Notes on Writing the Internal Assessment

Part A Plan of the Investigation Your first sentence needs to be your question. Don’t paraphrase or restate it. Write it the same way you have it on your title page. This is an outline of the main topics covered in your IA. This sentence needs to be used… “Two sources used in the investigation, ___ by ___ and ___ by ___ are evaluated for their origins, purposes, value and limitations.”

Part B Summary of Evidence Check for spelling, & capitalization of proper nouns. Do NOT use bullet points. This section should be written in prose using complete sentences/paragraphs. It should be broken up into several paragraphs… don’t make it one long paragraph.

1 ½ or double space. Don’t say something, then use a quote to prove what you said is true. That wastes words. The two sources you mention in Part A need to be used in Part B and should show up in your footnotes. Use Past Tense… your topic has already occurred.

Referencing & Footnotes / / There are several methods you can use. The sample paper in your packet uses “content notes”, also called “explanatory notes.” In a 1998 interview, she reiterated this point even more strongly: "I am an artist, not a politician!" (Weller 124).

You may use an Endnote Page. You number each of your footnotes in chronological order, but write all of the sites on one page that goes BEFORE the Bibliography. Endnotes and footnotes in MLA format are indicated in-text by superscript Arabic numbers after the punctuation of the phrase or clause to which the note refers:

Some have argued that such an investigation would be fruitless. 6 Scholars have argued for years that this claim has no basis, 7 so we would do well to ignore it. Go HERE to see examples of footnotes.

How many sources and how many should be used when footnoting? You should have a minimum of 7-8 sources in your Bibliography. The sample paper used 4 of its 8 sources in Part B referencing. Two of the four books used were listed in Part A. The sample paper had 30 separate content notes.

Part C Evaluation of Sources This should be words. This is NOT a summary about the book or source. You need to specifically address origin, purpose, value and limitations for each source. Write about each source separately.

Origin When, where and by whom was it produced? Who is the author? Read the introduction to the book or article. Is the person an expert in his field? Is it his hobby? PhD professor? How does the author know what he wrote about?

Purpose Notice in the sample paper, it says, “the source’s purpose is to…” Be direct and specific. Who is the intended audience?

Value The value depends on the type of source. Primary sources… first hand account, gives a snapshot of opinion at the time. Secondary sources… gives data that can be checked against other sources. Years of research in archives and thorough knowledge of the topic.

Sometimes, something written long after benefits from more sources being opened and made available for research. Could be more objective if written by someone who is not emotionally involved in the topic.

Limitations Only one person’s view, there may be other sides of the story. Length of time between events and recording the events. Details could be forgotten. Might not be actual views of the speaker. Some documents are meant to sway opinion. Too wrapped up in events and doesn’t see other points… misses the “big picture.”

Purpose is to justify actions, rather than telling the information without regard to either side. Censorship can deliberately take out valuable information. Source could have been written in early years, leaving out material gained later.

More notes on writing your IA… For Parts A & C… the book title should be underlined or in italics Use apostrophe for the possessive case… A “book’s value” rather than “a books (more than one book) value” Exception… its = possessive it’s = it is

More on Part C Consider the value of thorough research. A person does not have to be present and experience events for the source to have value Look at a book’s bibliography at the back of the book… how extensive was the author’s research? To consider for value… why was the book useful for you? What did you learn?

Limitations… what is lacking that you still need for your research? Limitation… Don’t say the source COULD be or MAY be or MIGHT HAVE BEEN… either it IS or it IS NOT. Was information falsified? Was it translated incorrectly? Is there missing information? “The source is limited because information over a period that long might become faulty or incorrect.” Did it? How do you know?

Part F Use MLA Handbook or MLA website to write your Bibliography. NO MORE NOODLETOOLS. Use this website for how to write Part F… Punctuation goes with the last word, not on the next line Do NOT use numbers or bullets on your bibliography The sources need to be in alphabetical order

If the majority or all of your sources are websites, go to a library and find some books Use Ebsco on Library Resources to find some scholarly articles.

Part D The section should consist of… An understanding of the issue in its historical context An analysis that breaks down complex issues in order to bring out the essential elements, any underlying assumptions and any interrelationships involved A critical examination of the factual material presented in section B

An awareness of the significance of the sources used, especially those evaluated in section C A consideration of different interpretations of evidence, where appropriate Information should be correctly and consistently referenced

Part E This section requires an answer or conclusion to the research question, based on the evidence presented The conclusion must be clearly stated, consistent with the evidence presented and relevant to the research question