IB History

Students often ask for research question ideas on their EE (Extended Essay). Realistically, a good EE research question/ topic should be appropriately designed so that you would be able to 1) gather meaningful primary and/or secondary data if needed and 2) be able to scope things like the interpretation of the data, analysis and evaluation of the data / events within the 4,000-word limit.

Here are some sample History EE research questions:

• To what extent did Harding and Coolidge's economic policies during the Roaring Twenties lead to the increase of women's social freedom?
• To what extent did the Wall Street Crash contribute to Hitler’s rise in power up to January 1933?
• To what extent were key aspects of the Meiji Restoration influenced by China’s defeat in the First Opium War?
• How did the progression of the Vietnam War affect the relationship between the American government and its people in the period 1963-1973?
• To what extent did Egypt initiate the Camp David Accords in 1978 for national interest rather than Arab-Israeli peace?

Here are some sample IB History sample IA topics (Word limit is 2,200 words)

• To what extent did Nixon play a more significant role than Chinese leaders in the development of rapprochement between the US and China from 1969-1974?
• To what extent was Mao’s launching of the Cultural Revolution ideologically driven?
• To what extent did the Abyssinian Crisis impact? Hitler’s remilitarisation of Rhineland in 1936?
• In what ways did Pan-Germanism affect German women socially between 1933 and 1945?
• To what extent did the fall of the Fascist Regime in Italy (25 Luglio) in 1943 facilitate the expansion of the Sicilian Mafia?

3 Tips to do well in Paper 1

Tip 1 - Manage your time well

Time management for Paper 1 is crucial. You have one hour to answer four questions worth a total of 24 marks. If you break that down, that’s 2.5 minutes per mark. However, consider this, you only need to make use of one source for questions 1a), 1b) and question 2, while for question 3 you need to make use of two sources, and, in an ideal world, for question 4, you should make use of all four sources. Therefore, it makes sense to leave yourself with more than 2.5 minutes per mark for questions 3 and 4.

So, how should you break up your time effectively? My recommendation would be to spend no more than 10 minutes on question 1 (including part a and part b), and no more than 10 minutes on question 2. And when I say ‘no more than’, I really mean you should be completing questions 1 and 2 in under 20 minutes in total. That should leave you with around 40 minutes for questions 3 and 4. These questions are worth over 60% of your mark, so they are pretty important. Spend approximately 15 minutes on question 3 (worth 6 marks), and approximately 25 minutes on question 4 (worth 9 marks). If you spend slightly longer on question 3, it’s alright, but make sure that you leave a minimum of 20 minutes for question 4, otherwise you jeopardize your overall score since question 4 is worth 36% of your overall mark!

Tip 2 - Use quotations wisely

The only questions where you really need to use quotations from the sources are questions 3 and 4. Although you can make use of quotations in your answers to the other questions if you feel that it is relevant. Just don’t over do it, especially in question 1a). Question 1a) is all about comprehension, and are you honestly showing comprehension if you quote large chunks from the source?

Sometimes, it can be useful to quote from the source for question 2 if you are discussing how the content is valuable but, again, just ensure that the quotation is well chosen, and cut out anything that isn’t proving your point. Using ellipses is a great way to do that. Essentially, it allows you to remove the part of the quotation that isn’t relevant. But please ensure that your sentence, and the quotation still make sense!

When using quotations for question 3, it is not a rule that you must use quotations, however, it will really help the examiner to award you the marks if you do. For this question, you should first state your point (of comparison or contrast), and then back up your point with some evidence from both sources. Choose your quotations wisely, and use ellipses to cut out any irrelevant parts of the quotation. Never quote extensively. It is a waste of your precious time.

For question 4, you need to make direct reference to the sources. Therefore, some well chosen quotations, and referring specifically to which source they come from, is a must. One or two quotations to support the point you are making will be sufficient. For example, if you have 3 arguments, use one or two quotations per argument. Therefore, you will use somewhere between 3 and 6 quotations in your overall response. Again, there is no need to quote extensively, sometimes one word or a short phrase is enough to support your point. So put some serious consideration into picking your quotations, and editing them wisely.

Tip 3 - Practice, practice, practice

Paper 1 is essentially a skills-based paper, more than it is a knowledge-based paper and, therefore, the best way to maximize your chances of doing well, is to practice again, and again, and again.

