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History Research Topic..Bad Teacher
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04-03-2009 11:02pm#1
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There was a sample research study issued by the department a few years back if you can find it knocking about somewhere. Perhaps one of the other History teachers in your school might have one?
I did my Research Study, on the unconventional life of a certain famous Dublin Born figurative painter and his contribution to 20th century art, at the beginning of the year. I got an A1 grade on it so maybe I can help you guys out.
One piece of advice I could give is remember importance of the pronoun ''I''. Think CSPE Action Project in third year - it's all about what you hope to achieve and how you intend to research your topic (Eg. I picked such and such a topic because I always had an interest in it. I hope to cross reference my sources with reputable internet websites etc), what you did to research the topic (I went to the library, took notes on books... wrote a draft etc.), what you learnt (I discovered a huge volume of information about x's life, I improved my editing skills etc), what you thought etc. (What were the advantages/disadvantages of the sources used, if given the chance would you do any part of your research different etc.)
The structure of the extended essay is fairly simplistic.
Make sure it has a beginning, middle and end and keep your facts straight. If you use any quotes/figures/statistics make sure they're referenced in some form to a reputable source. What you actually write in the essay isn't all that important as long as it's factual, relevant to your topic and within your said parameters given in your title (i.e if you have a particular 'spin' on a topic make sure you refer back to it in your essay) Unsurprisingly the more interesting and original a topic is the more it will impress an examiner. Every year too many people rely on the so called ''old favourites''
On the topic of reputable sources make sure you don't cite ''the internet'' as one of your sources. Books usually look better as sources but if it's a reputable website, like the BBC History one, usually there's no problem with putting it down (just make sure you give the URL). Also documentaries, audio recordings etc can look really good in a research study and are worth mentioning.
To be honest once you get into it, the Research Study isn't actually too bad.
You'll find your biggest problem is going to be cutting the Extended Essay down to the 1500 word limit (if you're doing Higher that is). My first Extended Essay draft was in the region of 4000 words :eek: Also don't forget your Review of Process at the end of the Extended Essay. It's worth 10 marks and has to be included in the 1500 words!
If you're completely clueless as to where to start the best place is your local library's History Section (trust me, the library is your FRIEND in this project :cool:). Also keep an eye out on any interesting documentaries on the History Channel and the like, you might see something you like. One you have your topic picked, get some good books and start reading! Once done you can do a rough draft and have a History Teacher have it a look at it. They can give you some valuable guidance if you're a bit lost in terms of direction. I hope that helps.
Remember the deadline for the RSR is early April, best of luck!0 -
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If you think it's useful enough to cite as one of your three main sources then do. Just be careful that if the documentary is biased somehow (think Hitler and the Triumph of the Will
) be sure to mention in the Evaluation of Sources that you noticed an element of bias in the source. 0 -
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DaaaaaaaaaaN wrote: »Ahh bolox and me sitting here for months thinking I'm finished! I'm gonna have to cut loads out to fit that in.
:( Cheers anyways.
I know how you feel! I'm 200 words over without the review, and there's nothing I can really cut out without the essay sounding stupid0 -
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