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EE

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Guides, presentations and LibGuides from Western International School of Shanghai; International School of Luxembourg, UWCSEA, Singapore and the American School of the Hague. Please credit these schools if using this content.

G11 Research - an excellent document shared by Yvonne Barrett
This hyperdoc is to support IB Extended Essay & secondary students revising and developing independent research skills

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IB Librarians' Workshop - Extended Essay (EE)

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Guides, presentations and LibGuides from Western International School of Shanghai; International School of Luxembourg, UWCSEA, Singapore and the American School of the Hague. Please credit these schools if using this content.

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Dear Students,

I welcome you to the Knowledge hub of Extended Essay. It is designed to help and support students to write EE through the process from choosing a topic using research skills effectively and organizing the sources to present your findings with accurate citations.

To navigate the padlet, click on the tab and scroll through the content under respective subject heading.

Explore the resources!

Thank you.

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Alumni Guide to EE

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The extended essay is among the largest independent tasks that Diploma Programme (DP) students tackle during their studies. The 4,000-word research paper, often seen by students as among the most daunting DP requirements, is unlike anything else IB students are asked to create. However, it develops critical organizational and research skills that students will use time and time again at university and their careers.

By the numbers

A sense of achievement, demonstrating organizational skills for employers, and getting a head start on university level writing were among the benefits cited by alumni in a recent study.

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The extended essay is among the largest independent tasks that Diploma Programme (DP) students tackle during their studies. The 4,000-word research paper, often seen by students as among the most daunting DP requirements, is unlike anything else IB students are asked to create.

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Writing a 4,000-word research essay in the last year of high school is a remarkable accomplishment for many reasons. But how valuable is it really? We completed some research of our own with almost 400 DP graduates to find out more.
The extended essay is highly regarded as a tool to help IB Diploma Programme (DP) students learn the critical thinking skills and processes associated with carrying out research, enabling them to move more comfortably into the realm of universities, colleges and careers. It can also be recognised as contributing to a person's capacity to discover for themselves the answers to the enduring questions-big and small-encountered during their life.

But in a time where search engines can respond in an instant and with increasing credibility, to just about any question you can dream up, can the process of conducting research still be considered as something that really matters?

According to the Oxford Living Dictionary, research is defined as 'the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.' This implies that by digging deeper than just a quick question posed to Siri hints at an underlying thirst for new knowledge, and an enthusiasm to search for informed conclusions that can shape future decisions and actions. This aligns well with the IB's description of the extended essay as an endeavour that is 'intended to promote academic research and writing skills, providing students with an opportunity to engage in personal research in a topic of their own choice in which ideas and findings are communicated in a reasoned and coherent manner, appropriate to the subject chosen' (extended essay guide 2016). Perhaps a dry description, but it gives context to the efforts of students and their supervisors, who then bring the extended essay to life.

Here are some of our research highlights, from respondents who have now experienced college/university life.

More than 72% of respondents either 'agreed' or 'strongly agreed' that the extended essay was 'an academically significant part' of their DP experience. While statistics can tell us an interesting story, giving them a personal context enhances their interpretation. Bearing in mind that the aims of the extended essay are for students to:

engage in independent research with intellectual initiative and rigour;

develop research, thinking, self-management and communication skills; and

reflect on what has been learned throughout the research and writing process.

"Simply completing it was rewarding"

Many respondents reflected on the enjoyment and benefits of independently researching a topic of their own choice, coming to an understanding of "what professional research looks like and the work required to do it", while others enjoyed "working with a wonderful supervisor to learn about all the tools required for effective research".

"Transferability of skills"

Respondents referred to how transferable their extended essay skills were to their university context. Some learned "how to commit to a long-lasting research project, and reaping the benefits came in the form of knowing that "my research papers have been much better than they would have been otherwise".

"The ability to formulate arguments in a coherent manner and to be disciplined in writing

Drilling down into specific research and writing skills, respondents valued learning how to "elaborate on topics thoughtfully and articulately", and "hone skills in analysis and synthesis", while also appreciating the opportunity to find out "how to cite sources and write references in the correct academic style".