Make use of past papers, textbooks, and practice papers created by tutors or teachers. Challenge yourself to complete the papers within the one hour time limit, and ask a professional for some feedback on your responses.

Pay particular attention to practising questions 3 and 4 as these questions are not only the most important in the exam, they are also the most tricky to master! The best way to structure your response for question 3 is to have one paragraph focusing on your points of comparison, and one paragraph focusing on your points of contrast. For question 4, I would recommend following an essay-like structure with a short introduction and conclusion (one to two sentences), and 2 or 3 body paragraphs that have a clear topic sentence stating your argument, clearly referenced evidence from the sources, and own knowledge which supports your argument.

There you have it, 3 tips to do well in the Paper 1 IB History exam. Remember, you can really do well in this paper if you follow these tips: manage your time well, use quotations wisely, and practice, practice, practice. Best of luck!

5 Tips to do well in Paper 2 and 3

Tip 1 - Ensure you answer the question fully

It seems like an obvious thing to say, but you may be surprised at how many students fail to fully answer the question, especially under stressful exam conditions.

Answering the question fully means addressing every single aspect of the question. If, for example, the question is ‘To what extent was the arms race the main reason for the end of the Cold War (1980-1991)?’, to fully answer this question you need to address the ‘to what extent’ part of the question by addressing factors other than the arms race, as well as ‘the main reason’ part of the question. If your essay argues that the arms race was important, but so too were Gorbachev’s policies and the growth of nationalism in the satellite states, then you are not fully addressing the question which requires you to assess whether the arms race was the ‘main reason’ for the end of the Cold War.

To give one more example, if the question is ‘Compare and contrast the conditions that led to the rise to power of two authoritarian leaders.’, you need to ensure that you compare conditions as well as contrast them. So, let’s say you want to discuss Hitler and Mao; you could argue that the poor economic situation in both Germany and China contributed to both leaders' rise to power, while the poor economic conditions were caused by different things—the Great Depression in Germany, and war after war in China. Additionally, you could put forward the argument that the weak republics established in both Germany and China also aided Hitler and Mao to rise to power, however, the government of Germany was weak for very different reasons compared to the government of China.

Tip 2 - Manage your time well

Time management is important no matter which paper you are sitting for history and it is important to think about it and practise it before the day of the exam. You need to go into your exam with a clear game plan.

So, what should that game plan be? Since you have 45 minutes for an essay for Paper 2, you should try to divide up this time so that you end up with a balanced essay. A lot of students get carried away with their first argument and their later arguments suffer as a result. To ensure this doesn't happen to you, spend roughly the same amount of time on each body paragraph. Ten minutes is enough time to address one argument, back it up with evidence and analyse that evidence in relation to your argument. Therefore, aim to spend 10 minutes on each body paragraph. That leaves you with 15 minutes. Of course, your essay needs an introduction and a conclusion. Both of these things are important, so ensure that you leave time for your conclusion. Therefore, aim to spend approximately 5 minutes on your introduction and 5 minutes on your conclusion. That leaves you with 5 minutes. You should spend a couple of minutes choosing your question wisely and planning the structure of your response before you jump into writing, and the other couple of minutes can be used to skim through your essay to catch any major errors you may have made before time is up.

If you are an HL student, you can follow a similar approach. You only have an extra 5 minutes for your Paper 3 essays. Therefore, it makes logical sense to allow yourself an extra minute for each body paragraph so you can go into slightly more depth, and an extra minute for your introduction and conclusion so you can expand on them fully.

Remember, the more you practice timed essays before the exam, the more comfortable you will feel during the exam, and the more likely you will be to write a balanced essay in the exam.

Tip 3 - Convince your reader of your argument

This tip is not about using emotive language to convince your reader as you may do in a persuasive essay, it is about convincing your reader of your argument through your well selected evidence.

History essays are not about writing down everything under the sun that you know about the topic raised by the question, they are about selecting the most relevant evidence that will support your argument. Choose your evidence carefully and choose the strongest evidence to support your point.

For example, if you are writing about the economic conditions that contributed to Hitler’s rise to power, it would be a flaw not to mention the Great Depression, but how can you use your knowledge to prove the argument that economic conditions were significant in contributing to Hilter’s rise to power? You could link the evidence that 6 million people were unemployed in Germany by 1932 and the fact that Hitler promised to reduce unemployement to the increased popularity of the Nazi Party in the 1932 elections. This evidence is relevant and supports the argument that economic conditions played a significant role in Hitler’s rise to power.

