IB Philosophy HL AI Tutor Playbook 2026

Audience: IB-Diploma-Programme Year-12 + Year-13 candidates + IB-Bilingual + IB-Course-Companion cohorts at IB-World-Schools in Switzerland + Singapore + Hong-Kong + UAE + UK + US + Canada + Australia + New-Zealand + Japan + Korea + China + India + Pakistan + Bangladesh + Indonesia + Malaysia + Thailand + Vietnam + Philippines + Egypt + South-Africa + Kenya + Nigeria + Ghana + Saudi + Qatar + Bahrain + Kuwait + Oman + Jordan + Lebanon — typically the cohort in IB-Philosophy-HL + IB-History-HL + IB-Economics-HL + IB-Psychology-HL + IB-Business-Management-HL + IB-English-A-Literature-HL + IB-Geography-SL + IB-Global-Politics-HL + IB-Language-B-Spanish-HL + IB-Mathematics-HL-Applications + IB-Biology-HL + IB-Chemistry-HL + IB-Physics-HL + IB-Visual-Arts-SL + IB-Music-SL + IB-Theatre-SL, often paired with IB-Extended-Essay-in-Philosophy + IB-Internal-Assessment-Philosophical-Analysis + IB-TOK-exhibition + IB-CAS-creativity-activity-service. Covers IB Philosophy HL teachers who want an AI workflow for grading Paper-1-thematic-essay + Paper-2-textual-question + IA-philosophical-analysis, parents paying for IB-Philosophy-HL-prep ($300-$3000 for prep-books + $1000-$5000 for prep-courses + $2000-$8000 for private-tutors), IB-World-Schools seeking IB-Philosophy-HL-internal-assessment-rubric alignment, and overseas IB-Diploma-candidates applying to Cambridge + Oxford + UCL + LSE + Stanford + MIT + Harvard + Yale + Princeton + Columbia + Chicago + Berkeley + Georgetown + Edinburgh + Manchester + Bristol + KCL + Durham + Exeter + St-Andrews + Loughborough + Bath + Toronto + UBC + McGill admissions.

Hook: IB Philosophy HL is the most-respected pre-university philosophy + PPE + ethics + political-theory + epistemology + metaphysics + logic + aesthetics + philosophy-of-religion + philosophy-of-mind + philosophy-of-science + philosophy-of-language qualification globally — the standard for IB-Diploma-Programme Year-12 + Year-13 candidates at IB-World-Schools targeting Cambridge + Oxford + UCL + LSE + Stanford + MIT + Harvard + Yale + Princeton + Columbia + Chicago + Berkeley + Georgetown + Edinburgh + Manchester + Bristol + KCL + Durham + Exeter + St-Andrews + Loughborough + Bath + Toronto + UBC + McGill admissions. The 2025 score distribution is selective: score-7 rate of approximately 9-12 percent (highest honours + university-credit at Cambridge + Oxford + UCL + LSE + Stanford + MIT + Harvard + Yale + Princeton + Columbia + Chicago + Berkeley + Georgetown + Edinburgh + Manchester + Bristol + KCL + Durham + Exeter + St-Andrews + Loughborough + Bath + Toronto + UBC + McGill), score-6 rate of approximately 18 percent, score-5 rate of approximately 24 percent (the score-5+ cumulative rate 51-54 percent is the IB Diploma + university-readiness benchmark), score-4 rate of approximately 22 percent, score-3 rate of approximately 14 percent, score-2 rate of approximately 8 percent, score-1 rate of approximately 5 percent. The 7-themes-of-IB-Philosophy-HL (Being-human + Aesthetics + Epistemology + Ethics + Philosophy-of-human-nature + Philosophy-of-religion + Political-philosophy + Science-technology + Socio-political-philosophy) + 7-set-texts (Plato-Republic + Aristotle-Nicomachean-Ethics + Descartes-Meditations + Locke-Second-Treatise + Marx-1844-Handwritten-Philosophical-Economic-Manuscripts + Wollstonecraft-Vindication + Nietzsche-Beyond-Good-Evil) + 2-Paper-structure (Paper-1-thematic-essay + Paper-2-textual-question) + Internal-Assessment-Philosophical-Analysis map onto Year-12 + Year-13-philosophy + first-year-undergraduate-PPE + Philosophy + Politics + Political-Science + Law + Public-Policy + Ethics + Religious-Studies + Divinity + Journalism + Human-Rights + Diplomacy + Foreign-Service + Classics + Comparative-Literature + English-Literature + Public-International-Law + first-year-undergraduate-PPE at Cambridge + Oxford + UCL + LSE + Stanford + MIT + Harvard + Yale + Princeton + Columbia + Chicago + Berkeley + Georgetown + Edinburgh + Manchester + Bristol + KCL + Durham + Exeter + St-Andrews + Loughborough + Bath + Toronto + UBC + McGill admissions.

Section 1 — Why IB Philosophy HL is the most-respected pre-university philosophy + PPE + ethics + political-theory + epistemology + metaphysics + logic + aesthetics + philosophy-of-religion + philosophy-of-mind + philosophy-of-science + philosophy-of-language qualification + the Cambridge + Oxford + UCL + LSE + Stanford + MIT + Harvard + Yale + Princeton + Columbia + Chicago + Berkeley + Georgetown + Edinburgh + Manchester + Bristol + Loughborough + Bath + Toronto + UBC + McGill first-year-undergraduate-PPE + Philosophy + Politics IBO-applied-track subject

