History HL Internal Assessment

The IB History Internal Assessment

Name: Your name.

School: West Charlotte High School (2316)

Candidate #: I can find these out for you next year.

Word Count: This number better be between 1500 and 2000 by the time you finish!!!!!!!!

Historical Investigation

HL 20%

Introduction

The historical investigation is a problem-solving activity which enables candidates to demonstrate the application of their skills and knowledge to an area which interests them and which need not be syllabus related. The emphasis must be on a specific historical enquiry tied to classroom activities that enables the candidate to develop and apply the skills of a historian, such as making sense of source material and managing conflicting interpretations. The activity demands that candidates search for, select, evaluate and use evidence to reach a decision or solve a problem. The investigation is not a major piece of research–candidates are only required to evaluate two of the sources they have used. However, these must be appropriate to the investigation and critically evaluated. The account should not be written up as an essay but in the style outlined later in this section. The internal assessment allows for flexibility and should encourage candidates to use their own initiative. Examples of the types of investigations candidates may undertake are:

a historical topic or theme using written sources or a variety of sources

a historical topic based on fieldwork; for example, a museum, archeological site, battlefields, churches

a historical problem using documents (this could include newspapers)

a local history project

a history project based on oral interviews

a historical investigation based on interpreting a novel, film, piece of art, for example.

Candidates will be required to:

 undertake a historical investigation

 provide a title for the historical investigation which, in order to give focus and direction, may be framed as a question

 produce a written account, of between 1500–2000 words for HL and SL, which must consist of:

• an outline plan of the historical investigation

• a summary of evidence

• an evaluation of sources

• an analysis

• a conclusion.

The historical investigation will be internally assessed by the teacher and externally moderated by the IBO.

Choice of Topic

Candidates should choose their own topic, with the teacher’s guidance. The topic should be one that seems interesting and worthwhile to the candidate.

The teacher must approve the investigation before work is started, and must ensure that it complies with the regulations and is able to be assessed by the criteria for internal assessment.

Candidates must be aware of ethical considerations when undertaking any investigation. They must show tact and sensitivity, respect confidentiality and acknowledge all sources used.

The Written Account

Regardless of the type of historical investigation chosen, every candidate must produce a written account consisting of the following six sections:

