HL assessment
Paper 3
Transfer your HL Extension research to unfamiliar political questions.
Paper 3 is the Higher Level examination based on the HL Extension: Global Political Challenges.
It is stimulus-based, but it is not simply a source-analysis paper. The stimulus provides the focus of the examination, while most supporting evidence should come from the case studies you have independently researched.
Paper 3 tests whether you can transfer that research to an unfamiliar question, analyse a political issue, explain the role of actors, recommend realistic action and reach supported political judgments.
Paper 3 is not a memory test. It is a transfer test.
Do not reproduce everything you know. Select the evidence and concepts that directly answer the question.
Need help researching and organizing your cases? Go to the HL Extension page →
Paper 3 at a glance
| Question | Marks | Main demand |
|---|---|---|
| Question 1 | 3 | Understanding and analysis of the stimulus and relevant global political challenges |
| Question 2(a) | 4 | Knowledge, understanding and analysis of an identified political issue |
| Question 2(b) | 6 | Recommendation of a possible course of action or solution |
| Question 3 | 15 | Synthesis and evaluation of researched case studies and global political challenges |
The stimulus gives you the focus—not the whole answer
Read the questions before studying the stimulus closely. The wording of each question tells you what information to look for.
Use the stimulus to identify:
- the central political issue
- key claims or distinctions
- actors and stakeholders
- policy questions
- tensions or disagreements
- connections to your researched cases
- the command term used in each question
The stimulus should guide your response, but most of your supporting evidence will come from the case studies you researched during the HL Extension.
Do not summarize the whole stimulus. Select only the parts that help you answer the specific question.
Ask yourself: what is this question asking me to do with the stimulus and my own research?
Question 1 — 3 marks
Be precise
Question 1 assesses your understanding and analysis of the stimulus together with your knowledge of global political challenges.
It may ask you to analyse, distinguish, explain or suggest. Read the command term carefully because the required response may differ from one examination to another.
To answer effectively:
- respond directly to the command term
- use information from the stimulus
- use precise Global Politics terminology
- make distinctions or relationships clear
- add relevant knowledge where required
- avoid writing an unnecessary essay
If the question asks you to distinguish between two actors, do not merely define them separately. Explain the relevant difference between them.
Question 1 uses a question-specific markscheme. Do not depend on a memorized response formula.
Question 2(a) — 4 marks
Identify and analyse a precise political issue
Question 2(a) requires relevant and accurate knowledge of an identified political issue. Your answer should move quickly from the issue to political analysis.
A strong response should:
- identify one clear political issue
- locate it within a researched case study
- explain the relevant context
- identify the actors required by the question
- explain their involvement rather than simply naming them
- show the political significance of the issue
Specificity matters
Do not write only about “poverty”, “health”, “security” or “migration”. Identify what is happening, where it is happening, who is affected and why it is politically significant.
Use the correct category of actor
If the question asks for non-state actors, do not use a state or an intergovernmental organization as your example. Naming an actor is also insufficient; explain what the actor does, what it wants and what power or limitations it has.
The political issue is…
This is evident in the case of…
The involvement of [actor] can be seen through…
This matters politically because…
The frame is a prompt, not a rule — do not follow it mechanically.
Question 2(b) — 6 marks
Recommend a realistic course of action
Question 2(b) requires a clear and well-supported recommendation connected to the political issue identified in Question 2(a).
A recommendation is not a general wish. It must explain what should be done, who should do it and how it would address the issue.
The issue
State the political problem the recommendation addresses.
The actors
Name the actors who would take part.
The action
Explain exactly what each actor should do.
The mechanism
Explain how the action would improve the situation or enhance cooperation.
The justification
Explain why the proposed action is appropriate, realistic or preferable.
The limitation
Consider at least one implication, challenge or unintended consequence.
The recommendation must clearly enhance cooperation or improve the political response. Simply saying that actors should "work together" is not enough.
[Named actors] should [specific action] through [mechanism]. This would address the issue by [explanation] and enhance cooperation because [reason]. However, [challenge or unintended consequence] may limit its effectiveness.
Question 3 — 15 marks
Synthesize, evaluate and make a judgment
Question 3 is the extended response. It is based on the guiding lines of inquiry for the HL Extension, and it requires researched case knowledge, meaningful connections and sustained evaluation.
Follow the exact wording of the examination question.
Do not arrive with a fixed rule about how many
The question may require one or more researched case studies and one or more HL topic areas. Read what THIS question asks for, and use that.