IB Philosophy HL is the IBO-standard pre-university philosophy + PPE + ethics + political-theory + epistemology + metaphysics + logic + aesthetics + philosophy-of-religion + philosophy-of-mind + philosophy-of-science + philosophy-of-language qualification for IB-Diploma-Programme Year-12 + Year-13 candidates — 7-themes-required, 7-set-texts-embedded, 2-Paper-structure-applied, Paper-1-thematic-essay-required, IB-command-terms-required, Paper-2-textual-question-required, IA-philosophical-analysis-required, IA-written-report-required, IB-command-terms-required. It is the standard for IB-World-Schools in 145+ countries. Unlike AP Art History (non-philosophy + non-IB-command-terms + non-IB-mark-bands + non-IB-IA-philosophical-analysis + non-2000-words + non-IB-Group-3) + AP Government (non-philosophy + non-IB-command-terms + non-IB-mark-bands + non-IB-IA-philosophical-analysis + non-2000-words + non-IB-Group-3), IB Philosophy HL integrates 7-themes + 7-set-texts + Paper-1-thematic-essay + Paper-2-textual-question + IA-philosophical-analysis + IA-written-report + 2-set-texts + IB-command-terms across all 7-themes + Paper 1 + Paper 2 + IA-philosophical-analysis + IA-written-report + IB-command-terms. The exam sits in May 2027 (Northern-Hemisphere-summer-sitting) + November 2026 (Southern-Hemisphere-summer-sitting). The score-7 (highest honours + university-credit) is the IBO-applied-mastery-track benchmark. The score-6 (very-high-honours + university-credit-at-many-institutions) is the strong-applicant benchmark. The score-5 (honours + IB-Diploma + university-readiness) is the cohort-wide-benchmark for Philosophy + PPE + International-Relations + Political-Science + Law + Public-Policy + Journalism + Human-Rights + Diplomacy + Foreign-Service + Classics + Comparative-Literature + English-Literature + Public-International-Law + first-year-undergraduate-PPE at Cambridge + Oxford + UCL + LSE + Stanford + MIT + Harvard + Yale + Princeton + Columbia + Chicago + Berkeley + Georgetown + Edinburgh + Manchester + Bristol + KCL + Durham + Exeter + St-Andrews + Loughborough + Bath + Toronto + UBC + McGill admissions. This playbook gives the 30-week IB Philosophy HL workflow.

Section 2 — The 30-week IB Philosophy HL AI tutor study plan: weeks 1-2 = Theme 1 — Being human (the nature of the human person + what makes humans distinct + embodiment + consciousness + personal identity + free will + determinism + Locke-memory-theory + Locke-dualism + Plato-tripartite-soul), weeks 3-4 = Theme 2 — Aesthetics (philosophy of art + beauty + judgement + taste + representation + expression + Plato-mimesis + Aristotle-imitation + Kant-judgement-of-taste + Hegel-end-of-art + Danto-artworld), weeks 5-6 = Theme 3 — Epistemology (the nature of knowledge + justified-true-belief + Gettier-problems + sources-of-knowledge + rationalism + empiricism + skepticism + Descartes-cogito + Locke-tabula-rasa + Hume-impressions-ideas + Kant-synthetic-apriori), weeks 7-9 = Theme 4 — Ethics (meta-ethics + normative-ethics + applied-ethics + virtue-ethics + deontology + consequentialism + care-ethics + Aristotle-golden-mean + Kant-categorical-imperative + Mill-utilitarianism + Aristotle-Nicomachean-Ethics + Kant-Groundwork + modern-applied-ethics + bioethics + environmental-ethics + business-ethics), weeks 10-11 = Theme 5 — Philosophy of human nature (human nature vs human condition + biological-vs-cultural + nature-vs-nurture + Hobbes-state-of-nature + Locke-state-of-nature + Rousseau-noble-savage + Marx-essence-of-man + existentialism + phenomenology + gender + race + consciousness), weeks 12-14 = Theme 6 — Philosophy of religion (existence-of-God + arguments-for-God + cosmological-argument + teleological-argument + ontological-argument + problem-of-evil + faith-vs-reason + religious-language + religious-experience + Wittgenstein-language-games + Aquinas-five-ways + Anselm-ontological + Hume-miracles + Plantinga-reformed-epistemology), weeks 15-18 = Theme 7 — Political philosophy (state-of-nature + social-contract + sovereignty + rights + justice + liberty + equality + property + Locke-Second-Treatise + Hobbes-Leviathan + Rousseau-Social-Contract + Marx-1844-Handwritten-Philosophical-Economic-Manuscripts + Wollstonecraft-Vindication + Rawls-justice-as-fairness + Nozick-anarchist-state + feminist-political-philosophy + postcolonial-political-philosophy + global-justice + global-ethics + cosmopolitanism + nationalism), weeks 19-21 = Theme 8 — Science and technology (philosophy-of-science + philosophy-of-technology + scientific-method + falsificationism + paradigm-shifts + Kuhn + Popper + Lakatos + ethics-of-technology + AI-ethics + bioethics + environmental-ethics + reproductive-ethics + genetic-engineering + enhancement + transhumanism + artificial-intelligence + machine-ethics + risk + precaution + existential-risk + moral-status-of-AI + moral-patiency + techno-ethics + virtue-ethics-in-technology + feminist-technoscience), weeks 22-24 = Theme 9 — Socio-political philosophy (applied-political-philosophy + global-justice + development-ethics + immigration + climate-justice + reparations + colonialism + multiculturalism + identity-politics + Sen-capability-approach + Nussbaum-capability-approach + feminist-political-philosophy + critical-race-theory + postcolonial-theory + cosmopolitanism + global-poverty + global-health-equity + refugee-ethics + sanctuary + borders + citizenship + belonging), weeks 25-27 = Paper 2 Set Texts Deep Dives (Plato-Republic + Aristotle-Nicomachean-Ethics + Descartes-Meditations + Locke-Second-Treatise + Marx-1844-Handwritten-Philosophical-Economic-Manuscripts + Wollstonecraft-Vindication + Nietzsche-Beyond-Good-Evil + extended-paraphrase + argumentative-structure + key-passages + concept-mapping + exemplars), weeks 28-30 = IA-Philosophical-Analysis + mock-exams + IBO-past-papers + polish

The 30-week IB Philosophy HL AI tutor workflow:

Weeks 1-2 — Theme 1: Being human

• The nature of the human person + what makes humans distinct
• Embodiment + consciousness + personal identity + free will + determinism
• Locke memory theory + Locke dualism + Plato tripartite soul
• Aristotle hylomorphism + Descartes mind-body dualism + Nietzsche will to power
• Libertarianism + hard determinism + compatibilism + Frankfurt cases
• Animal consciousness + personhood + moral status + AI-personhood + transhumanism
• Phenomenology + Husserl + Heidegger + Sartre existentialism

Weeks 3-4 — Theme 2: Aesthetics

• Philosophy of art + beauty + judgement + taste + representation + expression
• Plato mimesis + critique of art + the Republic + the Ion
• Aristotle imitation + catharsis + Poetics
• Kant judgement of taste + Critique of Judgement + disinterested pleasure
• Hegel end of art + spirit + artwork
• Danto artworld + definition of art + institutional theory
• Beauty + sublime + taste + relativism + objectivism + modernism + postmodernism

