Leaving Cert History Research Project

-The examiners look highly on Irish history, or projects that can be linked back to Ireland. It doesn't have to be Irish, but it is recommended
-Don't do anything that's on the course
-Avoid the Easter Rising, they'll be flooded with those sort of projects next year
-Pick something you're definitely interested in. It'll be easier to research and your enthusiasm will come across in the write up
-Keep it narrow, eg one aspect of a person's life, one battle, a specific timeline etc
-Do you find it easier to write about a person, an event, or conditions/change at a time?
-Once you find something general you like (WWI for example), read about it, pick a detail (person, battle etc), read about that, and keep narrowing it down until you find your topic. Maybe put a little unique twist in it if you can
-Make sure it's historically relevant and viable

I'm assuming you enjoy history, otherwise you wouldn't have picked it. What exactly do you like about it? What were your favourite bits for the JC? Is there anything not on the course that you would like to know more about? Any country's history that interests you?(Britain? Japan? Germany?) Any people that had a historical impact?

This will help with your project, especially at the moment page 4 which deals with picking a topic:
https://lchistoryprojects.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/student-guide.pdf

Remember that for HL you need 3 sources, at least one from a historian (and no wikipedia). Be able to say why they are useful/good sources (unless they aren't, in which case mention that. Eg, they are diary entries and therefore biased)

If it helps, I kept changing my mind and didn't fully decide on my topic until 3 months before the deadline. Good luck!

Some random topics you could look at: Oliver Cromwell (since the way he's taught is very different in England and Ireland, you could look at him in an unbiased light), Japanese feudalism, the unification of Germany under Bismark, the cartoon industry (eg used to be only for adults, but maybe ask your teacher if that one's relevant enough), you could narrow that one down to Disney's early days, how the man who created Mickey Mouse was fired and forgotten about.

to quote my teacher: just start writing and see where it leads (once you have an idea)

I did mine a few years back and based it on the olympic Munich massacre and got 97 for the project when i went and viewed my paper! it was quite simple to research and there was a fair bit of sources i found useful, especially some youtube clips of new footage from the time and official reports too (i think some were released by die spiele if i remember right?) also there was a good book called 'one day in September' that focused on the invasion of the olympic village, the capture of the hostages and the subsequent events that followed, that was what i based my project on while giving a small background about who the intruders were (they were past of a Palestinian liberation organisation, PLO, faction). It was a really interesting topic as i was always found of German history but wanted to look at the less obvious bits, away from the wars! Like i say it was interesting and not too hard to research either so give it a thought and ask me any Q's if needs be! :cool:

My teacher's advice is to do something that will interest and excite the examiner. They're historians as well, so reading another project on Daniel O'Connell or Martin Luther King will bore the pants off them. It may be A standard, but you have the whole of history to choose from, you might as well try and do something interesting that they may never have even heard about.

He also says go for shock factor as well. People like exciting history. Sex scandals and torture techniques are good, because at the very least you'll stand out and be memorable. And that alone can bring you up a few marks.

Finally, chose something that makes it look like you've gone out of your way to research it. 1916 is Ireland's most famous event, it looks lazy to chose it. Show that you have a large knowledge of history, and are willing to expand it. But also show you're multi-faceted. If you love English, chose a playwright or poet, (not one on your course, go beyond.) They mark well for hard work, and if it looks like you've broken your back to find the topic and research it, even if your essay itself is below average, you'll score well.