IB History SL Extended Essay Example

The student defines a clear historical setting and a specific policy focus, which gives the investigation a solid sense of direction.

The student keeps returning to the question throughout the essay, so the reader can usually follow what they are trying to prove.

The student uses a range of source types, including legislation, historians, and contemporary material, which shows effort to build a researched investigation.

The discussion becomes quite broad in places, so the causal focus on austerity is not always sustained tightly enough.

The method would be stronger if the student explained more clearly why certain sources were prioritized over others.

Some of the source selection is broader than necessary, which makes the investigation less sharply targeted than it could be.

The student uses source material that is mostly relevant to the question and often directly connected to austerity and public dissatisfaction.

The student shows clear knowledge of late communist Romania, including debt repayment, rationing, repression, and the major protests of 1987 and 1989.

The student generally uses historical terminology correctly and with appropriate meaning.

Some evidence is used more to illustrate hardship than to prove its causal importance to the revolution.

At times the discussion stays descriptive rather than explaining the historical significance of the evidence in enough depth.

A few terms and distinctions need more precision, especially when separating long-term conditions from immediate revolutionary triggers.