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  • Home
  • Y7/8 Humanities
    • Year 7 >
      • 1. Hong Kong - Live it, Love it >
        • 1. What is Hong Kong like?
        • 2. How has Hong Kong changed?
        • 3. How can we use sources to find out about Hong Kong?
        • 4. How can we plan for a fieldwork trip?
        • 5. Completing the Travel Guide
      • 2. Beliefs and Believers >
        • 1. Ultimate Questions
        • 2. Creation Stories
        • 3. Religion in Hong Kong
        • 4. Religion and the Environment
        • 5. Religion and Evolution
        • 6. Religion vs Science - The Debate
        • 7. End of Unit Assessment
      • 4. Culture and Country >
        • 1. What is Cultural Identity?
        • 2. China's Cultural Identity
        • 3. Kashgar's Cultural Identity
        • 4. Japan's Cultural Identity
        • 5. End of Unit Assessment
    • Year 8 >
      • 1. Happiness >
        • 1. Happiness and Me
        • 2. Religions and Happiness
        • 3. Happiness Around the World
        • 4. Happiness and Economics
        • 5. Society and Happiness
        • 6. End of Unit Assessment
      • 2. Emergency on Planet Earth >
        • 1. Consumption and the Environment
        • 2. Biomes and the Biosphere
        • 3. Tropical Rainforests
        • 4. Deforestation
        • 5. Conservation
        • 6. Plastic Seas Assessment
      • 3. Life after Death >
        • 1. What happens when we die?
        • 2. Mythology and the Afterlife
        • 3. Happy Valley Cemetery Visit
        • 4. Religion and the Afterlife
        • 5. Life After Death Assessment
      • 4. Crime & Punishment >
        • 1. What is Crime?
        • 2. Hero or Villain?
        • 3. Jack the Ripper
        • 4. Crime Writing
        • 5. The Geography of Crime
        • 6. Henry VIII Assessment
  • Y9 History
    • 1. Innovation & Industry >
      • 1. Causes
      • 2. Innovations
      • 3. Conditions
      • 4. Changes
      • 5. Sources
      • 6-7. Assessment 1 >
        • The USA
      • 8. Reflection
    • Old History >
      • 1. Hong Kong Story >
        • Further Reading
      • 2. The Slave Trade
      • 3. The First World War
      • 4. The Changing Role of Women
  • Elements
    • Big History Project >
      • 1. What is Big History? >
        • 1.0 - Welcome to Big History
        • 1.1 - Scale
        • 1.2 - Origin Stories
        • 1.3 - What are Disciplines?
        • 1.4 - My Big History
        • Glossary
      • 2. The Big Bang >
        • 2.0 - Changing Understandings
        • 2.1 - The Big Bang
        • 2.2 - Claim Testing
        • Glossary
        • Links & Resources
      • 3. Stars and Elements >
        • 3.0 - How were stars formed?
        • 3.1 - Creation of Complex Elements
        • 3.2 - Ways of Knowing: Stars & Elements
        • Glossary
      • 4. Our Solar System & Earth >
        • 4.0 - Formation of Earth & Our Solar System
        • 4.1 - What was young Earth like?
        • 4.2 - Why is Plate Tectonics important?
        • 4.3 - Ways of Knowing: Our Solar System and Earth
        • Glossary
      • 5. Life >
        • 5.0 - What is Life?
        • 5.1 - How did Life Begin and Change?
        • 5.2 - How do Earth and Life Interact?
        • 5.3 - Ways of Knowing: Life
        • Glossary
      • 6. Early Humans >
        • 6.0 - How Our Ancesters Evolved
        • 6.1 - Ways of Knowing: Early Humans
        • 6.2 - Collective Learning
        • 6.3 - How did the First Humans live?
