These are the presentation slides used in Class 4 of the History in Your Hands project delivered by DCU Library to local secondary school students in January 2024
2. ● Your Feedback
● Extended Essay
○ organising your research
○ writing your first draft
○ review of the research process
● Citing and referencing your sources
● When and how to submit your project
3. ● Breakdown of marks
● Define and justify
● Your intended approach
● Practical examples
● Checklists
● Extended essay
● Enjoyed/didn’t enjoy?
● How improve?
4. Writing your extended essay
- Tips and tricks for organising your research
- How do you put your research into your essay?
- Your first draft
- Review of the research process
5. The Research
Topic is divided
into four parts:
1. The Outline Plan (15
marks)
2. Evaluation of Sources (25
marks)
3. Extended Essay (50
marks)
4. Review of the [Research]
Process (10 marks)
6. Things to remember
1. 1200 – 1500 words (Higher Level), 650 – 800 words (Ordinary Level).
1. Structure: Introduction, Main Body & Conclusion. USE PARAGRAPHS!
1. The Extended Essay should follow a logical development i.e.
that findings, evaluations and conclusions should logically follow from the
work and sources involved in the project.
1. Check word count.
2. Beware of Americanisations – color, rationalize, etc. Make sure that the
language selected is English (Ireland).
1. Include 1 – 3 quotes, if possible. (Max. – 3)
7.
8.
9. Active note taking
• Highlighters are your friend
• Colour code:
• Yellow = context
• Blue = acts / treaties
• Green = quotes
10. Vevox - how do you plan
to take notes?
Handwritten?
Word document?
Highlighted photocopies?
Mind maps?
Any other ways?
11. Remember your aims!
• As you’re taking your
notes, remember to think
about your aims.
• The notes you make will
become your aims!
12. Recording source
information (Word)
• Filing Source Information Under Headings
• Under each heading, list sources in a structured
format: Author(s), Title, Publication Year,
Publisher, URL
• Use bullet points or numbered lists for clarity.
• Hyperlinking Digital Sources
(https://access.dcu.arkivum.net/ie-dcua-c1)
• For online sources, include hyperlinks in your
document for direct access to the source.
• Use the 'Insert Hyperlink' feature and ensure
URLs are accurate.
14. Notes to
plans: what
now?
• Now that you’ve done your
research, how do you turn that
into an essay plan?
• Organise your notes by
topic/theme
• Write it out!
• Don’t be afraid to chop change
15.
16.
17. Writing your
first draft: The
steps
Writing the first draft of an essay can be daunting, but with a clear
approach, it can become a manageable and even enjoyable task.
1. Understand the Question: Start by thoroughly understanding
your title!
2. Create an Outline: Plan the structure of your essay. An
outline is your roadmap; it should have an introduction, body
paragraphs with clear points, and a conclusion.
3. Research: Gather your information from reliable sources.
Note down key points, quotes, and evidence that you can use to
support your arguments.
4. Introduction: Begin with a strong introduction that sets the
context and states the thesis or main argument of your essay.
5. Body Paragraphs: Each paragraph should focus on a single main
idea. Use topic sentences to introduce the point of each paragraph,
support it with evidence, and explain how it relates to your overall
argument.
18. Writing your
first draft: The
steps
6. Use Evidence: Integrate quotes and facts to back up your
points.
7.Be Clear and Concise: Use simple, clear language.
8. Link Your Ideas: Make sure each paragraph flows logically to
the next.
9. Conclusion: Summarise your main points and restate your
thesis in light of the evidence you have presented.
10.Don’t Aim for Perfection: The first draft is not the final version.
Focus on getting your ideas down; you can refine and edit later.
19. • 11. Cite Your Sources: Keep track of where your information
comes from so you can cite it properly and avoid plagiarism.
• 12. Take Breaks: Don’t try to write it all in one go. Taking short
breaks will help you clear your mind and come back to your
writing with fresh eyes.
• 13. Review and Revise: After completing your draft, review it to
see if your arguments make sense and are well supported.
• 14. Proofread: Check for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes,
and punctuation.
• 15. Seek Feedback!
• Remember, the first draft is just the beginning. It’s an
opportunity to flesh out your ideas and see how they fit together.
Keep refining until your essay clearly and effectively
communicates your argument.
Writing your
first draft: The
steps
20. Types of referencing
How do you turn your notes from your sources into
references in your essay?
21. There are
different types
of references:
• Direct quotes
• Summarising
• Paraphrasing
• You reference when you are
taking information from
another source!
22. Common Knowledge
• Information that is widely known and accepted by the
general public
• Can easily be found in numerous sources.
• If the information can be found in a general reference
source or is something that one would expect the
intended audience to know already, a citation is
typically not necessary.
• However, if using specific numbers, data, or direct
quotations, even if the information is widely known, it is
advisable to cite the sources to attribute the work to its
original author.
