QCE Modern History IA2 independent source investigation quiz

A timed exam essay

An independent source investigation in Unit 3 of 1500-2000 words using 4-6 student-selected sources not studied in class

A test on a single source

A group oral presentation

Is very broad

Is focused, debatable, located within the Unit 3 national experience, and can be unpacked into 3-5 narrower sub-questions

Asks 'what is history'

Has only one possible answer

Only secondary sources

4-6 primary and secondary sources, none previously studied in class, ideally from multiple perspectives, with named authors and clear publication details

Only newspaper headlines

Whatever Wikipedia says first

Devising historical questions, Analysing sources, Synthesising evidence, Evaluating interpretations, Creating a response

Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, Conclusion

Speed, Length, Style, Spelling, Layout

Title, Sources, Conclusion, References, Appendix

Whether the source is long

Origin (author, date, position), purpose (audience, intent), context, value for the specific inquiry question, and reliability/limitations

The source's font

Page count

Ignoring historians

Recognising that historians have interpreted the event differently and locating the response within or in dialogue with those interpretations

Disagreeing with everyone

Quoting only one historian

Introduce a new source

Directly answer the key inquiry question with a calibrated judgement, summarise the weight of evidence across sub-questions, and acknowledge what the source set does not settle

Just say 'in conclusion'

Reject all the sources

Using too few sources

Sources studied in class, no historiographical engagement, weak key inquiry question, source description rather than OPCVR evaluation, no synthesis across sub-questions

Using only primary sources

Using a clear thesis

Be optional

Follow a consistent referencing system (typically footnotes or in-text), with full bibliographic details in a reference list

Use only URLs

Be hidden

The Brisbane Line was real.

To what extent did Curtin's wartime cabinet seriously consider abandoning the north of Australia in 1942, and how does the contemporary evidence weigh against the post-war historiographical reconstruction of the 'Brisbane Line'?

I will discuss the Brisbane Line.

Brisbane is in Queensland.