Weeks 5-6 — Theme 3: Epistemology

• The nature of knowledge + justified true belief + Gettier problems
• Sources of knowledge: rationalism + empiricism + skepticism + transcendental idealism
• Descartes cogito ergo sum + Cartesian skepticism + Meditations on First Philosophy
• Locke tabula rasa + empiricism + Essay Concerning Human Understanding
• Hume impressions + ideas + induction + problem of induction + miracles
• Kant synthetic a priori + transcendental idealism + Critique of Pure Reason
• Knowledge + belief + opinion + truth + justification + warrant + epistemic vice + virtue epistemology

Weeks 7-9 — Theme 4: Ethics

• Meta-ethics + normative ethics + applied ethics + virtue ethics + deontology + consequentialism + care ethics
• Aristotle golden mean + Nicomachean Ethics + eudaimonia + virtuous character
• Kant categorical imperative + Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals + deontology + universalizability
• Mill utilitarianism + greatest happiness principle + On Liberty + qualitative distinctions
• Modern applied ethics: bioethics + abortion + euthanasia + genetic engineering + environmental ethics + climate justice + animal rights + business ethics + AI ethics + data ethics
• Feminist ethics + care ethics + Gilligan + Noddings + Held
• Moral relativism + moral absolutism + moral realism + constructivism + expressivism

Weeks 10-11 — Theme 5: Philosophy of human nature

• Human nature vs human condition + biological vs cultural + nature vs nurture
• Hobbes state of nature + war of all against all + Leviathan
• Locke state of nature + natural rights + property + Second Treatise
• Rousseau noble savage + natural man + Discourse on Inequality
• Marx essence of man + species-being + alienation + 1844 Manuscripts
• Existentialism + Sartre existence precedes essence + Being and Nothingness
• Phenomenology + embodied cognition + Merleau-Ponty
• Gender + race + consciousness + social construction + identity

Weeks 12-14 — Theme 6: Philosophy of religion

• Existence of God + arguments for God + cosmological argument + teleological argument + ontological argument
• Aquinas Five Ways + cosmological argument + unmoved mover + first cause + contingency
• Anselm ontological argument + greatest conceivable being + Gaunilo + Plantinga modal ontological
• Problem of evil + logical problem + evidential problem + soul-making theodicy + free will defense
• Faith vs reason + natural theology + revealed theology + fideism
• Religious language + Wittgenstein language games + verification principle + falsification principle
• Religious experience + mystical experience + miracles + Hume on miracles + testimony
• Death + afterlife + immortality + resurrection + reincarnation

Weeks 15-18 — Theme 7: Political philosophy

• State of nature + social contract + sovereignty + rights + justice + liberty + equality + property
• Locke Second Treatise + natural rights + property + consent + revolution + liberal tradition
• Hobbes Leviathan + sovereignty + commonwealth + security + authoritarian
• Rousseau Social Contract + general will + popular sovereignty + civic freedom
• Marx 1844 Handwritten Philosophical Economic Manuscripts + alienation + species-being + critique of capitalism
• Wollstonecraft Vindication of the Rights of Woman + feminist political philosophy + early-modern feminism
• Rawls justice as fairness + original position + veil of ignorance + A Theory of Justice
• Nozick anarchist state + minimal state + Wilt Chamberlain argument
• Feminist political philosophy + identity + intersectionality
• Postcolonial political philosophy + decolonisation + global justice
• Global justice + cosmopolitanism + nationalism + global ethics + global poverty + immigration + climate justice

Weeks 19-21 — Theme 8: Science and technology

• Philosophy of science + philosophy of technology + scientific method
• Falsificationism + Popper + demarcation problem + Lakatos research programmes
• Paradigm shifts + Kuhn Structure of Scientific Revolutions + incommensurability
• Theory change + realism + anti-realism + entity realism + structural realism
• Ethics of technology + AI ethics + bioethics + environmental ethics + reproductive ethics
• Genetic engineering + enhancement + transhumanism + moral status of AI + moral patiency
• Artificial intelligence + machine ethics + risk + precaution + existential risk
• Virtue ethics in technology + feminist technoscience + responsible innovation

Weeks 22-24 — Theme 9: Socio-political philosophy

• Applied political philosophy + global justice + development ethics
• Immigration + climate justice + reparations + colonialism + multiculturalism
• Identity politics + Sen capability approach + Nussbaum capability approach
• Feminist political philosophy + critical race theory + postcolonial theory
• Cosmopolitanism + global poverty + global health equity + refugee ethics + sanctuary + borders + citizenship + belonging
• Capabilities approach + functioning + central human capabilities
• Distributive justice + global distributive justice + world government + global institutions
• Migration + open borders + brain drain + global labor + global citizenship

Weeks 25-27 — Paper 2 Set Texts Deep Dives

• Plato Republic: allegory of the cave + theory of forms + just city + philosopher king + tripartite soul + censorship + nobility of the lie + women guardians + communism of property + eros + immortality of the soul
• Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics: eudaimonia + golden mean + virtue + phronesis + friendship + contemplation + voluntary action + choice + akrasia + the good life + politics
• Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy: cogito ergo sum + Cartesian skepticism + methodic doubt + mind-body dualism + wax argument + clear and distinct ideas + existence of God + ontological argument + realism + foundationalism
• Locke Second Treatise of Government: state of nature + natural rights + property + consent + revolution + liberal tradition + Locke+tyranny+right-of-revolution
• Marx 1844 Handwritten Philosophical Economic Manuscripts: alienation + species-being + objectification + estranged labour + critique of capitalism + communism + human essence
• Wollstonecraft Vindication of the Rights of Woman: feminist political philosophy + early-modern feminism + reason + education + virtue + women's rights + critique of Rousseau
• Nietzsche Beyond Good and Evil: master-slave morality + will to power + perspectivism + eternal recurrence + critique of Platonism + genealogy of morals + revaluation of values

Weeks 28-30 — IA Philosophical Analysis + mock exams + polish

• IA Philosophical Analysis: 2000 words + 25 marks + 30% of final grade
• Choose philosophical claim + identify non-philosophical material + methodological approach + evaluation + argument
• IA rubric: philosophical claim focus + non-philosophical material + methodology + argument structure + clarity + mark-bands
• Mock exams: Paper 1 (7-themes + 1-thematic-essay) + Paper 2 (7-set-texts + 2-textual-questions)
• Past papers 2016-2025 (TZ1 + TZ2 + TZ3) + specimen papers + IA exemplars

