IB YEAR ONE

SENN HIGH SCHOOL

MOCK INTERNAL ASSESSMENT OVERVIEW

Dear Student:
When you enter the Diploma Programme or College you will be required to write a history research paper. For the purposes of this course,
your research paper can be on any topic that we have covered up to this point. The bulk of the research and writing are up to you. You will
have to monitor your pace and time to get this accomplished. This paper will serve as a trial run in preparation for those of you taking an
IB History or Global Politics course. Academic integrity is very important. Plagiarism is a serious offense. You will receive a 0 for the
assignment and will receive academic probation as a result. This assignment should be fun and rewarding if you choose a topic that appeals
to you.

The Nature of the Paper

This assignment is different from a traditional research paper. This is not a history report; it is a paper on historiography. The expectation
is NOT that you will tell about events of the past, but rather analyze historical evidence and evaluate how historians examine history. This
will improve your ability to analyze documents and other works by historians, which will be applicable to every other subject you study.

Step 1: Choose Topic Due Date: 5/17/2016

You are responsible for selecting a topic. As stated earlier, this topic must be something that we have covered in this course.

Due Date:

Step 2: Write Historical Investigation Question. Due Date: 5/17/2016

Once you choose your topic you need to write a good historical research question. A good question focuses your research and makes it
much easier. A good question is one that is neither overly broad nor overly narrow. A good question is an open-ended one that has no
definite right or wrong answer. The answer is one that you will have to determine through your research. It is of the utmost importance to
choose a question to which you DON’T ALREADY HAVE A PREDETERMINED ANSWER. (Do you remember—"What caused the
Civil War?" There was no definite answer but you looked at various pieces of evidence, both primary and secondary, to come up with a
conclusion.) Here are a couple of sentence starters to give you an idea of how your question might be structured:

 What was the impact of ________________ on _________________?

 To what extent did ______________________ affect ________________________?
 To what extent was ___________________ really _________________________?
 In what ways did/was _________________...

Here are a few samples to give you an idea of the appropriate scope of the IA question:
 Foreign Policy
o How was Richard Nixon involved in the coup in Chile in 1973?
o In what ways was the ideology of social Darwinism a cause of American imperialism?
 Presidents
o What was the impact of FDR’s New Deal on African Americans?
o In what ways was Andrew Jackson’s war on the Bank of the USA symbolic of his fight for the common man?
 Social Topics
o In what ways were women the reason for the passage of the 18 th amendment?
o To what extent was the American institution of slavery inhumane?
o In what ways was the Second Red Scare justified?
 Economic Topics
o To what extent did the New Deal end America’s Great Depression?
o In what ways did Laissez Faire economics spur/initiate America’s industrial revolution?

THIS WILL BE YOUR FINAL RESEARCH QUESTION. I WILL GRADE YOUR PAPER ON HOW WELL YOU ANSWER THIS
QUESTION. YOU MAY REVISE IT ONLY IF YOU SPEAK WITH ME!
Step 3: Complete an annotated bibliography sheet for 3 sources. Due Date: 5/25/2016 - 20 points
This bibliography will polish your topic, help you decide if you have too narrow or too broad a topic. Internet sources are not allowed
unless they are used to obtain a primary source document. Otherwise, all information must come from well-established historical books
and scholarly journals. Your internal assessment will be graded poorly if you do not use reliable historians.
 Write the annotation. Each book requires a 50 word annotation. The annotation explains how the book helps you answer your
question. Read the books preface, introduction and conclusion to help you with this. If the book doesn’t help, DON’T USE IT!
 Much of your research will be complete by this point.
1. One Source can be your textbook
2. One Source should be a primary source
3. One source should be an additional book

Step 4: Identification and Evaluation of Sources (250-300 words) Should be completed by: 5/31/2016
This section requires you to analyze in detail two of the sources that you will use in your investigation. The sources can be either primary
or secondary sources. In this section you must:
 Clearly state the question you have chosen to investigate (this must be stated as a question).
 Make absolutely certain that you have chosen appropriate sources.
 Include a brief explanation of the nature of the source (not the textbook) you have selected for detailed analysis, including an
explanation of its relevance to the investigation.
 Analyze one source (not the textbook) in detail. With reference to the origins, purpose and content, you should analyze the value
and limitations of the source in relation to the investigation.

Step 5: Investigation (500-750 words) Should be completed by: 6/3/2016

This is, by far, the most important section of your mock internal assessment. The investigation is basically the section within the mock IA
in which you answer your question. In this section, you must:

 Make absolutely sure that the investigation is clearly and effectively organized. There is no prescribed format for how this section
must be structured.
 Include critical analysis that is focused clearly on the question being investigated, and must also include the conclusion that you
draw from your analysis.
 Use the evidence that you have gathered to support your argument. All sources listed in the bibliography should be used in the
investigation.
 Evaluate different perspectives concerning the answer to your mock IA question.

Step 6: Reflection (200-250 words) Should be completed by: 6/3/2016

This section of the mock internal assessment requires you to reflect on what the investigation has revealed to you about the methods used
by, and the challenges facing, the historian. It would strongly benefit you to consult with your Theory of Knowledge teacher before
tackling this particular section. Here are some examples of discussion questions that may help to encourage reflection:

 What methods used by historians did you use in your investigation?

 What did your investigation highlight to you about the limitations of those methods?
 What are the challenges facing the historian? How do they differ from the challenges facing a scientist or a mathematician?
 What challenges in particular does archive-based history present?
 How can the reliability of sources be evaluated?
 What is the difference between bias and selection?
 What constitutes a historical event?
 Who decides which events are historically significant?
 Is it possible to describe historical events in an unbiased way?
 What is the role of the historian?
 Should terms such as “atrocity” be used when writing about history, or should value judgments be avoided?
 If it is difficult to establish proof in history, does that mean that all versions are equally acceptable?

Step 7: Final Assembled Paper Due Date- Points: 6/8/2016- 25 Points

Look through our shared folder to see what a finished paper looks like.

Helpful Hints:
 This is a formal paper, so use Times New Roman, 12 point font, 1.5” margins
 Scholarly writing please. Use a thesaurus and dictionary. Proofread and then proofread again.
 Bibliography should be in MLA format and alphabetical order by author’s last name.
 Citations should be in footnote format.