The Young Historian’s Guide to the Mock Historical Investigation

Task: To complete Criteria A, B and C

Due: By end of Term 3 Week 7

Process:

1. Read the IA booklet for details on the assessment criteria.

2. Work out your plan of investigation (A)
a. This should include:
i. Your approach
ii. Your methodology
iii. Two of the sources you plan to evaluate
b. This is an important step. Getting it wrong usually means compromising the whole investigation.

3. Identify a topic
a. The topic should be something you are interested in.
b. Topics that are based on or derived from the syllabus are fine.
c. The topic should be tightly focused and defined.

d. Good topics:i. To what extent was the fear of communist expansion on the part of the USA responsible for the outbreak of the Korean War?
ii. A Study of the Portrayal of the PAP in the Straits Times in the run-up to the 1959 General Elections
iii. Why was the Singapore Government’s Graduate Mother’s Scheme of 1983 unsuccessful?

4. Identify relevant sources
a. Identify a general history or reading pertaining to the topic/area. This will give you a broad overview and a sense of chronology
b. Identify other readings that provide:
i. Specialist insight e.g. historical monographs written by professional historians
ii. Alternative viewpoints e.g. revisionist accounts
iii. First hand information e.g. archival sources, oral histories, newspapers
iv. Representations of the topic e.g. historical fiction, movies, music

5. Work out your summary of evidence (B)

6. Evaluate your sources (C)

Submissions:

1. Sometime before Term 3 Week 6, I will leave you to decide how close you want to call it, submit a historical investigation outline as per Pages 7 to 10 of your IA Booklet.
2. The final submission would be the end of Term 3 Week 7.
3. Criteria D, E and F will be due in Term 4 Week 3.

Formatting:

1. Font: Arial Size 10
2. Spacing: 1 ½ Justified
3. All headings should be in bold, set to the left, and underlined.
4. There should be a line between each paragraph.
5. All pages must be numbered.
6. On the cover page, you must include your name, class and the title of your investigation.
7. Files and folders are not necessary.