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International Baccalaureate (IB)

IB students around the globe fear writing the Extended Essay, but it doesn't have to be a source of stress! In this article, I'll get you excited about writing your Extended Essay and provide you with the resources you need to get an A on it.

If you're reading this article, I'm going to assume you're an IB student getting ready to write your Extended Essay. If you're looking at this as a potential future IB student, I recommend reading our introductory IB articles first, including our guide to what the IB program is and our full coverage of the IB curriculum .

IB Extended Essay: Why Should You Trust My Advice?

I myself am a recipient of an IB Diploma, and I happened to receive an A on my IB Extended Essay. Don't believe me? The proof is in the IBO pudding:

If you're confused by what this report means, EE is short for Extended Essay , and English A1 is the subject that my Extended Essay topic coordinated with. In layman's terms, my IB Diploma was graded in May 2010, I wrote my Extended Essay in the English A1 category, and I received an A grade on it.

What Is the Extended Essay in the IB Diploma Programme?

The IB Extended Essay, or EE , is a mini-thesis you write under the supervision of an IB advisor (an IB teacher at your school), which counts toward your IB Diploma (learn more about the major IB Diploma requirements in our guide) . I will explain exactly how the EE affects your Diploma later in this article.

For the Extended Essay, you will choose a research question as a topic, conduct the research independently, then write an essay on your findings . The essay itself is a long one—although there's a cap of 4,000 words, most successful essays get very close to this limit.

Keep in mind that the IB requires this essay to be a "formal piece of academic writing," meaning you'll have to do outside research and cite additional sources.

The IB Extended Essay must include the following:

• A title page
• Contents page
• Introduction
• Body of the essay
• References and bibliography

Additionally, your research topic must fall into one of the six approved DP categories , or IB subject groups, which are as follows:

• Group 1: Studies in Language and Literature
• Group 2: Language Acquisition
• Group 3: Individuals and Societies
• Group 4: Sciences
• Group 5: Mathematics
• Group 6: The Arts

Once you figure out your category and have identified a potential research topic, it's time to pick your advisor, who is normally an IB teacher at your school (though you can also find one online ). This person will help direct your research, and they'll conduct the reflection sessions you'll have to do as part of your Extended Essay.

As of 2018, the IB requires a "reflection process" as part of your EE supervision process. To fulfill this requirement, you have to meet at least three times with your supervisor in what the IB calls "reflection sessions." These meetings are not only mandatory but are also part of the formal assessment of the EE and your research methods.

According to the IB, the purpose of these meetings is to "provide an opportunity for students to reflect on their engagement with the research process." Basically, these meetings give your supervisor the opportunity to offer feedback, push you to think differently, and encourage you to evaluate your research process.

The final reflection session is called the viva voce, and it's a short 10- to 15-minute interview between you and your advisor. This happens at the very end of the EE process, and it's designed to help your advisor write their report, which factors into your EE grade.

Here are the topics covered in your viva voce :

• A check on plagiarism and malpractice
• Your reflection on your project's successes and difficulties
• Your reflection on what you've learned during the EE process

Your completed Extended Essay, along with your supervisor's report, will then be sent to the IB to be graded. We'll cover the assessment criteria in just a moment.

We'll help you learn how to have those "lightbulb" moments...even on test day!  

What Should You Write About in Your IB Extended Essay?

You can technically write about anything, so long as it falls within one of the approved categories listed above.

It's best to choose a topic that matches one of the IB courses , (such as Theatre, Film, Spanish, French, Math, Biology, etc.), which shouldn't be difficult because there are so many class subjects.

Here is a range of sample topics with the attached extended essay:

• Biology: The Effect of Age and Gender on the Photoreceptor Cells in the Human Retina
• Chemistry: How Does Reflux Time Affect the Yield and Purity of Ethyl Aminobenzoate (Benzocaine), and How Effective is Recrystallisation as a Purification Technique for This Compound?
• English: An Exploration of Jane Austen's Use of the Outdoors in Emma
• Geography: The Effect of Location on the Educational Attainment of Indigenous Secondary Students in Queensland, Australia
• Math: Alhazen's Billiard Problem
• Visual Arts: Can Luc Tuymans Be Classified as a Political Painter?

You can see from how varied the topics are that you have a lot of freedom when it comes to picking a topic . So how do you pick when the options are limitless?

How to Write a Stellar IB Extended Essay: 6 Essential Tips

Below are six key tips to keep in mind as you work on your Extended Essay for the IB DP. Follow these and you're sure to get an A!

#1: Write About Something You Enjoy

You can't expect to write a compelling essay if you're not a fan of the topic on which you're writing. For example, I just love British theatre and ended up writing my Extended Essay on a revolution in post-WWII British theatre. (Yes, I'm definitely a #TheatreNerd.)

I really encourage anyone who pursues an IB Diploma to take the Extended Essay seriously. I was fortunate enough to receive a full-tuition merit scholarship to USC's School of Dramatic Arts program. In my interview for the scholarship, I spoke passionately about my Extended Essay; thus, I genuinely think my Extended Essay helped me get my scholarship.

But how do you find a topic you're passionate about? Start by thinking about which classes you enjoy the most and why . Do you like math classes because you like to solve problems? Or do you enjoy English because you like to analyze literary texts?

Keep in mind that there's no right or wrong answer when it comes to choosing your Extended Essay topic. You're not more likely to get high marks because you're writing about science, just like you're not doomed to failure because you've chosen to tackle the social sciences. The quality of what you produce—not the field you choose to research within—will determine your grade.

Once you've figured out your category, you should brainstorm more specific topics by putting pen to paper . What was your favorite chapter you learned in that class? Was it astrophysics or mechanics? What did you like about that specific chapter? Is there something you want to learn more about? I recommend spending a few hours on this type of brainstorming.

One last note: if you're truly stumped on what to research, pick a topic that will help you in your future major or career . That way you can use your Extended Essay as a talking point in your college essays (and it will prepare you for your studies to come too!).

#2: Select a Topic That Is Neither Too Broad nor Too Narrow

There's a fine line between broad and narrow. You need to write about something specific, but not so specific that you can't write 4,000 words on it.

You can't write about WWII because that would be a book's worth of material. You also don't want to write about what type of soup prisoners of war received behind enemy lines, because you probably won’t be able to come up with 4,000 words of material about it. However, you could possibly write about how the conditions in German POW camps—and the rations provided—were directly affected by the Nazis' successes and failures on the front, including the use of captured factories and prison labor in Eastern Europe to increase production. WWII military history might be a little overdone, but you get my point.

If you're really stuck trying to pinpoint a not-too-broad-or-too-narrow topic, I suggest trying to brainstorm a topic that uses a comparison. Once you begin looking through the list of sample essays below, you'll notice that many use comparisons to formulate their main arguments.

I also used a comparison in my EE, contrasting Harold Pinter's Party Time with John Osborne's Look Back in Anger in order to show a transition in British theatre. Topics with comparisons of two to three plays, books, and so on tend to be the sweet spot. You can analyze each item and then compare them with one another after doing some in-depth analysis of each individually. The ways these items compare and contrast will end up forming the thesis of your essay!

When choosing a comparative topic, the key is that the comparison should be significant. I compared two plays to illustrate the transition in British theatre, but you could compare the ways different regional dialects affect people's job prospects or how different temperatures may or may not affect the mating patterns of lightning bugs. The point here is that comparisons not only help you limit your topic, but they also help you build your argument.

Comparisons are not the only way to get a grade-A EE, though. If after brainstorming, you pick a non-comparison-based topic and are still unsure whether your topic is too broad or narrow, spend about 30 minutes doing some basic research and see how much material is out there.

If there are more than 1,000 books, articles, or documentaries out there on that exact topic, it may be too broad. But if there are only two books that have any connection to your topic, it may be too narrow. If you're still unsure, ask your advisor—it's what they're there for! Speaking of advisors...

Don't get stuck with a narrow topic!

#3: Choose an Advisor Who Is Familiar With Your Topic

If you're not certain of who you would like to be your advisor, create a list of your top three choices. Next, write down the pros and cons of each possibility (I know this sounds tedious, but it really helps!).

For example, Mr. Green is my favorite teacher and we get along really well, but he teaches English. For my EE, I want to conduct an experiment that compares the efficiency of American electric cars with foreign electric cars.

I had Ms. White a year ago. She teaches physics and enjoyed having me in her class. Unlike Mr. Green, Ms. White could help me design my experiment.

Based on my topic and what I need from my advisor, Ms. White would be a better fit for me than would Mr. Green (even though I like him a lot).

The moral of my story is this: do not just ask your favorite teacher to be your advisor . They might be a hindrance to you if they teach another subject. For example, I would not recommend asking your biology teacher to guide you in writing an English literature-based EE.

There can, of course, be exceptions to this rule. If you have a teacher who's passionate and knowledgeable about your topic (as my English teacher was about my theatre topic), you could ask that instructor. Consider all your options before you do this. There was no theatre teacher at my high school, so I couldn't find a theatre-specific advisor, but I chose the next best thing.

Before you approach a teacher to serve as your advisor, check with your high school to see what requirements they have for this process. Some IB high schools require your IB Extended Essay advisor to sign an Agreement Form , for instance.

Make sure that you ask your IB coordinator whether there is any required paperwork to fill out. If your school needs a specific form signed, bring it with you when you ask your teacher to be your EE advisor.

#4: Pick an Advisor Who Will Push You to Be Your Best

Some teachers might just take on students because they have to and aren't very passionate about reading drafts, only giving you minimal feedback. Choose a teacher who will take the time to read several drafts of your essay and give you extensive notes. I would not have gotten my A without being pushed to make my Extended Essay draft better.

Ask a teacher that you have experience with through class or an extracurricular activity. Do not ask a teacher that you have absolutely no connection to. If a teacher already knows you, that means they already know your strengths and weaknesses, so they know what to look for, where you need to improve, and how to encourage your best work.

Also, don't forget that your supervisor's assessment is part of your overall EE score . If you're meeting with someone who pushes you to do better—and you actually take their advice—they'll have more impressive things to say about you than a supervisor who doesn't know you well and isn't heavily involved in your research process.

Be aware that the IB only allows advisors to make suggestions and give constructive criticism. Your teacher cannot actually help you write your EE. The IB recommends that the supervisor spends approximately two to three hours in total with the candidate discussing the EE.

#5: Make Sure Your Essay Has a Clear Structure and Flow

The IB likes structure. Your EE needs a clear introduction (which should be one to two double-spaced pages), research question/focus (i.e., what you're investigating), a body, and a conclusion (about one double-spaced page). An essay with unclear organization will be graded poorly.

The body of your EE should make up the bulk of the essay. It should be about eight to 18 pages long (again, depending on your topic). Your body can be split into multiple parts. For example, if you were doing a comparison, you might have one third of your body as Novel A Analysis, another third as Novel B Analysis, and the final third as your comparison of Novels A and B.

If you're conducting an experiment or analyzing data, such as in this EE , your EE body should have a clear structure that aligns with the scientific method ; you should state the research question, discuss your method, present the data, analyze the data, explain any uncertainties, and draw a conclusion and/or evaluate the success of the experiment.

#6: Start Writing Sooner Rather Than Later!

You will not be able to crank out a 4,000-word essay in just a week and get an A on it. You'll be reading many, many articles (and, depending on your topic, possibly books and plays as well!). As such, it's imperative that you start your research as soon as possible.

Each school has a slightly different deadline for the Extended Essay. Some schools want them as soon as November of your senior year; others will take them as late as February. Your school will tell you what your deadline is. If they haven't mentioned it by February of your junior year, ask your IB coordinator about it.

Some high schools will provide you with a timeline of when you need to come up with a topic, when you need to meet with your advisor, and when certain drafts are due. Not all schools do this. Ask your IB coordinator if you are unsure whether you are on a specific timeline.