The workplace, and "understanding how to organise a long piece of structured writing"

'The process of refining the writing through editing drafts" was an important takeaway for one graduate and another said that her current job entails writing analytical reports and that 'the skills I gained from doing the EE have strongly contributed to the quality of my work'.

Struggle with other DP workload?

In other forums, students have described their struggle with managing the extended essay in conjunction with their other DP responsibilities and requirements, but alumni who participated in this survey, and with the benefit of hindsight, expressed a positive experience.

Typical responses referred to the worth of 'learning how to manage time in the context of a large project', and 'strengthening the skills of organisation and time management'. One respondent emphasised the importance of being supported in this endeavour by the presence of a well-designed extended essay schedule.

"Some years after leaving school, I still find myself citing my EE in conversations"

The long-lasting impact of the extended essay is captured in many reflections such as "the feeling of self-accomplishment remains to this day'. For some, the extended essay "sparked an ongoing passion for research", but perhaps the most poignant remark shared was one former student's reflection that researching and writing the extended essay had revealed 'that I am capable of more than I had ever imagined'.

"I am capable of more than I had ever imagined"

So, what next? How will we use this research?

Of course, as pleasing as this data is, there is room for improvement. Indeed, 35% of alumni surveyed said they found formulating a research question "too challenging" or "far too challenging", with approximately 20% having felt similarly challenged about the prospects of implementing a research and writing plan, constructing a reasoned argument, and synthesising information.

Overall feedback from our alumni affirms the view that the extended essay adds great value to the IB Diploma experience. The current curriculum review for the extended essay will, as always, seek to build on what is working well, find solutions for shortcomings, and explore innovative ways to enhance the achievement of outcomes, but it seems that there is already good reason to feel confident that the extended essay is doing its bit to bring a practical face to the IB mission to develop 'inquiring, knowledgeable' young people and encourage them to 'become active, compassionate, lifelong learners'.
Robin Julian is IB Curriculum Manager for the Extended Essay.

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Writing a 4,000-word research essay in the last year of high school is a remarkable accomplishment for many reasons. But how valuable is it really? We completed some research of our own with almost 400 DP graduates to find out more.

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IB Extended Essay is a smaller beast considering that you give it enough time before it turns into a bigger one. 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, be like us!

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

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

Section- 2: Beyond your Course

Quick Note: Don't include a recommendationssection in your EE

With this, we come towards the end of our article on what is an IB extended essay and how to write an extended essay. Like we mentioned earlier, it is not that difficult. All you need is dedication, set timelines and proper research. So, don't worry, there are no rabbits to pull out of your hat today. If you want to score a 36 on 36 in your Extended Essay, make sure you check out our Extended Essay Guide which offers '5 never heard before' tips which will help you write a quality essay.

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

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IB Program: What Is An Extended Essay And How to Write It? - Nail IB (2020)

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IB Extended Essay is a smaller beast considering that you give it enough time before it turns into a bigger one. 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.

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How to write an Extended Essay

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An extended essay is basically a type of academic writing which success is dependent in its structure. In this article, our professional is providing you complete guideline on how to write extended essays.

What is an extended essay?

An extended essay is a type of essay which provides reader with comprehensive explanation of term. It is basically an independent research project on specific topic on which students are working collaboratively with supervisor. An extended essay consists of reasonable arguments in context of research questions. It is a type of essay which is presented as scholarly paper therefore; it should not be more than 4000 words. An extended essay is consider as a type of research paper which consists of detail and c;ear analysis of topic. It is basically a thesis which you need to create under control of an supervisor. Extended essay is consider as most crucial part of IB diploma course. If you complete your extended essay in successful manner then you will get additional score.

The different elements which you need to include in your extended essay are:

Title page

Abstract

Content page

Introduction

Main body paragraph

Conclusion

References

Appendices

Why to write extended essay?

The main objective of writing extended essay is to pose insightful question which is relevant to topic. Before starting to write extended essay you need to concentrate on topic. While writing extended essay, it is very much crucial for you to engage yourself in a systematic research process. You require developing critical thinking and creative skills. It is the extended essay writing which helps you in improving different skills such as writing, communication, skills. Extended essay writing also helps you in increasing your ability to work independently. It enables you to experience the satisfaction through intellectual discovery.

