the IB Digital Society Paper 2 mock papers linked under Related.
By topic or by year first?
By topic. Eight to ten years of the same topic back to back is what exposes repeating errors; going straight to whole papers just repeats the same batch under time pressure.
How should the error log be written?
Do not copy out questions. Per error record four things: question reference, which step failed (concept, wording, calculation), what the mark scheme requires, and the correct action next time.
What if the question names a technology never studied?
Do not pretend to know it. Take it apart with the course concepts: what data it collects, who has access, who decides and who carries the risk. Those four questions produce a grounded answer even for an unfamiliar technology.
Can cases be drawn from Hong Kong only?
Yes, but keep one local and one international case per concept: the local one supplies detail and the international one supplies comparison, which is what the evaluation needs.
Official references
| Resource | What to use it for |
|---|---|
| IB Digital society subject page (IBO) | Confirm the Paper 1-3 marks, times and weightings |
| IB Digital Society Paper 1 drilling mock | Practice the a/b/c structured question |
| IB Digital Society drilling guide | 12-week timetable, drill order and the error log |
| IB Geography Paper 3 drilling mock | Another evidence-and-case based paper |
Related: IB Digital Society Paper 1 mock · IB Digital Society drilling guide · practice area · IB Geography Paper 3 mock
Next step: find a tutor / register as a tutor
After drilling, the hard part is telling a conceptual error from a writing error. Tell us the year group, the school and your available times, and TutorZone will match you with a tutor who knows the HKEAA assessment requirements.
Demand for tutors in this subject is steady, and those who can explain the marking scheme and where marks are won are especially sought after. Register free; you pay only when a match succeeds.