Using AI for IB Essay Writing - Grading an AI generated History Paper 2 introduction
Can ChatGPT ace your IB History essay? We graded its Paper 2 intro - and the results might surprise you.
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So, Artificial Intelligence (AI), everyone is talking about it. But how good is it at actually writing, say, your History IA or your TOK essay? How can you use AI to improve your writing, get better grades for your essays and use it responsibly without plagiaristic repercussions?
ChatGPT tells me that “Plagiaristic repercussions refer to the consequences or penalties a person may face if they are caught plagiarising, which means using someone else's work, ideas, or words without proper acknowledgment or permission.” (OpenAI, 2025)
And yes, this needs to be referenced like any other quote in order to be used without copyright infringement. Anyway, in order to see how useful (or problematic) AI can be for paper-writing I asked it to answer a generic History Paper 2 question and graded its response.
You might ask yourself - why a paper 2 question? Aren’t those written in person? Naturally, you can substitute any history-related essay question for the one I used. But, since some of you will have to write your paper 2s in History at some point - you might gain some knowledge about a random exam topic in the process of reading this.
We Gave ChatGPT a Real IB History Prompt - Here’s What It Wrote
The question/prompt:
Write a short paper of 1000 words on the following prompt: The mobilisation of human and economic resources had the greatest impact on the outcome of wars. Discuss with reference to two 20th century wars, each chosen from a different region - one in the middle east and one in Vietnam. Thank you (always thank the AI in case it rises up against us one day).
Here’s what it came up with:
“The Mobilisation of Human and Economic Resources and Its Impact on the Outcome of Wars: A Comparative Study of the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) and the Vietnam War (1955-1975)
The mobilisation of human and economic resources has consistently played a pivotal role in the outcome of wars throughout history. In modern warfare, where technological advancements and logistics become decisive, the efficient mobilisation of both human and economic assets can often tilt the balance of power. This paper explores how human and economic resource mobilisation shaped the outcomes of two significant 20th-century conflicts: the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) in the Middle East and the Vietnam War (1955-1975) in Southeast Asia. Both wars offer valuable insights into how the effective mobilisation of resources can influence military strategy, prolong conflicts, and impact the political and economic landscapes of nations involved.”
Where ChatGPT Missed the Mark: Critical Issues in the Essay
The problems:
It doesn’t answer the actual question that is being asked.
It doesn’t tell the reader how the paper will answer the question that is being asked.
Extensive Feedback:
While this is a great-sounding introduction, it misunderstands the question that is asked. The question asks whether the mobilisation of human and economic resources had the greatest impact, not necessarily how they have shaped the outcome of wars. Naturally, it is good to go into the how, but it is better to start with a comparison to show how the mobilisation of human and economic resources was the greatest or most important factor. Also, the introduction should always state what prompt or question it is aiming to answer.
So, what ChatGPT should have done is say something like:
“This paper seeks to discuss whether the mobilisation of human and economic resources had the greatest impact on the outcome of wars. In doing so, it will compare the mobilisation of human and economic resources with factor x & y (insert two random important factors such as ‘political turmoil’ or ‘domestic stability’ here). To show that the mobilisation of human and economic resources had the greatest impact on the outcome of the Iran-Iraq war and the Vietnam war, this paper will delve into how these factors impacted the outcome of these wars. “
The other issue comes from a similar issue - ChatGPT doesn’t tell us how the paper is going to answer the question. While it is great to justify the use of these particular wars by saying:
”Both wars offer valuable insights into how the effective mobilisation of resources can influence military strategy, prolong conflicts, and impact the political and economic landscapes of nations involved.”
ChatGPT should add a sentence that describes what the paper will be talking about. Or, in more academic terms, ChatGPT should say something like:
“The first section of this paper shows how the mobilisation of human and economic resources had the greatest impact on the outcome of the Iran-Iraq war for x, y & z reasons. The second section of this paper shows how the mobilisation of human and economic resources had the greatest impact on the outcome of the Vietnam war for x, y & z reasons.The final section of this paper compares and contrasts the mobilisation of human and economic resources with factor x and factor y (again insert here any two random factors that impact the outcome of wars). “
The positives:
The structure is great! And what a nice opening sentence.
Some key concepts are defined nicely for your own understanding.
ChatGPT gives some great food for thought - a nice starting point for a paper.
Extensive Feedback:
What can you take away from the introduction? Structure! What a great opening sentence ChatGPT has given us - it introduces the topic nicely, states the importance of asking such a question in History and is short and snappy. Then ChatGPT elaborates upon their opening sentence, showing the IB that you really know what you’re talking about. Then ChatGPT lets us know what the paper is going to explore and introduces the two case studies. So, what a great structure (besides the missing final few sentences about how ChatGPT answers the question)..
Also, ChatGPT gives us some great food for thought. You might wonder what the mobilisation of human and economic resources entails? Like, what does that even mean? ChatGPT defines the key concepts well and makes some interesting arguments..
That being said, finding your own arguments becomes harder when you’ve been given two good arguments from ChatGPT’s paper. And let’s face it, it is just easier to use ChatGPT’s arguments. The thing is, ChatGPT’s arguments aren’t that good. ChatGPT has the right idea of how to answer the question, but doesn’t really end up answering the question that is being asked, making it a lot vaguer than it needs to be. If you do not have a very clear picture of what the question is asking, you cannot answer it in a clear and coherent manner. But more about that in the next blog post, where I go through ChatGPT’s next section.
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Overall Evaluation
ChatGPT’s Score: A Solid Structure, but Only a 3 out of 7
ChatGPT is great at:
Giving a paper structure, defining key concepts and giving food for thought.
ChatGPT is not great at answering the question that is being asked, or telling the reader how they will answer the question.
So, what do I give ChatGPT’s introduction? A 3 out of 7 - sorry ChatGPT.
References
OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT (May 21 version)[Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/