Below is my recommended EE timeline. While it's earlier than most schools, it'll save you a ton of heartache (trust me, I remember how hard this process was!):

• January/February of Junior Year: Come up with your final research topic (or at least your top three options).
• February of Junior Year: Approach a teacher about being your EE advisor. If they decline, keep asking others until you find one. See my notes above on how to pick an EE advisor.
• April/May of Junior Year: Submit an outline of your EE and a bibliography of potential research sources (I recommend at least seven to 10) to your EE advisor. Meet with your EE advisor to discuss your outline.
• Summer Between Junior and Senior Year: Complete your first full draft over the summer between your junior and senior year. I know, I know—no one wants to work during the summer, but trust me—this will save you so much stress come fall when you are busy with college applications and other internal assessments for your IB classes. You will want to have this first full draft done because you will want to complete a couple of draft cycles as you likely won't be able to get everything you want to say into 4,000 articulate words on the first attempt. Try to get this first draft into the best possible shape so you don't have to work on too many revisions during the school year on top of your homework, college applications, and extracurriculars.
• August/September of Senior Year: Turn in your first draft of your EE to your advisor and receive feedback. Work on incorporating their feedback into your essay. If they have a lot of suggestions for improvement, ask if they will read one more draft before the final draft.
• September/October of Senior Year: Submit the second draft of your EE to your advisor (if necessary) and look at their feedback. Work on creating the best possible final draft.
• November-February of Senior Year: Schedule your viva voce. Submit two copies of your final draft to your school to be sent off to the IB. You likely will not get your grade until after you graduate.

Remember that in the middle of these milestones, you'll need to schedule two other reflection sessions with your advisor . (Your teachers will actually take notes on these sessions on a form like this one , which then gets submitted to the IB.)

I recommend doing them when you get feedback on your drafts, but these meetings will ultimately be up to your supervisor. Just don't forget to do them!

The early bird DOES get the worm!

How Is the IB Extended Essay Graded?

Extended Essays are graded by examiners appointed by the IB on a scale of 0 to 34 . You'll be graded on five criteria, each with its own set of points. You can learn more about how EE scoring works by reading the IB guide to extended essays .

• Criterion A: Focus and Method (6 points maximum)
• Criterion B: Knowledge and Understanding (6 points maximum)
• Criterion C: Critical Thinking (12 points maximum)
• Criterion D: Presentation (4 points maximum)
• Criterion E: Engagement (6 points maximum)

How well you do on each of these criteria will determine the final letter grade you get for your EE. You must earn at least a D to be eligible to receive your IB Diploma.

Although each criterion has a point value, the IB explicitly states that graders are not converting point totals into grades; instead, they're using qualitative grade descriptors to determine the final grade of your Extended Essay . Grade descriptors are on pages 102-103 of this document .

Here's a rough estimate of how these different point values translate to letter grades based on previous scoring methods for the EE. This is just an estimate —you should read and understand the grade descriptors so you know exactly what the scorers are looking for.

Here is the breakdown of EE scores (from the May 2021 bulletin):

How Does the Extended Essay Grade Affect Your IB Diploma?

The Extended Essay grade is combined with your TOK (Theory of Knowledge) grade to determine how many points you get toward your IB Diploma.

To learn about Theory of Knowledge or how many points you need to receive an IB Diploma, read our complete guide to the IB program and our guide to the IB Diploma requirements .

This diagram shows how the two scores are combined to determine how many points you receive for your IB diploma (3 being the most, 0 being the least). In order to get your IB Diploma, you have to earn 24 points across both categories (the TOK and EE). The highest score anyone can earn is 45 points.

Let's say you get an A on your EE and a B on TOK. You will get 3 points toward your Diploma. As of 2014, a student who scores an E on either the extended essay or TOK essay will not be eligible to receive an IB Diploma .

Prior to the class of 2010, a Diploma candidate could receive a failing grade in either the Extended Essay or Theory of Knowledge and still be awarded a Diploma, but this is no longer true.

Figuring out how you're assessed can be a little tricky. Luckily, the IB breaks everything down here in this document . (The assessment information begins on page 219.)

40+ Sample Extended Essays for the IB Diploma Programme

In case you want a little more guidance on how to get an A on your EE, here are over 40 excellent (grade A) sample extended essays for your reading pleasure. Essays are grouped by IB subject.

• Business Management 1
• Chemistry 1
• Chemistry 2
• Chemistry 3
• Chemistry 4
• Chemistry 5
• Chemistry 6
• Chemistry 7
• Computer Science 1
• Economics 1
• Design Technology 1
• Design Technology 2
• Environmental Systems and Societies 1
• Geography 1
• Geography 2
• Geography 3
• Geography 4
• Geography 5
• Geography 6
• Literature and Performance 1
• Mathematics 1
• Mathematics 2
• Mathematics 3
• Mathematics 4
• Mathematics 5
• Philosophy 1
• Philosophy 2
• Philosophy 3
• Philosophy 4
• Philosophy 5
• Psychology 1
• Psychology 2
• Psychology 3
• Psychology 4
• Psychology 5
• Social and Cultural Anthropology 1
• Social and Cultural Anthropology 2
• Social and Cultural Anthropology 3
• Sports, Exercise and Health Science 1
• Sports, Exercise and Health Science 2
• Visual Arts 1
• Visual Arts 2
• Visual Arts 3
• Visual Arts 4
• Visual Arts 5
• World Religion 1
• World Religion 2
• World Religion 3

What's Next?

Trying to figure out what extracurriculars you should do? Learn more about participating in the Science Olympiad , starting a club , doing volunteer work , and joining Student Government .

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Not sure where you want to go to college? Read our guide to finding your target school . Also, determine your target SAT score or target ACT score .

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Extended Essay Guide: Criteria, Format, Sample EEs

• Criteria, Format, Sample EEs
• Annotated Bibliographies
• DP Research Process
• Databases & Academic Journals
• Evaluate Sources
• Academic Integrity
• MLA Citation Format
• CSE Citation Format (Science & Math)
• Video Tutorials 2024

The Assessment Crtiteria in Detail!

• Criterion A: Focus and method
• Criterion B: Knowledge and understanding
• Criterion C: Critical Thinking
• Criterion D: Presentation
• Criterion E: Engagement
• EE_How to maximize marks for different subjects?

• Criterion C: Critical thinking

Notes from the IB

RE: Research Question and Title of Extended Essay

Please note the statement below from the EE curriculum manager regarding the need to have both a title and a RQ for all subjects. Previous versions of the EE Guide indicated that the title and the RQ should be the same for History, Business Management and Mathematics. This is no longer the case.  All essays, regardless of the subject, need to have both a RQ and a title.

Hi Kathy, 

To answer your question, I am going to quote directly from a response John Royce provided, on this forum, in October in response to a very similar question: (it was a question about using Spanish sources - hence the mention of Spanish)

It is certainly  permissible to use sources which are not in the language of the essay, but translation into the target language is required , one cannot assume that the reader understands the original language.

It is usual to quote the original as well as presenting the translation.  [Do not put quotation marks around your translation, just around the original]

Umberto Eco argues ("in Mouse or rat?") that direct translation may lose meaning, paraphrase or use of different idioms may be required to get the ideas across. Paul Bellos ("Is that a fish in your ear?") makes a similar argument - direct translation may confound meaning... Direct translation may not be ideal - meaning and understanding are preferred - so, not to worry that your student with her good Spanish cannot present a direct translation.

What  must be made clear is that the translations are those of the student;  these are her understandings. Readers can make of that what they will - and if unsure, are presented with the original - they can seek another translation.  A note in the acknowledgements and/or in the introduction to the effect that all translations are those of the writer is ... essential.

In response to the question about the  Bibliography/Works cited, my preference would be to list the source in its original Thai version, but perhaps with the English in brackets, to help the examiner.

Your bibliography will have the entries in Thai characters first in the document. Any in-text citation to Thai sources will be in (Thai characters [English translation]).

Citation in Thai [English translation]

Works Cited Example:

วงษ์ปัญญา, ธนกร [Wongpunya, Thanakorn]. “โรงงานยาสูบรวยแค่ไหน และเอาเงินไปทำอะไรบ้าง.”  [How rich is the Thailand Tobacco Monopoly and where does the money go?] (candidate translation). The Standard, The Standard, 30 Aug. 2018, thestandard.co/thailand-tobacco-monopoly/.

Format of the Extended Essay

Required Formatting

The extended essay should be written in a clear, correct and formal academic style, appropriate to the subject from which the topic is drawn. Given that the extended essay is a formally written research paper, it should strive to maintain a professional, academic look. 

To help achieve this, the following formatting is  required:

• 12-point, readable font (Calibri or Times New Roman);
• double spacing throughout entire Essay;
• page numbering - top right corner;
• no candidate or school name or supervisor name on the title page or page headers.

Submitting the extended essay in the required format will help set the tone of the essay and will aid readability for on-screen assessment by examiners.

Required S tructure

The structure of the essay is very important. It helps students to organize the argument, making the best use of the evidence collected. 

There are six required elements of the final work to be submitted. More details about each element are given in the  “Presentation”  section. Please note that the order in which these elements are presented here is not necessarily the order in which they should be written. 

Six required elements of the extended essay:

• Contents page
• Introduction
• Body of the essay
• References and bibliography -- if MLA "Works Cited" if CSE "References"

1. Required Title Page  

The title page should include  only  the following information: 

• the title of the essay
• the research question
• the subject the essay is registered in (if it is a language essay also state which category it falls into; if a world studies essay also state the theme and the two subjects utilized) 

The upper limit is 4,000 words for all extended essays. 

2. Required Contents Page

A contents page must be provided at the beginning of the extended essay and all pages should be numbered. Please note that an index page is not required and if included will be treated as if it is not present.

3. Required Introduction

The introduction should tell the reader what to expect in the essay. The introduction should make clear to the reader the focus of the essay, the scope of the research, in particular an indication of the sources to be used, and an insight into the line of argument to be taken. 

While students should have a sense of the direction and key focus of their essay, it is sometimes advisable to finalize the introduction once the body of the essay is complete.

4. Required Body of the Essay  (research, analysis, discussion, and evaluation)

The main task is writing the body of the essay, which should be presented in the form of a reasoned argument. The form of this varies with the subject of the essay but as the argument develops it should be clear to the reader what relevant evidence has been discovered, where/how it has been discovered and how it supports the argument. In some subjects, for example, the sciences, sub-headings within the main body of the essay will help the reader to understand the argument (and will also help the student to keep on track). In structuring their extended essay, students must take into consideration the expected conventions of the subject in which their extended essay is registered. 

Once the main body of the essay is complete, it is possible to finalize the introduction (which tells the reader what to expect) and the conclusion (which says what has been achieved, including notes of any limitations and any questions that have not been resolved). 

Any information that is important to the argument  must not  be included in appendices or footnotes/endnotes. The examiner  will not  read notes or appendices, so an essay that is not complete in itself will be compromised across the assessment criteria.

5. Required Conclusion

The conclusion says what has been achieved, including notes of any limitations and any questions that have not been resolved. While students might draw conclusions throughout the essay based on their findings, it is important that there is a final, summative conclusion at the end. This conclusion(s) must relate to the research question posed.

6.  Required References & Bibliography

Students should use their chosen style of academic referencing as soon as they start writing. That way they are less likely to forget to include a citation. It is also easier than trying to add references at a later stage. For more information on this, refer to the guidelines in the IB document  Effective citing and referencing.

Writing the essay takes time but if students have used their Researcher's reflection space and reflection sessions in a meaningful way they should be well prepared to develop their arguments.

