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[pingpong]

I'm not in the IB years yet, but our school has a sort of practice EE to prep us for the actual one, called the IRE (Independent Research Essay), which is basically an EE, with just a 2000 words limit and 6 months for completion. Every other aspect of it is the same. We have been given a list of topics to choose form under the different groups, and we have to pick 3 of these topics, and are thus given the topic based on the quality of the rough RQ we provide for them as reference to what we want to do. So I've decided to pick up Literature: Gothic Literature as one of my choices (other one will be Film: Film Studies*)

Under the topic of "Gothic Literature", I was hoping to look at the prominent Gothic themes and/or the characteristics of the writing of Gothic stories in The Hound of Baskerville, and compare them to ACD's other Sherlock Holmes stories, and in the esssay:
- Identify what aspects of Gothic lit are present and compare and contrast between actual gothic works
- analyse how they affect/have an impact on the reader in comparison to the other stories
- maybe possibly how these gothic aspects found solely in this Sherlock Holmes stories affect the adaptations of this story compared to the others
Any suggestions as to how I can properly frame this question and improve on it?

EDIT: Finally submitted my question. (bugger suddenly forgot it need to double check)

Edited by pingpong, Apr 03, 2012 - 15:02.

[Trololol Marf]

If the IRE is based on the EE, then it must have a Research Question (RQ). Your RQ must be very specific, and you must be very careful in choosing one. However, I've heard that people remodel or reword their RQ after the essay has been completed. Often, you the format for an RQ is:

"How/To what extent does factor X affect factor Y" (while factor X and factor Y are real ideas)
or perhaps in your case
"How does book 1 compare to book 2 in regards to factor z?" (this could even be more focused)

It's better to do this than

"What caused factor Y" (This question is much less focused)

Those are just some bland examples. They're only for guidance!

I'd also like to bring to your attention that you should avoid a "double-barrelled question" and I believe this is true for all RQs in general. You want to be investigating one specific aspect, not look at a whole bunch, which will take away from the focus of your RQ. A broad RQ or a double-barrelled question will not be answered well within the word limit.

I don't know much about a film EE, but you should definitely Google the EE guide and download the pdf. There will be information regarding the crucial aspects of which you need to be aware when constructing your essay. If there are any more questions, don't hesistate to shoot me a PM. Good luck!