14 replies to this topic

[Vanderlyle]

I think this would be a great reference for not only me, but other people thinking about a topic.

What are some topics or questions for the History IA that have simply been overdone? Ones that would make the person marking roll their eyes at?

[Gonzalo]

Cuban Missile Crisis, Dresden, Anything relating to Hitler, Kent State Shooting & its relation to Vietnam...

Basically, all the ones you can find online are the most overdone.

[jstavinoha]

The atomic bombing of Japan has been done a million times.

[bigbangfan]

Topics dealing with 20th century world history, such as WWI, WWII, Cold War, Totalitarian Regimes. etc. I advise that you go for local history topics that are really appreciated by the IB. You could write the IA in a 20th c. topic but it must have a witty turning point, or an original spark that is a consequence of deep interest and investigation. Good Luck!

[Stein]

anything remotely related to Hitler or Stalin or World War I & II. My IB coordinator/extended essay teacher stresses this TOO much

Edited by Mrs.Stein, Mar 01, 2012 - 00:22.

[Somerglesias]

The War of Northern Aggression has probably been overdone, No Hitler, No Stalin, No Mao, i think the Pacific War might have been overdone... pretty much any part of history that should be common knowledge has been overdone... but don't be too picky though...
however, i don't think that its the event that u choose that matters, its from which angle u choose to attack the event, how original u can be about the subject.

[hehe101]

Basically all the topics that you learn in class has been overdone. Choose a topic that you don't learn in class but still related to what you're learning. If you want to do something that's big (like WWI or Cold War), do it in the perspective of your country. Makes it more original

[Award Winning Boss]

Think of your first topic ... that's most likely been done 1.52 trillion times. Then think again

[aronnax]

Pearl Harbour is overdone.
Eastern Front of WWI/WWII not so much.

I did mine on the Russo-Japanese War.

[Procrastination]

Is it really that bad to select a topic that has been overdone? Because I was thinking of doing mine in Agricultural Development under Stalin's Five Year Plans. Begh. I mean, would it affect my grade?

Edited by Procrastination, Dec 27, 2011 - 19:22.

[Arrowhead]

Procrastination, on Dec 26, 2011 - 20:29, said:

Is it really that bad to select a topic that has been overdone? Because I was thinking of doing mine in Agricultural Development under Stalin's Five Year Plans. Begh. I mean, would it affect my grade?

At the end of the day, a well written IA will get a good grade. But you have to hedge your bets here and be smart when you pick a topic because you have to remember that everything does come down to the person who corrects your IA, or indeed, verifies your teacher's score for your IA.

If you write an IA about Stalin's agricultural development plans for Russia, I bet you the teacher is going to sigh in boredom because he's probably read something similar to that a million times already. Not to mention that up until 2009, Stalin was the favourite and most-picked option for Paper 1s in History. All three five-year plans are something that any IB examiner, or IB History teacher for 5+ years knows inside-out and is sick of.

Now of course, I do not want to underestimate you, you probably have a very unique take for an RQ and have some interesting sources up your sleeve. But the point still stands that if you had chosen to write your essay on something a little less common, even if the topic was mediocre, it would generate more interest for the simple fact that it's different. It also means that you delve into researching something outside of what you've studied in class, which immediately shows favourably upon you.

Originally, I wanted to do my IA on the sinking of the Lusitania and something along those lines. My History teacher told me to suck it up and not be lazy. I ended up writing an essay on Gandhi's movements of Civil Disobedience and Non Co-operation and investigating whether they truly followed his policy of ahimsa (non-violence) or not. Just by reading that RQ alone, my History teacher was excited because he hadn't had any other students point at Gandhi as having been violent.

That's what built up my IA tbh. It was an ordinary IA, personally I found there to be nothing spectacular about it, but it still got marked really high by my teacher and the IB. One of the reasons was originality and well, simple being different.

Now had I actually done it on the sinking of the Lusitania, I could've still gotten as high a score, but it would have required a lot more effort than what I put in, and it would have to have been original and a new take or spin on an old idea.

My honest suggestion is to pick something very specific from your own country's history, as localised as you can make it the better it will be. I'm sure your chances of getting higher scores will go up.

[El Che]

Do you guys think Nyerere is overdone? It's maybe the best option among the list of the authoritarian leaders if I'm to write on him. Also, what about Mobutu and his tyrannical regime? Thanks in advance.

[Eastcoast93]

Personally I don't agree with all that is being said here. I believe that as long as your approach is something new and creative the topic doesn't matter too much. For example, Hitler! Of course it has been done to death, but it is also a massively large topic. Take a new approach to it, something where the examiner will think: ahh interesting didn't think about that or i have always wondered... My IA is on Pope Pius XI and the Holocaust, yeah- it has to do with Hitler and the Nazis but the way I address it takes a new twist. I do agree on the point, however, that personal IAs are perfect! If theres something local or family related that you could write about (has to be somewhat significant obviously), do it!

[vira.may]

Try to go for local history topics - not only are they not overdone, but also since they're more "obscure," you should do better (since the examiners won't know as much about the topics, vs. something like WWI, WWII, Hitler, Stalin, etc.)

[Neko_K]

Eastcoast93, on Jan 27, 2012 - 20:16, said:

Personally I don't agree with all that is being said here. I believe that as long as your approach is something new and creative the topic doesn't matter too much. For example, Hitler! Of course it has been done to death, but it is also a massively large topic. Take a new approach to it, something where the examiner will think: ahh interesting didn't think about that or i have always wondered... My IA is on Pope Pius XI and the Holocaust, yeah- it has to do with Hitler and the Nazis but the way I address it takes a new twist. I do agree on the point, however, that personal IAs are perfect! If theres something local or family related that you could write about (has to be somewhat significant obviously), do it!

I agree with this. Even if a topic is ridiculously common, you should not be discouraged from doing it. The reason these common topics are so large and popular because there is so much to investigate, so much to learn.