        • Glossary
      • 7. Agriculture & Civilisation >
        • 7.0 - The Rise of Agriculture
        • 7.1 - The First Cities and States
        • 7.2 - Ways of Knowing: Agriculture & Civilisation
        • Glossary
      • 8. Expansion & Interconnection >
        • 8.0 - Expansion
        • 8.1 - Exploration & Interconnection
        • 8.2 - The Columbian Exchange
        • 8.3 - Commerce & Collective Learning
        • Glossary
      • 9. Acceleration >
        • 9.0 - Transitions, Thresholds & Turning Points in Human History
        • 9.1 - Acceleration
        • 9.2 - The Anthropocene
        • 9.3 - Changing Economies
        • 9.4 - Industrialism
        • 9.5 - Modern States and Identities
        • 9.6 - Crisis and Conflict
        • 9.7 - Acceleration: Demographic, Political, and Technological
        • Glossary
      • 10. The Future >
        • 10.0 - Looking Back
        • 10.1 - The Biosphere
        • 10.2 - Looking Forward
        • Glossary
      • Assessment Rubrics
      • Key Texts
      • Little Big History
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
      • Thresholds of Increasing Complexity
      • Student Work
    • National History Day
  • IGCSE
    • Germany 1918-45 >
      • 1. The Establishment of the Weimar Republic & Its Early Problems
      • 2. The Recovery of Germany 1924-1929
      • 3. The Rise of Hitler and the Nazis 1919-1933
      • 4. Life in Nazi Germany 1933-1939
      • 5. Germany during the Second World War
      • Old Exam Questions
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
    • China 1900-89 >
      • 1. China 1900-1934
      • 2. Mao & the CCP 1934-1949
      • 3. Change under Mao 1949-1963
      • 4. The Impact of the Cultural Revolution
      • 5. China after Mao 1976-1989
      • Old Exam Questions
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
    • US Civil Rights 1945-74 >
      • 1. McCarthyism and the Red Scare
      • 2. Civil Rights in the 1950s
      • 3. The Impact of MLK & Black Power
      • 4. Protest Movements
      • 5. Nixon & Watergate
      • Old Exam Questions
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
    • Russia & the USSR 1905-24 >
      • Old Exam Questions
    • Past Papers
  • IBDP
    • Paper 1: The Move to Global War >
      • 1. Japanese Expansion >
        • 1. Impact of the Meiji Restoration
        • 2. Foreign Policy in the 1920s
        • 3. The Invasion of Manchuria
        • 4. The Sino-Japanese War
        • 5. The Road to War
      • 2. German and Italian Expansion >
        • 1. Causes of Italian Expansion
        • 2. Responses to Italian Expansion
        • 3. Causes of German Expansion
        • 4. Responses to German Expansion
        • 5. The Road to War in Europe
      • Exam Questions
    • Paper 2: The Cold War >
      • 1. Introduction to the Cold War
      • 2. Causes of the Cold War
      • 3. The Cold War in Asia
      • 4. Course of the Cold War
      • 5. End of the Cold War
      • 6. The Impact of Leaders
      • 7. The Impact of Crises
      • 8. Impact on Nations
      • Exam Questions
      • Further Reading
      • Glossary
      • Historiography
      • Primary Sources
    • Paper 2: Authoritarian States >
      • 1. Emergence of Authoritarian States >
        • 1. Why do Authoritarian States emerge?