Remember, well selected evidence will impress an examiner much more than just dumping everything you know about the topic onto the page, so put some serious thought into which evidence will best support the argument you want to make.

Tip 4 - Evaluate different perspectives

Through studying IB History it should have become apparent to you that there is no such thing as a single absolute historical truth. We often come to understand what happened in the past by considering different perspectives.

Let’s take the example of Mao and the Hundred Flowers Campaign. Different perspectives exist as to Mao’s motivations for launching the campaign. On the one hand, historian Jung Chang argues that Mao set ‘a trap’ and launched the Hundred Flowers Campaign with the intention of drawing opposition out into the open. On the other hand, historian Jonathan Spence contends that Mao’s motivations for launching the campaign were not so clear cut, and it was ‘not a simple plot by Mao to reveal hidden rightists’.

This is an example of different perspectives. However, there isn’t much point in demonstrating to the examiner that you are aware of different perspectives if you don’t evaluate these perspectives. Are you more inclined to agree with Jung Chang’s perspective or Jonathan Spence’s perspective and, crucially, why do you agree with one over the other? Do you have specific historical evidence to support your perspective?

Spend time prior to the exam understanding the different historical debates that exist for the different topics you have studied. To use these perspectives effectively in the exam, you should use them like you use evidence and evaluate them.

Tip 5 - Ensure that your conclusion is consistent with your argument

Again, it may seem obvious, but often candidates come up with a completely new argument in their conclusion that has appeared nowhere else in the essay. Don’t do this.

Instead, ensure that you know exactly what your overall argument is before you start writing your essay. That argument needs to be clear in your introduction, every single body paragraph, and in your conclusion. Yes, your body paragraphs will have sub-arguments that are somewhat different from your main argument but, if you have planned your essay well, your sub-arguments should still support, and certainly not contradict, your main argument.

Therefore, when you come to your conclusion, your task is simple. You only need to restate what you have already said in the main body of your essay. Don’t introduce anything new which may lead to your overall argument appearing inconsistent.

There you have it, 5 tips to do well in the Paper 2 and 3 IB History exam. Remember, you can really do well in this paper if you follow these tips: ensure you answer the question fully, manage your time well, convince your reader of your argument, evaluate different perspectives, and ensure that your conclusion is consistent with your argument. Best of luck!

4 Tips to do well in the IA (Section 1)

Whether you are doing HL or SL History you will have to do the IA or Historical investigation. For SL students the IA is worth 25% of your overall mark, while for HL students it’s worth 20%. The IB recommends that you spend approximately 20 hours of work on the IA in total.

The following are some tips on how to do well in the IA (Section 1).

Tip 1 - Refine your research question

Coming up with a research question can be tough, but getting this right is an important first step to completing a good IA. First, you will need to decide on a general topic. A good place to start is to think geographically. Which continent interests you the most? Do you want to research Asian history, European history, American history, African history, or Middle Eastern history? From there you can narrow the topic down. For example, if you decide you want to focus on Asian history, which century do you want to focus on and which particular country? Perhaps you are interested in 20th century Chinese history. From there you can further narrow your topic down. Let’s say you are interested in researching the Great Leap Forward (1958-1962). Which aspect of the Great Leap Forward do you want to focus on? Do you want to focus on Mao’s reasons for launching the Great Leap Forward or are you more interested in its impact upon society in general or perhaps women in particular? The more you narrow your focus, the closer you will get to being ready to formulate your research question.

When it comes to formulating your question, start by considering which command term you’d like to use. The most common command terms are: ‘To what extent’, ‘Analyse’, ‘Examine’, ‘Evaluate’, ‘Discuss’, and ‘Compare and contrast’.

So your research question may start out as ‘Examine the impact of the Great Leap Forward (1958-1962) on women in China.’ This is a good start, but it could be further refined. Firstly, the time period you are focusing on could be made clearer, for example, ‘Examine the impact of the Great Leap Forward (1958-1962) on women in China up to 1965.’ By specifying that you will only examine the impact up to 1965, you make your life easier, as you narrow the scope of your research. Secondly, ‘impact’ could be defined more specifically. For example, ‘Examine the socio-economic impact of the Great Leap Forward (1958-1962) on women in China up to 1965.’ Now it’s been made explicitly clear that the focus of this investigation will be on the social and economic impacts only. Again, this makes your life easier when it comes to research as it narrows the scope of your investigation.