Extended Essay - Examples & Exemplars

• Essays from May 2018 with IB marks and commentaries
• Assessed Student Work & Commentary IB-provided. "Student sample extended essays, corresponding marks and comments from senior examiners are available for the following Diploma Programme disciplines. Please note that in light of not having authentic RPPFs to accompany these essays, they are marked against criteria A – D only, for a total of 28 possible marks. Following the first assessment session in 2018, exemplars will be refreshed with authentic sample material." more... less... Biology English Economics History Studies in language and literature Language acquisition Mathematics Psychology Visual arts World studies extended essay (WSEE)
• Excellenet Extended Essays Concordian GoogleDoc
• EngA1_Othello EE Othello 2018 From inThinking.net Click the link to see the score and evaluation.
• Fifty (50) More Excellent Extended Essays DVD by International Baccalaureate Call Number: HS DVD 808.4 ISBN: 9781906345600 Publication Date: 2011 1 DVD-ROM (1:33 min.)

Past CIS Extended Essays

Available in the library behind the desk are file folders of past Extended Essays by Concordian students and IB EE Exemplars. Feel free to browse the papers which must be kept in the library.

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The IB extended essay is a paper of up to 4,000 words that is required for students enrolled in the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma program. The extended essay allows students to engage in independent research on a topic within one of the available subject areas.

The extended essay should be an original piece of academic writing that demonstrates the following student's abilities:

• Formulating a research question
• Conductig independent investigation
• Presenting key findings in a scholarly format.

Check out this article by StudyCrumb to discover how to write an IB extendend essay properly. We will give you a complete writing guide and critical tips you need for this essay type.

IB Extended Essay: What Is It?

An extended essay is independent research. Usually students choose a topic in consultation with a mentor. It is an integral part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) degree program. This means that you won't receive a degree without a successfully written paper. It requires 4,000-word study on a chosen narrow topic. To get a high score, you should meet all required structure and formatting standards. This is the result of approximately 40 working hours. Its purpose is giving you the opportunity to try independent research writing. It's approved that these skills are critical for student success at university. The following sections explain how to write an extended article with examples. So keep reading!  

Choosing a Mentor for Extended Essay

IB extended essay guidelines require supervisor meetings, totaling 3-5 hours. They include three critical reflections. A mentor won't write a paper instead of you but can help adjust it. So it is important to consult with them, but no one will proofread or correct actual research for you. In general, initially treat an essay as an exclusively individual work. So your role and contribution are maximal.

Extended Essay Outline

Let's take a look at how to write an extended essay outline. In this part, you organize yourself so that your work develops your idea. So we especially recommend you work out this step with your teacher. You can also find any outline example for essay . In your short sketch, plan a roadmap for your thoughts. Think through and prepare a summary of each paragraph. Then, expand annotation of each section with a couple more supporting evidence. Explain how specific examples illustrate key points. Make it more significant by using different opinions on general issues.  

Extended Essay: Getting Started

After you chose an extended essay topic and made an outline, it's time to start your research. Start with a complete Table of Contents and make a choice of a research question. Select the subject in which you feel most confident and which is most interesting for you. For example, if at school you are interested in natural science, focus on that. If you have difficulties choosing a research question, rely on our essay topic generator .

Extended Essay Introduction

In the introduction of an extended essay, present a thesis statement. But do it in such a way that your readers understand the importance of your research. State research question clearly. That is the central question that you are trying to answer while writing. Even your score depends on how you develop your particular research question. Therefore, it is essential to draw it up correctly. Gather all relevant information from relevant sources. Explain why this is worth exploring. Then provide a research plan, which you will disclose further.  

Extended Essay Methodology

In accordance with extended essay guidelines, it's mandatory to choose and clearly state a methodological approach. So, it will be apparent to your examiner how you answered your research question. Include your collection methods and tools you use for collection and analysis. Your strategies can be experimental or descriptive, quantitative or qualitative. Research collection tools include observations, questionnaires, interviews, or background knowledge.

Extended Essay Main Body

Well, here we come to the most voluminous part of the extended essay for IB! In every essay body paragraph , you reveal your research question and discuss your topic. Provide all details of your academic study. But stay focused and do it without dubious ideas. Use different sources of information to provide supporting arguments and substantial evidence. This will impress professors. For this section, 3 main paragraphs are enough. Discuss each idea or argument in a separate paragraph. You can even use supporting quotes where appropriate. But don't overcomplicate. Make your extended essay easy to read and logical. It's critical to stay concise, so if you aren't sure how to make your text readable, use our tool to get a readbility test . Following the plan you outlined earlier is very important. Analyze each fact before including it in your writing. And don't write unnecessary information.

Extended Essay Conclusion

Now let's move on to the final part of IB extended essay guidelines. In conclusion, focus on summarizing the main points you have made. No new ideas or information can be introduced in this part. Use conclusion as your last chance to impress your readers. Reframe your own strong thesis. Here you must show all key points. Do not repeat absolutely every argument. Better try to make this part unique. This will show that you have a clear understanding of the topic you have chosen. And even more professional will be recommendations of new areas for future research. One good paragraph may be enough here. Although in some cases, two or three paragraphs may be required.

Extended Essay Bibliography & Appendices

To write an impressive extended essay, you should focus on appropriate information. You must create a separate page for bibliography with all sources you used. Tip from us: start writing this page with the first quote you use. Don't write this part last or postpone. In turn, appendices are not an essential section. Examiners will not pay much attention to this part. Therefore, include all information directly related to analysis and argumentation in the main body. Include raw data in the appendix only if it is really urgently needed. Moreover, it is better not to refer to appendices in text itself. This can disrupt the narrative of the essay.  

Extended Essay Examples

We have prepared a good example of an extended essay. You can check it by downloading it for free. You can use it as a template. However, pay attention that your paper is required to be unique. Don't be afraid to present all the skills you gained during your IB.

Final Thoughts on IB Extended Essay

In this article, we presented detailed IB extended essay guidelines. An extended essay is a daunting academic challenge to write. It is a research paper with a deep thematic analysis of information. But we have described several practical and straightforward tips. Therefore, we are sure that you will succeed!

If topics seem too complex, turn to our top essay writers. They will accomplish any IB assignment in the best way your professor can evaluate it!  

Daniel Howard is an Essay Writing guru. He helps students create essays that will strike a chord with the readers.

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Guide to the IB Extended Essay in 2024

January 24, 2024

If you’re an International Baccalaureate student getting ready to write your IB Extended Essay, you might be experiencing some very understandable trepidation. But have no fear—we’re here to help you understand what’s required of you, how to plan ahead (IB extended essay topics), and how you’ll be graded (IB extended essay rubric). Keep reading for a good dose of preparation and confidence before you begin the journey. In this article, we’ll cover:

What is the IB Extended Essay?

The ib extended essay—required content, ib extended essay topics.

IB Extended Essay—Sample Essays

IB Extended Essay Tips

Ib extended essay rubric, ib extended essay—more resources.

The IB Extended Essay is a 4,000-word paper that asks you to immerse yourself in research and academic writing. A required part of the IB program, the Extended Essay is a chance to dig deep into a topic that fascinates you.

Although it’s no small task, the IB Extended Essay is an opportunity to gain practical research and writing skills that will come in handy again in college. As you write, you’ll learn how to:

• Identify credible sources
• Formulate a research question and limit your scope of research
• Communicate ideas to an audience
• Develop a well-supported argument

The IB Extended Essay is largely an independent, self-directed project, but don’t worry—the IB program doesn’t throw you into the deep end. You do get to select a mentor (usually a teacher at your school) to help guide you through the process. As you write, you’ll be required to meet with your mentor three times. As part of your final evaluation, your mentor will interview you in a final reflection section called a viva voce . During the viva voce, your mentor will check for plagiarism and malpractice, ask you to reflect on challenges and difficulties, and prompt you to discuss what you’ve learned through the research and writing process. Your mentor will then generate a report that factors into your final grade.

Your final essay must include the following:

• Contents page
• Introduction
• Body of the essay
• References and bibliography

For this essay, it will be up to you to generate a topic; the International Baccalaureate does not provide prompts. However, your essay will need to fit within one of six provided subject areas . You’ll choose from the following list of IB Extended Essay Topics:

• Language and literature
• Language acquisition
• Individuals and societies
• Mathematics

IB Extended Essay Topics (Continued)

At a glance, the subject areas might look limited, but the topics you can choose to write about are actually wide-ranging. The “Individuals and societies” category includes social science topics like economics, history, world religions, and philosophy. And, if you’re leaning toward “Science,” you can choose from classic subjects such as biology, chemistry, and physics, or related topics like environmental systems or health science, among others.

The IB also offers a special “World Studies” option for students interested in researching global issues. This subject would allow you to center your writing on global issues such as migration, global health, cultural exchange, or climate change.

Wondering what an outstanding IB Extended Essay looks like? The International Baccalaureate provides quite a few sample student essays online . Here are five essays that earned A grades.

Language and literature: An exploration of an aspect of the narrative voice in Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita

Environmental Systems and Societies: The economic impact of the 1995 reintroduction of grey wolves to Yellowstone National Park

Psychology: To what extent do social networking sites (SNS) usage lead to experience of anxiety in adolescents?

Music: Composition techniques in the 1st movement of Johannes Brahms’s Symphony No. 2, Op. 73

Business Management: Corporate Culture at Oracle

1) Pick something you’re passionate about

As you can see from the titles above, the IB Extended Essay is a great place to delve into a niche topic that fascinates you. Since you’ll be spending many months on this essay, you’ll want to pick a topic you genuinely enjoy spending time learning about. It’s also smart to choose something you’ve already learned about in your IB classes so that you have a strong foundation of knowledge to start with. In music class, do you love pondering why music makes us feel a certain way? Maybe an essay about music theory will keep your gears turning. Do you come alive trying to solve seemingly impossible problems in physics class? Now’s your chance to put those equations into action.

Since this essay is all about your academic interests, it’s also a good idea to pick a topic that’s relevant to what you plan to study in college. Selecting a relevant topic will provide you with significant exposure to the field and will also give you something meaningful to talk about in your college admissions essays.

2) Limit your scope

What’s the meaning of life? Why do wars happen? What is time? Some questions are just way too big to answer, and your IB Extended Essay is not a good place to tackle expansive, philosophical questions. Instead, think of this essay as a place to investigate one piece of a big question. If, let’s say, you’re generally interested in what helps women reach positions of leadership in business, this is a good place to examine how one or a few companies approach this issue. Or, if you’re interested in studying what inspires surrealist painters, you’ll want to pick one or a few painters to research, likely all from the same time period. For both these topics, you’d need a whole textbook to tackle the full question, but limiting your scope will make it much easier to write a clear and cohesive 4,000 words.

On the other hand, it’s possible to narrow your focus too much. It would be impossible, for example, to write 4,000 words about a single sentence in a novel. Make sure you talk about scope early and often with your mentor. Together, you can find the perfect Goldilocks scope for your project that’s not too big and not too small.

3) Choose a good mentor

Speaking of mentors, choosing wisely will help you enormously as you embark on your IB Extended Essay. You’ll want to make sure you choose someone with existing knowledge in your research topic. Your English teacher may be able to give you great writing advice, for example, but they won’t be able to guide your research and scope if you’re writing about marine animals or modern dance.

Before you approach a teacher, make sure you have at least one topic idea (or even a few ideas) in mind so that you can make sure they’ll be a good fit to supervise your project. When you meet with them, find out what their mentorship style is like. Make sure they’ll have time to read several drafts of your essays, meet with you a few times, and give you feedback. Some IB schools will require your IB Extended Essay mentor to sign an agreement form too, so make sure you find out what paperwork is required in advance.

