The diploma exam
Two papers, worth half each: one where you write about sources, and one of sixty multiple-choice questions. Neither rewards memorized content on its own — both are asking what you can do with ideas about ideology.
- 1. Two parts, half each
- 2. Part A: the two assignments
- 3. Part B: the blueprint
- 4. Everything runs on sources
- 5. What preparation looks like
- 6. Official material
Two parts, half each
The idea: Part A is written response and Part B is multiple choice, and they are worth exactly the same. The diploma is 30% of your final mark.
| Part | What it is | Worth | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part A: Written Response | Assignment I: Source Interpretation, and Assignment II: Position Paper | 50% | Designed for 3 hours; up to 6 available |
| Part B: Multiple Choice | 60 questions | 50% | Designed for 2½ hours; up to 5 available |
They are written as separate sittings, which is worth knowing when planning revision: the skills barely overlap. Part A is writing under time pressure about sources you have never seen; Part B is reading, interpreting and evaluating, one question at a time.
Part A: the two assignments
The idea: the first asks what sources mean and how they relate; the second asks what you think, argued properly. They are marked on different things, and confusing them is the classic error.
Assignment I: Source Interpretation — 20% of the exam
Three sources are provided. You interpret each one to show how it links to liberalism, then explain the relationships among all three. You are not asked to take a position, and you should not. The task itself stays the same from one administration to the next; only the sources change — which means it can be practised directly.
| Scoring category | Worth | What it rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Interpretation of Sources | 12% | Three sources, scored independently at 4% each: what each one says about liberalism. |
| Relationships | 6% | How the three sources relate to one another — agreement, tension, or a sequence of ideas. |
| Communication | 2% | Clear, controlled writing in paragraph form. |
Suggested length: 500–1400 words.
Assignment II: Position Paper — 30% of the exam
A source is provided, and you take and defend a position on the issue it raises, using evidence from history and current affairs.
| Scoring category | Worth | What it rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Analysis of Source | 6% | What the source says, and the ideology or perspective behind it. |
| Argumentation | 8% | A defensible position, argued consistently. |
| Evidence | 8% | Specific, accurate evidence from history and current affairs. |
| Communication | 8% | Organization, clarity and control of language. |
Suggested length: 750–1600 words.
Watch out: Argumentation and Evidence are 8% each — more than the analysis of the source. A paper that explains the source beautifully and then argues thinly is leaving the larger half of the marks on the table.
Part B: the blueprint
The idea: 60 questions, weighted heavily toward the two middle related issues, and split evenly between understanding and evaluation.
| Related issue | Questions |
|---|---|
| RI 1 — To what extent should ideology be the foundation of identity? | 4–12 |
| RI 2 — To what extent is resistance to liberalism justified? | 20–26 |
| RI 3 — To what extent are the principles of liberalism viable? | 20–26 |
| RI 4 — To what extent should my actions as a citizen be shaped by an ideology? | 4–12 |
Two thirds of Part B sits in Related Issues 2 and 3 — resistance to liberalism, and whether liberal principles hold up. Those are the units worth knowing cold.
The questions are also split between two cognitive levels, roughly half each: understanding and analysis, and evaluation and synthesis. So about thirty questions will ask you to judge, compare or weigh rather than to identify — which is why memorizing definitions alone tops out quickly.
Everything runs on sources
The idea: both parts hand you material you have never seen — cartoons, quotations, speeches, photographs, data — and ask what it is saying and from where. That skill is the course.
- What is the source about? One sentence, plainly.
- What position does it take? Supportive, critical, ambivalent — and toward what exactly.
- Which ideology or perspective does it reflect? Name it, and name the evidence: a phrase, a symbol, an emphasis.
- Who benefits if this view prevails? Sources argue for someone.
- For a visual: read exaggeration, symbolism, captions and labels the same way you would read loaded words in a quotation.
Every one of those steps is evidence-bound. "The source is conservative" earns little; "the source treats tradition as a check on individual freedom, which places it against classical liberalism" earns the mark, because it says what in the source produced the judgment.
What preparation looks like
The idea: you cannot revise the sources, so revise the two things that travel: the ideas, and a stock of evidence.
- Know the spectrum properly — classical liberalism, modern liberalism, socialism, communism, fascism, conservatism — as positions on questions about freedom, equality and the role of the state, not as labels.
- Build an evidence bank. Eight to ten examples you know in detail, spread across the century: the Depression and the New Deal, the Soviet Union under Stalin, Nazi Germany, the Cold War and its proxy conflicts, decolonization, the welfare state, the post-1980 shift to the market, Indigenous self-determination in Canada, climate policy, pandemic measures.
- Practise the Assignment I task with any three sources you can find — the task does not change, so the practice transfers exactly.
- Write timed position papers. The constraint is not knowledge, it is getting a defensible argument onto paper in the time available.
- Read the scored exemplars on Alberta's site. Seeing the difference between a satisfactory and an excellent response is worth more than any checklist.
Official material
The idea: the bulletin and the released Part A material are the authoritative description of what is being marked.
- Social Studies 30–1 Information Bulletin 2025–2026 — The blueprints, the scoring categories and criteria for both assignments, and the standards.
- Writing diploma exams — Where the Guides for Students, the scored student exemplars and the practice material live.
- Diploma exams — overview — Exam dates, rules, accommodations and how results are reported.
Then use the written-response walkthrough and the sample Part B here, plus the printable worksheets and practice questions.