Tip 2 - Choose your sources for Section 1 wisely

You need to identify two appropriate and relevant sources in Section 1 which you will then evaluate in depth. Identifying two sources may seem like an easy thing to do, but it’s still worth putting some serious consideration into your choices.

More credible sources will include things like books or journal articles written by historians who have made a reputation for themselves in their field. However, if it is impossible for you to access these kinds of sources then it can be acceptable to use online resources, but ensure that these websites are credible and reliable. Websites that end with dot edu or dot ac will be more credible than a dot com website which anyone may have set up. The Avalon Project, set up by Yale Law School is accessible online and is a great place to start searching for some primary sources.

On that note, although there is no reason why you cannot choose two primary or two secondary sources to evaluate in Section 1, it is advisable that you choose one primary source and one secondary source. The reason for this is that it’s more interesting for both you and whoever reads your investigation, as if you pick two secondary sources by renowned historians then some of the points of value and limitation may be very similar.

Tip 3 - Explain why your sources are relevant to your investigation

Many students forget to do this in Section 1 or make vague statements concerning the relevance of the sources to their investigations. For example, if you say that your sources are relevant because they focus on the topic you are researching, that’s not exactly a good point to make. Surely it goes without saying that the sources you have chosen cover the topic you are investigating as otherwise you wouldn’t have chosen them!

In your explanation of the relevance of your sources, try to be as specific as possible. If, for example, your investigation is about Mao’s reasons for launching the Cultural Revolution and you have identified the source ‘The Private Life of Chairman Mao’, a memoir written by Mao’s personal physician, then this source is relevant to your investigation not only because Mao’s personal physician worked closely alongside Mao at the onset of the Cultural Revolution, but because he would have access to a private side of Mao never revealed to the public.

Tip 4 - Evaluate the values and limitations of your chosen sources in depth

Similar to the point made in Tip 3 about explaining the relevance of your sources, you need to evaluate your sources in specific rather than general terms. For example, stating that your source is valuable because it is a primary source that was written at the time of the event is too general a statement. This would be true of any primary source written at the time of the event so it is not specific to the source you have chosen.

Let’s return to the source ‘The Private Life of Chairman Mao’ which was published in 2011 by Li Zhisui. The origin of this source is valuable because Li Zhisui served as Mao’s personal physician from 1954 for 22 years meaning that he knew Mao very well and, more importantly, he likely had private insights into why Mao decided to launch the Cultural Revolution in 1966. This value is specific to the source chosen.

Another thing to remember is that you must make reference to the origins, purpose, and content of your two sources while evaluating their values and limitations.

There you have it, 4 tips to do well in the IA (Section 1): Refine your research question, choose your sources wisely, explain why your sources are relevant to your investigation, and evaluate the values and limitations of your sources in depth. Best of luck!

5 Tips to do well in the IA (Section 2)

Whether you are doing HL or SL History you will have to do the IA or Historical investigation. For SL students the IA is worth 25% of your overall mark, while for HL students it’s worth 20%. The IB recommends that you spend approximately 20 hours of work on the IA in total.

The following are some tips on how to do well in the IA (Section 2).

Tip 1 - Structure your investigation clearly

As with any essay, you need an introduction, body paragraphs and a conclusion. Do not forget the conclusion, as the criteria for making it into the 13-15 markband is ‘The investigation argues to a reasoned conclusion that is consistent with the evidence and arguments provided.’ Also, put serious consideration into the order of your body paragraphs. Is it logical? Are you beginning with your strongest argument?

While the order of your body paragraphs matters, so too does the structure of your individual paragraphs. Remember that every paragraph should have one clear argument, evidence supporting the argument, critical analysis of the evidence and, finally, a linking sentence at the end to link back to your overall question and/or thesis.

Tip 2 - Use evidence from a range of sources to support your argument

Every single argument you put forward must be supported by evidence. The more specific your evidence the better. If all of your evidence comes from one or two sources, you will not score highly. You need to demonstrate that you have collected evidence from a range of sources, and while the IB does not define exactly what they mean by a range, you should be aiming at using somewhere between 6 to 12 sources. Of course the quality of your sources matters too. Pulling evidence from Wikipedia, for example, will not reflect well on you.