Outline of extended essay

An outline of these essays has same features as outline of other types of essays. You can utilize free structure and style for writing extended essay. You can make separate block for every part.

An introductory paragraph contains Thesis Statement which helps in engaging reader. Like other essay, an extended essay also contains three main paragraphs. In concluding paragraphs, you need to restate key arguments.

Other elements of this essay are:

Annotated bibliography

This part where you need to reading information on different sources. The main thing is about creating a separate page with all the sources of quotes which you have utilize in essay.

Tip: Don't leave this step to the very end of the writing process. Just start it with the very first quote you utilize and then add new ones scrupulously.

Title Page

It is most crucial element in essay format. Here , you require to follow IB extended essay format. At this page, you need to include title of essay, your name and IB number.

How to write extended essay?

The process of writing essay include following steps these are:

Step 1: Selection of topic'

Selection of an appropriate topic for writing such essay is very crucial in order to achieve good grades. Generally students are given with topic for writing the such essay, but if in case your tutor has not provide you with topic then you can select topic of your interest. the best technique which you can use for development of ideas related to topic is brainstorming.

Step 2: Get knowledge about assessment criteria

You for gathering the information about assessment criteria need to review guidelines. You can get the information about the same from your supervisor.

Step 3: Set Deadline

Spend approx. 40 hours on research. You should set deadline for every phase of research and writing process.

Step 4: Design research Questions

At the time of designing research question, you should make sure neither it is too broad or too narrow. It is a step where you need to closely work with supervisor. You need to mainly emphasize on main Questions. It is very much essential for you to develop understanding about topic as this will help you in developing well research Questions.

Step 5: Determine appropriate sources

It is a step where you require determining appropriate sources for gathering information. After collecting of facts you need to do critical evaluation of this source material. This is a step where you should develop tentative plan related to utilization of specific sources. You should also determine the way specific sources can be utilized for supporting an argument. After that you should organize sources in logical manner.

Step 6: Select referencing system

Here, you need select referencing system which is most suitable for your subject.

Step 7: Write extended essay introduction

It is a step where you require writing introduction for your essay. In introductory part of an essay, you need to clearly state that what and why you are going to do specific thing. This is a step, where you need to clearly demonstrate the significance of question or topic . It is also very much important for you to clear explanation about the way specific set of Questions are more suitable for greater discussion.

Tip: You active voice and avoid utilization of passive voice for writing introduction for such type of essay.

Step 8: Writing main body paragraph

This is a step where you require starting writing main body paragraph of such essay. Here, you require to include explanation of key arguments. Writer can utilize standard three paragraphs for this type of essay. Include one argument for each paragraph. Use quotes where needed.

You need to include references and do citation of sources. It is very much essential for you to cite only that material which supports arguments. At this step, you should develop an argument by utilizing material which you have gathered. Here, you need to showcase your own thinking. Utilize subheadings, as this will help you in developing and clarifying arguments. After writing main body, you should ensure that arguments are clearly understandable by readers. At the same time reader should able to develop the understanding about the process through which information relevant to specific topic is gathered.

Step 9: Write conclusion

In the conclusion section, you need to clearly specify what you have accomplished. If there is any kind of limitations than you can mention the same in concluding part of your essay. It is the section where you need to restate the key arguments.

Tip: The Conclusion is a crucial part of the essay. Don't just restate your thesis. Avoid making it very similar to the Introduction.

Step 10: Cite sources

This is a last step, where you need to cite sources. After doing citations make sure they are done at right place.

Step 11: Insert table of content page.

You should follow IB essay format and accordingly insert table of content.

Step 12: Write abstract.

At this step, you need to write an abstract for your essay. An abstract is a short summary which you need to write at the beginning of an essay.

Suggested topics for writing Extended essay

There are number of topics which you can use for writing such essay these are:

Topics by subject

Extended definition topics

A computer as an assistant in Education.

Large-scale networking.

Databases and data centers for natural-language processing.