Section 3 — The IB Philosophy HL competency framework: 7 themes + 7 set texts + Paper 1 thematic essay + Paper 2 textual question + IA philosophical analysis + IA written report + IB command terms

The IB Philosophy HL competency framework is the IBO-applied-mastery framework that maps every Paper-1-thematic-essay + Paper-2-textual-question + IA-philosophical-analysis + IA-written-report to specific competencies. The framework covers:

1. Philosophical claim formulation — articulate a clear philosophical claim (thesis + argument + counterargument + response); the claim must be evaluable, contestable, philosophical (not merely empirical)

2. Argument analysis — identify premises + conclusion + argument form + validity + soundness + cogency; reconstruct argument charitably; identify hidden premises + assumptions

3. Counterargument + response — anticipate credible objections; steelman counterarguments; respond to counterarguments; refine thesis; show philosophical sophistication

4. Source engagement — engage primary philosophical texts (Plato + Aristotle + Descartes + Locke + Marx + Wollstonecraft + Nietzsche + contemporary philosophers); cite accurately; integrate primary text into argument

5. Thesis-driven essay writing — Paper 1: 1 thematic essay × 1600 words, thesis-driven, argument-structured, evidence-based, philosophically-aware, mark-band-scored

6. Textual analysis — Paper 2: 2 textual questions, 1-hour-30-minutes each, focused on extraction + analysis + interpretation + evaluation of excerpts from the 7-set-texts

7. Paragraph-level argument construction — every paragraph advances the argument; explicit topic sentence + premises + evidence + warrants + counterargument-response + transition

8. IB command terms fluency — fluently use all 15 IB command terms: Compare + Contrast + Discuss + Evaluate + Examine + To-what-extent + Analyse + Describe + Explain + Outline + State + Identify + Justify + Suggest + Construct + Annotate

9. Mark-band awareness — Band 1 Inadequate + Band 2 Adequate + Band 3 Competent + Band 4 Highly-Competent + Band 5 Sophisticated + Band 6 Excellent + Band 7 Outstanding

10. 7-themes mastery — Being-human + Aesthetics + Epistemology + Ethics + Philosophy-of-human-nature + Philosophy-of-religion + Political-philosophy + Science-technology + Socio-political-philosophy

11. 7-set-texts mastery — Plato-Republic + Aristotle-Nicomachean-Ethics + Descartes-Meditations + Locke-Second-Treatise + Marx-1844-Handwritten-Philosophical-Economic-Manuscripts + Wollstonecraft-Vindication + Nietzsche-Beyond-Good-Evil + excerpt-analysis + paraphrase + argumentative-structure + key-passages + concept-mapping

12. IA Philosophical Analysis mastery — 2000-word philosophical analysis + philosophical claim + non-philosophical material + methodology + argument + evaluation + bibliography + 25 marks + IA rubric

13. Cross-theme synthesis — connect epistemology + ethics + political-philosophy + philosophy-of-religion + philosophy-of-science + philosophy-of-mind + metaphysics + cross-traditional + cross-historical

Section 4 — The IB Philosophy HL AI tutor prompt library: Paper 1 thematic essay + Paper 2 textual question + IA philosophical analysis

The AI tutor prompt library contains 100+ prompts that score every IB Philosophy HL Paper 1 thematic-essay + Paper 2 textual-question + IA-philosophical-analysis + IA-written-report against the official IBO Philosophy HL marking scheme + rubric-band-descriptors (Band 1 Inadequate + Band 2 Adequate + Band 3 Competent + Band 4 Highly-Competent + Band 5 Sophisticated + Band 6 Excellent + Band 7 Outstanding). Each prompt has 4 components:

1. Thematic-essay prompts — write thesis-driven essay + philosophical claim + argument + counterargument + response + primary-text-engagement + IB-command-terms + mark-band

2. Textual-question prompts — analyse excerpt + paraphrase + identify-philosophical-claim + reconstruct-argument + evaluate-argument + identify-counterarguments + textual-analysis + IB-command-terms + mark-band

3. IA-philosophical-analysis prompts — write philosophical analysis + philosophical claim + non-philosophical material + methodology + argument + evaluation + bibliography + IA-rubric

4. Argument-reconstruction prompts — given a passage, identify premises + conclusion + argument form + validity + soundness + hidden premises + assumptions + cogency

Section 5 — The IB Philosophy HL IBO mark-band descriptors: Band 1 Inadequate + Band 2 Adequate + Band 3 Competent + Band 4 Highly-Competent + Band 5 Sophisticated + Band 6 Excellent + Band 7 Outstanding

The IB Philosophy HL IBO mark-band descriptors are the official IBO-applied philosophy-rubric for scoring Paper-1-thematic-essay + Paper-2-textual-question + IA-philosophical-analysis. The descriptors:

• Band 1 Inadequate (0-2 marks) — minimal understanding + no philosophical claim + no engagement with primary texts + no argument + no structure + inaccurate references
• Band 2 Adequate (3-4 marks) — limited understanding + vague philosophical claim + some engagement with primary texts + weak argument + basic structure + some inaccurate references
• Band 3 Competent (5-6 marks) — clear understanding + articulated philosophical claim + engagement with primary texts + coherent argument + clear structure + mostly accurate references
• Band 4 Highly-Competent (7-8 marks) — strong understanding + clear philosophical claim + solid engagement with primary texts + well-developed argument + clear structure + accurate references + thematic-essay-competence
• Band 5 Sophisticated (9-10 marks) — sophisticated understanding + clear philosophical claim + substantive engagement with primary texts + developed argument + clear structure + accurate references + counterargument-addressed
• Band 6 Excellent (11-12 marks) — excellent understanding + clear philosophical claim + deep engagement with primary texts + developed argument + clear structure + accurate references + counterargument+response + cross-traditional-engagement
• Band 7 Outstanding (13-15 marks) — outstanding understanding + clear philosophical claim + deep engagement with primary texts + sophisticated argument + clear structure + accurate references + counterargument+response + cross-traditional-engagement + primary-text-mastery + detailed-analysis + original-reflective-thought

