Higher Level History- Special Topic.....

Jamey

What is everyone doing for their research topic??? I am doing Trotsky but finding it very hard to break his life story down into one particular area that I can find a good bit of info on.

m1ke

I did the Battle of Stalingrad for my leaving topic 4 years ago, it seemed to be very popular when I did it.

There is certainly a lot of stuff out there to write about Trotsky. If you covered it all it might come out looking like a bit of a biography. So i'd suggest you take a particular event or movement and analyse his role in it. Like the Russian revolution or October revolution, his impact on Bolshevism/Communism or his years in conflict with Stalin. It's an idea anyway. Oh yeah, and i'd try to avoid the internet for research on Trotsky, because he was such an enigmatic figure, there are a lot of marxist websites that are biased, giving warped facts.

Micheal Wittman

Last year, I did the cultural devastation left in the wake of ww2.It was really interesting but more importantly I got an A1 for it in the leavin'

Jamey

Yes, I have decided to do "Trotsky In Exile". I'm going to write about his life in Mexico. I only have to have a rough draft in for next Tuesday and I've done one with three pages and not much references to sources. I always have the next drafts though.

Cannibal Ox

Doesn't it have to be confined to Europe?

segadreamcast

Well spotted, it does indeed have to be confined to Europe - thus I believe this wouldn't be eligible. Wouldn't your history teacher have mentioned this to you?

Rredwell

I'm doing the Galway to Clifden railway, 1895-1935, but I really have to start researching it soon.

The Battle of Stalingrad is always popular. By the way, was that at the beginning or the end of the siege? (And I call myself a Leaving Cert. History Student!)

Gileadi

last year i did de valeras role in the 1916 rising

afaik once the subject relates to euro history they will let you away with it so trotskys life in exile shouldnt be a problem,to cover yourself i would have a strong mention of the reasons he was forced to leave and ultimately the reasons he was knocked off.
once you dont just do a summary of what his life was like in mexico your in the clear

Jamey

Thanks for reminding me about the Europe thing. It was actually my teacher who suggested it!!! I wanted to do his life but he suggested that I do that part of his life. He must think it would be ok. I did almost a page about his differences with Stalin and how he was exiled so maybe I will be ok.....

billy the squid

Since when was the Special study limited to European History. I thought it could be anything in Ireland and European history between 1860 and 1960.

For my own special study I did the electrification of Rural Irealnd, and how some people in rural ireland were afraid of it starting fires in their thatched roofing.

but then I done my leaving many moons ago back in 95.

Chick

I did Emmeline pankhurst (suffragette) last year, and found it pretty easy to do. lots of info on her around and the suffragette movement in general, but be careful not to mix the two. do one or the other like!

Flamingfud

I'm taking an easy option and doing Pegasus Bridge, the first engagement any kind of D-day (and contained the first Allied death recorded). I figure, by doing it so in-depth (on a scale of about 120 men and about six hours), I should bypass the fact that it's kinda well-known. Er.......hopefully.


Speaking of which, I'm actually getting my first draft back tomorrow. yay.

Turin.Turambar

It's difficult to find something small enough in scale...it's something like 1500 words, isn't it? I'm probably doing the death of Rasputin.

Flamingfud

Update:- A1. Good stuff


Now to learn off six pages word for word.

sci0x

I am doing the Luftwaffe. I had found people on boards.ie who had done the luftwaffe for the Special Topic and had they told me the books and things that they had used. But I cant find that thread, it was posted ages ago. Can anyone here suggest material I could use for my special topic on the luftwaffe, preferably someone who done this for their Special Topic and got an A for it :P

Orizio

Flamingfud wrote:

Update:- A1. Good stuff


Now to learn off six pages word for word.

Since when do we have to learn off 6 A4 pages!??! :eek:

I'm doing mine on Rory O'Connor,specifically on his execution by the Free State.

Flamingfud

Orizio wrote:

Since when do we have to learn off 6 A4 pages!??! :eek:

I'm doing mine on Rory O'Connor,specifically on his execution by the Free State.

That's how long mine ended up being. And that's after cutting good chunks of stuff from it. My poor hand is in for a bad couple of weeks in six months time.

Gileadi

unless your superman i advise editing that down to 4 at a bare minimum

the beauty of the special topic is you can craft an essay to be an A without having to write excessive amounts

if you do 6 pages you will be burning time from other sections and shafting yourself overall

Cannibal Ox

^Wise words.

Don't get yourself into trouble with the Special Topic. It's the easiest thing your going to have to do in the whole exam. Get in there, get the paper, open up your worksheet and start writing.
AFAIK the examiners mark it pretty easy, it doesn't have to be the best or longest essay on the paper as long as it's clear and has enough facts you'll get full marks for it.
If you make it shorter your saving yourself time for the other questions and trust me, LC History exam is a marathon event. The amount of essays your going to have to cram in is hard enough without your special topic being excessively long.
I'm not saying History is the hardest exam, it's just bloody long and if you can save a couple of minutes on your Special Topic for other questions, it'll really help you out.

L!aM

Your Special Topic is worth less than the 4 other essays so make sure you spend only about 25 minutes on it. I did 6 pages and got full marks on mine however wasn't able to finish my section A essay, therefore kicking me down to a B. I was told that if I edited it down to about 4 pages I would've probably still got full marks.

rosa

I'm working on my Special Topic at the moment, on Irish soldiers who fought in the First World War. Anyone have any ideas on what sort of slant I could put on it? My teacher said that I need to narrow it down but I'm finding it hard.

Gileadi

could get into the reasons why they joined up,some unionists joined to prove loyalty to the crown,some nationalists did it to get home rule,alot probly did it for a steady job

but putting a slant on it from unionist/nationalist could be an idea

maybe focus in on that regiment that was made up of northern unionists cant remember the name off hand

Flamingfud

rosa wrote:

I'm working on my Special Topic at the moment, on Irish soldiers who fought in the First World War. Anyone have any ideas on what sort of slant I could put on it? My teacher said that I need to narrow it down but I'm finding it hard.

I remember seeing a book recently, about the past pupils of a certain Dublin school who had participated in the wars of the last century. I think it was Belvedere College. Anyway, there was quite a few that went to fight for the British Army. If you could use that as a base, and get some more sources, you'd have a fine in-depth essay

rosa

Thanks for the ideas lads Now to find the motivation to actually do it...........

L!aM

It should really take less than a week. Don't do what I did and use it as an excuse to not go to study, spend ten minutes in the library then doss. I finally did mine like two days before my english exam and i got full marks. It's not that hard and, from my experience, doesn't have to be looked into in that much depth.

Lyconix

The Special Topic can seem like a massive undertaking, requiring a substantial amount of research, composition and editing...

... until you actually bother (under pain of death from your impatient History teacher) to write it. And subsequently realise that its really just a short essay where a few dates and facts, well-written after a draft or two of polishing, will get you by.

Questions A-D are deserving of a lot more preparation than the Special Topic, so don't go overkill on it. Writing six pages when a lot less would have gotten you the same marks is a waste of your time, both now and during the exam itself. Remember that you are impressing them with your knowledge of relevant dates, events and so on, rather than pointless padding.

Also, you don't necessarily have to wander around a library searching through books for paragraphs relevant to your Topic. Personally, I got 80/80 in mine, and the sources used were all internet-based - I couldn't find anything relevant in the library.

Time Magazine

Good advice there from good old Lyconix, but then again, you never can trust a Computer Science student who got an A1 in English