Still have issue in writing extended essay get professional assistance!
Artificial intelligence and its evolution in modern robots.

If you have any issue in completing extended essay writing on time then you can take help from expert team of Students assignment help. You can avail online college assignments help services at affordable cost anytime. We also provide students with essay editing and proofreading services.

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How to Write An Extended Essay - Definition,Outline & Writing Tips

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An extended essay is basically a type of academic writing which success is dependent in its structure. In this article, our professional is providing you complete guideline on how to write extended essays. An extended essay is a type of essay which provides reader with comprehensive explanation of term.

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No need to groan when you are asked to write an extended essay. There are a format and a method which will allow you to deliver the content required powerfully.

An Extended Essay - Definition

An extended essay is a 3,500-4000 word research essay (around 20 typed pages) required for an international baccalaureate (IB), and which can also be required by any college level course. It is designed to highlight the writer's depth of knowledge on a particular subject. It is frequently assigned at the culmination of a period of study proving the student's comprehension and command of the extended essay topic.

Choosing Extended Essay Topics

IB extended essay topics must be broad enough to require 4,000 words of research and explanation to show the knowledge acquired fully, but narrow enough so the writer can go into depth without having to miss any key components. For example, if asked to write an English extended essay, the subject of British writers of the 1800's would be encyclopedic. However, focusing on three lesser known works of Charles Dickens as a way of gaining insight into England in the 1800's would be a more powerful presentation.
To help you choose, start with what you know on the extended essay topic and create a list of 3-5 general or broad ideas. From these, break them down into 3-5 smaller topics. Review this second list of nine or more possibilities. On this list is likely to be the focus which will give you the right balance of breadth and depth of information. Be on the lookout for a topic that inspires you. The more interesting you find it, the more likely your reader will be engaged, and the writing process will be easier.

Extended Essay Outline

It is not recommended that you simply start writing, even if you have all the research you need. Organization is important to your overall success. The first step is developing the extended essay outline to follow as research is done and ideas or insights are decided. Ask yourself several key questions to present and answer over the course of your essay. Make certain you are clear as to why these questions are significant, why they deserve or need to be answered, and what the answers do to illuminate the topic of your essay.
Outlining using this questioning technique not only builds a logical and sequential composition, but it helps you to be more productive and clear. If you are looking to answer three central questions, then you will aim to write an essay with around 1,000 words on each question along with a 500-word introduction, and a 500-word conclusion. Breaking your thinking and research process down this way helps to keep you moving forward without dealing with an overwhelming feeling of anxiety.

Extended Essay Organization

Proper essay writing help starts with an introduction, followed by the body, then a conclusion.
The introduction should include facts about the topic, its importance and offer general information on what is to come on the following pages. You may be surprised to learn a trick for writing a strong introduction is to write it last. For example, if you write a Biology extended essay on the contribution of sugar to the problems of obesity in America, chances are you will be able to more clearly write an introduction that leads into your work after the body of the paper is complete.

The body takes the majority of the word count and presents your questions, research, and results. Here is where the knowledge and work of the writer comes forward. It needs to be presented in a way that explains, educates and offers insights on the three to five main points you decided to cover. The majority of writing time on the extended essay will be used for this central portion.

The paper ends with the conclusion. While the bulk of the writing time goes into the body, a great deal of thought needs to go into its conclusion. Like the dessert of a meal, this can make or break the success of the work. The conclusion has the weighty job of needing to be inclusive of the information presented, offer final memorable insights and leave the reader knowing they have learned something about the presented topic and the skills of the author. When planning the work flow of the essay, sufficient time to craft the conclusion needs to be considered.

Extended Essay Title Page

For final presentation is important to create a title page, also known as an extended essay cover page. There are many visual examples of this online to help you, and the process is quite basic.
The title page format starts with the title centered and written about one-third of the way down the page with any subtitle directly beneath it. For a Psychology extended essay an example would be: The Rise of Anxiety in Children, and beneath that, you could include: How Post 9/11 Childhoods are Being Influenced by Fear.
After this, skip 3-5 lines and, putting one on each line, type your name, your IB number if this is the international baccalaureate, subject, date, school, and word count. All of this remains centered.

