IB HISTORY INTERNAL ASSESSMENT
DEADLINES:
Topic Selection/Working Works Cited (6 sources)
Plan of Investigation/ 50 Notecards/ Outline
Summary of Evidence/ Revised Outline
Source Evaluation/ 80 Notecards
Analysis of Evidence/ Conclusion
Rough Draft
Appointments to Discuss Drafts
FINAL PAPER
Due Dates (subject to change)
Points Possible
10/17
10 points
10/31
20 points
11/14
20 points
12/1
20 points
12/8
30 points
12/12
12/15-12/19 (During the last week of first semester)
2/6 (Second Semester)
TOPIC RESTRICTIONS:
All Internal Assessment paper topics must fit within the two-year IB History curriculum. Because of the nature of IB History exams,
you must choose a topic which:
1) can be supported with substantial information, including primary sources
2) discusses origins, purpose, value, and limitations of sources
3) does not cover events of the last twenty years
You must prepare an “essay” with an upper limit of 2000 words (aim for 1900 so you will have room to revise). Although this
assignment is similar to many of your Extended Essay topics, you cannot use those topics for Internal Assessment. Please choose a
topic that you will be able to study for the next 4 months. It is difficult to write a paper on a topic you hate/do not understand. You
also need to base your argument on your primary evidence, use secondary evidence as a supplement.
TOPIC CHOICE RECOMMENDATIONS:
Consider beginning by selecting 1 secondary and 1 primary source on your topic. As you search for works, keep a running list of
potentially useful sources to help you create your Working Works Cited page. Try to find sources that present a contrasting view or
interpretation of your topic also.
You may NOT write about:
narratives of a person’s life/major event
battles/weapons
any person’s rise to power
multiple causes of wars
topics that have been done to death (e.g. the atomic bomb, JFK’s assassination, why Hitler hated the Jews)
I also offer suggestions for varying interpretations. The simplest way to divide historians into categories is traditional, revisionist, and
post-revisionist. If you are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with these terms, don’t worry. Consider one of the following instead:
- ideological (democratic vs. communist, for ex.)
- based on national viewpoints (American, Russian, British, Chinese, Argentinean, etc.)
You cannot choose a topic until you have done at least some preliminary research. You can do some basic encyclopedia or Internet
research to begin topic selection. If topic choice is a problem for you, make an appointment with me to stay after school and discuss
potential ideas. Don’t come to me until you have at least looked through your textbook for ideas; I don’t want to hear you say, “I
don’t know what I want to do.”
SOURCE RESTRICTIONS: I expect you to have a minimum of 6 sources, 2 of which must be primary and to create Works Cited
cards for them (examples are included). Do not choose a topic for which there are no primary sources or for which most of your
information comes from the Internet. IB prefers historical topics grounded in print sources, although you can certainly use Internet
sources as long as you screen them carefully for substantiated arguments and limitations.
PLACES TO FIND SOURCES:
Undoubtedly the college libraries are best. We are lucky to have two very good ones close to us. You may or may not be able to
check out books from them, but you can certainly read and take notes there as often as you like. Do not be afraid to walk in there and
say you have never been here before and you need help. (Also, don’t walk in there and act like a high school student; pretend you are
already in college.) You can try the public library system, but I doubt you will find the kind of detailed sources you need.
**SUPER IMPORTANT ADVICE!!!!**
Decide on a topic and search for sources early, early, early, early! I cannot stress this to you enough! It is still possible to choose a
different topic by the second deadline, but after that, your paper will suffer due to valuable time being lost (and I will be sad and
frustrated with you).