Sources

Textbook materials by Williamson

2021-09-17T13:48:32+03:00

Paper 3 essay 1 Oct 2021

2021-10-01T11:05:27+03:00

Choose either question A or B:

A. "German foreign policy did not lead to the outbreak of the First World War." Discuss.
B. Discuss the factors that led to the defeat of Germany and the other Central powers in the First World War.

Return to ManageBac.

Command terms for history

2021-09-30T20:18:41+03:00

Command term		Definition
Analyse		Break down in order to bring out the essential elements or structure.
Compare		Give an account of the similarities between two (or more) items or situations, referring to both (all) of them throughout.
Compare and contrast		Give an account of similarities and differences between two (or more) items or situations, referring to both (all) of them throughout.
Contrast		Give an account of the differences between two (or more) items or situations, referring to both (all) of them throughout.
Discuss		Offer a considered and balanced review that includes a range of arguments, factors or hypotheses. Opinions or conclusions should be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.
Evaluate		Make an appraisal by weighing up the strengths and limitations.
Examine		Consider an argument or concept in a way that uncovers the assumptions and interrelationships of the issue.
To what extent		Consider the merits or otherwise of an argument or concept. Opinions and conclusions should be presented clearly and supported with appropriate evidence and sound argument.

Mark Bands for Paper 3

2019-11-15T12:23:50+02:00

	Approach to the Question		Knowledge		Analysis
	Demands of Q	Structure	Knowledge	Concepts	Critical Analysis	Perspectives
0	Not understood	No obvious structure	No obvious knowledge	No relevant examples	No analysis	None
1-3	Little Understanding	Poorly structured, or not focussed on task	Little knowledge present, factual inaccuracies or vague assertions		No critical analysis. Unsubstantiated assertions and generalisations	N/A
4-6	Some understanding	Some attempt at structure but lacking clarity and coherence	Some knowledge demonstrated but inaccuracies/ irrelevancies.	Superficial context	Some limited analysis, but mainly narrative	N/A
7-9	Understanding but only partially addressed	Attempts at structured answer	Knowledge is relevant and mostly accurate. Appropriate examples	Events in context	Mainly narrative but some critical comment, often unsustained	N/A
10-12	Question understood and addressed	Generally well structured. Some lack of clarity	Knowledge is relevant and accurate. Examples are appropriate and support analysis	Events in context and clear understanding of historical concepts	Mainly clear and coherent arguments and critical analysis. Points mainly substantiated and clear conclusion	Some awareness and evaluation of different perspectives
13-15	Clear focus with high level of understanding and implications	Well structured throughout	Knowledge is relevant and accurate. Appropriate and relevant examples used to effectively support analysis.	Clear context and understanding of concepts	Clear and coherent arguments and critical analysis. Points are substantiated and clear conclusion	Evaluation of different perspectives integrated into answer.

The structure of IB History essay

2021-09-30T20:26:45+03:00

(A) Begin with an introduction to the research question!
* But at first: Read the (research) question very carefully! > Underline main points (f.ex. the command term)
* "The aim of the essay is to investigate..."
* "To what extent is it fair to say that...?"
* "It is important to study this (these) question(s) because..."
* Give an ARGUMENT on the question!
(B) Make analysis!
* Introduce evidence on the argument and discuss about the evidence
* Give different points of views; make interpretations
* "On the other hand,...", "However,...", "Moreover,..."
* Use linkages if the command term demands to compare and/or contrast:
- when comparisons/ similarities f.ex.: "Both Lenin and Trotsky...", "In the USSR...; similarly in Mao's China..."
- when contrasts/ differences f.ex.: "After the 1905 Revolution...Whereas/However/But as a consequence of the February 1917 Revolution...)
* Use KEY CONCEPTS of History!
(C) Introduce the conclusion(s) of your analysis!
* "As a conclusion..."
* Answer the question(s)
* Put things in the wider context; introduce the effects in the long run (vs short run)

* There are no exact rules for the certain minimum amount of the words. BUT: Could the essay be analytical enough without at least 500 words?

Primary sources

2021-08-12T14:48:01+03:00

'A day in the life of munitions worker' (extracts from an archieve film from year 1917)

The First Word War Digital Poetry Archive

First World War 100/ The National Archives, UK

The World War I Document Archive

Secondary sources

2021-08-12T14:48:01+03:00

Short WW1 articles by Imperial War Museum, London

WW1 on Spartacus Educational

First World War.com

The origins of the First World War

(Open University websites)