        • 2. Rise of Hitler
        • 3. Rise of Mao
        • 4. Rise of Castro
        • 5. Rise of Stalin
        • 6. Comparing the Emergence of Authoritarian States
      • 2. Consolidation & Maintenance of Power >
        • 1. Hitler's Germany 1933-45
        • 2. Mao's China 1949-1976
        • 3. Castro's Cuba 1959-Present
        • 4. Comparing the Rule of Authoritarian States
      • 3. Aims and Results of Domestic Policies >
        • 4. Comparing Domestic Policies
      • Exam Questions
    • Paper 3: Asia and Oceania >
      • Paper 3: Imperial Decline in East Asia 1860-1912 >
        • 1. The Tongzhi Restoration
        • 2. Impact of the Boxer Rebellion
        • 3. The 1911 Xinhai Revolution
        • 4. The Meiji Restoration
        • 5. Early Japanese Imperialism
        • 6. The Opening of Korea
        • Exam Questions
      • Paper 3: Japan 1912-1990 >
        • 1. Taisho Japan
        • 2. The Rise of Militarism
        • 3. The Move to Global War
        • 4. The Pacific War
        • 5. The US Occupation
        • 6. The 'Economic Miracle'
        • Exam Questions
      • Paper 3: China and Korea 1910-1950 >
        • 1. Rise of National Identity 1911-1927
        • 2. Nationalist Rule in China 1927-1937
        • 3. Rise of Communism in China
        • 4. Japanese Invasion and Civil War 1937-1949
        • 5. Japanese Occupation of Korea 1910-1945
        • 6. Taiwan - The Republic of China
        • Exam Questions
      • Paper 3: The People's Republic of China 1949-2005 >
        • 1. Establishment of the Communist State 1949-1961
        • 2. The Transition to Socialism 1949-1976
        • 3. The Cultural Revolution
        • 4. China's Foreign Affairs 1949-1976
        • 5. China after Mao 1976-2000
        • 6. China's Impact on the Region
        • Exam Questions
        • Further Reading
        • Historiography
        • Primary Sources
    • Internal Assessment >
      • Forming Questions
      • Researching Primary Sources >
        • New York Times Digital Archive
        • SCMP Digital Archive
      • Researching Secondary Sources >
        • Google Scholar
        • History Today
        • HK Public Library e-resources
        • jstor
        • questia
        • Worldcat
      • Source Evaluation
      • Chicago Citation Format
      • IA Help Guide
    • Extended Essay >
      • 1. Title Page
      • 2. Abstract & Contents Page
      • 3. Introduction
      • 4. Body of the Essay
      • 5. Conclusion
      • 6. References, Bibliography & Appendices
    • Mark Schemes
    • Revision
    • Hall of Fame
  • TOK
  • Resources
    • About Us
    • History Trips
    • 5 C's - Skills Framework >
      • Blog Resources
    • ChronoZoom
    • Further Listening
    • Further Reading
    • Further Watching
    • ICT Design Resources
    • individualsandsocieties.com
    • IS History Magazine
    • islandeducators.com
    • jstor.org
    • mrbuddhistory.com
    • questiaschool.com
    • Revision Strategies
  • History Help
    • Blog
    • Historical Content
    • Historical Concepts
    • Historical Skills >
      • Essay Planning >
        • 1. Forming Questions
        • 2. Command Words
        • 3. Topic Analysis
        • 4. Essay Structure
      • Essay Writing >
        • 1. Introductions
        • 2. Conclusions
        • 3. Words and Phrases
        • 4. Quotations
        • 5. Sentences
        • 6. Width and Depth
        • 7. Citing Sources
        • 8. Spelling and Grammar

3. INTRODUCTION

The Introduction


The purpose of the introduction is to explain why your topic is worth researching and to put it into context - not to give lots of descriptive background detail! You need to put your research question into historical context, explain the significance and relevance of the topic and justify why it is worthy of investigation. Try to follow these steps:

1. Historical Relevance - Outline why the topic/period you have chosen for study is so important to know about, and why your question within that topic is such an important one to answer.

2. Contemporary Relevance - Explain why the issues raised by your question still have contemporary relevance.

​3. Scope of Essay - Outline what factors/perspectives/themes/time periods you will examine​ in order to explore your question.

​4. Your Thesis - Finish by stating your overall argument or proposition that this essay will seek to forward.
Example 1 - To what extent was the Danish Resistance Movement successful in disrupting the Nazi occupation of Denmark?

Denmark was neutral throughout the first world war and supported the League of Nations in attempting to keep the peace between the European powers. However, the situation for the Danes in the Second World War would be very different. Despite having signed a non-aggression pact with Germany the year before, on 9 April 1940 German troops attacked neutral Denmark. The Danish military was small as it was only intended for a position of neutrality and 'to prevent unnecessary sacrifice of life in an obviously losing cause' (1). The King of Denmark, Christian X, called for cease fire (2) and with only 16 casualties (3) at the end of the day, Denmark became occupied by Hitler's Germany. As Denmark wasn't officially at war, life didn't change dramatically. Christian X and the Danish government agreed to 'cooperation' with the Nazis and in turn the Nazis wouldn't intervene in Danish domestic affairs. By following the 'cooperation policy' Denmark remained peaceful, being known as an 'exemplary protectorate' (4) in Berlin but as 'Hitler's Pet Canary' (5) by the Allies.