4) Get organized, way organized

The IB Extended Essay is not something you can crank out the night before it’s due. The essay is meant to be a substantive, in-depth, thoughtful, and thoroughly researched analysis, and Rome simply isn’t built in a day. This might be the longest paper you’ve written to date, and this project might require more research than you’ve been asked to do before. Timelines vary by school, but you’ll likely spend between eight months and a year working on your IB Extended Essay. So, how will you pull it all off? For these 8-12 months, organization will be your guiding light. We recommend you:

• Get started early. If your essay is due November of your senior year, start generating topic ideas during your junior year right after winter break.
• Create a long-view schedule for yourself. What will you accomplish each month of your process?
• Give yourself deadlines. Once you choose a mentor, suggest 2-3 draft deadline dates so that you will be held accountable throughout the writing process.
• Find a note-taking system that works for you. You’ll be reading many articles and books and it’s hard to keep track of all your sources. Create a document or spreadsheet where you keep track of the sources you’ve found and check them off as you read. As you finish reading a text, type up important quotes and a few notes explaining how it connects to your topic and to your other texts.

5)Write a messy first draft

Writing never comes out perfect the first time, even for New York Times bestselling authors and the most experienced researchers. In your first draft, give yourself permission to get all your thoughts out, no matter how unstructured or rambling they are. Call this your brainstorming draft. When you’re ready to revisit it, see what patterns emerge, what common ideas you can group together, what beginning buds of ideas you can make bloom into full-fledged analysis.

6) Communicate for an audience

When you’re used to producing writing that only your teacher reads, it can be hard to remember to write for an audience. But at the end of the day, writing is communication , and the best writing is clear and thorough communication that anyone could pick up and read. For your IB Extended Essay, you’ll want to remember that many people will be reading your final essay, and not all of them will be experts in the niche topic you choose to study. Ask yourself: how can I explain my research to an audience who doesn’t already agree with my analysis?

To communicate to an audience, you’ll want to:

• Provide lots of general background information on your topic.
• Don’t assume your reader is familiar with your sources. Introduce them as if they’re guest speakers about to walk up to a podium and deliver a lecture.
• After including quotes, facts, and figures, be sure to explain what those sources mean in your own words and how they connect to your bigger-picture argument.
• Don’t assume your arguments are self-evident. In this essay, communicating for an audience means supplying ongoing interpretation and analysis, even if it feels like you’re explaining the obvious. Your reader isn’t on your research journey with you, so your points might not be so obvious to your reader.

Although your IB Extended Essay provides a report that factors into your grade, your essay will also be assessed by external examiners the IB. Per the IB Extended Essay Rubric , essays are graded on a scale from 0 to 34 based on 5 different criteria:

• Criterion A: Focus and Method (6 points maximum)
• Criterion B: Knowledge and Understanding (6 points maximum)
• Criterion C: Critical Thinking (12 points maximum)
• Criterion D: Presentation (4 points maximum)
• Criterion E: Engagement (6 points maximum)

As you can see, Critical Thinking is the most significant rubric category. This means that the IB wants to see you arrive at your own unique analysis of your topic, drawing connections between sources and data, and making well-supported arguments. This means they want a lot of you: your ideas, your interpretations, your thoughts. Make sure you emphasize that in your essay, but of course don’t forget the other categories.

The score a student receives corresponds to a letter grade scale that is slightly different than what we’re accustomed to in the U.S. Here’s the letter grade to numerical score breakdown:

You must earn a D or higher to receive your IB Diploma. To learn more about the different criteria included in the IB Extended Essay Rubric, you can explore the IB’s full guide to the Extended Essay .

We hope you found our look at the IB extended essay rubric and IB extended essay topics to be helpful. Ready to dive into research? You may want to read our 10 Expert Tips for Improving Reading Comprehension before you hit the books.

And if you’re a high school student in the process of mapping out your pathway to college, take a look at a few other useful guides:

• IB vs AP—Which Classes are Best for College Admission?
• How to Earn College Credit in High School
• High School Course Requirements for College Admission
• SAT Score Calculator
• ACT Score Calculator 
• High School Success

Christina Wood

Christina Wood holds a BA in Literature & Writing from UC San Diego, an MFA in Creative Writing from Washington University in St. Louis, and is currently a Doctoral Candidate in English at the University of Georgia, where she teaches creative writing and first-year composition courses. Christina has published fiction and nonfiction in numerous publications, including The Paris Review , McSweeney’s , Granta , Virginia Quarterly Review , The Sewanee Review , Mississippi Review , and Puerto del Sol , among others. Her story “The Astronaut” won the 2018 Shirley Jackson Award for short fiction and received a “Distinguished Stories” mention in the 2019 Best American Short Stories anthology.

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IB Study Resources

September 14, 2021

A Definitive Guide to the IB Extended Essay (EE)

The Extended Essay (EE) is an independent, self-directed academic research, presented in the form of a 4,000-word paper. One component of the International Baccalaureate® (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) core, the extended essay is mandatory for all students. The final work is given a grade from E to A, and makes up part of each student’s final IB score. These are our thoughts on how to do well in the EE:

Step 1: Choosing a Extended Essay (EE) topic

Choosing a good topic for your extended essay can make a huge difference on your final score. Firstly, you should always choose a topic that you are interested in! The writing process becomes much more engaging, and will also be good content you can write in your personal statement for your university applications.

Always be creative and original when choosing your research topic. Think about how you can make your research question and the way you communicate your academic research unique. In addition, if you wish to explore a multidisciplinary field , you could consider writing a World Studies extended essay . This research is analysed through at least two disciplines, encouraging students to apply their knowledge to a problem with global significance. For example, you may want to consider the effects of an electric vehicle subsidy on climate change. This is an exciting opportunity and provides a good insight to an interdisciplinary university degree such as PPE.

Step 2: Framing your research question

Once you know your extended essay subject, your next step is to choose a question. Often, questions will be framed as “To what extent does…”. Exploring multiple perspectives, and critically analysing each of these, are key to success. Therefore, try and shape your question so that more than one point of view can be explored.

Similarly, make sure your question is specific ! Having a focused question will guide your research and show that you can explore one area in detail. For example, here are 2 examples of Economics extended essay questions:

• To what extent do smartphone companies compete with each other?
• To what extent do Apple and Samsung operate in a duopoly in the global smartphone market?

The second research question is more focused, allowing for greater in-depth research into which areas they are competing over. You can use secondary data from both companies’ annual reports, competitor websites, and undertake primary research (such as through an Economic survey or personal interview) – Having a research question that allows you to explore a specific area critically will definitely help you to score highly.

Step 3: Meeting your supervisor to establish specific targets

We recommend meeting with your supervisor as early as possible to check whether your research question is appropriate. If it is, this is a great opportunity to explore potential avenues of research. For example, a Physics extended essay on the path of a bowling bowl may look to incorporate several different features, such as force, weight, and air resistance into a model. Whichever subject area you choose, your supervisor is usually your first port of call for any questions you have.

During the meeting, it will be good to establish a timeline for your extended essay. Although this may only be rough, this will give you deadlines to work towards (much like you will need to do for university essays). Similarly, setting specific targets for your next meeting, such as writing an introduction or doing your survey, will also give you definitive targets to meet. Make sure at the end of this meeting you have clear goals to achieve and by your next meeting.

Furthermore, make sure that you are keeping a record of all of your meetings with your extended essay supervisor. 6 of the 36 marks for the EE are from your Reflections on Planning and Progress Form (RPPF) where you reflect on the meetings you have had with your supervisor. These should show that you are engaged with your topic, so discuss the ideas you have considered in response to setbacks whilst writing your extended essay and make sure to use personal pronouns (I, my) to convey your engagement. Detail any changes you made to your research method and demonstrate how you have taken a creative approach to your topic, as these will highlight what you have done to stand out.

Step 4: Starting your EE research

Following the meeting with your supervisor, it is time to begin researching your topic! This does not have to be too detailed to begin with, and we recommend aiming to research enough to write an introduction to your essay. This introduction should outline the main themes you will explore and your line of argument. To reiterate, your main argument may change as your essay develops, so do not worry if it is not perfect when you begin.

Some useful sources of information are your school library or Jstor. Your school librarian may be able to suggest some good books or articles to start reading, whilst using academic sources like Jstor or Google scholar gives you access to a wide range of academic material. When reading books or journal articles, you do not have to read them cover to cover! In fact, you should only read the sections that are relevant to your topic, and reading the introduction and conclusion will often tell you whether a journal article is relevant.

When reading, consistently keep in mind your essay title as this will help you to focus your reading on key sections of texts. For instance, highlight the key sections of the texts to review later. Alternatively, you could make notes in a separate word document; such as Googledocs; or with pen and paper. It is useful to keep everything you do in the same format, however, so you can easily collate it.

Step 5: Writing the essay’s first draft

The most difficult part with the EE is getting the first draft down. Many students struggle o to write the perfect introduction and methodology, and get stuck for weeks in the process. Your introduction and first draft do not have to be perfect but should form the base of your essay moving forward. It is often good to form a plan from your research that contains the key elements of each paragraph. Once you are confident with this and have filled it in with more research, you can turn this into a fully operational first draft.

We recommend breaking down the writing stage into several paragraphs, setting yourself mini-goals to achieve. This will help you to move along faster and make the seemingly daunting task of a 4,000-word essay a lot simpler. Similarly, you should use the research you have to support your ideas. Your research might consist of facts to back up your analysis or other writers’ opinions that agree with your own. Furthermore, you can also use this research to explore multiple points of view, coming to a conclusion as to which one is most appropriate. However, save yourself time whilst doing this by including links to the original article, rather than full references, as it is likely you may change the content of your essay and the references you use as you progress.

Make sure you save your extended essay frequently and to an accessible platform such Dropbox or Google Drive so that if your computer were to crash your progress will be stored!

Step 6: Reviewing your first draft

Your aim when meeting with your supervisor this time is to look over your first draft to see which parts are excellent, which can be explored further and which need to be rethought. This can be split into a number of meetings; for example, I looked at my introduction, then at the 4 sections of my main body, and finally at my conclusion. This reshaped the goals that I had moving forward and gave me specific subsections to work on.

Whilst editing your first draft, do not be afraid to delete, reword or move some parts that you have written, as this will help you shape your extended essay into the finished article. You can, if needed, even slightly alter your question. I changed my question at the start of April, with a June deadline for my essay. However, changing my essay question did not leave me with a whole new essay to write, as I was able to use most of what I had already written, adapting it to focus on the new question. Whatever changes you have to make, they are all moving you towards a complete final version, so stay positive!

Step 7: Refining your Extended Essay

After your meeting, review the changes you have to make to your methodology and research process. You should consider whether you have critically investigated the variables in your RQ and whether it is backed up by a solid methodology. For instance, are there any counter arguments you have not considered? Does your research process flow? Always draw links to each paragraph, so that your essay has a logical flow from its introduction to its argument, counter arguments, responses, and conclusion.

When researching areas in more detail, make use of what you have learnt from your current research. For instance, look at the suggested reading or references in books that you have read or look at articles from the same journal. Furthermore, stay up to date with the news in case you can include new research in your extended essay.

When editing, it is useful to save a new copy of your extended essay (for example, EE draft 2) so that you can track any changes that you make. Also, if anything were to happen to your new copy, you always have the previous copy and notes from the meeting to re-do any changes. We recommend doing this on Googledocs whether changes are saved real-time on the servers so you don’t lose precious work if your computer crashes.

Step 8: Final Notes

Once you are done with your initial drafts, ensure that you have professional presentation, consistent formatting, and proper citations. Make sure that you have included page numbers and a bibliography (if required). Additionally, make the layout justified, font and size, as well as double spaced as per IB requirements. You have to include a cover page with a title, your research question, word count and subject. You also have to meet your supervisor the final time to fill out your viva voce (oral) section of the RPPF before the final submission.

Step 9: Final Submission

When submitting your extended essay, ensure that your name, candidate number and your school’s name are not on the document. This will ensure that your EE is marked fairly without prejudice. Your EE is electronically stamped and the IB can track who it belongs to, as is your RPPF.

