Extended Essay in History

Initial tips from orsteinn and

Gumundur

The Research Question

Is it suitable?
Can it be asked and answered?
Is it worthwhile to answer?

Dangerous research questions:

Those that are too wide.
Those that are obivous.
Those that you can not answer due to lack of sources
available to you.
Those that are too narrow.
Those that are subjective.
Those that are purely hypothetical (pseudo history)

Bad Questions and Topics

How did the Versailles treaty affect world history?
too ... ?

How was Jnas fr Hriflu dressed at his funeral?

too ... ?

Who was Adolf Hitler and what was he like?

too ... ?

Why was Joseph Stalin so cruel?

too ... ?

Would Germany have gone to war without Hitler?

too ... ?

Governmental phone taps in 1990s Iceland: extent and

purpose.
too ... ?

Forms of Research
Dont restrict yourself to a narrative!
This is perhaps the most common problem with
history essays
The point of a research essay is not simply to tell a
story regardless of whether it has a happy ending or
not.

Comparitive essay
Compare and contrast examples A and B with regards
to question X.

Bibliographical essay
What has the historiagraphical development been like
in a certain narrow topic.

Two Actual Questions

How was the Holy Roman a continuation
of the Roman Empire?
Problems with definitions (whats a Roman
Empire) and sources (nobody has claimed
this directly since the 19th century).

How did the Western Icelanders manage

to create a distinctly Icelandic colony in
Canada?
Problems of defintions what does it mean to
be distinctly Icelandic.

Two more
How important was Diocletian in the history of
Rome?
This one isnt half bad ... if rephrased and answered
well.
E.g. Did Diocletians rule save the Roman Empire?

How important was the role of the Orthodox

Church in the creation of Moscow Russia?
This one is actually quite good.

Quotations and citations

When refering the reader to your sources
it is customary in history to use footnotes
Ixnay on the racketbay!

Direct quotations:
Placed in quotation marks.
Used to spice up the text

Citations:
Used much more than quotations.
Save up valuable space

Working habits and tips

Keep your sources at a distance
Talk to your sources dont let them dictate to you
Remember that they are not absolute truths you should
evaluate them not let them control you

Photocopy the title page of every book you borrow from

the library
This will save you valuable time later on you will need the full
title, place and date of publication later on.

Start building the bibliography right away

Time saving!

Once you quote someone put in a reference right away

This way you wont have to look for the source later on
And remember ... use footnotes!