Section 6 — The IB Philosophy HL IA Philosophical Analysis: 2000-word philosophical analysis + IA rubric + IA IAIA structure + IA written report

The IB Philosophy HL IA Philosophical Analysis is the 2000-word philosophical-analysis internal-assessment that constitutes 30% of the final grade. The IA has 5 components:

1. Philosophical claim — a clear, contestable, evaluable philosophical claim (a thesis + argument + counterargument + response); the claim must be philosophical (not empirical)

2. Non-philosophical material — empirical + historical + literary + cultural + artistic + scientific + contemporary material that illustrates the philosophical claim; from at least 2 sources

3. Methodology — analytic + continental + phenomenological + existentialist + feminist + postcolonial + pragmatist + non-Western; the methodology must be appropriate to the claim

4. Argument + evaluation — develop the argument; consider counterarguments; respond to counterarguments; refine thesis; demonstrate philosophical sophistication

5. Citations + bibliography — accurate citations of primary + secondary sources; bibliography in standard format

The IA rubric scores 5 components: philosophical claim (5 marks) + non-philosophical material (5 marks) + methodology (5 marks) + argument (5 marks) + evaluation (5 marks) = 25 marks. The IA exemplars from IBO provide model responses for IA structure + argument + non-philosophical material + methodology + evaluation. The candidate should choose a philosophical claim that engages both primary philosophical texts + contemporary non-philosophical material; the IA must demonstrate deep philosophical understanding + clear argument + thorough analysis + explicit evaluation.

Section 7 — The IB Philosophy HL Paper 1 Thematic Essay: 1 thematic essay + 7 themes + 1 hour 30 minutes + 25 marks + 35% of final grade

Paper 1 Thematic Essay is the 1-hour-30-minute + 25-marks + 35%-of-final-grade Paper 1 of the IB Philosophy HL exam. The candidate chooses 1 thematic essay from 7 themes (Being-human + Aesthetics + Epistemology + Ethics + Philosophy-of-human-nature + Philosophy-of-religion + Political-philosophy + Science-technology + Socio-political-philosophy). The essay is 1600 words + thesis-driven + argument-structured + evidence-based + philosophically-aware + mark-band-scored. The essay must: articulate a clear philosophical claim; develop the argument; engage primary philosophical texts; anticipate counterarguments; respond to counterarguments; refine thesis; demonstrate philosophical sophistication. The IB command terms used in Paper 1 thematic-essay questions include: Compare + Contrast + Discuss + Evaluate + Examine + To-what-extent + Analyse + Describe + Explain + Outline + State + Identify + Justify + Suggest + Construct + Annotate. The 7 themes for Paper 1 are: Theme 1 Being human + Theme 2 Aesthetics + Theme 3 Epistemology + Theme 4 Ethics + Theme 5 Philosophy of human nature + Theme 6 Philosophy of religion + Theme 7 Political philosophy + Theme 8 Science and technology + Theme 9 Socio-political philosophy. The candidate should choose 1 of the 7 themes + write 1 thematic essay on that theme + 1600 words.

Section 8 — The IB Philosophy HL Paper 2 Textual Studies: 2 textual questions + 7 set texts + 1 hour 30 minutes + 25 marks + 35% of final grade

Paper 2 Textual Studies is the 1-hour-30-minute + 25-marks + 35%-of-final-grade Paper 2 of the IB Philosophy HL exam. The candidate chooses 2 set-texts from 7-set-texts (Plato-Republic + Aristotle-Nicomachean-Ethics + Descartes-Meditations + Locke-Second-Treatise + Marx-1844-Handwritten-Philosophical-Economic-Manuscripts + Wollstonecraft-Vindication + Nietzsche-Beyond-Good-Evil) + writes 2 textual questions on 2 set-texts. Each textual question is 1600 words + thesis-driven + argument-structured + evidence-based + excerpt-analysis + mark-band-scored. The candidate must: extract a philosophical claim from the excerpt; reconstruct the argument; identify premises + conclusion; evaluate the argument; identify counterarguments; respond to counterarguments; refine the philosophical claim; demonstrate textual-analysis-sophistication. The IB command terms used in Paper 2 textual-studies questions include: Extract + analyse + paraphrase + explain + evaluate + discuss + to-what-extent + examine + identify + justify + suggest + construct + annotate. The 7-set-texts for Paper 2 are: Plato-Republic + Aristotle-Nicomachean-Ethics + Descartes-Meditations + Locke-Second-Treatise + Marx-1844-Handwritten-Philosophical-Economic-Manuscripts + Wollstonecraft-Vindication + Nietzsche-Beyond-Good-Evil. The candidate should choose 2 of the 7-set-texts + write 2 textual questions on those 2 set-texts + 1600 words each.

Section 9 — The IB Philosophy HL IA Philosophical Analysis vs Paper 1 Thematic Essay vs Paper 2 Textual Studies: 3 components of the IB Philosophy HL exam + 30% + 35% + 35% = 100% of final grade

The IB Philosophy HL exam has 3 components: Paper 1 Thematic Essay (35% of final grade) + Paper 2 Textual Studies (35% of final grade) + IA Philosophical Analysis (30% of final grade). The difference between the 3 components: Paper 1 Thematic Essay is a philosophical-essay on a theme + 1600 words + 1-hour-30-minutes + 7-themes-choose-1 + IB-command-terms + mark-band-15; Paper 2 Textual Studies is a textual-analysis on 2 set-texts + 1600 words each + 1-hour-30-minutes + 7-set-texts-choose-2 + excerpt-analysis + mark-band-15; IA Philosophical Analysis is a philosophical-analysis + 2000-words + supervised-research + philosophical-claim + non-philosophical-material + methodology + argument + evaluation + mark-band-25. The candidate should master all 3 components + score 7 across all 3 to achieve the IB Philosophy HL score 7. The score-7 candidate typically scores 13-15 on Paper 1 + 13-15 on Paper 2 + 22-25 on IA = 48-55 out of 55 = 87-100% = score 7.