We wish you the best of luck with your extended essay and hope you enjoy the process. If you would like help with your extended essay, please take a look at our courses or contact us for more information. We also offer IB tuition for various subjects and University applications mentoring and are more than happy to tailor our classes to your needs and requirements!

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What Is An Extended Essay & How to Write It?

Read this article for 5 tips to ace your IB Extended Essay. this article shows IB students how to write an Extended Essay for IB Diploma.

Table of content

Introduction , what is ib extended essay, choosing your mentor, how to select your topic, the structure of ib extended essay, research question, table of contents, methodology, the main body, the conclusion, bibliography, ib extended essay checklist.

Introduce and elaborate topic that you are researching in your EE.

• A crisp description of what you will explore and how you will do so. If you are aiming at a particular firm/industry, discuss the problems and your investigation method.
• To provide context to your question, you must address the situation from where the question is coming.
• State your research question and emphasize the importance of answering that question.
• Please describe how your research is helpful and exciting and how it is valuable to your audience.

This article will reveal helpful information on what your IB Extended Essay (EE) requires. Consider this your IB Extended Essay Checklist, which covers everything you must know about your EE.

Hey! Make sure you listen to Ivy, who will explain what NOT to do on your EE.

These mountains you are carrying, you were only supposed to climb!

Understand that no warrior ever conquered the battlefield with an unhinged mind. We say this because, being past IB students, we have seen and faced what we are about to and have a good knowledge and acquired the ability to differentiate between more enormous beasts and smaller beasts.

IB Extended Essay  is a smaller beast considering that you give it enough time before it becomes more prominent. All you need to do is relax your mind, de-stress and follow a simple procedure explained further in the article. There is no need to panic. Trust us, listen to us, and be like us!

Moving ahead from punny insertions, let us tell you why the IB extended essay can be an easy and exciting mountain to climb:

• Subject of your choice (Good practice to choose from your HLs)
• Independence of choosing a topic  
• Choice of choosing your mentor
• Continuous feedback and support from your chosen mentor.

IB extended essay (IB EE) is another one of the mandatory requirements of the IB Diploma Programme. It is a mini-thesis that you write under the supervision of a mentor/advisor. Your mentor will be an IB teacher from your school. The students must conduct independent research on a topic of their choice, which must be at most the limit of 4000 words. You begin by choosing a research question as a topic that will be further approved by IBO. It is up to you to either do a typical research paper, conduct an experiment/solve a problem-type EE.

I can write too many paragraphs giving you unnecessary information but let’s cut to the chase and admit the heart wants what it wants. You will go with an advisor/mentor with whom you will connect the most. However, suppose your judgment is clouded between the advisor you want to choose solely because you click with them better and the mentor who is knowledgeable about your chosen topic and can help you improve your research work. In that case, the choice is pretty straightforward: listen to your brain. Get rid of your toxic love and make a wise decision to choose a knowledgeable mentor. If you are lucky, the mentor you connect with and the one with ample knowledge about your chosen topic will be the same person. On that note, consider only two things while choosing your advisor:

• An advisor who is familiar with your topic 
• An advisor who will push you to be your best

Before diving into the topic selection and the structure of your IB extended essay, refer to this table to get an insight into the grade breakdown table. This will be helpful in your planning phase.

Moving ahead towards essential aspects of this article. After choosing your mentor, the next step for ‘how to write an EE’ is choosing a topic with the help of your mentor’s input. It is as essential as our  TOK Essay  and  TOK presentation .

Keep the following in mind while selecting your topic:

• Choose a topic that interests you.
• A topic that has enough resources and material.
• Choose a topic that is neither too narrow (so you have enough material) nor too broad (to avoid exceeding the word limit of 4000 words)

Before we dive into the structure, let us make one thing clear, there is a difference between the title and the research question. A title is different from your research question. Your research question is a clear and focused summative statement of your research. For instance, “The Effect of Gender and Age on the photoreceptor cells in the human retina” is a title whereas the following as the examples of research questions:

“Does the efficiency of Rods and cones decrease with age?

“What is the efficiency of L-cone vs M-cone vs S-cone?“

“To what extent are rod cells more efficient than the three cone cells?”

“Does the efficieny of rods and cones differ between genders?”

This will include the following:

• Introduction

Quick Note: The content on this page will not be included in your essay word count.

NO ABSTRACT REQUIRED. The latest IB guide states that an abstract should not be included in EE anymore.

You should split this section into two major areas to cover all the essential aspects.

• Section - 1 Explaining your sources
• Section - 2 Related topics, theories, and arguments that you will use to explore

Quick Note: Ensure that besides giving the readers an insight into the theories, arguments, and resources you plan to use for your research, you also point out the weaknesses and limitations.

Section- 1: Sources

• Describe each of your major sources of primary and secondary research.
• Inform the readers how these sources are helpful.
• To provide the readers with insight into each source's weaknesses or limitations. For example, there may have been room for bias or a limited scope of your research. Or there are other reasons why other data you used could be unreliable or invalid.
• Some useful sources of secondary research are company annual reports, news articles, magazine articles, business textbooks, and encyclopedias.
• Mention any adjustments (at least one) you made to your research as you progressed with your EE.

Section- 2: Related topics, theories, and arguments

• Briefly explain the ideas you will use and why (what are you aiming to support by using these).
• Address weaknesses or limitations of each addressed topic, theory, or related argument.
• Mention any changes made to these as you progressed with your EE.

This part of your essay will be the most elaborate. It will concentrate on research, analysis, discussion, and evaluation.

To maintain the flow of your previous section, we suggest splitting this section into two parts, identical to the previous bifurcation, to showcase your understanding of the IB concepts learned in your business management class and the other addressing the insightful material outside of your course.

Section-1: Related arguments, theories, and topics form your course learning

• Include 4 or 5 of these to help you answer your research question.
• It is suggested that you include at least one financial element. Address your qualitative tools before the quantitative ones.

Section- 2: Beyond your Course

Take up this section as an opportunity for you to educate your reader/evaluator.

• Review several related theories and concepts more extensively than the course does.
• Impress your reader by giving the sense that you know how the particular industry works. Showcase your expertise or knowledge gained through expert opinions in several aspects of your question.
• Please add some analytical insight in this section rather than just descriptive. Be careful to ensure that all of your theories in this section are really helping you answer your research question.
• You can use a graph here, but it must link to the research question.
• Use theories and supportive arguments that apply to your research and are beyond your course (if relevant).

Quick Note: Relate every paragraph to your research question.

This section is self-explanatory. It is time to bind all your areas together.

• It would help if you concentrated on making your EE sections cohesive.
• Please address what you have researched and how it helps answer your research question.
• Keep everything new in your conclusion.
• Shine through by including mini-conclusions to synthesize your essay.
• You can include several evaluative insights as well, if applicable.
• Mention some weaknesses and limitations of your research and their effect on your research. You can even address the inaccuracies these limitations may have caused and state the reason behind them.
• Explain at least one thing that you would have done differently if you were to do it again.

Quick Note: Don’t include a recommendations section in your EE

This section gives the reader an insight into your research resources. It may include:

• Books –textbooks, internet resources, journals, academic papers, competitor interviews, etc.
• Primary Resource (if applicable) –Interview, data (focus group, survey, etc.).

Quick note: The content on this page will not be included in your essay word count.

Take this section as more of an essential formality of showcasing the process of hard work that you have put in.

• Transcripts from your interviews,
• The additional analysis you didn't fit in the body of your EE.
• Any other exciting data which you would like to refer to in the body of your work.

With this, we come to the end of our article on what is an IB extended essay and how to write an extended essay. As we mentioned earlier, it is relatively easy. All you need is dedication, set timelines, and proper research. So, don't worry; no rabbits can pull out your hat today. If you want to score a 36 on 36 your Extended Essay, check out our  Extended Essay Guide , which offers '5 never heard before' tips to help you write a quality essay.

Make an IB Extended Essay Checklist! I cannot emphasize enough on this point. The submission for your EE happens simultaneously when you are expected to take your exams. There will be a million things that you would have to keep track of. There is a high chance of forgetting to make that final edit or perfecting your EE's introduction in the midst of it all. Therefore, an IB Extended Essay Checklist will ensure you do everything. IB Extended Essay Checklist will be your savior during the final submission days.

We want Nail IB to be your virtual companion to hustle through IB. We have many helpful blogs that will help you navigate your way through IB. Apart from our blogs, we offer a "Take A Test' module, which allows IB students to evaluate their level in the IB Program. Make sure to try a  test  and see your strengths and weaknesses. And finally, to ensure you have all the resources you might need to nail IB, we have curated special  student bundles  for your convenience.

IB Resources you will love!

55234 + free ib flashcards, 176 + free ia samples, 3965 + ib videos by experts, 20099 + ib sample practice questions, ib resources for 30 + subjects.

Extended Essay: Structure of the Extended Essay

• Before You Start
• Business Management
• Language and Literature
• Visual Arts
• World Studies
• Developing a Research Question
• Structure of the Extended Essay
• Writing the Essay
• Citations/Sources/Academic Honesty
• Timelines and Materials
• Example Research Questions
• Supervisors

Elements To Be Included

• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Body of the essay
• References/Bibliography

Not sure yet but something should be here

The Extended Essay Step by Step Guide 5: Structure and Planning When it comes to writing a brilliant first draft of your Extended Essay, or any essay, I fully believe that a solid structure is one of the surest guarantees of success there is. It's the skeleton of the essay that makes it into a fully formed being instead of a pile of jelly.

What's the Difference Between the Topic, Title, and Research Question?

• The  topic  of the extended essay is the subject, issue or theme that you are investigating within a specific DP subject or world studies area of study. The topic, which develops during the initial thinking about the EE, should later be reflected in the wording of the title.
• be short, descriptive and succinct
• not be phrased as a question
• use key words that connect with the topic and the DP subject or world studies area of study
• attract the interest of the reader.
• be clear and focused
• provide a path through which you can undertake achievable research
• use key words that connect with the topic, the title, and the DP subject or world studies area of study
• support the development of an argument.

Presentation Requirements

Title Page (i tems that should be included in the title page):

• Title of the essay
• Research question
• Subject for which the essay is registered (and category if necessary)

Times New Roman 12 pt. font 

Double spaced

Pages numbered after the title page

Bibliography/work cited

Table of contents

No more than 4000 words

Assessment of the EE - Advice for Students

Use this list to help you think about the assessment criteria and whether you have addressed the expectations within your essay. You do not need to address all of the questions posed, but they do provide some guidance in terms of what to consider.

Criterion A:  Focus and Method

What It Means: This criterion focuses on the topic, the research question and the methodology. It assesses the explanation of the focus of the research (this includes the topic and the research question), how the research will be undertaken, and how the focus is maintained throughout the essay.

Questions to ask:

• Does this essay meet the requirements for the subject for which you are registering it? • Is your research question stated as a question?

• Have you explained how your research question relates to the subject that you selected for the extended essay?

• Have you given an insight into why your area of study is important?

• Is your research question feasible within the scope of the task? Could your research question be “answered” or it is too vague?

• Did you refer to your research question throughout the essay (not only in the introduction and conclusion)? • Did you explain why you selected your methodology?

• Are there other possible methods that could be used or applied to answer your research question? How might this change the direction of your research?

• If you stated a particular methodology in the introduction of your essay, or specific sources, have you used them?

• Are there any references listed in the bibliography that were not directly cited in the text?

Criterion B: Knowledge and understanding

What It Means: This criterion assesses the extent to which the research relates to the subject area/discipline used to explore the research question; or in the case of the world studies extended essay, the issue addressed and the two disciplinary perspectives applied; and additionally, the way in which this knowledge and understanding is demonstrated through the use of appropriate terminology and concepts.

