My notes from Gdansk on Internal Assessment and Extended Essay.

IA:

All students on HL and SL. You should do a historical investigation. 1500 – 2000 words.

IF ANYTHING IS PLAGUERIZED = THE WHOLE WORK IS DISQUALIFIED AND YOU WONT GET YOUR DIPLOMA!!!

The full IA should have all of the following parts:

1. Plan of investigation (100 – 150 words):
1. Talk to me about methods.
2. Aim of your investigation.
3. Lines of argument that you will use.
2. Source of evidence (500 – 600 words):
1. This is the basis from which your analysis is conducted.
2. A bullet point list helps you.
3. Eventual details to be analyzed.
3. Evaluation of sources (350 – 450 words):
1. Avoid long descriptions!
2. Value and limitation of your sources should be covered.
4. Analysis (500 – 600 words):
1. References are very important.
2. Focus on your question.
3. Historical context must be here.
5. Conclusion (150 – 250 words):
1. Must be 100% consistent with your evidence!!!
6. List of Sources:
1. Use one method consequently.
2. Must be comprehensive.

Suggested topics:

• How was X affected by Y?
• What role did X have in Y?
• The British/Swedish/etc press respond to X?
• Recommended to pick stuff like speeches, records from the parliament etc.
• Not recommended that you just pick two historians and compare them.
• Evaluate two sources:
• Where?
• When?
• What?
• Who?
• Why?
• Here are some possible questions suggested by other IB-wannabees in Gdansk:
• What impact did the Russian Revolution have on the Chinese Revolution?
• How important was the external enemy world communism to Hitler getting to power?
• Compare Trotsky’s view on the storming of the Winter palace to the film by Eisenstein.
• The Suez Crisis in British and American Press.
• Why didn’t the Soviet intervene on the Arab side in the sixdayswar?
• Why did the western powers allow the building of the Berlin wall?
• Compare the dissolving of Czechoslovakia with Yugoslavia.
• How was the dropping of the A-bomb effected by the fear of communism?
• Was JFK missled about the possible success of the Bay of Pigs?
• Compare Austria 1955 to the split of Germany.
• Draft in the US during the Vietnam war.
• International Press on Apartheid-policies in South Africa.
• How realistic is “Saving Private Ryan”?
• What role did the Polish Poe play in the collapse of Communism?
• What role did the red Army play in the uprisings in either Hungary 1956 or Prague 1968?

Extended Essays:

• It is worth 3 bonus points.
• This work is something that they can bring to Universities for interviews.
• You should pick a subject that you plan to study at University.
• If you pick History:
• You should have a very narrow focus!
• Both in Time and
• In Geography.
• You should pick a clear research question.
• Many of the IA subjects are too wide for the EE.
• Recommended subjects:
• Local impact of something big.
• Local impact of a dictator.
• What specifically caused a specific turning point in a certain area.
• It is ALL ABOUT STRUCTURE!!!! FOLLOW THE CRITERIAS!!!!!