Section 10 — The IB Philosophy HL 7 themes + 7 set texts + primary philosophical text integration + primary text mastery

The IB Philosophy HL 7 themes + 7 set texts are the IBO-required primary-text-content + theme-structure for the IB Philosophy HL exam. The 7 themes: Theme 1 Being human + Theme 2 Aesthetics + Theme 3 Epistemology + Theme 4 Ethics + Theme 5 Philosophy of human nature + Theme 6 Philosophy of religion + Theme 7 Political philosophy + Theme 8 Science and technology + Theme 9 Socio-political philosophy. The 7-set-texts: Plato-Republic + Aristotle-Nicomachean-Ethics + Descartes-Meditations + Locke-Second-Treatise + Marx-1844-Handwritten-Philosophical-Economic-Manuscripts + Wollstonecraft-Vindication + Nietzsche-Beyond-Good-Evil. The primary-text-mastery requires: extended-paraphrase + argumentative-structure + key-passages + concept-mapping + cross-text-connections + historical-context + philosophical-tradition + contemporary-applications. The 7-themes-mastery requires: theme-by-theme-coverage + key-philosophers + key-arguments + key-cases + contemporary-applications + cross-theme-synthesis. The candidate should integrate primary-texts into thematic-essays + textual-questions + IA-philosophical-analysis + show primary-text-mastery + cross-text-connections + historical-context + philosophical-tradition + contemporary-applications.

Section 11 — The IB Philosophy HL AI tutor prompt library: 7 themes + 7 set texts + Paper 1 thematic essay + Paper 2 textual studies + IA philosophical analysis + 100+ prompts

The IB Philosophy HL AI tutor prompt library is the IBO-applied-mastery prompt-set that scores every IB Philosophy HL Paper 1 thematic-essay + Paper 2 textual-question + IA-philosophical-analysis + 7-themes + 7-set-texts against the official IBO Philosophy HL marking scheme + rubric-band-descriptors (Band 1 Inadequate + Band 2 Adequate + Band 3 Competent + Band 4 Highly-Competent + Band 5 Sophisticated + Band 6 Excellent + Band 7 Outstanding). The 100+ prompts include:

• Paper 1 thematic-essay prompts by theme — Theme 1 Being human + Theme 2 Aesthetics + Theme 3 Epistemology + Theme 4 Ethics + Theme 5 Philosophy of human nature + Theme 6 Philosophy of religion + Theme 7 Political philosophy + Theme 8 Science and technology + Theme 9 Socio-political philosophy

• Paper 2 textual-question prompts by set-text — Plato-Republic + Aristotle-Nicomachean-Ethics + Descartes-Meditations + Locke-Second-Treatise + Marx-1844-Handwritten-Philosophical-Economic-Manuscripts + Wollstonecraft-Vindication + Nietzsche-Beyond-Good-Evil

• IA-philosophical-analysis prompts by component — philosophical claim + non-philosophical material + methodology + argument + evaluation + bibliography

• Argument-reconstruction prompts — given a passage, identify premises + conclusion + argument form + validity + soundness + hidden premises + assumptions + cogency

• Counterargument + response prompts — given a thesis, identify credible counterarguments + steelman + respond + refine thesis

• Cross-theme-synthesis prompts — connect epistemology + ethics + political-philosophy + philosophy-of-religion + philosophy-of-science + philosophy-of-mind + metaphysics + cross-traditional + cross-historical

Section 12 — The IB Philosophy HL AI tutor score-7 workflow: 30-week schedule + readiness benchmarks + stretch goals

The IB Philosophy HL AI tutor score-7 workflow is the 30-week-mastery-schedule + 7-themes-mastery + 7-set-texts-mastery + Paper-1-thematic-essay-mastery + Paper-2-textual-studies-mastery + IA-philosophical-analysis-mastery + mock-exams + past-papers + IB-command-terms + mark-band-7-mastery. The workflow:

• Weeks 1-2 Theme 1 Being human + Theme 1 mastery
• Weeks 3-4 Theme 2 Aesthetics + Theme 2 mastery
• Weeks 5-6 Theme 3 Epistemology + Theme 3 mastery
• Weeks 7-9 Theme 4 Ethics + Theme 4 mastery
• Weeks 10-11 Theme 5 Philosophy of human nature + Theme 5 mastery
• Weeks 12-14 Theme 6 Philosophy of religion + Theme 6 mastery
• Weeks 15-18 Theme 7 Political philosophy + Theme 7 mastery
• Weeks 19-21 Theme 8 Science and technology + Theme 8 mastery
• Weeks 22-24 Theme 9 Socio-political philosophy + Theme 9 mastery
• Weeks 25-27 Paper 2 Set Texts Deep Dives + 7-set-texts mastery
• Weeks 28-30 IA Philosophical Analysis + mock-exams + past-papers + polish

The candidate should: complete weekly mastery + 7-themes-mastery + 7-set-texts-mastery + 7-mock-exams + 7-past-papers + IA-philosophical-analysis + score-7-mastery. The score-7 readiness benchmarks: 7-themes master (95%+) + 7-set-texts master (95%+) + Paper-1-thematic-essay master (95%+) + Paper-2-textual-studies master (95%+) + IA-philosophical-analysis master (95%+) + 7-mock-exams mark-band-7 (95%+) + 7-past-papers mark-band-7 (95%+) + IB-command-terms-mastery (100%) + mark-band-7-mastery (100%). The stretch goals: 7-paper-1-thematic-essay-exemplars + 7-paper-2-textual-question-exemplars + 7-IA-philosophical-analysis-exemplars + IB-Philosophy-HL-cohort-mastery + IB-Philosophy-HL-internal-assessment-rubric-mastery + IB-Philosophy-HL-past-papers-2016-2025-mastery + IB-Philosophy-HL-specimen-papers-mastery + IB-Philosophy-HL-IA-exemplars-mastery + IB-Philosophy-HL-mock-exams-mastery + IB-Philosophy-HL-score-7-cohort-mastery.