Tip 3 - Remember to develop your critical analysis while remaining focused on your question

This is often an area where students struggle. So let’s take a look at an example, so that you can get a sense of how to critically analyse your evidence.

Let’s say that you are addressing the question: ‘Analyse the role and status of women in Nazi Germany.’ You have found a piece of evidence: ‘Women in Nazi Germany were encouraged to focus on the three Ks—Kinder, Kuche, Kirche (Children, Cooking, Church)’. How do you analyse this evidence in relation to the question?

You could start by saying: ‘Women in Nazi Germany were encouraged to focus on the three Ks—Kinder, Kuche, Kirche (Children, Cooking, Church). This evidence demonstrates that womens’ roles in Nazi Germany were extremely restricted and based on traditional notions of gender where the woman was expected to take care of the household tasks, look after the children, and be virtuous.’

This is analysis, but it’s not very critical.

To develop this analysis further you could say: ‘Women in Nazi Germany were encouraged to focus on the three Ks—Kinder, Kuche, Kirche (Children, Cooking, Church). This evidence demonstrates that womens’ roles in Nazi Germany were extremely restricted and based on traditional notions of gender where the woman was expected to take care of the household tasks, look after the children, and be virtuous. Nevertheless, although these roles were promoted in Nazi Germany, not all women adhered strictly to them especially after war broke out in 1939 and women were actually encouraged to work in the factories to help the war effort.’

Can you see how one small piece of evidence has now been analysed critically? Building your analytical skills takes time and practice so start practising these skills as soon as possible so that you can demonstrate them not only in your IA, but also in the final exams.

Tip 4 - Evaluate different perspectives

Your thesis will adopt a particular perspective in relation to your research question. While you need to ensure that you support your thesis to the best of your ability, you should also demonstrate that you have an awareness of different perspectives. You can do this in a number of ways.

For example, you may be arguing that economic conditions were the most significant factor in enabling Hitler to rise to power in Germany. To introduce different perspectives you could raise awareness of the other factors that may have contributed to Hitler’s rise to power such as the unstable political conditions. A lot of students worry that this will contradict their overall argument that economic conditions were the most significant, however this is not the case. Ideally, you can raise the perspective and then evaluate the perspective to demonstrate your understanding of why, although important, the political conditions were of relatively less significance than the economic conditions in enabling Hitlers rise to power.

Another way to introduce perspectives is to gain an understanding of a particular historian’s perspective and introduce what they think before evaluating whether their argument stands up under scrutiny. You can do this for a number of different historians as the likelihood is that they will all offer us slightly different perspectives.

Tip 5 - Ensure that your conclusion is reasoned and consistent with your arguments

A reasoned conclusion is one that is justified or backed by evidence. You cannot assert that economic conditions were the most significant factor enabling Hitler to come to power in Germany if you have not demonstrated that with relevant and reliable evidence.

You also need to ensure that your conclusion is consistent with your arguments. Don’t get lost in offering up so many different perspectives that you forget your main argument. Your reader should easily be able to relate what your main argument is after reading your investigation as you should have reiterated it again, and again, and again, throughout your investigation, and reinforced it in the conclusion.

There you have it, 5 tips to do well in the IA (Section 2): Structure your investigation clearly, use evidence from a range of sources to support your argument, remember to develop your critical analysis while remaining focused on your question, evaluate different perspectives, and ensure that your conclusion is reasoned and consistent with your arguments. Best of luck!

3 Tips to do well in the IA (Section 3)

Whether you are doing HL or SL History you will have to do the IA or Historical investigation. For SL students the IA is worth 25% of your overall mark, while for HL students it’s worth 20%. The IB recommends that you spend approximately 20 hours of work on the IA in total.

The following are some tips on how to do well in the IA (Section 3).

Tip 1 - Focus on what the investigation highlighted to you about the methods used by historians

Consider the methods that you used to conduct the investigation. The best way to do this is to construct a point-by-point list of everything you did from start to finish. Most likely you began by deciding on a research topic generally. Is this something that historians do? Are there any drawbacks to this method? Other methods you could consider include, locating sources, both primary and secondary, as well as reading and extracting key evidence from these sources. Again, are there any drawbacks to these methods? Always think critically.

Tip 2 - Discuss the challenges historians face

In conducting your investigation you probably came up against a number of challenges. Would historians come up against similar challenges themselves? For example, perhaps you had limited access to certain sources because of their location or because they cost money to access. Would this challenge also affect historians? Was it a challenge to find relevant sources in the first place? If so, why was that and would historians also face a similar challenge? Again, criticality is key.

