Section 2: Investigation

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Requirements for Section 2 - 1300 Words

This is the essay portion of the investigation. It will basically look like our Paper 2/3 Essays we have done in class.

You will be assessed on:

Rubric

1-3 marks

The investigation lacks clarity and coherence, and is poorly organized. Where there is a recognizable structure there is minimal focus on the task.
The response contains little or no critical analysis. It may consist mostly of generalizations and poorly substantiated assertions.
Reference is made to evidence from sources, but there is no analysis of that evidence.

4-6 marks

There is an attempt to organize the investigation but this is only partially successful, and the investigation lacks clarity and coherence.
The investigation contains some limited critical analysis but the response is primarily narrative/descriptive in nature, rather than analytical.
Evidence from sources is included, but is not integrated into the analysis/argument.

7-9 marks

The investigation is generally clear and well organized, but there is some repetition or lack of clarity in places.
The response moves beyond description to include some analysis or critical commentary, but this is not sustained.
There is an attempt to integrate evidence from sources with the analysis/argument.
There may be awareness of different perspectives, but these perspectives are not evaluated.

10-12 marks

The investigation is generally clear and well organized, although there may be some repetition or lack of clarity in places.
The investigation contains critical analysis, although this analysis may lack development or clarity.
Evidence from a range of sources is used to support the argument.
There is awareness and some evaluation of different perspectives.
The investigation argues to a reasoned conclusion.

13-15 marks

The investigation is clear, coherent and effectively organized.
The investigation contains well-developed critical analysis that is focused clearly on the stated question.
Evidence from a range of sources is used effectively to support the argument.
There is evaluation of different perspectives.
The investigation argues to a reasoned conclusion that is consistent with the evidence and arguments provided.

Secondary Sources - Begin your research by looking at secondary sources, such as Britanica, Wikipedia, etc... The purpose of this is to narrow down your focus and find specific keywords to use in your researching
History Articles - Take a visit to see the librarian and use online databases, such as JSTOR, to find more academic resources to help with your investigation
Organizing & Recording Evidence - make sure you are thinking about how you could organize your paragraphs into themes. Mr. Taylor will help you organize this. As you research, make sure you are filling out the template outline provided
Primary Sources - Whenever you can, make sure the evidence that you find are primary sources, such as eye-witness accounts, official government documents, speeches, etc... as this allows you to show your interpretation skills, rather than relying on an historians account

This will be bad!!! - This will not be good and that is normal at this stage. The purpose for this is to just turn the outline into paragraphs.
Writing your paragraphs - Use the tips we have been working on in class for our Essay Writing Skills page
Thesis - Your goal for the first draft should be to ensure that the thesis statement applies to each paragraph within the essay, meaning that it agrees with the conclusion of each
Narrative or Analysis - Do not just place a bunch of evidence within your paragraphs and then conclude in your own words. Try to synthesize the evidence so the argument develops
Structure - At this stage, make sure you have an introduction (BOLT), main bodies (APAL) and a conclusion
Referencing - make sure you are properly referencing with footnotes at this stage. It does not need to be full citation since this is a working document, however this should be present so you aware if you are relying on one source too often per paragraph

Teacher Feedback - Make sure you have watched the video feedback from the teacher, read the comments on the document and met with the teacher to ensure you have clear next steps.
Strengthening your writing - Make sure you are looking at the DP2 writing skills to improve the overall quality of your writing
Research - you will probably be required to find stronger evidence to support your claims, which is normal within the process. First check your outline notes to see if you have stronger evidence already. If not, then you should look for a strong primary source for evidence.
Methodology - Ensure that you outline in the introduction how you organized your investigation (ex. present the context and then present the strength and weakness of each argument; define how you measure significance, etc...)
Consistent Argument - The thesis should match or agree with every part of your essay. A tip should be that if I read any main body paragraph, I can guess your thesis
Evaluation vs. Awareness of Perspectives - Awareness means that there is a different answer presented; evaluation specific explains why one of the perspectives is not the strongest answer or why it is weak. This should be done in the blue section of each APAL
Reading Other IAs - Make sure you read other high scoring IAs to see where yours compares.

How many words are Section 2? - There is no specific number, but aim for around 1300 words
How many points is Section 2 worth? - 15 Points, so make sure this is the focus and where you spend your time
How many primary sources should I use? - For every main body paragraph, there should be a minimum of 3 pieces of evidence from primary sources. In general, the majority of your evidence should be primary sources
How many Main Body paragraphs do I need? - You should aim for 4 paragraphs. 3 are ok, but this will be decided on a case-by-case basis
How many sources should I have for each paragraph? - Since there should be a total of 5 sources per main body paragraph, 3 different sources should be the minimum
How much feedback can your teacher give you? - The IB stipulates that your teacher can give you written feedback only once
Do quotes count as part of the word count? - YES!
How many sources should you have in the Bibliography? - There is no specific number, but aim for 10-15 different sources total
If you are way over the word count, what can you do? - The first suggestion would be to look at the quotes that you have used and shorten these to only the absolute necessary information; Second, consider removing sentence starters, such as "For example" or "This means that"

Section2ExemplarA.pdf

Section2ExemplarB.pdf