History IA and EE?

[sofii96]

I'm doing my History IA (HL) about the 1989 Tiananmen massacre; I'm going to interview some people (since I live in China) and then write the IA based on that and some history books I've read about Tiananmen. I just wanted to know if this was a good idea? I'm doing an outline, and I've talked to my teacher and he approved.

For my history EE, I'm thinking of writing about the May Fourth Movement in 1919. I still don't know what to focus on right now but I was thinking that maybe I write my EE about how the May Fourth Movement was a revolution and it was considered the first time in China's history that a public demonstration took place; and I wanted to focus on the causes of it and how it affected China's history with communism over the years and stuff like that, but I don't know how to formulate a question and I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and stuff~~~

[iamyourmum]

The May Fourth Movement is in the HL history syllabus. Below are some past paper questions about the May 4th Movement. Hopefully, they'll help you narrow down/formulate a research question. For me, I only had a vague research question in mind when I started my EE, it was only after I've done my research and decided on a thesis that I formed my research questions. I should also add that your research question will probably change as you do your research and you find more information.

BTW, if you're planning to do your History IA and EE on China-related topics, I highly recommend the Rise of Modern China book by Immanuel Hsü

PS: are you sure you should be interviewing people about the Tianamen Massacre in China

• “The May 4th Movement was of greater importance for China than the Revolution of 1911.” To what extent do you agree with this assessment? (Nov 2005)

• “May 4th 1919 is a more significant date in Chinese history than October10th 1911.” How far do you agree with this statement? (Nov 2007)

• “The student demonstration of May 4th1919 in Beijing(Peking)marked the beginning of political awareness in China.” Discuss. (Nov 2000)

• To what extent was the May Fourth Movement(1919) significant in determining the future of China? (May 2010)

Edited March 7, 2014 by iamyourmum

[sofii96]

Yeah, my mum has a friend who's agreed to being interviewed as long as I change her name and don't record her while she talks and stuff. Also, my school is using the Rise of Modern China by Immanuel Hsü for the HL syllabus my teacher told me that if I do write my IA about Tiananmen he'd make sure it doesn't get onto the school's Chinese teachers and administrators, and he said that there'd be no problem since it's basically him sending it to the IB in Wales.