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IB Global Politics Drilling Guide (SL and HL): Papers 1-3, Cases and a 12-Week Plan
TUTORZONE EXAM DRILL GUIDE · IB DP GLOBAL POLITICS (FIRST ASSESSMENT 2026)
Built on the IB DP Global Politics course first assessed in 2026: Paper 1 source-based (1 h 15, 30% SL / 20% HL), Paper 2 essays (1 h 30, 40%/30%), Paper 3 stimulus (HL only, 1 h 30, 30%), plus the engagement project (30%/20%). Method only – drill order, a 12-week plan, pacing, the usual mark losses, the error log and which case studies count as evidence.
How is IB Global Politics assessed, and what does each part carry?
Paper 1: source-based questions: Core topic understanding power and global politics; analysis of textua (SL 30% / HL 20%); Paper 2: extended-response essays: Three thematic studies: rights and justice, peace and conflict and dev (SL 40% / HL 30%); Paper 3: stimulus-based questions (HL only): A stimulus opens up a global political challenge; candidates must brin (HL 30%)
Assessment at a glance (2027)
| Component | Content | Weighting | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1: source-based questions | Core topic understanding power and global politics; analysis of textual and non-textual sources | SL 30% / HL 20% | 1 h 15 min |
| Paper 2: extended-response essays | Three thematic studies: rights and justice, peace and conflict and development and sustainability | SL 40% / HL 30% | 1 h 30 min |
| Paper 3: stimulus-based questions (HL only) | A stimulus opens up a global political challenge; candidates must bring their own researched case studies | HL 30% | 1 h 30 min |
| Engagement project (internal assessment) | Research and active engagement on a political issue, written up as a report, with a recommendation at HL | SL 30% / HL 20% | done in school |
Paper 1 marks come from speaking through the sources: name the source and attach a concept to every claim. Paper 2 is marked on depth of argument rather than length, and both essays must be written. Paper 3 is HL only and must be evidenced from case studies you have researched – never invented. Totals: SL 2.75 h / 70 marks; HL 4.25 h / 80 marks.
What each paper is actually testing
| Paper | Drill focus | How marks are lost |
|---|---|---|
| Paper 1: source-based questions | Tag each source with a key concept first (power, sovereignty, legitimacy, interdependence) | Claims carry no source reference; sources are quoted without attaching a key concept |
| Paper 2: extended-response essays | Drive every paragraph through concept, case and evaluation | Writing only one of the two essays; length without evaluation, cases piled up instead of an argument |
| Paper 3: stimulus-based questions (HL only) | Start with who has authority, who pays and who resists | Using half-remembered facts instead of a researched case; the recommendation omits who has authority, who pays, who resists |
| Engagement project (internal assessment) | Handled by your school; this page trains the three papers | Starting the engagement project in the final two months; the activity is recorded but never linked to course concepts, so the analysis marks are lost |
What is each IB Global Politics paper really testing, and what should you drill?
Paper 1: source-based questions: Tag each source with a key concept first (power, sovereignty, legitimacy, interdependence); Paper 2: extended-response essays: Drive every paragraph through concept, case and evaluation; Paper 3: stimulus-based questions (HL only): Start with who has authority, who pays and who resists; Engagement project (internal assessment): Handled by your school; this page trains the three papers
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: With no past papers under the 2026 course, the 12 weeks build two inventories: concept and case. Weeks 1-4 build eight to ten named case files (actors, source of power, dispute, data source); weeks 5-7 drill Paper 1 with them (tag a concept on every source); weeks 8-10 write two timed Paper 2 essays a week; weeks 11-12 add Paper 3 (HL) and a full simulation. Case files must record their sources – you cannot invent facts in the exam.
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 1: source-based questions | 1 h 15 min | 15 min on the sources, 30 min answering, 30 min checking the argument |
| Paper 2: extended-response essays | 1 h 30 min | 45 min per essay: 10 min planning, 30 min writing, 5 min checking |
| Paper 3: stimulus-based questions (HL only) | 1 h 30 min | 10 min unpacking the stimulus, 40 min organising case evidence, 40 min writing the recommendation |
| Engagement project (internal assessment) | done in school | not covered here |
How should the time be split inside each IB Global Politics paper?
Paper 1: source-based questions: 15 min on the sources, 30 min answering, 30 min checking the argument; Paper 2: extended-response essays: 45 min per essay: 10 min planning, 30 min writing, 5 min checking; Paper 3: stimulus-based questions (HL only): 10 min unpacking the stimulus, 40 min organising case evidence, 40 min writing the recommendation; Engagement project (internal assessment): not covered here
The drilling mistakes that cost the most marks
| Mistake | What it looks like | What actually happens | Instead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points with no case study | Abstract concepts only, no researched case | The evidence band on Papers 2 and 3 scores nothing | Attach a case study to every point and say how it supports it |
| Describing instead of evaluating | Both sides listed, then a stop | Evaluative questions need a judgement; without one you stall in the middle bands | End with a clear position: for which actors, under which conditions, and which side is stronger |
| Incomplete numbers | ‘A big gap’ with no figure | Source questions award values, comparison and method separately | Give the value, the unit and the comparison, for example ‘4.16 times’ |
| Inventing details on Paper 3 | Filling the stimulus with imagined facts | Marks come from case studies you researched, not from invention | Use cases already in your notes and cite the year of the source |
The error log and the mark scheme
Four columns: concept (named or not), attribution (is the source or case named), evaluation (is there a counter-argument and a conditional conclusion), recommendation (HL: feasibility, cost, who resists). Three repeats in a week means drill that column only – Global Politics marks are usually lost to unsupported argument rather than to ignorance.
How many years should you drill?
First assessed in 2026, so there are no official past papers for this course – any material sold as “IB Global Politics past papers” belongs to the old course. Work the guide exemplars and mark notes properly, use original mock papers for volume, and keep the last fortnight for timed whole papers.
How many years of past papers is enough?
First assessed in 2026, so there are no official past papers for this course – any material sold as “IB Global Politics past papers” belongs to the old course. Work the guide exemplars and mark notes properly, use original mock papers for volume, and keep the last fortnight for timed whole papers.
Frequently asked questions
Is this page a mock paper or a drilling guide?
This is the IB Global Politics 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 Global Politics 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 changed in the 2026 course?
The papers became Paper 1 source-based, Paper 2 essays and Paper 3 stimulus (HL), weighted 30/40/- at SL and 20/30/30 at HL, plus the internal engagement project (30% SL / 20% HL).
How many case studies should I prepare?
Eight to ten named cases beat twenty vague examples: a case that can state actors, source of power, dispute and data source supports both the source paper and the essays.
Official references
| Resource | What to use it for |
|---|---|
| https://www.ibo.org/programmes/diploma-programme/curriculum/individuals-and-societies/ | IBO individuals and societies page: official course outline and subject briefs, first assessment 2026 (ibo.org returns 403 to automated fetches, so open it in a browser) |
| https://www.tutorzone.com.hk/en-ib-history-paper-1-mock-2027/ | IB History Paper 1 mock: the other Group 3 subject with a comparable source-analysis paper |
Related: practice area · IB Geography Paper 1 mock · IB Economics drilling guide · IB Global Politics drilling guide
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