A / Plan of the investigation / 3 marks
B / Summary of evidence / 6 marks
C / Evaluation of sources / 5 marks
D / Analysis / 6 marks
E / Conclusion / 2 marks
F / List of sources / 3 marks
Total / 25 marks
Section A
Plan of
Investigation
3 points / 0-There is no plan of the investigation, or it is inappropriate.
1-The research question, method and scope of the investigation are not clearly stated.
2-The research question is clearly stated. The method and scope of the investigation are outlined and related to the research question.
3-The research question is clearly stated. The method and scope of the investigation are fully developed and closely focused on the research question.
SECTION A: PLAN OF THE INVESTIGATION
GUIDELINES AND REQUIREMENTS / ADVICE AND CONSIDERATIONS
  • Recommended word count: 100-150
  • Point value: 3/25 marks
  • State the topic of the investigation, which should be formulated as a question and it could be useful to provide a rationale for the choice of the selected topic for investigation.
  • Define the scope of the investigation(Identify themes/areas of investigation to be undertaken in order to reach an effective and successful conclusion to the investigation.)
  • Explain the method of the investigation by stating the ways in which themes/areas will be analysed.
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  • When stating your research question, be sure to address why your topic is interesting, or how you came to choose your topic.
  • Your topic must be stated in the form of a question.
  • In writing on METHOD: You must use the actual term “method”.
  • Do NOT write about where you physically went to find your sources
  • The words “UNCC”, “Davidson”, “library”, and “internet” should not appear in this section!
  • DO explain to the reader why you chose the sources you did
  • This should be a conscious process, you should not use a source simply because the title sounds relevant to your topic.
  • You should be able to explain to your reader exactly how you used your sources to help answer your research question.
  • If there is a source that does not contribute to a more complete answer to your RQ, ditch it. I am not interested in “filler” sources (those which you include in your Works Cited because you think they sound good).
  • DO tell your reader if there are holes in your investigation and why
  • For instance: You write about the Ukrainian genocide but have no memoirs from Ukrainians who survived it. Is this because you could not find memoirs or because you did not look? Did you consciously decide to exclude this perspective from your investigation?
  • It is completely acceptable to exclude a perspective from your investigation IF you explain why you made that choice. It is not acceptable to choose to exclude a perspective because you did not want to put in the work to find representative sources.
  • In writing on SCOPE: You must use the actual term “scope”
  • Include the sources you plan to use and the issues you will examine in order to address your research question.
  • This refers to time and place of your investigation, this means you must include dates.
  • This also refers to subtopic
  • If your research question is “What caused the first world war?” – you CANNOT deal with this in 2000 words!
  • You must clarify in your PoI the tiny subtopic within this field that you will actually address. This must be something you can cover completely in 2000 words.
If someone has written a BOOK on your topic, you must narrow.
Section B
Summary of
Evidence
6 points / 0-There is no relevant factual material.
1-2-There is some relevant factual material but it has not been referenced (MLA or Chicago only, DO NOT USE APA STYLE).
3-4-There is relevant factual material that shows evidence of research, organization and referencing.
5-6-The factual material is all relevant to the investigation and it has been well researched, organized and correctly referenced.
SECTION B: SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE
GUIDELINES AND REQUIREMENTS / ADVICE AND CONSIDERATIONS
  • Recommended word count: 500-600
  • Point value: 6/25 marks
  • Provides a description of events that are relevant to your research and that will help you address your research question
  • Indicates what you have learned from the sources used
  • Is organized, referenced, and provides evidence of thorough research
  • Any illustrations, documents, or other relevant evidence should be included in an appendix and will not be included in the word count
  • This section should consist of factual material that is:
  • drawn from sources that are appropriate for the investigation
  • correctly and consistently referenced (MLA or Chicago only, DO NOT USE APA STYLE)
  • organized thematically or chronologically.
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  • You must link your overview of evidence to your research question.
  • The goal is NOT to include every piece of information, but only salient pieces of information. Present ONLY information that will help you answer your research question; do not waste words providing lengthy background information.
  • Your summary must be brief, concise, and written with clarity; do not address the section to a teacher as the reader.
  • Use plenty of footnotes in this section using background sources, not just the two books you are analyzing for Section C.
  • This section should be divided up into sub-sections using sub-headings.
  • This means you have to have an organizational structure (that means an outline)
  • You CANNOT randomly throw together pieces of evidence and expect your reader to follow your train of thought; there should be some clear logic as to why pieces of information are grouped together.
  • You must use specific dates, statistics, events, quotes, and descriptions. You CANNOT provide a broad generalization of what happened during a period and call it “evidence”.
  • Think DEEP not B-R-O-A-D. This means, make sure your scope is incredibly limited (like more limited than you ever thought possible) so you can provide a whole lot of evidence about one event rather than one or two pieces of evidence about a whole bunch of events.
  • A note on PROOFREADING:
  • Read your entire IA out-loud to yourself. Fix the mistakes that you find.
  • Have a parent or friend (or both) who knows nothing about your topic read your essay. Clarify the areas that confuse them.
  • Re-read your entire IA out-loud at least 24 hours after completing it. Fix the mistakes you find this time.
  • Microsoft Word has spell check and grammar check, use them.