• E.g. World War Two was fought from 1939 – 1945
23. Direct quotes
Ensure that the direct quote is precisely as it appears in the source. Changing even a single word can misrepresent the quote.
Accuracy
Always provide proper citation for the quote!
Cite
Enclose the quoted text within quotation marks to indicate that the words are taken directly from a source.
Quotation Marks
Provide a brief explanation or context for the quote, especially if its relevance to your argument or discussion isn’t immediately
clear
Context
When quoting, be careful to preserve the text's original meaning. Avoid taking quotes out of context.
Original Meaning
Relying too heavily on direct quotes can undermine your own argument and writing style.
Balance
Use direct quotes when the specific words are crucial for your argument or when the authority of the speaker adds weight to your point
Specificity or Authority
Only use the portion of the quote that is necessary for your purpose. Avoid long quotations unless absolutely necessary.
Concise
Consider paraphrasing the quote if a direct quote does not add extra value to your writing.
Paraphrase
24. Seán Lester’s vehement opposition of the policies
of the National Socialist party in Danzig was noted
by German diplomat Felician Prill, “No one who
defended freedom and justice in the dark days of
Germany's history will ever forget the resolute spirit
of this brave Irishman, Seán Lester.”1
Direct quotation
25. Summarising
● Summarising is the act of reducing
the most essential points of someone
else’s work into a shorter form
● It concentrates on the important
points of that work, rather than on the
details
● In this way, it contains the core
information and makes the content
more accessible and easier to
understand
26. Summarising
The 'Leipzig incident' served as a catalyst for the Nazi
factions in Danzig, encompassing both the party
members and the senate, to vehemently criticise Lester.
They accused him of acting as a spokesperson for the
democratic opposition and of intruding in the internal
affairs of Danzig. This reaction suggests a heightened
sensitivity to external commentary or intervention,
particularly from figures perceived as supporting
democratic ideals contrary to Nazi ideology. It also
reflects the strained political atmosphere of the time,
where any external critique or involvement was met with
aggressive rhetoric and accusations of meddling in
sovereign matters.
The 'Leipzig incident' led to
Nazis in Danzig accusing
Lester of speaking for their
political opponents and
interfering in Danzig's own
matters.
27. Paraphrasing
● Paraphrasing is the act of expressing
someone else's ideas or information in your
own words
● It involves rephrasing a text while retaining
the original meaning
● Paraphrasing allows you to use another
person’s ideas but the writing flows with the
rest of your writing
28. Effective paraphrasing
● Read and Understand: Carefully read the original text
to grasp its meaning.
● Identify Key Points: Identify the main ideas and key
points in the text.
● Express in Your Own Words: Rewrite the information
in your own words, maintaining the original meaning.
● Check for Accuracy: Ensure that your paraphrased
version accurately reflects the original message.
29. Paraphrasing
‘The Leipzig incident’ was also
the signal for the Danzig Nazis,
both party and senate, to
unleash a tirade of abuse
against Lester, accusing him of
being a mouthpiece for the
democratic opposition as well
as ‘meddling in Danzig's
internal affairs’.
The Leipzig incident served as
a trigger for the Nazi party and
government in Danzig to
strongly criticise Lester. They
charged him with being a
spokesperson for those
opposed to their views and with
interfering in the internal
matters of Danzig.
30. Task!
There is a cut-out from Felician Prill’s journal article on Seán Lester on
your table. In groups of 2 or 3, paraphrase the quote i.e. put it into your
own words.
Prill, F. (1960) ‘Seán Lester: High Commissioner in Danzig, 1933-1937’, Studies: An Irish
Quarterly Review, 49(195), pp. 261–67. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30099228
31. Draft 1 – inserting your notes
Seán Lester faced significant challenges when he became the High
Commissioner in Danzig in 1933. Initially, the Nazi Party in Danzig acted with
restraint, but this quickly changed as they began to suppress democratic
freedoms, mirroring the oppressive measures already underway in Germany.
Unlike his predecessors, Lester was tasked with the formidable duty of
safeguarding the democratic constitution of the Free City amid these growing
threats.Despite the primary focus of his role being the resolution of conflicts
between Danzig and Poland, Lester placed considerable emphasis on the
protection of Danzig's democratic governance, particularly after the German-
Polish Non-Aggression Pact of 1934, which heightened the political stakes.
He openly criticised the Nazi's disregard for the rule of law and became a
vocal advocate for democracy, famously asserting, "I wish that all people
may be happy here." This statement epitomised his commitment to upholding
human rights and maintaining democratic integrity in the face of authoritarian
aggression.
32. Writing a conclusion
• Restate your main argument
(revisit your aims!)
• Summarise your key points
• Synthesise! How do your key
points relate to each other?
• Reflect
• Any unresolved questions?
That’s okay!
