Assignment

[Current521]

So, since my school doesn't really care about the pre-IB class, we have a lot of pretty bad, non-IB teachers, among them our history teacher. We've gotten an assignment said to be written "in the style of the EE", but he hasn't given us any explanation on it whatsoever, and speaks around the subject when I ask.

Can anyone give a short summary on how to do research, how to analyze sources, how to structure an essay like that? It's not supposed to be particularly long (700-1200 words), and it doesn't have to be amazing, as I'm not taking IB history, but I have to pass.

Thanks!

Edited February 7, 2016 by Current521

[kw0573]

The IB History way to analyze sources is through OPVL (base on the English acronym origin, perspectives, value, limitations). OPVL evaluates the credibility, assumptions, and usefulness of any piece of evidence or data. For general research, it's best that you ask a librarian. The librarian can show you some credible ways to gather information over the Internet. I am not sure how a history extended essay should be structured. You may want to briefly look at the EE Guide (first examinations 2013).
 

[King112]

So, since my school doesn't really care about the pre-IB class, we have a lot of pretty bad, non-IB teachers, among them our history teacher. We've gotten an assignment said to be written "in the style of the EE", but he hasn't given us any explanation on it whatsoever, and speaks around the subject when I ask.

Can anyone give a short summary on how to do research, how to analyze sources, how to structure an essay like that? It's not supposed to be particularly long (700-1200 words), and it doesn't have to be amazing, as I'm not taking IB history, but I have to pass.

Thanks!

Well, I did my EE in history, so I guess I can help.

The style of my History EE was like this:

Intro

body (split into 2 parts)

Conclusion.

Now for my EE, I only had to evaluate 2 sources. I would assume the same for your EE. Evaluation is like this: "The benefit of this author is blahblahblah. The disadvantage is blahblahblah." Repeat for the purpose of the source.

After that, the key thing about writing in history is to make it argumentative. It is super, and I repeat super tempting and easy to write an essay "describing" the story. Rather than saying something like "Japan bombed the US. US retaliated." That's telling the story. Rather, put it like "The entry of the united states was due to the aggression by Japan, rather than moral grounds". Crap example, I know, but I came with it off the top of my head. But the key thing is , make the essay argumentative. 

Research wise, I would say it depends on your topic. I wrote my EE and used a lot of books. But people I know wrote on similar topics but used a lot of online sources. 

That's about all I had to say.

Let me know if you need clarification.

Cheers,

King112