Section C
Evaluation of
Sources
5 points / 0-There is no description or evaluation of the sources.
1-The sources are described but there is no reference to their origin, purpose, value and limitation. OR either of the sources is not in Part B.
2-3-There is some evaluation of the sources but reference to their origin, purpose, value and limitation may be limited.
4-5-There is evaluation of the sources and explicit reference to their origin, purpose, value and limitation.
SECTION C: EVALUATION OF SOURCES
GUIDELINES AND REQUIREMENTS / ADVICE AND CONSIDERATIONS
  • Recommended word count: 250-400
  • Point value: 5/25 marks
  • a critical evaluation of two important sources appropriate to the investigation that were presented in Part B.
  • Refers to the origin, purpose, values, and limitation of each source:
  • ORIGIN: Who (or what) produced this document?
  • PURPOSE: Why was this document produced? What is the author trying to accomplish? What is the author’s bias/perspective?
  • VALUE: What makes this document useful to you, or to anyone interested in the topic?
  • LIMITATIONS: What about this document needs to be questioned? Why would someone use caution when looking at this document for evidence and analysis?
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  • Deal with your TWO sources separately. This is not a comparison, you do not need a transition from one source to the next.
  • Before your evaluation, provide a full MLA style bibliographic entry of the source you will evaluate. This will ensure you fully cover Origins.
  • You should never use the acronym OPVL, this is what we call it in class; it is not internationally recognized lingo. Just say “source evaluation”.
  • Titles of books get italicized.
  • “Titles” of newspaper articles, speeches, journal articles, and a few other gems get “quotation marks”.
  • When in doubt check
  • ORIGINS AND PURPOSES: These sections need not be lengthy, simply explain what was produced and why.
  • ORIGINS: You must provide the academic credentials of the author; if you cannot find anything on the author in the book, search the Net. If you still cannot find information on your author, SAY SO. It is not necessary to put in every academic post or professorship the authors have held.
  • The name of an author means nothing. You must include the author’s qualifications to write on this particular topic.
  • For instance: I could write a book on astrophysics. No one should ever trust what I have to say about astrophysics because I know nothing about it. Stephen Hawking can write a book on astrophysics. He’s completely qualified to do so but if you do not explain his qualifications in the Origins section, no one will know he’s qualified. If it is not written, it does not exist. Don’t assume your reader knows every author ever published.
  • Because of this, you will need to at least do a Google search of your authors used in C. Any information gleaned from this search and used in C must also be cited in the bibliography.
  • PURPOSES: The best authors will typically express purpose in the preface/introduction/first chapter. You may have to search for the purpose.
  • NOTE: even narratives have a purpose. If you cannot locate a clearly articulated purpose, you may use language such as: “It appears that the author’s purpose is…”
  • The author did not write this book/speech/article to help you write this essay. Most secondary sources have a pretty explicit statement of purpose somewhere in the introduction. Most primary sources have an implicit purpose. If you’re having trouble discerning the original intent of the author, bring me the source and we’ll talk.
  • VALUE AND LIMITATIONS: These sections may not be balanced. One side of the argument may be more substantive than the other.
  • VALUE: Explain why this source is valuable in general, and address why it is particularly important to your research. Make specific references to the text and its sources; use quotes. You may comment on footnotes of the book, what kinds of sources the author used, etc.
  • Value cannot be discerned without considering both origins and purpose. Who wrote this document? When? Why? How do the answers to these questions help you better understand how to use this source?
  • i.e. If Hitler wrote a short story about interaction between Germans and Jews you would evaluate the value of the source differently than if Joe the Plummer wrote a short story about the same topic. Think about time and place when you speak of value.
  • The following are unacceptable:
  • “This source is valuable because it is primary.”
  • “The source is valuable because it is secondary.”
  • “This source is valuable because it is about my topic.”
  • “This is my most valuable source.”
  • LIMITATIONS: Again, you must be specific, providing examples from the text, quotes, etc. Limitations could include a critique of sources; a critique of whether or not the coverage is too broad to meet the author’s objectives; if the author is using out of date scholarship, relying on only newspaper articles, etc. Why might a historian need to show some degree of caution using this source?
  • In addition, a source is not limited because it does not provide you enough information about your particular topic. You cannot fault an author for not writing the story you wish they had written. Deal with what is in front of you.
  • A few words on using BIAS to assess VALUES AND LIMITATIONS: Remember that all sources are biased, none are completely objective. You need to provide a nuanced interpretation of “bias”. Explain WHY the source is biased, and how this bias affects your research. If you assert a degree of objectivity, be specific: Does the author present a balanced perspective by providing multiple points of view? Does the author present statistical data that is difficult to manipulate? Keep in mind that NO SOURCES ARE COMPLETELY OBJECTIVE, even statistical data can be “massaged” to make a point.

Part D
Analysis
6 points / 0-There is no analysis or the section is simply a descriptive narrative.
1-2-There is some attempt at analyzing the evidence presented in section B.
3-4-There is analysis of the evidence presented in section B and references are included (MLA or Chicago only, DO NOT USE APA STYLE). There may be some awareness of the significance to the investigation of the sources evaluated in section C. Where appropriate, different interpretations are considered.
5-6-There is critical analysis of the evidence presented in section B, accurate referencing, and an awareness of the significance to the investigation of the sources evaluated in section C. Where appropriate, different interpretations are analyzed.
SECTION D: ANALYSIS
GUIDELINES AND REQUIREMENTS / ADVICE AND CONSIDERATIONS
  • Recommended word count: 500-650
  • Point value: 6/25 marks
  • Addresses the importance of the investigation in its historical context, this adds weight and perspective to the study
This section should include:
  • An analysis that breaks down complex issues in order to bring out the essential elements, any underlying assumptions and any interrelationships involved
  • An understanding of the issue in its historical context
  • A critical examination of the factual material presented in section B
  • An awareness of the significance of the sources used, especially those evaluated in section C
  • A consideration of different interpretations of evidence, where appropriate.
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  • This is where you examine different historical interpretations of your research topic in analyzing the historical event itself.
  • YOU MUST CONNECT THE ANAYLYSIS SECTION WITH THE ORIGINAL RESEARCH QUESTION OR TOPIC. This is true for the entire paper. There should be a thread running through the entire paper connecting all sections back to the research question.
  • That said, you must integrate an analysis of the author’s arguments into this section. Analyze the authors’ conclusions in reference to your research question.
  • The strength of your analysis is directly related to the strength of your evidence
  • You CANNOT introduce any new evidence in this section
  • Take each sentence from your evidence section (Section B) and write a corresponding sentence here that explains the significance of that piece of evidence. (You will find this is hard to do if you have provided broad generalizations in your evidence section.)
  • You MUST explain the significance of the sources evaluated in C to answering your research question.
  • i.e. “Hitler’s anti-semitic propaganda piece was significant to the understanding of German attitudes towards Jews because this was a document that was readily available to the German population and central to the formation of popular perception of the Jewish menace.”