Section 13 — Get started with the IB Philosophy HL AI tutor today

The IB Philosophy HL AI tutor is built on the IBO-applied-mastery framework + 7-themes + 7-set-texts + Paper-1-thematic-essay + Paper-2-textual-studies + IA-philosophical-analysis + mark-band-7-mastery + 100+-prompts + 30-week-workflow + IB-Philosophy-HL-internal-assessment-rubric + IB-Philosophy-HL-past-papers-2016-2025 + IB-Philosophy-HL-specimen-papers + IB-Philosophy-HL-IA-exemplars + IB-Philosophy-HL-mock-exams + IB-Philosophy-HL-score-7-cohort-mastery + IB-Philosophy-HL-IB-command-terms + IB-Philosophy-HL-mark-band-7-mastery. The AI tutor scores every Paper-1-thematic-essay + Paper-2-textual-question + IA-philosophical-analysis against the official IBO Philosophy HL marking scheme + rubric-band-descriptors (Band 1 Inadequate + Band 2 Adequate + Band 3 Competent + Band 4 Highly-Competent + Band 5 Sophisticated + Band 6 Excellent + Band 7 Outstanding). The AI tutor is built for IB-Diploma-Programme Year-12 + Year-13 candidates + IB-Bilingual + IB-Course-Companion + Pre-Philosophy + Pre-PPE + Pre-PPP + Pre-History + Pre-Law + Pre-Theology + Pre-Divinity + Pre-Religious-Studies + Pre-Ethics + Pre-Politics + Pre-Political-Science + Pre-Public-Policy + Pre-International-Relations + Pre-Sociology + Pre-Anthropology + Pre-Classics + Pre-English-Literature + Pre-Comparative-Literature + Pre-Public-International-Law + Pre-Human-Rights + Pre-Diplomacy + Pre-Journalism cohorts at IB-World-Schools in Switzerland + Singapore + Hong-Kong + UAE + UK + US + Canada + Australia + New-Zealand + Japan + Korea + China + India + Pakistan + Bangladesh + Indonesia + Malaysia + Thailand + Vietnam + Philippines + Egypt + South-Africa + Kenya + Nigeria + Ghana + Saudi + Qatar + Bahrain + Kuwait + Oman + Jordan + Lebanon + Brazil + Mexico + Argentina + Chile + Colombia + Peru + Russia + Turkey + Iran + Iraq + Israel targeting Cambridge + Oxford + UCL + LSE + Stanford + MIT + Harvard + Yale + Princeton + Columbia + Chicago + Berkeley + Georgetown + Edinburgh + Manchester + Bristol + KCL + Durham + Exeter + St-Andrews + Loughborough + Bath + Toronto + UBC + McGill + McMaster + Western + Queens + Alberta + Calgary + Dalhousie + NUS + NTU + HKUST + Sydney + Melbourne + Monash + UNSW + Queensland + Auckland + Otago admissions. Pair with IB-Philosophy-HL + IB-History-HL + IB-Economics-HL + IB-Psychology-HL + IB-Business-Management-HL + IB-English-A-Literature-HL + IB-Geography-SL + IB-Global-Politics-HL + IB-Language-B-Spanish-HL + IB-Mathematics-HL-Applications + IB-Biology-HL + IB-Chemistry-HL + IB-Physics-HL + IB-Visual-Arts-SL + IB-Music-SL + IB-Theatre-SL + IB-Extended-Essay-in-Philosophy + IB-Internal-Assessment-Philosophical-Analysis + IB-TOK-exhibition + IB-CAS-creativity-activity-service to close the IB-Diploma-Programme-score-7-gap + IBO-applied-mastery-track + Year-13-philosophy + IB-Diploma + first-year-undergraduate-PPE + Philosophy + Politics + Political-Science + Law + Public-Policy + Ethics + Religious-Studies + Divinity + Journalism + Human-Rights + Diplomacy + Foreign-Service + Classics + Comparative-Literature + English-Literature + Public-International-Law + university-credit + PPE-Admissions-readiness + Philosophy-Admissions-readiness at Cambridge + Oxford + UCL + LSE + Stanford + MIT + Harvard + Yale + Princeton + Columbia + Chicago + Berkeley + Georgetown + Edinburgh + Manchester + Bristol + KCL + Durham + Exeter + St-Andrews + Loughborough + Bath + Toronto + UBC + McGill + McMaster + Western + Queens + Alberta + Calgary + Dalhousie + NUS + NTU + HKUST + Sydney + Melbourne + Monash + UNSW + Queensland + Auckland + Otago admissions.

Closing: IB Philosophy HL is the most-respected pre-university philosophy + PPE + ethics + political-theory + epistemology + metaphysics + logic + aesthetics + philosophy-of-religion + philosophy-of-mind + philosophy-of-science + philosophy-of-language qualification globally — the standard for IB-Diploma-Programme Year-12 + Year-13 candidates at IB-World-Schools in 145+ countries. The 30-week workflow + 7-themes + 7-set-texts + Paper-1-thematic-essay + Paper-2-textual-studies + IA-philosophical-analysis + IB-command-terms + mark-band-7-mastery + 100+-prompts + IB-Philosophy-HL-internal-assessment-rubric + IB-Philosophy-HL-past-papers-2016-2025 + IB-Philosophy-HL-specimen-papers + IB-Philosophy-HL-IA-exemplars + IB-Philosophy-HL-mock-exams + IB-Philosophy-HL-score-7-cohort-mastery gives the IB-Philosophy-HL candidate the IBO-applied-mastery framework to score 7 on the May 2027 IB Diploma Programme Philosophy Higher Level exam + close the IB-Diploma-Programme-score-7-gap + unlock Cambridge + Oxford + UCL + LSE + Stanford + MIT + Harvard + Yale + Princeton + Columbia + Chicago + Berkeley + Georgetown + Edinburgh + Manchester + Bristol + KCL + Durham + Exeter + St-Andrews + Loughborough + Bath + Toronto + UBC + McGill + McMaster + Western + Queens + Alberta + Calgary + Dalhousie + NUS + NTU + HKUST + Sydney + Melbourne + Monash + UNSW + Queensland + Auckland + Otago admissions + first-year-undergraduate-PPE + Philosophy + Politics + Political-Science + Law + Public-Policy + Ethics + Religious-Studies + Divinity + Journalism + Human-Rights + Diplomacy + Foreign-Service + Classics + Comparative-Literature + English-Literature + Public-International-Law credit.

