HL Extension

What is the HL Extension?

Research

Choosing a Topic

The end goal in choosing a topic is to land on something that is specific, interesting, and easily researched.

You can either start broad or start narrow. What does that mean?

If you start broad, you are first considering which of the six GPCs you would like to engage with. Perhaps you are passionate about the Environment - great, start there. From that incredibly broad point, you then have to find a much smaller ongoing case or issue that relates back to your larger theme. A sequence could look like this: Environment -> Climate Change -> Harm to Indigenous Peoples -> Violations of Human Rights -> Violations of the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples Harmed by Deforestation in the Amazon. Yes, it did get very specific - but, that is the level of specificity you need in order to be an expert during your presentation.

If you instead decide to go narrow, the progression looks much the opposite. Let us say you read something in The Guardian and suddenly you really want to make a presentation on Kurdish nationalism in southeastern Turkey. Awesome, that is a fantastic topic. Now, getting increasingly broad, you need to trace that topic out to a GPC. It can look like this: Kurdish Nationalism in Turkey -> Self Determination and Nation Groups -> Identity.

One tip the IB gives is to try and choose a more 'local' topic for the HL extension. Markers find these presentations more effective.

Research Phase

The IB encourages you to split your research into three sections, please refer to the Guide for more specifics on each:

1. Data, Background, and Political Issues

2. Causes, Impacts, and Responses

3. Reflection

I suggest you start by developing a research question linked to your topic. For instance, going with the topic of Kurdish Independence. My research question could be - To what extent is an independent Kurdish state likely to be the result of Kurdish Nationalism in Turkey? Your question should be answerable in your ten minute presentation, and it should provide organization throughout the process.

In your presentation your will need to contextualize your issue, provide analysis with theory and comparison to other case examples, and to consider multiple perspectives on the issue. In your research, start with background (news sources, UN reports, documentary videos) to gain a basic expertise, move on to find connections to the course material and other cases, and - finally - highlight other approaches to the issue.

Use the Resources page to start your research, and save your annotated sources via a unique tag in Scrible. Remember to update the citation information when you first upload - you will need it for your bibliography.

Preparing the Presentation

Outlining

Ten minutes seems like a lot, but it goes very quickly if you have researched to a sufficient depth and truly know your topic inside and out. The key to a successful presentation is structure - the more thoughtfully planned, the more fluid and natural the final presentation is going to be. Below you should find an example structure - feel free to build and improvise as you see fit:

1. Introduction and Contextualization

• Introduce yourself and the topic you are speaking on

• Contextualize the issue

  • Historical context

  • Key players

  • Define critical terminology

• Link to GPC and introduce your research question

2. Consideration of Theory and Alternate Cases as Applied to Your Topic

You can approach this section in a few different ways - one popular approach is to go through the levels of analysis and look at different applicable theories along the way. Another obvious approach is to take individual theories and apply to the topic in turn. Some general guidelines no matter your approach:

• When in doubt, define. You must define any course theory or vocabulary in order to prove you know what you are talking about. Do not reference IB definitions - (instead of, "the IB definition of hegemon is..." say, "Mearsheimer defines Hegemony as...")

• Consider alternate perspectives on whether an individual theory is applicable. For instance, "While we may be able to see an instance of realist regional rivalry, there are also increasingly areas of interconnection between the two states."

You should, in addition to applying the theoretical framework of the course, attempt to compare your example with other cases. You should be able to look back at the course library of cases to find areas of connection. Remember, get creative here. The issues do not need to be the same at the surface in order for their to be parallels. Additionally, you can also bring in contrasting examples.

3. Conclusion and Answering Your Research Question

The Conclusion is often the most difficult part of the presentation. The good news is this is not a TED talk, and you do not need to end on anything Earth shattering. What you do need is a a clear ending that does not seem cut off or haphazard.

• Restate why this is an interesting and instructive topic to consider

• Summarize the theoretical viewpoints (and various perspectives) with which you have approached the topic

• Answer your research question

• Thank the audience

Notes and Visual Aids

You are allowed visual components to the presentation - these can include posters and powerpoint (slide) presentations. Many students find the slides to be a good organizational tool - but, be sure to confine the aids components to purely visual components (maps, charts, pictures, etc.)

In terms of notes, most students choose to use either a complete outline or notecards. Students are not permitted to have the entire presentation written out word for word. Notes should include key quotations, figures, data points, and other difficult to memorize components.

Practice

There is no magic formula here - you have to practice, practice, and practice some more. You are not allowed to practice (dress rehearse) in front of your teacher. But we will organize peer review, review recordings of ourselves, and assess ourselves using the official rubric. You cannot do well without ample practice - there is no such thing as too much. Your tone throughout the presentation should be formal.

Cover-Page

From the guide, "A coversheet for each presentation must be submitted along with the recording. The coversheet includes a bibliography. All sources used in preparation of the presentation must be included in the bibliography."

Example A

Example B

Other Resources

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS1FvcFDgmo&t=4s

• https://glopoib.wordpress.com/ia-global-challenges-presentations/