Historical Quality Questions

1. Is the entry historically accurate?
   Are your facts correct?
2. Does the entry show analysis and interpretation?
   Did you think about your topic?
   Do your own ideas come across?
   Or is it just a bunch of repeated information?
3. Is the entry placed in historical context?
   Do you explain the background or circumstances in which your topic occurred? For example, did the bombing of Pearl Harbor just happen or were there events or situations that led up to it?
4. Does the entry show wide research?
   Did you just use the Internet, or maybe just the school library?
   Did you look at only one or two secondary sources?
   Did you look at everything or a least a good sample of the many sources that were within your reach?
5. Does the student(s) use available resources?
   Did you miss the obvious sources?
   For example, how come you did a topic on Americans in World War II and you didn’t even look at Tom Brokaw’s The Greatest Generation?
6. Is the research balanced?
   Do you have a good balance between primary and secondary sources?
   Did you depend too heavily on the Internet?
   Do you have a good mixture of different types of sources? Letters, newspaper articles, manuscripts, interviews, etc.

Notice that that items 4, 5, and 6 are based on your bibliography but your presentation should show that you used those sources listed in your bibliography.