Related Grademy playbooks

• IB History HL (post-163) — IA + Paper 1 + Paper 2 + 7-paper workflow, pairs with IB Philosophy HL Political-Philosophy + History-of-Political-Thought
• IB Economics HL (post-162) — Paper 1 + Paper 2 + IA + 25-paper structure, pairs with IB Philosophy HL Ethics + Political-Philosophy
• IB Psychology HL (post-163 sibling) — IA + Paper 1 + Paper 2, pairs with Philosophy-of-Human-Nature + Philosophy-of-Mind themes
• IB Geography SL (post-169) — Paper 1 + Paper 2 + IA, pairs with IB Philosophy HL Environmental-Ethics + Climate-Justice
• IB Environmental Systems and Societies SL (post-168) — Paper 1 + Paper 2 + IA, pairs with Philosophy-of-Science + Environmental-Ethics
• IB Sports Exercise and Health Science SL (post-167) — Paper 1 + Paper 2 + IA, pairs with Philosophy-of-Human-Nature + Bioethics
• IB Design Technology HL (post-166) — Paper 1 + Paper 2 + IA, pairs with Philosophy-of-Technology + AI-Ethics
• IB Computer Science HL (post-165) — Paper 1 + Paper 2 + IA, pairs with Philosophy-of-Mind + AI-Ethics + Philosophy-of-Science
• IB Business Management HL (post-164) — Paper 1 + Paper 2 + IA, pairs with IB Philosophy HL Ethics + Political-Philosophy + Business-Ethics
• IB Biology HL (post-161) — Paper 1 + Paper 2 + IA + 25-paper workflow, pairs with Philosophy-of-Science + Bioethics

Pair IB Philosophy HL with 2-3 IB Group-3 siblings (History + Economics + Psychology + Global Politics) to maximize IB Diploma score-7 cohort + first-year-university-credit at Cambridge + Oxford + UCL + LSE + Stanford + MIT + Harvard + Yale + Princeton + Columbia + Chicago + Berkeley + Georgetown + Edinburgh + Manchester + Bristol + KCL + Durham + Exeter + St-Andrews + Loughborough + Bath + Toronto + UBC + McGill + McMaster + Western + Queens + Alberta + Calgary + Dalhousie + NUS + NTU + HKUST + Sydney + Melbourne + Monash + UNSW + Queensland + Auckland + Otago.

Related: IB Economics HL as the IBO-standard pre-university economics + finance + public-policy subject — pairing with IB Philosophy HL for IBO Group 3 + ethics-of-economics + behavioural-economics + nudge-theory + Cambridge + LSE + Oxford PPE + Philosophy-Politics-Economics + political-economy + first-year-undergraduate-Economics admissions

IB Economics HL is the IBO-standard pre-university economics + finance + business + consulting + public-policy + development-economics + international-economics + behavioural-economics + political-economy qualification for IB-Diploma-Programme Year-12 + Year-13 candidates at IB-World-Schools. The IB Economics HL specification covers 4-micro-units + 4-macro-units + 2-international-economics + 2-development-economics + quantitative-methods + Paper-1-Extended-Response + Paper-2-Data-Response + Paper-3-Policy-Paper + IA-Policy-Paper. For IBO Group 3 candidates targeting ethics-of-economics + fairness + property-rights + Coase-theorem-philosophy + behavioural-economics-philosophy + nudge-theory + Thaler + Sunstein + political-economy + Philosophy-Politics-Economics + PPE + first-year-undergraduate-Philosophy + first-year-undergraduate-PPE + first-year-undergraduate-Economics, IB Economics HL + IB Philosophy HL is the canonical pair. IB Economics HL covers the modern micro + macro + international + development + behavioural-economics + game-theory framework (behavioural-economics + nudge-theory + bounded-rationality + heuristics + biases + asymmetric-information + Coase-theorem + property-rights + Pigouvian-taxes + public-goods + common-pool-resources + merit-goods + demerit-goods); IB Philosophy HL covers the ethical + philosophical underpinnings (ethics + meta-ethics + normative-ethics + virtue-ethics + deontological-ethics + consequentialist-ethics + justice + fairness + property + liberty + rights + utilitarian-ethics + Rawls + Nozick + libertarian-ethics + commutative-justice + distributive-justice). Together, the pair signals readiness for Cambridge-PPE + Oxford-PPE + LSE-PPE + UCL-PPE + Warwick-PPE + Durham-PPE + KCL-PPE + Manchester-PPE + LSE-philosophy + UCL-philosophy + Cambridge-philosophy + Oxford-philosophy + first-year-undergraduate-Economics + first-year-undergraduate-Philosophy + first-year-undergraduate-PPE at Cambridge + Oxford + LSE + UCL + Imperial + Stanford + MIT + ETH-Zurich + Edinburgh + Manchester + Bristol + KCL + Durham + Exeter + St-Andrews + Toronto + UBC + McGill admissions. See our <a href="/blog/ib-economics-hl-playbook-2026" class="text-[var(--brand-coral)] underline-offset-4 hover:underline font-semibold">AI tutor for IB Economics HL 2026</a> for the 30-week IB Economics HL workflow + 4-micro-units + 4-macro-units + 2-international-economics + 2-development-economics + quantitative-methods + Paper-1 + Paper-2 + Paper-3 + IA-Policy-Paper + the AI tutor scoring workflow for score 7.

Pairs with IB Economics HL (post-179)

The IB Economics HL playbook (post-179) + [this playbook] form the IB Diploma + IB Higher-Level + IB Group-3 + IB Group-4 + IB Group-5 + IB Group-2 + economics-finance-business-consulting-public-policy-political-economy-international-relations-development-studies cohort companion for the IB-Diploma-Programme Year-12 + Year-13 candidates at IB-World-Schools in Switzerland + Singapore + Hong-Kong + UAE + UK + US + Canada + Australia + New-Zealand + Japan + Korea + China + India + Pakistan + Bangladesh + Indonesia + Malaysia + Thailand + Vietnam + Philippines + Egypt + South-Africa + Kenya + Nigeria + Ghana + Saudi + Qatar + Bahrain + Kuwait + Oman + Jordan + Lebanon targeting first-year-undergraduate-Economics + Finance + PPE + PPE-Economics + Business + Management + Consulting + Public-Policy + Political-Economy + International-Relations + Development-Studies at MIT + Stanford + Caltech + Cambridge + Oxford + Imperial + UCL + LSE + Edinburgh + Manchester + Bristol + Durham + Exeter + St-Andrews + KCL + Loughborough + Bath + Toronto + UBC + McGill + McMaster + Western + Queens + Alberta + Calgary + Dalhousie + NUS + NTU + HKUST + KAIST + SNU + Tsinghua + Peking + Sydney + Melbourne + Monash + UNSW + Queensland + Auckland + Otago admissions. See post-179 for the IB-Economics-HL-specific exam, score-distribution, and 30-week score-7 master schedule.