Nevertheless, 'beneath this impeccable veneer of calm acceptance were boiling feelings of defiance against the occupation' (6). Despite being slow in getting organised, starting with little acts of defiance, such as shunning all German salutes and giving them 'the cold shoulder', the resistance eventually became a national movement which involved the whole population. After 1943, the Danish resistance caused constant problems for their Nazi occupiers with bombings of factories, regular strikes, millions of resistance leaflets and newspapers such as Frit Denmark being published and the evacuation of their Jewish population to neutral Sweden. In the Germans' eyes 'Denmark causes us more difficulties than anything else' (7).
Example 2 - To what extent was World War Two the catalyst or cause of British Decolonisation?

This essay will aim to answer the question was World War Two the Catalyst or the Cause of British Decolonisation. Before the question can be answered, 'cause' and 'catalyst' need to be defined because in this instance 'catalyst' will be when something is inevitable and the war made this event happen sooner, while 'cause' is when the war was the factor that was largely responsible for the event happening. This investigation incorporates many primary sources such as original documentation and quotes from key individuals involved at the time (1), while also using many books on the subject of decolonisation (2) (3). The British Empire itself broke up in 64 countries and it was in these new nations that the Soviet Union, and the USA, competed for influence during the Cold War, which was born out of the ashes of the Second World War. Along with the Cold War, decolonisation was one of the defining features of the mid to late 20th Century and particularly shaped the continent of Africa, being regularly attributed to the political and economic instability experienced on the continent today. The legacy of the British Empire still lives on to this day with the British Prime Minister David Cameron saying "as with so many of the world's problems, [the British] are responsible for the issue in the first place' (4). But the fundamental question is not necessarily what the effects of decolonisation are, but rather why it happened in the first place.
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  • Home
  • Y7/8 Humanities
    • Year 7 >
      • 1. Hong Kong - Live it, Love it >
        • 1. What is Hong Kong like?
        • 2. How has Hong Kong changed?
        • 3. How can we use sources to find out about Hong Kong?
        • 4. How can we plan for a fieldwork trip?
        • 5. Completing the Travel Guide
      • 2. Beliefs and Believers >
        • 1. Ultimate Questions
        • 2. Creation Stories
        • 3. Religion in Hong Kong
        • 4. Religion and the Environment
        • 5. Religion and Evolution
        • 6. Religion vs Science - The Debate
        • 7. End of Unit Assessment
      • 4. Culture and Country >
        • 1. What is Cultural Identity?
        • 2. China's Cultural Identity
        • 3. Kashgar's Cultural Identity
        • 4. Japan's Cultural Identity
        • 5. End of Unit Assessment
    • Year 8 >
      • 1. Happiness >
        • 1. Happiness and Me
        • 2. Religions and Happiness
        • 3. Happiness Around the World
        • 4. Happiness and Economics
        • 5. Society and Happiness
        • 6. End of Unit Assessment
      • 2. Emergency on Planet Earth >
        • 1. Consumption and the Environment
        • 2. Biomes and the Biosphere
        • 3. Tropical Rainforests
        • 4. Deforestation
        • 5. Conservation
        • 6. Plastic Seas Assessment
      • 3. Life after Death >
        • 1. What happens when we die?
        • 2. Mythology and the Afterlife
        • 3. Happy Valley Cemetery Visit
        • 4. Religion and the Afterlife
        • 5. Life After Death Assessment
      • 4. Crime & Punishment >
        • 1. What is Crime?
        • 2. Hero or Villain?
        • 3. Jack the Ripper
        • 4. Crime Writing
        • 5. The Geography of Crime
        • 6. Henry VIII Assessment
  • Y9 History
    • 1. Innovation & Industry >
      • 1. Causes
      • 2. Innovations
      • 3. Conditions
      • 4. Changes
      • 5. Sources
      • 6-7. Assessment 1 >
        • The USA
      • 8. Reflection
    • Old History >
      • 1. Hong Kong Story >
        • Further Reading
      • 2. The Slave Trade
      • 3. The First World War
      • 4. The Changing Role of Women
  • Elements
    • Big History Project >
      • 1. What is Big History? >
        • 1.0 - Welcome to Big History
        • 1.1 - Scale
        • 1.2 - Origin Stories
        • 1.3 - What are Disciplines?