Conclusion

An extended essay is a chance for a student to shine by showing the depth of knowledge, writing skills, and original thoughts on a subject. Should you choose to buy an essay or use an essay writing service, be certain that they are knowledgeable about your topic in addition to proper IB extended essay format. Always take the time to edit and proofread work before submitting. When organized and presented the extended essay it is an excellent culmination of study and commitment.

Need Some Extended Essay Help?

We get it, editing an extended essay sounds like the most daunting of all writing assignments! I mean, a 4000-word research assignment while having to deal with other tasks in your life? Do not worry, EssayHub is here to diminish your essay writing anxiety. Our professional essay editors will formulate a top notch Extended Essay that will surely satisfy the requirements as well as the grader's eyes! If you are a student struggling with time and task management, hire a tutor from us for immediate essay help and relief! We look forward to working with you!

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No need to groan when you are asked to write an extended essay. There are a format and a method which will allow you to deliver the content required powerfully. An extended essay is a 3,500-4000 word research essay (around 20 typed pages) required for an international baccalaureate (IB), and which can also be required by any college level course.

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Writing EE Reflections

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As you already know, the new extended essay criteria include 6 marks for " Engagement." That's 6 marks out of 35, meaning these reflections are worth 17.6% of your EE mark!

Those 6 marks are almost enough to bring you from a C to an A.

This is a lot of marks for just 500 words. That's 500 words in total, for all of the 3 reflections.

This post will show you what the rubric is asking for and how to show these things in your writing. (You will be writing your 3 reflections on the new " Reflections on Planning and Progress Form" Updated March 2020).

In short, the reflections are meant to prove "the authenticity of your work." You do this by talking us through the path you took as you wrote your EE. So you will show us some of your thinking, decision-making and planning along the way. And you will try to show that you're taking " an intellectual approach" and have a lot of " personal engagement."

Here's what the they (the IB big-shots) DON'T want, what they DO want and HOW to do it:

1) Don't just describe what you've done.

Let us understand your thinking processes.

Reflect on decisions you've already made. What decisions were hard to make or made poorly so far and how have you dealt with these?

Have you found it hard (or easy) to make good research decisions?

Discuss something you could have done differently or better.

And, be yourself. We want this to be written in your own words (the

2) Don't make it seem like you've only picked the easy-to-get information.

Show that you have been careful about choosing your sources and you haven't just used whatever came up first on Google.

Show us that you have taken time to think creatively about what kind of information will be required to answer your question and then that you've taken the time to try to find this exact information. (Some tips on doing advanced EE research).

Reflect on your planning so far. Have you under-planned (or over-planned?) or not planned for the right aspects of your work so far?

Have you found it hard (or easy) to plan your work?

What set-backs have you faced in your planning and how have you dealt with these? What would you do differently, in your planning, next time you do research like this?

3) Don't make it seem like you're (mindlessly) just doing what your teacher is telling you to do.

Show that you have really taken the lead on this research. (Some tips for getting started with your EE, if you aren't sure where to start).

Show us that you see this research as interesting and important, in a genuine way.

What sub-questions have you been asking yourself as you did your research? (These would be questions that would help you answer your main research question).

What do you find interesting about this topic?

4) Don't try to hide your mistakes.

Tell us about some of your mistakes and what you've learned from them. We love this because it shows that you are becoming a person who doesn't need a teacher to improve. You can notice your own mistakes and learn from them.

What have you learned about yourself already, as a result of doing this work?

What has proven more difficult than you expected and how have you dealt with this?

5) Don't worry about making it seem too academic.

Be comfortable explaining your journey in your natural voice.

As you'll see in the rubric below, the IB is hoping the reflections can help you demonstrate the authenticity of your work by you explaining it in a "student voice."

A few more suggestions

Here is a list which I've adapted from the IB EE Guide (Page 154), which might also give you some ideas. It says, you can reflect on:

The approaches and strategies you've chosen, and how well these have gone

The Approaches to learning (ATL) skills you have developed through the EE research and how you've developed as a learner. (The ATLs include: thinking skills, communication skills, social skills, self-management skills or research skills).

