Model+Historical+Investigations,+2008-16

This page answers the question: "What did good model historical investigations look like, under the IB criteria in place from 2008-2016?"

Work Done at the International School of Toulouse (IST)
The IST does particularly good work in history. [|On this webpage], you will find many sample historical investigations, all of which earned the highest grade available on the IB scoring system. Go to the middle of the page, and click on the title to the section G, "Exemplar Studies Graded as 'Level 7' by the Examiner".

Exemplary Investigations, divided by type
Here I have analyzed the exemplary IST historical investigations by kind of historical question that they address. This can help undecided students identify a question of possible interest, or give students in the midst of preparing an investigation ideas about how to treat a particular problem they run across.
 * Example of a historical investigation of the broad effects of a single historical figure
 * What is the Historical Significance of the Roman Emperor Nero?
 * [[file:Nero.pdf]]
 * What is the Historical Significance of the Roman Emperor Nero?

>> >> Vichy France? > Example of an inquiry into the consequences of a social/political event >> >>
 * Example of an investigation of how reliable is a particular interpretation of one instance of an event to an understanding of the general event of which it is a part
 * How useful is the film 'The Untouchables' to the historian studying Prohibition in the USA?
 * Example of an investigation into how representative, or typical, was a particular instance of a broader event
 * How representative is the My Lai massacre as evidence of American Experience in Vietnam?
 * [[file:My Lai Massacre.pdf]]
 * Example of an assessment of the value and limitations of one kind of source for understanding a social event
 * How useful to Historians are declassified documents detailing actions to be taken against the Jewish population of
 * [[file:Decl. Docs re Vichy.pdf]]
 * How useful are visual sources in knowing what really happened during the 1984-5 miners' strike?
 * Example of an inquiry into the causes of a social/political event
 * To what extent were the student riots of the 1980s in Korea the result of the policies of President Park?
 * To what extent was the Stalinist State established at the expense of the Soviet people?
 * Example of the significance and effects of a single figure, and the related historiography
 * What was the historical significance of the sporting career of Muhammad Ali?
 * Example of an inquiry into the accuracy & reliability of different interpretations of an event
 * Assess the accuracy with which the life and career of Rosa Parks has been depicted by commentators and historians.
 * [[file:Rosa Parks.pdf]]
 * Example of an investigation into the effects of a regime and its political goals on the creation and preservation of certain kinds of evidence
 * How was the visual image manipulated in Stalin's USSR?
 * Example of an inquiry of the value of a particular interpretation of a historical event.
 * How accurate is the depiction of the 'White Rose' in the film 'Sophie Scholl –The Final Days'?
 * [[file:White Rose.pdf]]
 * Did Hitler really snub Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics?
 * What are relative value and limitations of two kinds of sources regarding an event?
 * To what extent are photographic sources of the Vietnam War more useful to the Historian than written accounts?

Student Work at WFS
Here are some sample historical investigations written by WFS students, including the grading sheet used by IBO examiners to state the grades awarded, per section.

1. This is a very good sample investigation, about whether General Douglas MacArthur was responsible for the successful Japanese attack on the US bases in the Philippines a few hours after the Pearl harbor attack, at the beginning of the US involvement in World War II.

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