HS IB Extended Essay Guide: Getting Started

Key Features of the Extended Essay:

• Independent research on a topic chosen by the student in consultation with a subject supervisor
• Formal piece of academic writing, 4, 000 words long, accompanied by a reflection of no more than 500 words
• Approximately 40 hours of work by the student
• 3-5 hours of supervision + 3 mandatory reflection sessions
• Ends with a Viva Voce: final reflection session with supervising teacher

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

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

All students must:

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

Source: IBO.org

What should you write about? Visit these sites for inspiration: 

Thank you to UWC Libraries for generating this list. 

• Your teachers have created 5 minute videos about writing in each DP subject
• These will help you to understand what it means to write an EE in each subject area
   
• Click on the right hand corner of the below video to see the full playlist of DP subject introductions 

These files cover individual subjects’ requirements for the extended essay (EE) in terms of:

• Choice of topic
• Treatment of topic
• Assessment

You can find subject specific information at the following website or in the PDF documents below:

Visit the IBO.org website to learn more about the Extended Essay