Introduction
The opportunity to research your interests in an academic setting sounds surreal; this is a pivotal point towards attaining the perfect 45 marks. As a part of the two-year International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, we have a compulsory 4000-word essay that spans over a year called the Extended Essay (EE).
EEs are marked on a scale of 0 to 34, with corresponding bands of A to E, and serve as a taste of university research. In the process of writing the EE, you will need to create a Research Question(RQ), analyse your findings, and clearly communicate ideas and arguments in your evaluations. The EE contributes to the 3 core points, alongside Theory of Knowledge, that add to your total 45 points.
While the usual IB student chooses and writes on one subject, an interdisciplinary EE includes a research paper that covers two IB subjects that are interconnected in the topic. For more information, consult your IB coordinator to know how this is handled at your school and check out the official IB website.
This article is a guide on the Extended Essay as a whole, from the process to criteria to examples, including the syllabus updates that will begin first teaching in August/September 2025 and first assessment in 2027.
How is the EE conducted?
The Extended Essay process is split into three parts: researching, writing, and reflecting. While it will look different for each student, it will be incredibly helpful to streamline your process and plan each step of the way to write your EE as efficiently as possible. Here is what is recommended by the IB:
Research
- Examine your interests and narrow these down to topic(s) that correspond with the IB.
- Choose an interdisciplinary or subject-focused EE.
- Research your topic and explore what work has been conducted on it before.
- Create a clear research question (RQ) with well-defined parameters.
- Outline what research and writing requirements you will need.
- Structure your essay.
- Conduct research. This may be with primary experiments or secondary sources.
Writing and Presentation
With a total limit of 4000 words, here is what the IB requires students to include on their final submission:
- Title page
- Contents page
- Introduction
- Body of the essay
- Conclusion
- References and bibliography
Reflection
The EE is a lengthy process, and along the way, you need to document your thoughts, experiences, learnings, how the EE has impacted you, and how you are going to utilise what you have learnt.
Accordingly, each student has three reflection sessions conducted by their supervisor, to reflect on their engagement in research and writing, evaluate decisions and ideas, and consider changes needed.
- After the planning stage, the First Reflection includes discussing your RQ, initial plans and approaches to the topic.
- Following the research and drafting stage is the Interim Reflection, where learners can reflect on their work so far, and what improvements and adjustments they need.
- Between the Interim and Final Reflections, after submitting the final draft, is the Viva Voce, an oral interview spanning 10 to 15 minutes, to reflect on the EE’s learnings, improvements and errors, and showing involvement in the research process.
- After completing the research and writing, the Final Reflection requires the student to summarise and reflect on their EE journey, learnings and express how they have fulfilled the EE criteria.
At the end of the EE process, there is a 500-word reflective statement on the Reflection and Progress form (RPF), as well as your attendance at reflection sessions. The student writes the reflections in the RPF, while the supervisor overlooks reviewing these reflections, their process and Viva Voce, returning feedback, aligning reflections with the process, with a comment section ending the RPF.
Criteria
Let’s take a look at the assessment model and common criteria of the Extended Essay.
Assessment objectives
Here’s what you need to do to achieve the Extended Essay assessment objectives:
- Show that you understand the topic, research question, related research, and how to conduct your particular EE.
- Effectively answer your RQ, conduct the necessary research (experiments or secondary sources) and conclude research findings and results.
- Have a clear argument that connects throughout the essay, from the RQ to findings to conclusions. How are your findings important, how effective is your essay, and how has the EE process and experience helped you grow as a learner? Make sure to evaluate the good and the bad in your research process.
- Utilise proper EE structure, cite all your sources, beware of plagiarism, and show academic integrity.
Diploma Programme Extended Essay Subject Brief: First assessment 2027 – International Baccalaureate®
Assessment criteria
According to the IB framework for assessment criteria, this is what IB examiners are looking for:
- Structure your EE well, abiding by the research question, methods, and structural conventions for an effective framework.
- Illustrate your interest, knowledge, and expertise in your chosen topic and subject.
- Analyse your data and information, and provide a well-defined argument.
- Outline results, findings, and a conclusion.Evaluate the research process and reflect on your essay.
- Describe how the EE and learning process have impacted you.
Diploma Programme Extended Essay Subject Brief: First assessment 2027 – International Baccalaureate®
Examples
To gain a better idea of the Extended Essay, looking at EE example research questions and analysing them is incredibly helpful. This allows you to gain an idea of the level of content and structure the IB is expecting. The following are exemplary EE ideas from the IB; these include the research question, approach, and an examiner’s perspective:
Language A
How effectively does Oscar Wilde both present and critique social expectations in The Importance of Being Earnest?
Various social expectations are identified, such as marriage, manners, religion, duty and gender. How effectively Wilde presents and critiques them is investigated through a close reading of the play and attention to language. Some background research into Victorian society provides social context, but the focus is on the play.
Economics
Does current economic research into minimum wage invalidate the neoclassical argument that increasing the minimum wage will lead to increased levels of unemployment?
The neoclassical argument is researched and presented. The counterarguments are researched and evaluated in terms of the nature of the evidence and studies that have been carried out.
Psychology
Is mindfulness or cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) the more effective means of coping with stress?
Research that directly compares the two treatments is analysed, leading to a well evidenced conclusion.
Chemistry
What is the effect of manganese oxide versus copper (II) oxide in the catalysation of hydrogen peroxide at 21°C?
Background information is sought regarding the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide and different catalytic pathways and mechanisms. This is followed by practical research using carefully selected variables.
Visual arts
To what extent do the skull series of compositions by the artist Joni Brenner embody the cyclical nature of life and death?
The socio-historical context of Apartheid and the art produced in the post-Apartheid era is researched. This is followed by an analysis of the artistic and symbolic aspects of Brenner’s skull compositions.
You can explore more RQs like these from the IB website:
“An analysis of costume as a source for understanding the inner life of the character”
“What level of data compression in music files is acceptable to the human ear?”
Most importantly, you need to read assessed sample extended essays and understand the standard set by the IB. This website is incredibly helpful, containing EEs submitted by past graduates, their grades, and the IB examiner’s comments throughout the paper.
Conclusion
Arguably, the Extended Essay is one of the most engaging and fun parts of the International Baccalaureate curriculum, giving you a chance to dive into the subject of your choice and create perspective on a topic you’re interested in. Personally, I am stoked to work on my English EE and this gives me the opportunity to put my academic effort into what I love to do. I hope that this article can give you clarity on the workings of the Extended Essay, and thank you for reading!