Is this a good topic/question for a history HL internal

[IBtookmylife]

I need to write up my History IA and I wanted to explore something to do with the World Wars and so I have decided to do an IA on the extent to which the Treaty of Versailles resulted in the outbreak of the Second World War. I was alerted to the fact that apparently this is a really common topic, is this true? Additionally, is this too broad to do in 2000 words and is it even worth exploring if I aim to achieve the high band of marks. 

Thanks. 

[alefal]

Hey there!

Yes, I've even seen that topic used in exams. Plus, there is so much you could discuss within that question that you could probably write a while book on the topic. You'll essentially have 6-800 words to actually analyse the topic itself, so that is not good.

In general, unless you find something that's completely new within the academic world, I'd avoid anything to do with the world wars. I'm sorry to say that, because that history is very interesting, but it's also been overanalysed by a massive number of historians as well as students.

Go back to the drawing board, and try to think about other alternatives. There are a ton of topics that haven't been studied that much by IB students, but they're usually not the obvious ones. If you want to be original, then, you'll need to do some research before you decide on the specific topic and research question.

See my response in this thread: http://www.ibsurvival.com/topic/27373-ee-film-rq/

It should give you a good idea on how to develop a research question, and is relevant for most work.

Good luck!