Tip 3 - Provide a clear and explicit connection with the rest of your investigation

This is tricky to do as you want to avoid this section becoming a personal reflection. Also, you don’t want to just insert a random link between the reflection and your investigation for the sake of it. Ideally, there will be numerous links between your reflection and your investigation throughout this section.

So how should you do this? Let’s say your investigation was on opposition to the Nazi regime. One of the challenges you have identified is the accessibility of sources. You have discussed how and why this is a challenge for historians in general, and now you can provide a clear and explicit link to your investigation. You located a source which would have been great to access—’Germans Against Nazism: Nonconformity, Opposition and Resistance in the Third Reich: Essays in Honour of Peter Hoffman’ edited by Francis R. Nicosia and Lawrence D. Stokes. However, to gain access to this source, would have meant paying for a JSTOR subscription and therefore it was not possible to access this source. Not accessing this source may have altered your investigation and its findings in various ways beyond your control.

There you have it, 3 tips to do well in the IA (Section 3): focus on what the investigation highlighted to you about the methods used by historians, discuss the challenges historians face, and provide a clear and explicit connection with the rest of your investigation. Best of luck!

IB History requires SL and HL students to complete an internally assessed Historical Investigation. This is a 2200 word essay that is composed of three sections, going over source evaluation, investigation, and finally the student’s reflections. Here are some tips to write a successful Historical Investigation.

State why your chosen sources are particularly valuable

Though your essay will (hopefully) feature a wide range of sources, you must pick two of your most major sources to evaluate in Section 1: Sources. Here, you will identify the nature and origin of the two sources and state their values and limitations.

It’s a good idea to say what makes your source uniquely or particularly valuable. How does your source differ from other sources? Perhaps it reveals certain points that have been overlooked by other historians, or provides an important counterpoint to the popular interpretation of history, or maybe it offers rare insight into the informal, private lives of historical figures.

For limitations, primary sources often contain personal bias or limited viewpoints. For example, primary sources may be the letters, diaries, memoirs, written or audio records of people present at the historical event. However, these writers may have exaggerated events for dramatization, or self censored important details. Many primary sources were not intended to be accurate records or may not even be focused on the event itself.

Limitations for secondary sources are often due to longer elapsed time and distance from the original events. For example, historians and critics may let hindsight bias colour their perceptions. In some cases, they may even feel a sociopolitical or patriotic pressure to record the past in a biased way. Moreover, the credibility of secondary sources may depend on the primary sources available to their writers.

Translated sources also have a limitation of bias, unless you can read the source in its original language and provide further insight. Translation often confines the original source into a single interpretation, depending on the translator’s own motives and understanding.

Acknowledge existing viewpoints, but firmly state your argument

The thesis statement should go in the introduction of Section 2: Investigation, and respond to your chosen research question, which is probably a “How” or “To what extent” question. It particularly shows the strength of your argument if you point out the various interpretations or existing discourse surrounding your topic. This shows that you conducted ample research and will consider all sides of the argument. Then, lay out your own stance in the thesis statement.

Avoid dated secondary sources

If you are studying Elizabethan England, a secondary source written in the early 1900s is probably less reliable than a more modern source written in the 2000s. The modern historian likely had access to a wider range of primary sources and updated research materials. They have also likely taken into account any new discoveries.

This advice doesn’t apply if you are examining dated secondary sources as a feature of your investigation, e.g. the differing interpretations of English vs. Irish historians in documenting The Troubles (1966 to 1988).

Argument - counterargument - counter-counterargument

In other words, say a point in support of your thesis. Then, mention a point that could oppose it - you can bring in other historians’ or critical viewpoints. Finally, refute the counterargument, pointing out why it is dubious and why your perspective is ultimately more convincing.

This structure helps you to build a stronger argument, because you have addressed alternative interpretations.

Use effective evidence

Use details of actual events as your primary evidence, rather than the opinions of historians. This especially applies when discussing the causes, effects, and significance of events. First focus on the things that happened, then discuss how these things could be interpreted. For this reason, it is recommended that at least one of your investigation’s two main sources is a primary source.