• No new information!
33. Review of the research
process (10 marks)
● 200-300 words (included in 1200-1500
word count for extended essay)
● Part of the extended essay or stand-alone
section after the essay for LC (as stand-
alone section for this project)
In the review you’ll describe:
● how useful your research process was in
achieving the aims in the outline plan
● how you carried out your research,
benefits you gained from it and any
problems you had
34. Review of the
research process
● Review the way you completed the RSR,
how you felt each stage went
● Be honest and specific
i.e. avoid vague statements like:
‘I completed my research by finding sources.’
Instead:
How did you go about finding sources?
Was it easy or difficult to find sources?
Did you encounter problems or challenges?
If so, what were they?
35. Review of the research process
Use these questions to help you write this section. You don’t need to address all
these questions except for those in 6. which are essential.
1. How did you go about choosing a title for your research study?
2. How did you find your sources? Was it easy or difficult to find and choose sources? Where did you
find your sources?
3. How did you find the information you needed in your sources? Skim-reading? Checking chapter
headings for relevance? Checking the index or reference list/bibliography? How easy was it to find the
information you needed? Did you keep anything in mind as you read, interviewed or examined your
sources? Did you come across any problems in the sources you used? Was there conflicting
information in the sources you read?
4. How did you select and record your information/data to answer the questions you set yourself? Note
taking? Highlighting sections of photocopied pages?
5. How did you put your data in order? Did you use a computer? Microsoft Word document? Notebook?
Separate folders/pages for separate sections?
36. Review of the research process
6. Did you achieve the aims of the study as laid down in the Outline Plan? Yes/No? Why/Why not? Were
there any difficulties involved? Were you in any way surprised by the evidence you uncovered? Did your
opinion of anything change while consulting the sources? Would you do anything differently if you were
to start again? N.B. YOU MUST ADDRESS THESE POINTS IN YOUR REVIEW!
7. How did you go about writing your essay? Did you make out a plan? Did you do a first draft? How
many drafts did you complete of the project? If so, how did you change that draft? Did you have to make
any major changes after receiving feedback from the teacher? If so, how did you make this changes?
Did you find yourself making decisions about what evidence to use?
8. What conclusions have I arrived at as a result of what I have found out? What is the evidence on
which I base these conclusions?
9. What has the experience of doing this essay taught you about the skills of the historian? Did you learn
any new skills from the whole experience? Information-gathering skills? Research skills? Technical
skills? Skills in working with evidence? Do you feel completing this project was a good experience and
worth the time in completing it?
37. Review of the research process:
Key words and phrases to use
Consulted/received guidance from the teacher, skills of a historian,
research, used the internet, planned the structure of my project,
lack/plenty of sources, selected the sources, read the sources, took
notes, extracted the important information, useful / irrelevant,
libraries were very helpful/unhelpful, the internet was very
good/flawed/inaccurate, archives/museum etc useful/not useful,
developed the outline plan, selected specific aims, compared the
information, planned the structure of my essay, one main idea for
each paragraph, difficulty condensing all of the information into a
short essay, tried to be fair and objective, identified bias, sorted out
causes and effects, evaluated each of the sources, assessed their
strengths and weaknesses. Difficulties encountered, essay drafts,
proof-read essay.
38. HIGHER LEVEL ORDINARY LEVEL
Excellent 9-10 Very good 8-10
Very good 7-8 Good 6-7
Good 5-6 Fair 4-5
Fair 3-4 Weak 0-3
Weak 0-2
Review of the research process: Marking scheme
41. How to reference
You need to show the reader where you got your
piece of information.
There are two pieces to referencing:
● In-text citation
● Reference lists
42. In-text citations and footnotes
● In-text citations appear in the text of your essay
● Shows the reader exactly where you got the information
● For the RSR you will use an in-text citation with a footnote when
you use direct quotations
● A small number 1 is placed beside the quote
● At the end of the extended essay, the footnotes are listed
● Shorter form of your full reference
43. Footnote
Footnote layout:
1. Source Type, Name of Source, Author, Page Number.
Number 2 is added after the second quote, corresponding 2. footnote at end etc.
Example:
“No one who defended freedom and justice in the dark days of Germany's history will ever forget
the resolute spirit of this brave Irishman, Sean Lester.” 1
FOOTNOTES
1. Journal article, Seán Lester: High Commissioner in Danzig, 1933-1937, Felician Prill, page 267.
NOTE: Remember to put quotation marks around your direct quote
45. Reference List
Book: Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title. Place of publication:
Publisher.
Journal Article: Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of
Journal, Issue information, Page reference.
Website: Surname, Initial. (Year that the site was published/last updated) Title
of website. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
46. Surname, Initial. (Year of publication)
Title. Place of publication: Publisher.
McNamara, P. (2009) Seán Lester,
Poland and the Nazi Takeover of
Danzig. Dublin: Irish Academic Press.