        • 1.4 - My Big History
        • Glossary
      • 2. The Big Bang >
        • 2.0 - Changing Understandings
        • 2.1 - The Big Bang
        • 2.2 - Claim Testing
        • Glossary
        • Links & Resources
      • 3. Stars and Elements >
        • 3.0 - How were stars formed?
        • 3.1 - Creation of Complex Elements
        • 3.2 - Ways of Knowing: Stars & Elements
        • Glossary
      • 4. Our Solar System & Earth >
        • 4.0 - Formation of Earth & Our Solar System
        • 4.1 - What was young Earth like?
        • 4.2 - Why is Plate Tectonics important?
        • 4.3 - Ways of Knowing: Our Solar System and Earth
        • Glossary
      • 5. Life >
        • 5.0 - What is Life?
        • 5.1 - How did Life Begin and Change?
        • 5.2 - How do Earth and Life Interact?
        • 5.3 - Ways of Knowing: Life
        • Glossary
      • 6. Early Humans >
        • 6.0 - How Our Ancesters Evolved
        • 6.1 - Ways of Knowing: Early Humans
        • 6.2 - Collective Learning
        • 6.3 - How did the First Humans live?
        • Glossary
      • 7. Agriculture & Civilisation >
        • 7.0 - The Rise of Agriculture
        • 7.1 - The First Cities and States
        • 7.2 - Ways of Knowing: Agriculture & Civilisation
        • Glossary
      • 8. Expansion & Interconnection >
        • 8.0 - Expansion
        • 8.1 - Exploration & Interconnection
        • 8.2 - The Columbian Exchange
        • 8.3 - Commerce & Collective Learning
        • Glossary
      • 9. Acceleration >
        • 9.0 - Transitions, Thresholds & Turning Points in Human History
        • 9.1 - Acceleration
        • 9.2 - The Anthropocene
        • 9.3 - Changing Economies
        • 9.4 - Industrialism
        • 9.5 - Modern States and Identities
        • 9.6 - Crisis and Conflict
        • 9.7 - Acceleration: Demographic, Political, and Technological
        • Glossary
      • 10. The Future >
        • 10.0 - Looking Back
        • 10.1 - The Biosphere
        • 10.2 - Looking Forward
        • Glossary
      • Assessment Rubrics
      • Key Texts
      • Little Big History
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
      • Thresholds of Increasing Complexity
      • Student Work
    • National History Day
  • IGCSE
    • Germany 1918-45 >
      • 1. The Establishment of the Weimar Republic & Its Early Problems
      • 2. The Recovery of Germany 1924-1929
      • 3. The Rise of Hitler and the Nazis 1919-1933
      • 4. Life in Nazi Germany 1933-1939
      • 5. Germany during the Second World War
      • Old Exam Questions
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
    • China 1900-89 >
      • 1. China 1900-1934
      • 2. Mao & the CCP 1934-1949
      • 3. Change under Mao 1949-1963
      • 4. The Impact of the Cultural Revolution
      • 5. China after Mao 1976-1989
      • Old Exam Questions
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
    • US Civil Rights 1945-74 >
      • 1. McCarthyism and the Red Scare
      • 2. Civil Rights in the 1950s
      • 3. The Impact of MLK & Black Power
      • 4. Protest Movements
      • 5. Nixon & Watergate
      • Old Exam Questions
      • Further Reading
      • Further Watching
    • Russia & the USSR 1905-24 >
      • Old Exam Questions
    • Past Papers
  • IBDP
    • Paper 1: The Move to Global War >
      • 1. Japanese Expansion >
        • 1. Impact of the Meiji Restoration
        • 2. Foreign Policy in the 1920s
        • 3. The Invasion of Manchuria
        • 4. The Sino-Japanese War
        • 5. The Road to War
      • 2. German and Italian Expansion >
        • 1. Causes of Italian Expansion
        • 2. Responses to Italian Expansion
        • 3. Causes of German Expansion
        • 4. Responses to German Expansion
        • 5. The Road to War in Europe
      • Exam Questions
    • Paper 2: The Cold War >
      • 1. Introduction to the Cold War
      • 2. Causes of the Cold War
      • 3. The Cold War in Asia
      • 4. Course of the Cold War
      • 5. End of the Cold War
      • 6. The Impact of Leaders
      • 7. The Impact of Crises
      • 8. Impact on Nations
      • Exam Questions
      • Further Reading
      • Glossary
      • Historiography
      • Primary Sources
    • Paper 2: Authoritarian States >
      • 1. Emergence of Authoritarian States >
        • 1. Why do Authoritarian States emerge?