• Have you explained how your research question relates to a specific subject you selected for the extended essay?

• Have you used relevant terminology and concepts throughout your essay as they relate to your particular area of research?

• Is it clear that the sources you are using are relevant and appropriate to your research question?

• Do you have a range of sources, or have you only relied on one particular type, for example internet sources?

• Is there a reason why you might not have a range? Is this justified?

Criterion C: Critical Thinking

What It Means: This criterion assesses the extent to which critical thinking skills have been used to analyze and evaluate the research undertaken.

• Have you made links between your results and data collected and your research question?

• If you included data or information that is not directly related to your research question have you explained its importance?

• Are your conclusions supported by your data?

• If you found unexpected information or data have you discussed its importance?

• Have you provided a critical evaluation of the methods you selected?

• Have you considered the reliability of your sources (peer-reviewed journals, internet, and so on)?

• Have you mentioned and evaluated the significance of possible errors that may have occurred in your research?

• Are all your suggestions of errors or improvements relevant?

• Have you evaluated your research question?

• Have you compared your results or findings with any other sources?

• Is there an argument that is clear and easy to follow and directly linked to answering your research question, and which is supported by evidence? Are there other possible methods that could be used or applied to answer your research question? How might this change the direction of your research?

Criterion D: Presentation

What It Means: This criterion assesses the extent to which the presentation follows the standard format expected for academic writing and the extent to which this aids effective communication.

• Have you read and understood the presentation requirements of the extended essay?

• Have you chosen a font that will be easy for examiners to read onscreen?

• Is your essay double-spaced and size 12 font? • Are the title and research question mentioned on the cover page?

• Are all pages numbered?

• Have you prepared a correct table of contents?

• Do the page numbers in the table of contents match the page numbers in the text?

• Is your essay subdivided into correct sub-sections, if this is applicable to the subject?

• Are all figures and tables properly numbered and labelled?

• Does your bibliography contain only the sources cited in the text?

• Did you use the same reference system throughout the essay?

• Does the essay have less than 4,000 words?

• Is all the material presented in the appendices relevant and necessary?

• Have you proofread the text for spelling or grammar errors?

Criterion E: Engagement

What It Means:  This criterion assesses the student’s engagement with their research focus and the research process. It will be applied by the examiner at the end of the assessment of the essay, after considering the student’s RPPF (Reflections on planning and progress form).

• Have you demonstrated your engagement with your research topic and the research process?

• Have you highlighted challenges you faced and how you overcame them?

• Will the examiner get a sense of your intellectual and skills development?

• Will the examiner get a sense of your creativity and intellectual initiative?

• Will the examiner get a sense of how you responded to actions and ideas in the research process?

• << Previous: Research
• Next: Writing the Essay >>
• Last Updated: Nov 18, 2020 8:01 AM
• URL: https://vhs-victorschools.libguides.com/extendedessay

Extended Essay: Step 10. Plan a structure for your essay

• Extended Essay- The Basics
• Step 1. Choose a Subject
• Step 2. Educate yourself!
• Using Brainstorming and Mind Maps
• Identify Keywords
• Do Background Reading
• Define Your Topic
• Conduct Research in a Specific Discipline
• Step 5. Draft a Research Question
• Step 6. Create a Timeline
• Find Articles
• Find Primary Sources
• Get Help from Experts
• Search Engines, Repositories, & Directories
• Databases and Websites by Subject Area
• Create an Annotated Bibliography
• Advice (and Warnings) from the IB
• Chicago Citation Syle
• MLA Works Cited & In-Text Citations
• Step 9. Set Deadlines for Yourself
• Step 10. Plan a structure for your essay
• Evaluate & Select: the CRAAP Test
• Conducting Secondary Research
• Conducting Primary Research
• Formal vs. Informal Writing
• Presentation Requirements
• Evaluating Your Work

How to Write an Outline

One way to plan a structure for your essay is by writing an outline.  An outline breaks down the parts of your thesis in a clear, hierarchical manner. Most students find that writing an outline before beginning the paper is most helpful in organizing one's thoughts. If your outline is good, your paper should be easy to write. Use this worksheet from the Learning & Advising Center at  Philadelphia University to help with writing your own outline.

The basic format for an outline uses an alternating series of numbers and letters, indented accordingly, to indicate levels of importance. Here is an example of an outline on a paper about the development of Japanese theater from the Universtiy at Albany, State University of New York:

"How to Write an Outline." U at Albany, State U of New York. U at Albany, State U of New York, 2011. Web. 5 Dec. 2012 <http://www.albany.edu/eas/170/outline.htm>. 

Twelve-step Plan for Researching the Extended Essay - Step 10

10.  Plan a structure for the essay.  This may change as the research develops but it is useful to have a sense of direction from the start.

• << Previous: Step 9. Set Deadlines for Yourself
• Next: Step 11. Read, Read, Read! >>
• Last Updated: May 8, 2024 3:48 PM
• URL: https://libguides.westsoundacademy.org/ee

IB EE examples for all subjects

Filter exemplars, how does the total energy supplied during ultrasonic cavitation of benzene affect the integrated photoluminescence intensity and quantum yield of graphene quantum dots (gqds), to what extent does the type of alcohol used in the fischer-speier esterification reaction affect the average rate of reaction as measured through back titration., want to get full marks for your ee allow us to review it for you 🎯, to what extent does global self-esteem influence academic performance, to what extent has zoom’s freemium business model influenced its market leadership position in the north american video conferencing market from 2020 to 2021, to what extent do different concentrations of magnesium nitrate (10, 20, 30, 40, 50 mm) affect the concentration of chlorophyll a and b in ocimum basilicum at 645 nm and 662 nm wavelength using spectrophotometer, fast track your coursework with mark schemes moderated by ib examiners. upgrade now 🚀, how does 5g of different types of oils (palm oil, avocado oil, castor oil, and olive oil) contribute to the production of soap bars with a ph level closest to 7 measured at constant temperature (50°c) and after constant time of refluxing (30 minutes) through the saponification process, how have amazon's market strategies contributed in successfully growing its e-commerce business internationally, to what extent has the change in corporate leadership at apple inc. from steve jobs to tim cook impacted the company's innovation and product development, fluid’s density effect on falling objects, to what extent will toyota’s diversification help increase business revenues and market share, to what extent does vivienne westwood's sustainable fashion initiatives provide it with a competitive advantage over other luxury brands, to what extent were queer people liberated in weimar germany, 1919-1933, how is the lift at various angles of attack affected by flap deflection angles, to what extent is blood pressure related to the development of alzheimer’s disease in people in age above 50, how has apple used sustainable innovation to gain a competitive edge, to what extent do extracts of allium sativum (garlic) and zingiber officinale (ginger) reduce antimicrobial activity and how effective it is compared to antibiotics, how do different concentrations of punica granatum extracts: peel, flower and leaves (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 mg/ml) affect the rate of reaction of α-amylase and compare with metformin (anti-diabetic drug) as measured by a spectrophotometer at 587nm, what effect does the difference in radius at the top and bottom of the roller coaster loop have on the maximum change in g-force that a passenger experiences, to what extent can four seasons hotel’s success be attributed to its corporate culture and isadore sharp’s leadership style, how does the concentration of harpagoside, which is identified by the surface area of the spot on the chromatography paper, changes in the equine mane over the period of one month after gradual consumption of the supplement “devil’s claw”, what is the relationship between the height of the siphon and the flow velocity out of the siphon, to what extent has the launch of disney+ proven successful in advancing disney’s digital presence and establishing market dominance in the subscription-based video on demand (svod) market, to what extent were the nuremberg trials defendants afforded a fair due process, to what extent has google's diversification into the wearables industry increased its profitability, to what extent was the popular violence of the cultural revolution driven by mao’s need to eliminate opposition, to what extent has the vehicular emissions scheme (ves) been effective in increasing the consumption of light electric vehicles between 2018 and 2020 in singapore, how does the type of solvent (ethanol, propanone) and its solvent to water ratio (20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, 100% v/v) in the extraction of polyphenols via ultrasound-assisted extraction (uae), affect the total phenolic content extracted from rosemary (rosmarinus officinalis), quantified by folin-ciocalteu assay, to what extent does varying the duration (0 mins, 5 mins, 10 mins, 15 mins, 20 mins, 25 mins) at which a 25% solution consisting of ethanol-dissolved ayurvedic spices (curcumin and black cumin) is maintained at 60°c affect the antimicrobial activity of these spices against a k12 strain of escherichia coli, to what extent can the growth of disney+ be sustained as the pandemic’s effects begin to wear off, how does increasing the angle of a simple pendulum affect its time period, how do changes in viscosity of fluid affect the speed and amplitude of surface waves that are generated by an impact of spherical object, what effect does changing the concentration of the reagent, chitosan glycolate solution, have on the formation rate and the di↵usion coecient observed in the formation of liesegang rings in the reaction of the polymer-analogous transformation, from salt to base, of chitosan, to what extent was german defeat in the battle of stalingrad a result of german failures, how does varying the solution ph and sodium ethanoate concentration affect the rate and yield of ethane production from its electrolysis, to what extent were legal measures responsible for the exclusion of jews from german society from 1933-1938, to what extent have tesla’s distinct marketing strategies been effective at promoting its automotive business”, to what extent did logistical and environmental implications hinder napoleon’s victory in the russian campaign of 1812, how does the application of different corrosion inhibitors (green tea extract, acrylic paint, chrome plating) on iron affect the amount of rust produced and the rate of corrosion of an iron nail in a 3.5% nacl solution as measured through spectrophotometric and mass-loss methods, how do the angular momentum and orbital velocity affect the eccentricities of planetary orbits, to what extent was amazon’s decision to expand into the physical grocery retail industry a successful change management strategy.

IB Extended Essay: Assessment Criteria

• Research Questions
• Past Essays
• Notes & Outlines
• Works Cited Page
• In-Text Citations
• Assessment Criteria
• Reflections
• Supervisor Info
• Net Valley Library This link opens in a new window

Score Descriptors for each Criterion:

• A - Focus and Method
• B - Knowledge and Understanding
• C - Critical Thinking
• D - Presentation
• E - Engagement

Printable: Full Rubric  for all subjects

To view details for your SUBJECT, open the correct page below.

• Choose "Interpreting the EE Assessment Criteria" on the sidebar to see how to score well in YOUR subject area

Language & literature (language A)

Language acquisition (language B)

Mathematics

Visual Arts

World Studies

Business Management

Grade Boundaries

What's Expected?

• A: Focus/Method
• B: Knowledge
• C: Critical Thinking
• D: Presentation
• E: Engagement
• A: Focus and Method (6 marks)
• B: Knowledge and Understanding (6 marks)
• C: Critical Thinking (12 marks)
• D: Presentation (4 marks)
• E: Engagement (6 marks)
• Total marks possible: 34 (see grade boundaries below)
• Printable:  Full Rubric
• Printable: A3 size with details
• Printable:  Details for each criterion , via the Oxford guide

Criterion A:  Focus and Method (6 points)

What It Means:   This criterion focuses on the topic, the research question and the methodology. It assesses the explanation of the focus of the research (this includes the topic and the research question), how the research will be undertaken, and how the focus is maintained throughout the essay.

Questions to ask:  

• Does this essay meet the requirements for the subject for which you are registering it?
• Is your research question stated as a question?
• Have you explained how your research question relates to the subject that you selected for the extended essay?
• Have you given an insight into why your area of study is important?
• Is your research question feasible within the scope of the task? Could your research question be “answered” or it is too vague?
• Did you refer to your research question throughout the essay (not only in the introduction and conclusion)?
• Did you explain why you selected your methodology?
• Are there other possible methods that could be used or applied to answer your research question? How might this change the direction of your research?
• If you stated a particular methodology in the introduction of your essay, or specific sources, have you used them?
• Are there any references listed in the bibliography that were not directly cited in the text?