Part E
Conclusion
2 points / 0-There is no conclusion, or the conclusion is not relevant.
1-The conclusion is stated but is not entirely consistent with the evidence presented.
2-The conclusion is clearly stated and consistent with the evidence presented.
SECTION E: CONCLUSION
GUIDELINES AND REQUIREMENTS / ADVICE AND CONSIDERATIONS
  • Recommended word count: 150-200
  • Point value: 2/25 marks
  • Must be clearly stated and consistent with the evidence presented
  • As a follow-up to section D, requires an answer or conclusion to the original research question
  • Provides conclusions in a narrow and focused manner
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  • Your conclusion should answer your research question in a clear and focused manner. This may be fairly brief – one paragraph will suffice if you addressed conclusions in the analysis section– or, as is often the case when examining historical interpretations, it may be a bit longer.
  • This is the first place you will state your THESIS (your one sentence answer to your research question).
  • Include your final judgment on the two books. Are the sources equally valuable for further research? Articulate the reasons for your final evaluation of the books.
  • This section is super easy if you have followed instructions on parts B and D. If you haven’t, your conclusion will be weak.

Part F
Sources and
Word Limit
3 points / 0-excedes word limit or a bibliography is not included
1-A list of sources (MLA or Chicago only, DO NOT USE APA STYLE) is included but these are limited or one standard method is not used consistently or the word count is not clearly and accurately stated on the title page.
2-A list of sources (MLA or Chicago only, DO NOT USE APA STYLE) using one standard method is included and the investigation is within the word limit.
3-An appropriate list of sources(MLA or Chicago only, DO NOT USE APA STYLE), using one standard method, is included. The investigation is within the word limit.
SECTION F: LIST OF SOURCES
GUIDELINES AND REQUIREMENTS / ADVICE AND CONSIDERATIONS
  • Not counted in word count
  • Point value: 3/25 marks
  • Includes a bibliography or list of sources
  • Must use a recognized citation system consistently
  • Written sources should be listed separately from non-written sources
  • If your historical investigation is not between 1500 and 2000 words, you will receive no credit in this section.
  • A list of sources (MLA or Chicago only, DO NOT USE APA STYLE) and all citations, using one standard method(MLA or Chicago only, DO NOT USE APA STYLE), must be included; any illustrations, documents, or other supporting evidence should be included in an appendix. None of these will form part of the word count. The word count for the investigation must be clearly and accurately stated on the title page.
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  • The source list, generic headings, (e.g., “Section A”), and references do not count toward the word count. Everything else does. Your IA must be between 1500-2000 worlds. If the essay is UNDER or OVER the word count parameter, you receive NO POINTS in this section.
  • You must list all sources consulted.
  • You must separate primary from secondary sources if appropriate, as well as electronic vs. print sources.
  • Your bibliography must follow a standard citation format, as should all footnotes in the body of the paper.
  • Footnotes are easiest to use throughout, and are easy to reference by the reader. Endnotes are acceptable. Don’t forget that explanatory footnotes are an excellent way for you to express ideas without being penalized in the word count.
  • Please, no references toWikipedia, Encarta, WorldBook, Groliers, Facts on File, or other non-scholarly encyclopedias.
  • Please include the word count at the bottom of the last section.
  • This should be an easy 3 points.
  • Common pitfalls:
  • No title page
  • No word count on your title page
  • No consistency in citations
  • Too few sources
  • No primary sources

Advice on your Historical Investigation Topic