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Extended Essay: Subject-Specific Guidance

A guide for DP students to guide the completion of the extended essay writing process

Follow the IB's instructions and guidance to earn top marks!

While the IB Extended Essay Guide provides guidance around the entire EE process an in general (everything that MUST be done by EVERYONE in EVERY SUBJECT, the Subject Specific Guidance (see drop-down tabs above) is your roadmap to success in each specific area as it relates to your chosen subject! Following it carefully every step of the way is your surest way to your best possible performance on this task.

After reading selections from the general EE Guide below, go to your Subject Specific Guidance to see how these steps in the process are applied in your subject area.

The Extended Essay

The EE is an in-depth study of a focused topic. It gives you the opportunity to:

  • engage in independent research with intellectual initiative, creativity and rigor
  • develop research, thinking, self-management and communication skills
  • reflect on what you have learned throughout the research and writing process.

You must:

  • provide a logical and coherent rationale for your choice of topic
  • review what has already been written about the topic
  • formulate a clear research question
  • offer a concrete description of the methods you use to investigate the question
  • generate reasoned interpretations and conclusions based on your reading and independent research in order to answer the question.

Choosing your topic - All subjects

First, identify the broad area of inquiry you are interested in.

Sources of ideas may include:

  • work already undertaken as part of the course
  • preliminary reading of academic journals and reputable scholarly e-resources, eg conference papers, essays, book chapters or journal articles. A school librarian can advise on this
  • conversations with teachers, fellow students and librarians.

Next, undertake a "Literature Review"

Try to read as much as you can that has already been written about your topic. Time spent reading early on in the research process will guide and improve your work.

Reading broadly will help you to:

  • contextualize your research question and subsequent findings
  • meet criterion B which is about demonstrating your knowledge and understanding

While conducting your literature review, you should compile an annotated bibliography and record your thoughts about what you read in your researcher’s reflection space (RRS).

Research Question - All subjects

Research question

Identify a working research question early on, but be prepared to change it if you don't find enough information.

Be guided by this idea: Your writing is important because...

  • it seeks to fill a gap in understanding your chosen topic, or
  • it offers a resolution to some controversial argument.

The research question should not be trivial and and should follow from the existing body of literature on the topic. It must be:

  • specific, sharply focused and capable of being answered within a 4,000-word essay
  • stated clearly in the introduction of the essay and on the title page
  • related to the chosen topic.

Avoid researching questions that are too narrow or too obvious - these will limit your ability to formulate reasoned arguments.

Your answer to the question must be analytical, not descriptive.

Treatment of your topic

Once you identify your topic and write your research question, you can decide how to research the answer. It may be helpful to write a statement outlining your broad approach.

The definition “research” and terms such as “primary data” and “secondary data” vary from subject to subject.

In some subjects, both primary and secondary data are required. Other subjects might or even must rely exclusively on secondary data.

Regardless of subject, everyone must carry secondary research in terms of a literature review for their topic.

Two important reminders

  1. Undertaking an extended essay is a challenge. Planning is crucial. Start writing your paper early and discuss any emerging difficulties with your supervisor. As well as your supervisor, our school librarian is a a good source of information, advice, and support.
  2. You risk your diploma if found guilty of academic misconduct:
    1. Academic honesty: your work will be checked in terms of the IB’s academic honesty policy
    2. “Double-dipping”: you may not use material submitted for any other assessment component as part of your EE submission. While resources can be shared between components, sometimes it is best to avoid this. Resources used for IA, for example, could be used as part of the EE, but no content can be duplicated at all, so to prevent any cross-over the candidate would need to have a substantially different angle that they will investigate and there must be a complete shift in focus.