(Source: Susan Trower, via West Sound Academy)

Criterion B:  Knowledge and Understanding (6 points)

What It Means:   This criterion assesses the extent to which the research relates to the subject area/discipline used to explore the research question; or in the case of the world studies extended essay, the issue addressed and the two disciplinary perspectives applied; and additionally, the way in which this knowledge and understanding is demonstrated through the use of appropriate terminology and concepts.

• Have you explained how your research question relates to a specific subject you selected for the extended essay?
• Have you used relevant terminology and concepts throughout your essay as they relate to your particular area of research?
• Is it clear that the sources you are using are relevant and appropriate to your research question?
• Do you have a range of sources, or have you only relied on one particular type, for example internet sources?
• Is there a reason why you might not have a range? Is this justified?

(Source: Oxford EE manual, p. 110)

Criterion C:  Critical Thinking (12 points)

What It Means:   This criterion assesses the extent to which critical thinking skills have been used to analyze and evaluate the research undertaken.

• Have you made links between your results and data collected and your research question?
• If you included data or information that is not directly related to your research question have you explained its importance?
• Are your conclusions supported by your data?
• If you found unexpected information or data have you discussed its importance?
• Have you provided a critical evaluation of the methods you selected?
• Have you considered the reliability of your sources (peer-reviewed journals, internet, and so on)?
• Have you mentioned and evaluated the significance of possible errors that may have occurred in your research?
• Are all your suggestions of errors or improvements relevant?
• Have you evaluated your research question?
• Have you compared your results or findings with any other sources?
• Is there an argument that is clear and easy to follow and directly linked to answering your research question, and which is supported by evidence? Are there other possible methods that could be used or applied to answer your research question? How might this change the direction of your research?

(Source: Oxford EE Manual p. 111)

Handy Links:

• Presentation One Pager  via Catalina Bordoy
• Presentation Checklist
• Sample Title page   (see below - top half of the page)

Criterion D:  Presentation ( 4 points)

What It Means:   This criterion assesses the extent to which the presentation follows the standard format expected for academic writing and the extent to which this aids effective communication.

• Have you read and understood the presentation requirements of the extended essay?
• Have you chosen a font that will be easy for examiners to read on-screen?
• Is your essay double-spaced and size 12 font?
• Are the title and research question mentioned on the cover page?
• Are all pages numbered?
• Have you prepared a correct table of contents?
• Do the page numbers in the table of contents match the page numbers in the text?
• Is your essay subdivided into correct sub-sections, if this is applicable to the subject?
• Are all figures and tables properly numbered and labelled?
• Does your bibliography contain only the sources cited in the text?
• Did you use the same reference system throughout the essay?
• Does the essay have less than 4,000 words?
• Is all the material presented in the appendices relevant and necessary?
• Have you proofread the text for spelling or grammar errors?

Criterion E: Engagement

• Three reflections (best after meeting with your supervisor)
• 500 words TOTAL (100 + 150 + 250?)
• Reflections are done in Managebac on your Reflection space
• See the "Reflections" tab above for prompts to write about

(Source: Oxford EE Manual p.135)

(Source: Oxford EE Manual p.133)

• Sample Reflections
• Full chapter on Reflections from the Oxford Guide

Criterion E:  Engagement (6 points)

What It Means:   This criterion assesses the student’s engagement with their research focus and the research process. It will be applied by the examiner at the end of the assessment of the essay, after considering the student’s RPPF (Reflections on planning and progress form).

• Have you demonstrated your engagement with your research topic and the research process?
• Have you highlighted challenges you faced and how you overcame them?
• Will the examiner get a sense of your intellectual and skills development?
• Will the examiner get a sense of your creativity and intellectual initiative?
• For prompts to deepen your reflections, go  here  and then to the bottom of the page
• Presentation Quick Guide
• << Previous: In-Text Citations
• Next: Reflections >>
• Last Updated: Apr 9, 2024 9:39 AM
• URL: https://sis-cn.libguides.com/ExtendedEssay

15 Top Tips on Writing the IB Extended Essay (EE)

Table of Contents

• 1 What is the EE?
• 2 Tips on Getting Started
• 3 Tips on Organizing your Sources
• 4 Tips on Writing the Essay

What is the EE?

The IB Extended Essay (EE) is a 4000-word essay that gives you the chance to explore interesting topics relating to one of your DP subjects. It’s like a mini-thesis.

Tips on Getting Started

1. pick a subject and topic:.

Perhaps you have enjoyed your literature classes the most: that could be your subject. What themes did you find intriguing? You might have enjoyed Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and may choose to compare the play with Endgame . It’s important to spend some time picking your subject and topic because your essay must insightfully answer a research question.

2. Design a research question:

Start with a broad topic and brainstorm limiting factors, which are questions you can ask yourself to narrow your focus. The research question should eventually be fairly specific, such that a short 4000 word essay would be able to answer it with some depth.

For example, you can start with ‘ the portrayal of women in 19th century novels ’ (a broad topic). Asking yourself, ‘ Which novelist specifically am I interested in? would limit your scope, and you can come up with better scope: ‘Portrayal of women in the novels of Jane Austen’ (a more focused topic). The next limiting factor would give you a refined title. Now ask ‘ which novels? ’ Keep going with this process till you have narrowed yourself down to an appropriately specific research question. This same process can be applied to the study of any subject of your choice.

Below is a table to give you an example of the process:

Below you will find some common question starter you can use to generate your working title:

• In what ways…
• To what extent….
• What are the impacts of….
• What is the influence of ….

3. Finding sources:

Find suitable sources as soon as you have your working title. Find at least 5- 7 reliable sources that relate to your title.

4. Changing your research question, subject, or topic:

It is fine to change the above, but give yourself a deadline, after which you cannot allow yourself to change the subject and topic. Adjustment to the research question is permissible as you might reconsider it while conducting your research. However, having a deadline to refine your research question would also ensure that you’re on the right track. This also means you should start more ahead of time that you originally planned so that you have time and space to get comfortable and make some mistakes.

Tips on Organizing your Sources

1. Distinguish between primary and secondary sources. For example, in Literature, novels, poems, and anthologies are considered primary sources while secondary sources comprise articles or literary reviews related to your topic.

2. Visit a library.

3. Structure your reading to avoid re-reading:

You can also organize the reading using mind maps, interconnected block lists, progression charts, and branches.

4. Research is important because an EE that is based on mere opinions will not score highly.

Tips on Writing the Essay

A formal essay follows the model below:

1. The introduction must explicitly state your research question. Write the introduction first because it will help you write a logical and coherent essay. The introduction functions as an outline of your essay.

2. You may want to think about subsections in your essay before you start writing. This will give you a sense of how much space or how many words each section of your analysis will take. The last thing you want is an essay that requires heavy cutting, or to struggle to meet the word count close to your deadline.

3. Examiners want to see logical arguments supported by relevant evidence. You must provide evidence to support your points and discuss the relationship between them, so make reference to your primary and secondary sources.

4. Use reporting verbs such as argues, highlights, defines, reinforces, asserts, and so on rather than thinks, shows, hopes, imagines, and so on.

5. Use linking words to link ideas and provide a logical flow of ideas.

6. Read through your paragraphs, again and again, reordering paragraphs, until you have a logical order.

7. The conclusion of your essay must reiterate your key findings, summarize main points, and provide a resolution to your conclusion. DO NOT introduce new findings or information. DO NOT pass judgments or make any accusations. AVOID including personal statements.

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Extended Essay Resources: Paper Formatting

• Research Video Tutorials
• In-text Citations
• Plagiarism VS. Documentation
• Primary Sources
• Subject Resources
• Cite Your Sources This link opens in a new window
• Evaluate Your Sources This link opens in a new window
• Supervisor Resources
• Note Taking Templates
• Paper Formatting
• October EE orientation presentation
• Extended Essay calendar
• Submit your topic selection

How to format the EE

The extended essay should be written in a clear, correct and formal academic style, appropriate to the subject from which the topic is drawn. Given that the extended essay is a formally written research paper, it should strive to maintain a professional, academic look.

To help achieve this, the following formatting is suggested.

• Arial 12 or Times New Roman 12
• Double-spaced
• page numbering
• no candidate, supervisor, or school name on the title page, page headers, appendices or acknowledgment pages
• the file size must not be more than 10 MB. (Note that the RPPF is uploaded separately and is not part of the overall file size of the essay.)

What's on the Title Page?

The title page should include the:

• title of the essay
• research question
• if it is a language essay also state which category it falls into;
• if a world studies essay also state the theme and the two subjects utilized)
• word count.

DO NOT include any personal information like your name, the name of the school, or your candidate number. The IB wants each EE to be anonymous and assessed without bias. 

Images and Illustrations

From the mla style guide at purdue, labels, captions, and source information.

Illustrations appear directly embedded in the document. Each illustration must include a label, a number, a caption and/or source information.

• The illustration label and number should always appear in two places:  the document main text (e.g.  see fig. 1 ) and near the illustration itself ( Fig. 1 ).
• Captions  provide titles or explanatory notes (e.g.,  Van Gogh’s The Starry Night)
• Source information  documentation will always depend upon the medium of the source illustration. If you provide source information with all of your illustrations, you do not need to provide this information on the Works Cited page.
• All visuals/illustrations that are not tables or musical score examples (e.g. maps, diagrams, charts, videos, podcasts, etc.) are labeled Figure or Fig.
• Refer to the figure in-text and provide an Arabic numeral that corresponds to the figure. Do not capitalize figure or fig .
• MLA does not specify alignment requirements for figures; thus, these images may be embedded as the reader sees fit. However, continue to follow basic MLA Style formatting (e.g. one-inch margins).
• Below the figure, provide a label name and its corresponding arabic numeral (no bold or italics), followed by a period (e.g. Fig. 1.). Here, Figure and Fig .  are capitalized.
• Beginning with the same line as the label and number, provide a title and/or caption as well as relevant source information in note form (see instructions and examples above). If you provide source information with your illustrations, you do not need to provide this information on the Works Cited page.
• If full citation information is provided in the caption, use the same formatting as you would for your Works Cited page. However, names should be listed in  first name last name  format.

Figure Example

In-text reference:

Some readers found Harry’s final battle with Voldemort a disappointment, and recently, the podcast,  MuggleCast  debated the subject (see fig. 2).

Figure caption (below an embedded podcast file for a document to be viewed electronically):

Fig. 2. Harry Potter and Voldemort final battle debate from Andrew Sims et al.; “Show 166”;  MuggleCast ; MuggleNet.com, 19 Dec. 2008, www.mugglenet.com/2015/11/the-snape-debate-rowling-speaks-out.

Appendices are not an essential part of the extended essay and examiners will not read them, or use any information contained within them, in the assessment of the essay. Students must take care to ensure that all information with direct relevance to the analysis, discussion and evaluation of their essay is contained in the main body of it. Appendices should therefore be avoided except in the following instances:

• an exemplar of a questionnaire or interview questions
• an exemplar of permission letters
• group 1, category 1 essays: copies of poems or short stories (of less than three pages)
• group 1, category 3 essays: excerpts from newspapers, advertisements and transcripts of speeches
• language acquisition, category 1 and 2: excerpts from newspapers, advertisements, transcripts of speeches, etc
• language acquisition, category 3: excerpts or copies of poems or short stories (less than 3 pages)
• an external mentor letter, where one has been used
• raw data or statistical tables for experimental sciences (this should not include any analysis or conclusions).

Students should not continually refer to material presented in an appendix as this may disrupt the continuity of the essay and examiners are not required to refer to them.

The upper limit is 4,000 words for all extended essays.

