Differences between SL and HL?

[global-wolf]

Hey guys, I'm in my third year of high school and course registrations are coming up soon for me. I am unable to decide whether to take SL or HL history (20th century topics.) My teacher says that they are pretty much the same in my school, that the SL and HL people are in the same classes and the only difference is that HL as the Paper 3, but I'm not entirely convinced. My question is, what differences between SL and HL are there besides the Paper 3 exam?

For that paper 3 I took History of the Americas this year so I don't think I would be studying too much extra for that. History HL would be my 4th HL class. I'm doing pretty well in History of the Americas and it would be nice if I could get some more college recognition. My schedule for next year, otherwise:

English Lit HL

Multivariable calculus/Matrix algebra (I am currently taking the second year of HL math)

Biology HL

Spanish B SL

Art SL

Edited February 14, 2013 by global-wolf

[Leo Khedr]

SL- Core topic

HL- Additional topic on top of the core topic

[Charliepants]

My teacher explained it like this:

SL is about Paper 1, with the subject "International relations 1919-1939", where you focus a lot on sources and the relations between the great powers (and other countries involved) at the time.

It's also about Paper 2, which is called "Causes, practices and effects of war". I think this is the reason why we've only been focusing on wars so far.

HL is also about Paper 3, which focuses more on the history of individual countries, which I only find helpful because it helps me see the SL content in a more contextual manner.

So far, I don't think History HL is a lot more work than SL.

[alefal]

At my school, there are actually no differences between HL and SL. All the students go through all the topics, and we are all marked by the same criteria (at least as far as I know). The only difference is paper 3, which isn't that much of a hazzle. Just remember to write an essay about something from the set region (the Americas for you, I suppose), and you'll be fine.

[Lero]

The difference between HL will depend on how your school/teacher has planned to tackle the course. It is quite possible to choose topics for each exam which overlap greatly and minimize study time for the student. In other cases, the difference between SL and HL can be substantial, especially when the structure of the course and the plan of action isn't coordinated effectively to minimize topics to study.

Edited February 17, 2013 by Hus

[global-wolf]

Thank you so much Charliepants, Alefal, and Hus! I think I will register for HL history when the time comes.

[dniviE]

At my school, there are actually no differences between HL and SL. All the students go through all the topics, and we are all marked by the same criteria (at least as far as I know). The only difference is paper 3, which isn't that much of a hazzle. Just remember to write an essay about something from the set region (the Americas for you, I suppose), and you'll be fine.

Woot? Claim your freeblocks man. Or cut class!

[TykeDragon]

Bear in mind there are a lot more potential Paper 2 topics than Causes, Practices and Effects of Wars. He might do the challenges to democratic nations one, and the higher history option you described sounds a lot like my hl history, which is history of europe, whereas I think he'll be doing history of americas..

With that said, I won't try and guess what content your school will teach you, although I might tell you what I study for my SL/ HL for what it's worth. The main difference is the addition of Paper 3. At my school:

SL students do the Paper 1 document paper which for us is about Peacekeeping and International Relations as stated. It may be about the 1930s (failure of League of Nations, Abyssinian/Manchurian Crises) or about post war treaties from 1918-1920s. That sort of thing. Paper 1 has 4 questions. 1) is about source comprehension, and understanding the message. 2) is about comparing and contrasting two sources directly. 3) is about evaluating the values and limitations of two sources SEPARATELY. 4) is a mini essay requiring you to use ALL sources and your own knowledge to answer a question.

SL Students also do the Paper 2, which is writing 2 essays in about an hour and a half. Here, the SL topic is split into two sections: Causes, Practices and Effects of Wars, and the second topic is Authoritarian and Single Party States. We study the C/P/E of WW1, WW2, Spanish Civil War and Chinese Civil War. We also study for the SPS topic the Russian Revolutions, Rise of Bolsheviks/Lenin and Stalin and Mao and Hitler, and Russia/China/Germany under Lenin&Stalin/Mao/Hitler respectively. One essay for each topic.

HL students in addition to this do a Paper 3, which is 3 timed essays in 2.5 hours. We study Unification of Italy+Germany, Bismarck's Germany and Russia from backwards 1850 Tsarism to 1917 Revolutions --> Bolsheviks. Also a topic on European Diplomacy from 1870-1914 which nicely overlaps with the SL and leads to the causes of WW1.

Also, I think the IA is weighted differently. Think it might be 25% for SL and 20% for HL.

TL,DR: HL students basically have to learn a lot of extra information and details and write three more essays in an extra paper.

Hope this helped!

[alefal]

Woot? Claim your freeblocks man. Or cut class!

I have HL, though, so no free blocks for me unfortunately. We have a very good teacher anyways, so I wouldn't mind even if I had SL!

Thank you so much Charliepants, Alefal, and Hus! I think I will register for HL history when the time comes.

No worries, and good luck! If you have any questions later on, feel free to ask! IB history may seem a bit overwhelming when you first start, but it isn't when you understand the requirements and techniques No matter what you end up with, I suggest you read the pinned threads, they are very good and have helped me a ton with the subject.

Also, read TykeDragon's post, it contains a lot of good information.

Paper 2 consists of five main categories with six questions each. TykeDragon studied for two of these categories in class, you might study for three or all of them in class.

The topics for paper 3 was at my school incorporated with the SL topics, as my teacher saw that we could have the use for paper 3 topics in both paper 1 and 2.

Also, I think the IA is weighted differently. Think it might be 25% for SL and 20% for HL.

That's correct, it's 25% for SL and 20% for HL. Might sound strange at first, but it is basically due to paper three. You can find the details in the subject guide.