Extended Essay Topic Help!

[sarsaparilla]

I'm still brainstorming ideas for my extended essay, but I have a rough idea of what I'm interested in. Are these two possible topics too broad? Are they any good?

1) How did the soviet invasion afffect the culture of nomadic tribes in Kazakhstan?

2) To what extent did the "Great Game" affect Afghanistan's nomadic tribes?

They are pretty similar haha

[alefal]

Hey there!

1) First off, this RQ needs to specify what Soviet invasion you're talking about. Although you think it's obvious which invasion you're talking about, another person might not think so. I am quite unfamiliar with this topic, though, so I wouldn't know how much there is to say about it. Do you think you could fit everything that can be said in 4000 words, and still have a thorough and deep analysis of the topic? Or do you think that you'll only be able to mention something in a more general manner? If the last one sounds right, I would think you need to narrow down your question a bit. Do you have enough sources, both first- and second-hand sources (note that although first-hand sources are not required, they will look very good and they will give your EE additional strength as an academic piece of work)? Maybe someone with more experience with this very topic could comment as well?

2) Yet again, I'm not very familiar with the topic, but didn't the Great Game span for a huge amount of years (100 or so)? If that is the case, I would say you need to narrow down to a specific time frame or a specific aspect of the Great Game. I'm afraid that you could write a book on this topic, which is not the intent of the extended essay. You could easily write a book about how the effects of the First World War had on the shipping industry in Norway, even though that the WW1 only lasted for approximately four years. You don't want to have a general and sweeping analysis, as that won't award you many points. You want a very deep and thorough analysis about a specific topic. I, for instance, wrote my EE about four telegrams between Stalin and Mao, and I still had quite a lot I could say. That does not mean you will have to focus on a few telegrams or anything, but keep the scale in mind, and narrow down the topics as much as possible.

I think you have some work to do before your RQs are good, but I also think that your RQs as of now can work as guiding questions, and that you can base your EE on these topics, as long as you narrow them down as much as possible.

Good luck!

Edited January 30, 2013 by alefal

[Nabz]

Pretty much what the above thread says. Just a pointer that you may be able to change the RQ as you progress through your first draft and realize that you can't cover much or you've covered enough on certain topic. So make sure you have in mind what you're doing and start doing it imo. You can change the RQ accordingly after :/