Please note:  Examiners are instructed not to read or assess any material in excess of the word limit. This means that essays containing more than 4,000 words will be compromised across all assessment criteria. 

Please refer to the following guidance on what content should be included in the word count.

Please refer to the document entitled  Assessment principles and practices—Quality assessments in a digital age  for further clarification of word count requirements.

A note for students writing in Chinese, Korean and Japanese:

Students writing their extended essay in Japanese, Korean or Chinese should use the following conversions.

• Japanese: 1 word = approximately 2 Japanese characters (upper limit 8,000 characters)
• Korean: 1 word = 1 Korean character (upper limit 4,000 characters)
• Chinese: 1 word = approximately 1.2 Chinese characters (upper limit 4,800 characters)

When typing in Chinese, Korean or Japanese word processing software is likely to include the number of characters  and  punctuation in the word count. Students are asked to  not  include punctuation in the word count for assessed work. The word count should only take into account the number of characters typed.

A note about acknowledgments and dedications:

An acknowledgment/dedications page may be included in the EE if this is important to the student, but it must contain no “identifiers”, for example, people should not be detailed in any way that makes the student’s school identifiable. An acknowledgment/dedications page is not a formal requirement of the EE, so it does not contribute to either the word count or assessment.

Header and Footnotes

Students may wish to use the header function for their research question, so that it appears on each page. This may help retain focus.

Footnotes and endnotes

Footnotes and endnotes may be used for referencing purposes and if this is the case will not be included in the word count of the essay. If information is contained in a footnote or endnote and is not a reference, this  must  be included in the word count. In order to avoid confusion and unwittingly exceed the word limit, students are advised to avoid using footnotes or endnotes other than for referencing purposes unless it is appropriate.

One appropriate use of footnotes is for the placement of the original quotation (where the original quotation is in a language other than the language of registration). This use of footnotes would not need to be included in the word count.

As footnotes and endnotes are not an essential part of the extended essay students must take care to ensure that all information with direct relevance to the analysis, discussion and evaluation of their essay is contained in the main body of it.

An essay that attempts to evade the word limit by including important material in footnotes or endnotes will be compromised across the assessment criteria. Please note that footnotes and endnotes are added to the word count as they are encountered.

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The Do’s and Don’ts of Extended Essay (EE)

The Extended Essay (EE) is an exhilarating yet challenging journey that every IB student embarks upon during the diploma. It is a culmination of years of hard work and dedication, an opportunity to delve into a subject you are passionate about, and a chance to demonstrate your research and writing skills. However, the path to completing an outstanding EE can be strewn with obstacles and pitfalls. Drawing from personal experience, I will share some valuable do’s and don’ts to guide you through your Extended Essay journey.

Do’s:

Utilize your supervisor.

 One of the greatest resources at your disposal is your EE supervisor. Regularly communicate with them, seek their guidance, and ask questions when you are unsure. A good rapport with your supervisor can make a significant difference in your EE experience.

Advocate for Yourself

If, like me, you find yourself shuffled through supervisors or encounter issues with your assigned supervisor, don’t hesitate to advocate for yourself. Request a change if necessary and ensure you have a supervisor who understands and supports your research goals.

Start Early

Procrastination is a common pitfall in the EE process. Start your research and writing as early as possible. A well-structured timeline can help you manage your time effectively and reduce last-minute stress. Starting your EE journey with research rather than writing will allow you to understand the implications of your question and your writing process will be a lot smoother. Then the summer holiday between Y1 and Y2 of IB is the best time to get ahead in writing your EE, even if you only do a little, it’s still going to make the whole process during Y2 so much easier.

Choose Your Passion

 Select a topic that genuinely excites you. Your EE is a substantial research project, and your passion for the subject matter will keep you motivated throughout the process. Plus, it will reflect in the quality of your work. This can also help in choosing a future area of study after the IB – who knows, maybe you could be on your way to a PhD in your EE area in the future.

Reading Widely

When researching, it’s beneficial to engage in a wide variety of sources. When you’re researching make sure to read all perspectives on your matter, from the journal articles to documents, to news articles, and even people’s personal anecdotes. While you may not use all of these, you do need to get every countless perspective on an issue to make informed interpretations and back up your claims. This wide-range of research and engagement with your topic also makes you develop a deeper passion and brings fun to the process.

Draft and Redraft

 Writing is a process that often requires multiple drafts. Don’t expect your first draft to be perfect. Edit and revise your work diligently, and seek feedback from peers and teachers to refine your essay.

Cite Sources Properly

Adhere to proper citation and referencing styles (such as MLA, APA, or Chicago). Plagiarism is a serious academic offense, and citing sources correctly is crucial to maintaining academic integrity. What is strongly advised by many IB schools is that the percentage of integrity – or TurnItIn score – should be under 20%, so citing and referencing is vital in all IB assignments.

Don’ts

Procrastinate.

As mentioned earlier, procrastination can be your worst enemy. Avoid putting off your EE tasks until the last minute. This can lead to rushed research, lower-quality work, and unnecessary stress.

Choose a Topic Solely for Its Ease

 While it’s important to choose a subject you are passionate about, avoid selecting a topic solely because you think it will be easy. EE is about challenging yourself and exploring your academic boundaries.

Overcomplicate Your Topic

 On the other hand, don’t choose a topic that is overly complex or beyond your current knowledge level. Striking the right balance between challenge and feasibility is essential.

Ignore feedback

When you receive feedback from your supervisor or peers, don’t dismiss it. Feedback is a valuable tool for improvement. Embrace constructive criticism and use it to refine your EE.

Neglect your Reflections

 Your 3 reflections are worth 6 marks, which is a lot in terms of EE. If you know that you might forget to complete them, or won’t remember things to put in them, keep a document while you’re on your EE journey to keep track of all problems, solutions and lessons you’ve learnt – this will help you synthesize great reflections and help your future self.

The IB Extended Essay is a rigorous and rewarding endeavor that can shape your academic and personal growth. By following these do’s and don’ts, you can navigate the challenges and make the most of this unique opportunity. Remember to harness your passion, seek guidance from your supervisor, and start early to ensure a successful Extended Essay journey. Embrace the process, and you’ll emerge with not only a valuable piece of research but also a sense of accomplishment that will stay with you long after your IB days are over.

You may also like…

• Regina’s guide to citing (MLA formatting)
• Christina’s tips on working with your EE supervisor

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Extended Essay: APA

• Introduction
• Subject Guidance & Proposal Forms
• 8 Simple Steps to writing an Academic Essay... and Outlines!
• Finding a Topic
• Academic Sources of Information
• Researcher's Spaces
• Reflections
• IB Resources for Students
• Citations and Referencing - IB REQUIREMENTS
• In-Text Citations
• Formatting your EE
• Ms Sally's Presentations

APA generally uses the (author, date) format for in-text citations. This means that you include the author’s surname followed by the date of publication in parentheses at the end of your, paraphrase or summary. When you are using direct quotes, you include the (author, date, page) at the end of the quote, including the abbreviation p. (for a single page) or pp. (for multiple pages).If you mention the author by name in your signal phrase, you need to include the (date) after the author’s name and the (page) at the end of the quote or paraphrase.

If you are citing resources which do not include a fixed layout or page numbers, you should reference another logical indicator, such as parapgraph, chapter or subheading instead at the end of your quote or paraphrase.

If the resource does not have an author, you include the first item or phrase from the References List. The first item could be the author, article title, website name or film name etc..

Citation in prose (Signal phrase):

According to Bryson and Gosney (2012), Shakespeare came into his strength at the best possible time (p.101).

Parenthetical citation:

“Shakespeare could not have chosen a more propitious time to come of age.”(Bryson and Gosney, 2012, p.101)

Reference in Works Cited List:

Bryson, B., & Gosney, J. (2012).  Shakespeare : the illustrated edition . Harper Press.

Citation in prose (Signal Phrase):

According to “William Shakespeare Biography” (2000), “Shakespeare’s works include 38 plays, 2 narrative poems, 154 sonnets, and a variety of other poems.” (para. 8).

“No original manuscripts of Shakespeare’s plays are known to exist today.” (“William Shakespeare Biography”,  2000, para. 8).

Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. (2000).  William Shakespeare Biography . https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/william-shakespeare/william-shakespeare-biography/

Reference Example: Book

Reference Example: Journal found online

Reference Example: Video (e.g. YouTube)

Reference Example: Classes / Tutorials / Seminars

Table Example

APA Table Format

Reference List:

Caulfield, J. (2020). APA Table Format [Online image]. In Scribbr . https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/tables-and-figures/

Reference Example: Website

Reference Example: Website, no author and no date

Reference Example: Personal Interview

Figure Example: Image with full reference in the Works Cited List

Nine Dragons

Chen Rong, Chinese, first half of the 13th century, Asian, Far East Asian, & Chinese. (n.d.). Nine Dragons [Images]. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston;Boston, Massachusetts, USA;Francis Gardner Curtis Fund;17.1697;http://www.mfa.org/. https://jstor.org/stable/community.15623280

Images, Graphs and Tables

Images and graphs.

When using pictures and graphs to illustrate your argument, you still need to cite and reference each item. You need to clearly label each item as a Figure. Each item is captioned   Figure 1.  etc., in bold above the image or table. On the next line, the caption should include a brief title in italics and title case, which means each word is capitalized, except for small words such as articles and prepositions. If you have adapted or reproduced the item from another source, you should also acknowledge the original source in a Note directly below the image.

Tables follow a similar format. Each table is captioned Table 1 . etc. in bold above the table. On the next line the title should be in italics and title case. If you have used information from other sources to create your table, you should acknowledge them in the notes below the table, including a full reference.

in-Text Citations

Your in-text citation would then refer directly to the Figure or Table number. 

The image shown in Figure 1. shows only a small section of the entire piece.

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• Last Updated: May 24, 2024 4:02 PM
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• Support Sites

Extended Essay Support Site

Presentation.

4 of the 34 marks for the Extended Essay are for Criterion D: Presentation. The IB does not provide a checklist to remind you to include page numbers, captions and correct citations. Instead Criterion D asks: 

• To what extent does the structure of the essay lend itself to the topic, subject and argument?
• To what extent is the layout correct?
• To what extent do the structure and layout support the reading, understanding and evaluation of the essay?

The first bullet point is arguably the most difficult and is inextricably related to Criterion C: Critical thinking. However, there is no reason why you should lose marks for the second two bullet points on layout. Here is a checklist that you can use to determine if your essay is ready to submit:

EE checklist

Have you checked your word count (under 4000 words, after you have excluded words which are not counted towards the word count)?

Have you numbered tables and figures/illustrations, i.e. Fig.1, Table 1?

Does each table, figure or illustration have a caption or label?

For tables, illustrations and figures that are not based on your own work, have you included citations or full references?

Are tables, illustrations and figures mentioned in the text, using a numbered reference?

Do all in-text citations refer to a source in the bibliography or works cited section?

Is your list of works cited / references / bibliography in alphabetical order?

In your bibliography / works cited, are your sources formatted according to the requirements of your style guide (APA, Chicago, MLA)?

Are your pages numbered?

Does your table of contents include section headings and page numbers?

Are quotations clearly indicated by quotation marks or indented blocks?

Are appendices titled, referenced in the text and listed in the table of context?

Have you used a readable, conventional font? Have you double spaced your lines and used standard margins?

Does your title page include both your title and research question ? (Note: do not include your name, candidate number or school name or number on the title pages)

Do your introduction and conclusion answer the research question ? Does the answer to your research question follow logically from your arguments, evidence and findings?

Does the structure of your essay lend itself well to your topic, question and research?

How well does your essay structure lend itself to your argument? See the subject-specific interpretations of the assessment criteria in the EE Guide on the Programme Resource Centre under MyIB. There you can find advice on how to use headings and structures that are appropriate for your subject.