How your conceptual understandings have developed or changed as a result of your research. For example, have you learned how to apply course ideas in a new context?

Explain some setbacks you faced in your research and how you overcame them (or worked around them)

Share some questions that emerged as a result of your research.

What you would do differently if you were to start this research again?

Want to sneak a peek at the top mark-band from the rubric?

The 4 rules above are my best thinking about how you can produce reflections that can be described by the top (5-6) mark band. But you don't have to take my word for it.

It's worth having a look at the top mark band yourself.

Cite this page as:
Woods, Tim. "How To Write IB Extended Essay Reflections" IBMastery 26 Jan 2022. Web. PUT TODAY'S DATE HERE <https://www.ibmastery.com/blog/how-to-write-ib-extended-essay-reflections>

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How To Write IB Extended Essay Reflections

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As you already know, the new extended essay criteria include 6 marks for "Engagement." These 6 marks are almost enough to bring you from a C to an A. I want to give a sense of what the rubric is asking for and how to show these things in your writing.

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Step by step Instructions of EE

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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. And the best way to make sure you have a skeleton instead of just gelatine (is that a rhyme?) is to create a plan or outline.

We've talked about how to choose a topic, go about your research, and pin down a research question. So now we're going to address how you can take all of that work and turn it into a concrete plan. It's all about organising your ideas so that they are as clear as possible. After you've done this, writing the essay will be about simply filling in the gaps!

Preparing to construct your Extended Essay Outline

Know your destination

Although your research question should already suggest what you are aiming to achieve in the essay, your conclusion needs to take this a step further. It can't just be the same as your introduction but in different words (as tempting as that option is!). Everything in your essay should take the reader on a journey to this conclusion. It should help progress your argument so that we get closer with every paragraph.

If you're now realising that you don't know your destination, take the time to figure this out before you start writing. The results of a Science experiment will make it pretty obvious, but even in more subjective subjects such as English, History and World Studies you need to decide what conclusion your research points towards.

My advice to you, if you simply aren't sure, is to follow your instincts. Think about how your evidence has affected what you personally think about the topic. Chances are it will have convinced you of something. For a reminder of different types of essay conclusions, there are some useful summaries in this article.
Exercise 1: summarise your conclusion in one sentence. Even if it's not exactly right, or if it doesn't include everything you feel is important about your topic, compress it as much as you can into one core idea. If you can't do this right away then set a timer for five minutes and start drafting sentences about what you 'think' your essay might conclude. At the end of the five minutes pick the one that you feel summarises it best.
Define your ideas

Take a moment to free your mind from all the details, facts, quotes and data. Go back to the essence of your essay, which is the argument you are trying to make. Without using your research to speak for itself, identify all the different ideas you want to include, and the things you want to say.
write down all the ideas you want to include in your essay. Don't worry about an order yet. Focus instead of getting all of your 'points' written down somewhere. Not only is this likely to help your organise your thoughts, but it will also mean you can refer back to it later to make sure you haven't forgotten one of your favourite ideas! This can take the form of a mind map, a list, a Word Doc. Do whatever feels easiest, because chances are this is what will help your ideas flow naturally.
For example, you might have evidence that Virginia Woolf uses imagery of flowers frequently throughout Mrs Dalloway, but what does this actually mean in the context of your question? The idea behind it might relate more to her affinity with nature, or the parallels she draws between flowers and people.

Filter your evidence

I can 99% guarantee you that you won't be able to use all the research you have done. A lot of it will be:

1. Irrelevant to the question

2. Repetition of what you already have

3. Not quite right for your line of argument

THEREFORE it is important that you filter your evidence so that you only have the best examples and information.
First, highlight the clearest, most informative research that you have gathered. Next, take all of these pieces of research, and write a short, one-sentence summary next to each one, describing how it relates to your question. Use your own words. You will hopefully start finding that they are backing up some of the points you know you want to include.
Use your research question as your starting point and your conclusion sentence (the one you wrote earlier) as the end point. It is your job to make sure that every piece of research is part of a bridge between the two. Absolutely every quote, fact or piece of data that you include should actively answer your question. If it doesn't, don't include it.

