Why Geography and History Feel Straightforward — Until They’re Marked
MYP Geography and History often feel familiar to students.
There are topics to learn.
Case studies to revise.
Events and processes to explain.
And yet, results frequently fall short of expectations.
In the IB Middle Years Programme, Geography and History are not assessed on recall alone. They assess explanation, interpretation, and judgement. Most lost marks come from the same small set of errors — repeated across year groups and schools.
Error 1: Writing Everything You Know Instead of Answering the Question
This is the single most common mistake.
Students often:
- Dump all relevant content
- Include background that isn’t needed
- Lose focus on what’s actually being asked
High-scoring responses are selective. Every paragraph exists to answer the question directly.
If a sentence doesn’t move the answer forward, it probably isn’t earning marks.
Error 2: Describing Instead of Explaining
Many Geography and History responses sound confident but remain descriptive.
For example:
- “The population increased.”
- “The government introduced a policy.”
High-level responses go further:
- Why did this happen?
- What caused it?
- What were the consequences?
Explanation — especially cause and consequence — is where most marks are earned.
Error 3: Weak Use of Case Studies
Students often lose marks not because they lack examples, but because they .
