IA German History IA HELP!!!!!

[Emilie]

Hello everyone  

I am thinking of writing my history IA on the aspects of WW1 that lead to the failure of the Weimar republic, but I feel like its not good enough, any ideas to refine it? Also any suggestions for good sources on this topic??

 

 

[alefal]

Hey there! 

First of all, you haven't written any research questions. If you have already formulated one, please share it with us

As for the topic itself, I would advise you to keep in mind that the internal assessment allows, in practice, a very limited analysis. For that reason, you should try to make the question as narrow as possible. This includes defining what specific aspect you are looking at for instance. To what extent was [factor A] a leading factor in the fall of the Weimar Republic? To what extent was [factor A] more significant than [factor B] in the fall of the Weimar Republic? Think in these lines. 

In general, when it comes to deciding on topic and research questions and all that, the formula is pretty much the same as with Extended Essays, except that you should of course be much more specific. Although I would probably have written it slightly different now, I think my post here would give you some ideas of what you need to do. The most important part for you now is to make sure you do enough research - even before you formally decide on a topic. The best topics and research questions are those which are a result of continuous and in-depth research. 

 

Good luck! 

[ellie]

Everything above is very right, but I'd like to add that everything about Weimar is so complex that you (a) can definitely do a good HI on it and (b) have to be really careful, because there is so much to discuss and so many interrelated things. So choose a very focused RQ to avoid ending up with 6,500 words where you feel that you can't leave anything out. 

[Emilie]

To wat extent did the social, economic and political aspects of World War 1 ultimately set up the Weimar Republic to fail?

 

And thank you for the advice

On April 14, 2016 at 2:39 AM, alefal said:

Hey there! 

First of all, you haven't written any research questions. If you have already formulated one, please share it with us

As for the topic itself, I would advise you to keep in mind that the internal assessment allows, in practice, a very limited analysis. For that reason, you should try to make the question as narrow as possible. This includes defining what specific aspect you are looking at for instance. To what extent was [factor A] a leading factor in the fall of the Weimar Republic? To what extent was [factor A] more significant than [factor B] in the fall of the Weimar Republic? Think in these lines. 

In general, when it comes to deciding on topic and research questions and all that, the formula is pretty much the same as with Extended Essays, except that you should of course be much more specific. Although I would probably have written it slightly different now, I think my post here would give you some ideas of what you need to do. The most important part for you now is to make sure you do enough research - even before you formally decide on a topic. The best topics and research questions are those which are a result of continuous and in-depth research. 

 

Good luck! 

 

[alefal]

Hi again,

Although your question is fine in terms of format is fine, I think you need to narrow down quite a lot. As Nellie said, you can easily write 6500 words on topics related to the Weimar Republic, and I fear that with your current question, you could probably write a full book - or, in the very least, three long chapters, one per aspect. 

So, with that established, how can you improve? Well, in quite a few ways, actually. First of all, the more obvious one, would be to pick one of the three categories you've mentioned: Economic, social and political. There's no way you will be able to discuss all of these effectively within the 650-800 words you have at your disposal and reach a good enough conclusion. You are asking of the impossible, I'm afraid. So, first step would be to pick one of these aspects. 

Now, my assumption is that there is enough information out there to write a full book chapter on each of these aspects, so no matter what aspect you're looking at, there will be more information than you can deal with in the IA. For that reason, should I be right, you probably want to unpack the aspects a bit further. If you choose the economic aspects, for instance, you can focus on the war reparations, war exhaustion, or perhaps the economic situation in other countries that led to a flawed and failing republic? Instead of focusing on 'aspects', you're better off unpacking that a bit and choose one concrete factor that may or may not have led to the fall of the Weimar Republic.  

 

Good luck!