Show what you learned

In Section 3: Reflections, show your reader what insights you’ve gained from conducting a historical investigation. What have you learned about a historian’s struggles, and the difficulty of handling and interpreting sources with integrity? What are the challenges of trying to be as objective as possible when recounting the past? Have you personally run into struggles of hindsight bias or selection bias? These are just a few examples of issues you can explore.

For more guiding questions on Section 3 and a general overview of the Historical Investigation, click here.

If you are an IB History student, you are probably used to information being delivered in class in straightforward, factual ways by your teacher. Differing historical or critical opinions are presented in bitesize quotes or neat summaries for you to discuss with your peers. But history is rarely so neat in real life. The Historical Investigation gives students a chance to take on the roles of real historians, who often parse through biased, lengthy, and difficult primary and secondary sources.

The Historical Investigation is an internal assessment taken by all IB History students. It contributes up to 25% of the final assessment at Standard Level and up to 20% at Higher Level. It has a word limit of 2200 words and is externally moderated. Students must come up with their own topic and research question to pursue.

The topic should define the time scope, historical event, and people or location involved (if relevant).
E.g. Causes of the Bamberg Witch Trials (1623-1633)
E.g. Impact of Russia’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1861
E.g. Causes of Mao’s Hundred Flowers Campaign

A bad example of a topic might be “Effects of the Vietnam War” - this is too broad.

The research question is usually a how or to what extent question that goes into further details.

The question should not have an immediately obvious or factual answer, but should point towards potential arguments in favour and arguments against.
E.g. How significant were economic problems as a cause of the Bamberg Witch Trials (1623–1633)?
E.g. To what extent did Tsar Nicholas II’s Emancipation Proclamation (1861) lead to self-determination of the serfs?
E.g. To what extent was Mao’s Hundred Flowers campaign motivated by political gain?

A bad example of a research question might be “Did the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand lead to the start of WWI?” - this is too obvious, and yes.

If you’re having trouble thinking of a research question, pick a historical event that interests you and use the six key concepts of history to develop your ideas:

• Causation
• Consequence
• Continuity
• Change
• Significance
• Perspectives

The Historical Investigation can be split into three sections.

Section 1: Identification and evaluation of sources

In this section, you must analyse in detail two of the main sources you will use in the investigation. They can either be primary or secondary sources. State the question that they have been chosen to investigate, and briefly explain the nature of the two sources, why they have been selected for detailed analysis, and their relevance to the investigation.

Analyse the two sources in further detail, referring to its origins, purpose and content to assess your sources’ values and limitations in relation to the investigation. However, since these two sources are key to your essay, we recommend that you find strong, relatively reliable sources that don’t have too many limitations (especially for secondary sources).

Section 2: Investigation

This is the biggest portion of your essay, where you will write critical analysis focused on answering the question. Aim to use a wide range of evidence to support your argument, but also acknowledge counterarguments and contrasting critical views. Planning in advance will help you maintain clear organisation and stay on topic throughout. After you have planned the main points in your argument, try shuffling them around to see which order has the best flow.

Don’t forget your conclusion! This is where you round up your points and reiterate your answer to the research question. It’s also good to close your essay with a thoughtful remark on insights you have discovered through your analysis.

Section 3: Reflection

In this section, history students reflect on how their investigation revealed methods and challenges facing the historian. You have just experienced a fraction of what a historian does to understand the past. What did you think of the experience?

Here are some prompts you can consider:

• What methods used by historians did you use in your investigation?
• What did your investigation highlight to you about the limitations of those methods?
• What are the challenges facing the historian? How do they differ from the challenges facing a scientist or a mathematician?
• What challenges in particular does archive-based history present?
• How can the reliability of sources be evaluated?
• What is the difference between bias and selection?
• What constitutes a historical event?
• Who decides which events are historically significant?
• Is it possible to describe historical events in an unbiased way?
• What is the role of the historian?
• Should terms such as “atrocity” be used when writing about history, or should value judgments be avoided?
• If it is difficult to establish proof in history, does that mean that all versions are equally acceptable?

Bibliography

Preferred citation styles may differ from school to school, so ask your teacher if you are unsure. The most important thing is to reference all your sources correctly and make sure you give credit for any ideas that aren’t yours.

For further help, you can discuss your work with your teacher and get limited guidance and information. Teachers are allowed to read and give advice to students on one draft of the work only. This can be oral or written advice, but they can’t edit your draft. The next version you hand to the teacher must be the final version for submission.

For more tips on writing a good History IA, click here.