good topic?

[IBdoingthistosurvive]

Hi!

I'm doing my EE in history since unfortunately our school doesn't offer ib psych courses, I tried to incorporate psych with history. As it stands, my topic is about common psychological factors that lead to the rise of a dictator vs another dictator (still undecided, probably Hitler and Mussolini). To further focus on history, the factors would be backed up by historical events as proof.

My mentor really isn't of much help because she's new to IB and I think this is her first time being a mentor, so it would be much appreciated if you guys could maybe give some feedback, what do you think?

Thanks!

[Captain Jeeves]

FYI, this is not going to be a happy post for you. Apologies in advance.

One of the big things about the EE is that it must fit into one category and one category only. You can lose major points by trying to combine two subjects. I know, it sucks, but you've got to rethink what you'd like to write about. It sounds like you're interested in history, so maybe look for another topic you like? However, it's generally advised to not write about much of what would be considered common knowledge of the 20th century [read: do not do WWI or II or anything like that]. Examiners have read probably hundreds of thousands of essays on those topics and it's not considered very original. If you can, try to go local. Maybe Canadian history?

It is actually possible to write an EE in a subject you're not taking, but I'd caution you that if you choose to write a psych EE you won't have much of the knowledge that students taking it would take for granted. If points don't really matter to you, then by all means you can do a psych EE, but still. Something to think about.

Of course, you still have 5 other subjects you could potentially write an EE in, so don't rule those out either.

Once you've come up with a new topic, feel free to return and tell us about it. We'll be happy to let you know what we think.

[Black Bird Lockheed]

Hey there is one good topic which is a combo of both history and physch. When Hitler used to invade Poland, his army used to kidnap kids from age 13 or below group. Then he used to conduct racially superiority test and the kids who pass these tests are transported to training centers wherein they are brainwashed into believing that they are Germans and not Polish. Once they truly forget their origin these kids are put for the adoption for the German families so that they completely become 'true'Germans. As a result many kids died believing that they were Germans .

This can be a good topic meeting your criteria.Wiki it you will get it.

[IBdoingthistosurvive]

FYI, this is not going to be a happy post for you. Apologies in advance.

One of the big things about the EE is that it must fit into one category and one category only. You can lose major points by trying to combine two subjects. I know, it sucks, but you've got to rethink what you'd like to write about. It sounds like you're interested in history, so maybe look for another topic you like? However, it's generally advised to not write about much of what would be considered common knowledge of the 20th century [read: do not do WWI or II or anything like that]. Examiners have read probably hundreds of thousands of essays on those topics and it's not considered very original. If you can, try to go local. Maybe Canadian history?

It is actually possible to write an EE in a subject you're not taking, but I'd caution you that if you choose to write a psych EE you won't have much of the knowledge that students taking it would take for granted. If points don't really matter to you, then by all means you can do a psych EE, but still. Something to think about.

Of course, you still have 5 other subjects you could potentially write an EE in, so don't rule those out either.

Once you've come up with a new topic, feel free to return and tell us about it. We'll be happy to let you know what we think.

Good thing I have a backup plan then! How does this sound: to what extent did the portugese, british and dutch colonies influence Sri Lanka's independance ? I really appreciated your feedback thanks!

[IBdoingthistosurvive]

Hey there is one good topic which is a combo of both history and physch. When Hitler used to invade Poland, his army used to kidnap kids from age 13 or below group. Then he used to conduct racially superiority test and the kids who pass these tests are transported to training centers wherein they are brainwashed into believing that they are Germans and not Polish. Once they truly forget their origin these kids are put for the adoption for the German families so that they completely become 'true'Germans. As a result many kids died believing that they were Germans .

This can be a good topic meeting your criteria.Wiki it you will get it.

This actually sounds quite interesting, I'll look into it! Thanks

[Captain Jeeves]

Hm, that sounds much better, but do you think you can fit all that into 4000 words? Maybe pick just one of the three? That actually sounds fascinating, so I can see why doing three would appeal, but remember, you've got a word limit and you'd naturally want to do the topic justice. Also, and this is just being nitpicky, Sri Lanka's independence from what, and when? [This is solely because my history teacher docks us loads of points if we're not incredibly precise with this kind of thing - in an essay about Louis the XVI's execution we had to put the exact date down to the minute and the exact place. Even though that really had nothing to do with the argument of the essay. Feel free to ignore this bit to some extent.]

Other than that, I'd say you're off to a great start! Have fun writing!

Lastly, I've edited your posts for you so the formatting is a bit clearer.

[IBdoingthistosurvive]

Hm, that sounds much better, but do you think you can fit all that into 4000 words? Maybe pick just one of the three? That actually sounds fascinating, so I can see why doing three would appeal, but remember, you've got a word limit and you'd naturally want to do the topic justice. Also, and this is just being nitpicky, Sri Lanka's independence from what, and when? [This is solely because my history teacher docks us loads of points if we're not incredibly precise with this kind of thing - in an essay about Louis the XVI's execution we had to put the exact date down to the minute and the exact place. Even though that really had nothing to do with the argument of the essay. Feel free to ignore this bit to some extent.]

Other than that, I'd say you're off to a great start! Have fun writing!

Lastly, I've edited your posts for you so the formatting is a bit clearer.

I'm in the process of researching all three - i'm thinking of just choosing one as well to better the focus of my paper.

Good point! I'm thinking of Sri Lanka's development to independence, as a country and how these 3 (or just one) colonies have influenced it - for better and for worse.

Thank you again for your constructive feedback! Much appreciated!