A strong response:
- addresses every part of the question
- uses the required case studies and topic areas
- keeps the selected case evidence central
- explains connections between global political challenges
- applies Core concepts and thematic-study knowledge
- explains political mechanisms
- develops accurate examples
- explores and evaluates diverse perspectives
- considers implications
- reaches a supported judgment
Do not mention the required HL topic areas only in the introduction
Use them throughout the analysis to explain different dimensions of the political challenge and the connections between them.
An adaptable structure for Question 3
This is guidance, not a compulsory formula. The organization must respond to the wording of the question.
Introduction
- identify the debate
- name the selected case or cases
- identify the required topic areas
- state the overall argument
Body
- make a clear claim
- explain the political mechanism
- support it with case evidence
- connect it to the required topic areas
- consider another perspective or limitation
- evaluate the claim
Conclusion
- answer the question directly
- weigh the main findings
- consider implications
- make a supported judgment
Do not require exactly four body paragraphs — or any other number. Write as many as the argument needs, and stop when the question is answered.
A conclusion should not merely repeat the introduction. It should deliver the judgment reached through the analysis.
Examiner-informed guidance
What examiners reward
This section is independent guidance based on the assessment criteria, course materials, classroom practice and examiner experience. It is not an official IB markscheme.
Focus
The exact demands of the question are understood and addressed.
Relevance
Knowledge and evidence are selected because they answer the question.
Accuracy
The political issue, actors, evidence and context are accurately presented.
Analysis
The answer explains how and why political relationships or outcomes occur.
Mechanisms
The response shows how an actor, policy or factor produces an effect.
Conceptual application
Political concepts are applied to the case instead of merely named.
Diverse perspectives
Different perspectives are explored and evaluated rather than listed.
Evaluation
Claims, actions, successes, limitations and implications are assessed.
Judgment
The conclusion is reasoned, balanced and consistent with the argument.
Relevant knowledge used well is more valuable than large amounts of knowledge used poorly.
Explain the mechanism
| Descriptive | Analytical |
|---|---|
| The UN helped. | The UN used coordination and agenda-setting power, but its influence was restricted by state sovereignty, limited cooperation and political disagreement. |
| Poverty caused insecurity. | Poverty increased insecurity because unemployment and weak social protection made some groups more vulnerable to recruitment by armed organizations. |
| The policy failed. | The policy produced limited results because the implementing actors lacked funding, local trust and the authority required to enforce it. |
| The actors disagreed. | The actors disagreed because they had different interests, forms of power and understandings of what a legitimate solution required. |
Keep asking: How? Why? Through which actor or mechanism? For whom? Under what conditions? With what consequences?
Common mistakes to avoid
Paper 3 rewards selection, not information dumping.
Protect time for Question 3
The following is a suggested plan for the 90-minute writing period. Students may adjust it after timed practice.
| Stage | Approximate time |
|---|---|
| Reading time | 5 minutes |
| Question 1 | 6–8 minutes |
| Question 2(a) | 10–12 minutes |
| Question 2(b) | 15–18 minutes |
| Question 3 planning | 5 minutes |
| Question 3 writing | 42–46 minutes |
| Final review | 4–5 minutes |
Adjust this plan through timed practice — but protect the time for Question 3. Use the reading time to read all the questions, identify the command terms and inspect the stimulus before you write.
Revise by practising transfer
Do not revise only by rereading your notes. Rereading rehearses a case; Paper 3 asks you to move one.
Practise the transfer itself
- Read an unfamiliar stimulus.
- Identify the political issue.
- Select the most relevant researched case.
- Connect it to the question.
- Choose only the evidence that bears on it.
- Explain the political mechanisms.
- Write a realistic recommendation.
- Evaluate the limitations and implications.
For how to research, organize and build the cases themselves — and what each case file should contain — go to the HL Extension page.
Paper 3 resources
Paper 3 examiner-informed guide
The paper format, the demands of each question, recommendations, evaluation, timing and revision, in one document.
Question 2(b) recommendation planner
The six parts of a recommendation as a sheet — actors, action, mechanism, justification and the challenge you must name.
Question 3 essay planner
Plan a Question 3 answer against the wording of a real question rather than a template.
Practice stimulus sets
Unfamiliar stimuli with tasks for Questions 1, 2(a), 2(b) and 3 — the transfer practice above, on paper.
Official specimen Paper 3
The real question format, for timed practice — the resource card below points to the IB's own copy.
Case-study index
Find researched cases and identify their possible links to the HL topic areas — the resource card below opens it.
This guidance is independently prepared from the IB Global Politics course framework, published course materials, classroom practice and examiner experience. It is not an official IB publication.
Resources for this page
Type and length first, then why it is worth opening.