        • 2. Rise of Hitler
        • 3. Rise of Mao
        • 4. Rise of Castro
        • 5. Rise of Stalin
        • 6. Comparing the Emergence of Authoritarian States
      • 2. Consolidation & Maintenance of Power >
        • 1. Hitler's Germany 1933-45
        • 2. Mao's China 1949-1976
        • 3. Castro's Cuba 1959-Present
        • 4. Comparing the Rule of Authoritarian States
      • 3. Aims and Results of Domestic Policies >
        • 4. Comparing Domestic Policies
      • Exam Questions
    • Paper 3: Asia and Oceania >
      • Paper 3: Imperial Decline in East Asia 1860-1912 >
        • 1. The Tongzhi Restoration
        • 2. Impact of the Boxer Rebellion
        • 3. The 1911 Xinhai Revolution
        • 4. The Meiji Restoration
        • 5. Early Japanese Imperialism
        • 6. The Opening of Korea
        • Exam Questions
      • Paper 3: Japan 1912-1990 >
        • 1. Taisho Japan
        • 2. The Rise of Militarism
        • 3. The Move to Global War
        • 4. The Pacific War
        • 5. The US Occupation
        • 6. The 'Economic Miracle'
        • Exam Questions
      • Paper 3: China and Korea 1910-1950 >
        • 1. Rise of National Identity 1911-1927
        • 2. Nationalist Rule in China 1927-1937
        • 3. Rise of Communism in China
        • 4. Japanese Invasion and Civil War 1937-1949
        • 5. Japanese Occupation of Korea 1910-1945
        • 6. Taiwan - The Republic of China
        • Exam Questions
      • Paper 3: The People's Republic of China 1949-2005 >
        • 1. Establishment of the Communist State 1949-1961
        • 2. The Transition to Socialism 1949-1976
        • 3. The Cultural Revolution
        • 4. China's Foreign Affairs 1949-1976
        • 5. China after Mao 1976-2000
        • 6. China's Impact on the Region
        • Exam Questions
        • Further Reading
        • Historiography
        • Primary Sources
    • Internal Assessment >
      • Forming Questions
      • Researching Primary Sources >
        • New York Times Digital Archive
        • SCMP Digital Archive
      • Researching Secondary Sources >
        • Google Scholar
        • History Today
        • HK Public Library e-resources
        • jstor
        • questia
        • Worldcat
      • Source Evaluation
      • Chicago Citation Format
      • IA Help Guide
    • Extended Essay >
      • 1. Title Page
      • 2. Abstract & Contents Page
      • 3. Introduction
      • 4. Body of the Essay
      • 5. Conclusion
      • 6. References, Bibliography & Appendices
    • Mark Schemes
    • Revision
    • Hall of Fame
  • TOK
  • Resources
    • About Us
    • History Trips
    • 5 C's - Skills Framework >
      • Blog Resources
    • ChronoZoom
    • Further Listening
    • Further Reading
    • Further Watching
    • ICT Design Resources
    • individualsandsocieties.com
    • IS History Magazine
    • islandeducators.com
    • jstor.org
    • mrbuddhistory.com
    • questiaschool.com
    • Revision Strategies
  • History Help
    • Blog
    • Historical Content
    • Historical Concepts
    • Historical Skills >
      • Essay Planning >
        • 1. Forming Questions
        • 2. Command Words
        • 3. Topic Analysis
        • 4. Essay Structure
      • Essay Writing >
        • 1. Introductions
        • 2. Conclusions
        • 3. Words and Phrases
        • 4. Quotations
        • 5. Sentences
        • 6. Width and Depth
        • 7. Citing Sources
        • 8. Spelling and Grammar