Can I write my History EE on a recent event?

Very recent topics are risky. The History EE rewards engagement with historiography, and events from the last few years rarely have an established body of historical writing. Choose a topic old enough that historians have debated it, and confirm your choice with your supervisor.

How many sources does a History EE need?

There is no official number. Strong essays typically combine a small set of primary sources analysed in depth with a range of secondary works representing different interpretations. Depth of evaluation matters far more than the length of the bibliography.

Is History a hard subject for the Extended Essay?

History EEs are marked against the same five criteria as every other subject, but Criterion C rewards argument and evaluation of interpretations rather than narrative. Students who retell events tend to score in the middle bands; students who argue a focused case can score highly.

IB History Extended Essay

The IB History Extended Essay is a 4,000-word investigation of a historical question of your choice, marked out of 34 against the five Extended Essay criteria. It rewards a focused argument built on evaluated evidence and an awareness of historiography — how historians disagree — rather than a narrative retelling of events. This guide explains how the criteria play out in History, which research questions succeed, what examiners expect from primary and secondary sources, and the mistakes that most often keep History essays out of the top band.

A strong History research question is argumentative (“to what extent”, “how significant”), bounded in period and place, genuinely debatable among historians, and researchable with sources you can access. Very recent events are risky because little historiography exists yet. Narrative questions — “what caused the Second World War?” — are too broad to argue in 4,000 words, and value-judgement questions such as “was Napoleon a good leader?” give the examiner no criteria to see tested.

Examples of Strong Research Questions

To what extent did economic pressures, rather than the moral campaign of reformers, drive the abolition of serfdom in Russia in 1861?
How significant was propaganda in sustaining British civilian support for the war effort between 1914 and 1916?
To what extent was the Marshall Plan motivated by humanitarian concern rather than strategic self-interest?

Assessment Criteria and Common Mistakes

Criterion A — Focus and method (6 marks) rewards a sharply stated question and a clear source strategy. Criterion B — Knowledge and understanding (6 marks) rewards accurate context and correct use of historical concepts such as causation and significance. Criterion C — Critical thinking (12 marks) is the highest-weighted: it rewards sustained argument, evidence weighed rather than stacked, counter-arguments addressed and interpretations evaluated. Criterion D — Presentation (4 marks) covers structure and referencing. Criterion E — Engagement (6 marks) is assessed through the RPPF reflections. Primary sources should be evaluated for origin, purpose, value and limitations; secondary sources should be set against each other as interpretations, not quoted as fact.

The most common mark-losing mistakes in History EEs: narrative instead of argument; no engagement with historiography; sources treated as neutral; questions without edges (whole wars, whole centuries); one-sided cases that ignore counter-evidence; and untraceable claims caused by weak referencing.

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