Extended essay

The extended essay (EE) is a research paper of up to 4000 words, giving students an opportunity to conduct independent research or investigation on a topic that interests them. Like the theory of knowledge (TOK essay and presentation), and participation in creativity, action, service activities, the extended essay is a mandatory prerequisite for the award of the IB Diploma. However, students taking the IB Certificate program do not have the Extended Essay in their program.

It is mandatory that the extended essay be taken from the field of one of the IB subjects being studied (e.g. the essay may be about a book that has not been studied as part of IB English).[1] However, the topic must not be too broad or too narrow as to make it difficult to write 4,000 words, and the general subject must be taught under the IB diploma program by one of the members of staff at the high school (so that there is someone with expertise able to help). The subject (not topic) on which the extended essay is written is recommended to be one that the candidate has formally studied, but this is not required. Also, the EE may not be written across different subjects – it must concentrate on one subject only, unless the student is writing under the World Studies topic. However, some subjects include several disciplines, with an emphasis towards one. An example is the subject Societies, which can include chemistry, biology, psychology, etc. generally with an emphasis toward one discipline.

Supervision

The supervisor provides the student with assistance in putting together their EE, including guiding them in finding a suitable research question and on how to acquire the necessary resources to complete the research (such as a specific resource material–often hard-to-find documents or books–or laboratory equipment). The supervisor may suggest improvements to a version of the EE, but must not be engaged in writing it. The IBO recommends that the supervisor spend approximately two to three hours in total with the candidate discussing the EE.

Assessment

Extended essays are marked by individuals named external assessors (examiners appointed by the IB) on a scale of 0 to 36. There are "general" and "subject-specific" criteria, at a ratio of 2:1 (24 possible marks for the general criteria and 12 marks for the subject-specific one). The total mark is converted into a grade from A to E. A similar system is used for theory of knowledge and students can gain up to 3 points for the diploma based on the grades achieved for EE and TOK.

A score of E on the extended essay and/or TOK essay revokes the eligibility of receiving the IB Diploma (EE Subject Guide p15).[2]

IB Diploma Core Requirements - Awarded Points Matrix
Theory of Knowledge
Extended Essay
A B C D E or N
A 3 3 2 1 Failing Condition
B 3 2 1 1 Failing Condition
C 2 1 1 0 Failing Condition
D 1 1 0 0 Failing Condition
E or N Failing Condition Failing Condition Failing Condition Failing Condition Failing Condition
Source: The diploma points matrix. May 2015 onwards[3]


References

  1. ↑ "IB Diploma Programme, Extended Essay Handbook" (PDF). International Baccalaureate. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-03-04. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
  2. ↑ "IB Diploma Programme, Extended Essay Handbook" (PDF). International Baccalaureate. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-03-04. Retrieved 2012-03-01.
  3. ↑ "Handbook of Procedures for the Diploma Programme - 2018" (PDF). Knightsbridge Schools International Panama. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
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