Book Reference
47. Journal Reference
Surname, Initial. (Year of
publication) 'Title of article', Title of
Journal, Issue information, Page
reference.
Prill, F. (1960) ‘Seán Lester: High
Commissioner in Danzig, 1933-
1937’, Studies: An Irish Quarterly
Review, 49(195), pp. 261–267.
48. Website Reference
Seán Lester diaries on Europeana
Surname, Initial. (Year that the site was
published/last updated) Title of website.
Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
Lester, S. (2023) Europeana: Seán Lester
Diaries 1888-1959. Available at
https://www.europeana.eu/en/search?page=1
&view=grid&query=sean%20lester
(Accessed: 4 December 2023).
49. Sources consulted section: LC booklet layout
Sources: (1) Lester, S. (2023) Europeana: Seán Lester Diaries
1888-1959. Available at https://www .europeana.eu/en/search?
page=1&view=grid&query=sean%20lester (Accessed: 4
December 2023). (2) McNamara, P. (2008) Sean Lester, Poland
and the Nazi Takeover of Danzig. Kildare: Irish Academic Press.
(3) Prill, F. (1960) ‘Seán Lester: High Commissioner in Danzig,
1933-1937’, Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review, 49(195), pp.
261–67.
50. Sources consulted section: for this project
Sources:
(1) Lester, S. (2023) Europeana: Seán Lester Diaries 1888-1959.
Available at
https://www.europeana.eu/en/search?page=1&view=grid&query=sean
%20lester (Accessed: 4 December 2023).
(2) McNamara, P. (2008) Sean Lester, Poland and the Nazi Takeover
of Danzig. Kildare: Irish Academic Press.
(3) Prill, F. (1960) ‘Seán Lester: High Commissioner in Danzig, 1933-
1937’, Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review, 49(195), pp. 261–67.
Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30099228
51. Extra Help
Cite This For Me
Site that helps create references
https://www.citethisforme.com/
52. Task
Sort out the correct references:
Book, journal article, website
53. Task: How to format references
Reference List
(Lay out A-Z by author)
Lester, S. (2023) Europeana: Seán Lester Diaries 1888-1959. Available at
https://www.europeana.eu/en/search?page=1&view=grid&query=sean%20lester
(Accessed: 4 December 2023).
McNamara, P. (2008) Sean Lester, Poland and the Nazi Takeover of Danzig. Kildare:
Irish Academic Press.
Prill, F. (1960) ‘Seán Lester: High Commissioner in Danzig, 1933-1937’, Studies: An
Irish Quarterly Review, 49(195), pp. 261–67. Available at:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/30099228
54. Tasks for home
- Finalise your title (with help from your teacher)
- Get reading your 3 reliable sources
- Start taking notes
- Use headings to organise your research
- Note down source strengths and weaknesses
- Start writing the first draft of your essay
- Re-write your outline plan
55. Need to know
- You will be submitting your research study report
online in the form of a Word document (you’ll be
given a template!)
- Submit to eilis.oneill@dcu.ie
- Submit by the 4th of April
- Ask us questions: Revision session, online form,
through your teacher
60. IMAGE CREDITS:
Slide 2: Canva image: Male and Female Hands Holding a Smiley Face on Paper by Gajus
Slide 3: Canva image: Question mark on paper bubbles, top view by 9dreamstudio from Getty
Images
Slide 5: Image generated using ChatGPT Dall-E 3 from the prompt row of pens
Slide 7: Chart created by Hayley Brabazon on Whimsicle
Slide 9: Image generated using ChatGPT Dall-E 3 from the prompt sticky notes
Slide 14: Image generated using ChatGPT Dall-E 3 from the prompt colourful office
Slide 17 - 19: Image generated using ChatGPT Dall-E 3 from the prompt studying at a desk
Slide 21: Image generated using ChatGPT Dall-E 3 from the prompt researching history
Slide 22: Image generated using ChatGPT Dall-E 3 from the prompt common knowledge
information
61. IMAGE CREDITS:
Slide 25: Image generated using ChatGPT Dall-E 3 from the prompt typing on a laptop
Slide 27: Image from writeneed.com
Slide 28: Image generated using ChatGPT Dall-E 3 from the prompt student studying
Slide 32: Image generated using ChatGPT Dall-E 3 from the prompt colourful desk
Slide 33,34, 37: Canva image: Time for review. Business concept by mucahiddin from Getty
Images
Slide 44: Image created in Canva with illustration Glossary Abstract Concept Vector Illustration
by Visual Generation
Slide 46: Canva image: Book, books, piledbooks by olaser from Getty Images Signature
Slide 47: Photo from unsplash site
Slide 48: Canva image: Person Using Laptop Computer by Burst from Pexels
Slides 56-59: Students’ Guide to the RSR: Wicklow County Archives