Constructing your Extended Essay Outline
The Bullet-Point Outline:
There are different techniques you can use to structure an essay. Because the Extended Essay is much longer than what most of you will be used to, I strongly recommend using a particular technique or process to do this. Below are some examples, and you should do whatever works best for you.

You know this one. It's the most classic example of how to structure an essay and the one most of you have probably tried before. The trick with this one is to start small and expand outwards afterwards.
The Post-it Note Outline:

Summarise each paragraph into one line that defines the idea or sub-topic behind it.

Expand each paragraph summary by adding 2 extra bullet points:

1. Evidence, data or a quote

2. How the example relates to the idea you are trying to convey

Expand your paragraph bullet points by adding in other ideas or points that are directly relevant to the overall idea behind it

I'm defining this as anything that involves you breaking down your paragraphs into defined pieces. Post-it notes, cards, and scraps of paper are the most common examples. This option is brilliant if you struggle coming up with an order for your ideas straight away. Instead it lets you play around with all the different parts of your essay as you go, until you have put them in the best possible order.
The Spreadsheet Outline:
If you like the idea of this process but can't stand the idea of lots of physical pieces of paper, there are some apps that perform a similar function such as Gingko or Evernote.

For the structure nuts among you. The beauty of this is that it lets you easily compare paragraphs in terms of length and content by breaking each one down into clear sections. You can choose how exactly you format it, but it might look like this:

As with the post-it version it is super easy to use this method to change the order of your paragraphs. You can also tailor the columns depending on what categories are most relevant to you. If you want to go a step further you can even colour code your sheet, for example according to 1st hand data or 2nd hand data, or close analysis and thematic analysis.

The key is to have a view of the bigger picture of your essay. How you go about it is up to you!

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The Extended Essay Step by Step Guide 5: Structure and Planning

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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.

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Topics, ideas and Tips

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An extended essay is one of the most terrible tasks a student can face with. It is a type of a research paper with a deep and clear analysis of the topic. The standard scheme of Introduction, Body, and Conclusion lays in its basis. Our team has gathered the most useful tips from various successful extended essay examples. Now you can learn it and write your own extended essay from scratch.

What is an Extended Essay?

What is an extended essay and what is its definition? You need to note that an extended essay format requires an article of 4000 words. It should be a thesis that must be created under the control of an advisor. An extended essay is one of the most important parts of your IB Diploma. If you succeed, you may get three additional points for your diploma score.

If you have a free topic, you need to identify the area of your main interest. Just think about the subject you would like to discover and describe. You will need to brainstorm a little bit. Consider writing everything that comes to your head and picks up the best ideas.

Extended Essay Examples of Topics

Our experts always recommend getting something that is close to you. It may be related to some of your hobbies or other interests. It should be broad to give you space to explore.

In your extended essay, you may write about WWII, but this topic should be narrowed down to make sense. If you've found a great idea, you need to find something particular in it to get more specific and unique. If there is not enough space to explore, just go back brainstorming. Now you are ready to create your research question.

Extended Essay Topics

The amount of good extended essay topics is huge. You need to come up with your question according to your subject and the main theme.

IB Extended Essay Topics by Subjects

Extended Definition Essay Topics

Visual Arts Extended Essay Topics

Pottery in the Bronze Age

The Early Pottery of Greece

The Dominance of Athens

Hellenistic and Roman Pottery

Sculpture in Archaic Greece

Sculpture of the Classical Period

The Hellenistic Period

Roman Sculpture

Greek Painting

Roman Painting

Portraits

Mosaics

Computer Science Extended Essay Topics

Applications, algorithms, and architectures of abundant-data.

Artificial intelligence and its evolution in modern robots.

Bio-informatics. Usage of biomedical engineering in contemporary medicine.

The computer as an assistant in education.

Databases and data centers for natural-language processing.

Emerging technologies for modern computer hardware.

Human vs. computer.

Large-scale networking.

Get an Advisor

To deal with your extended essay and even to learn how to write an extended essay, you need an advisor. And the best way to make a choice is to get somebody who is well aware of an expert on your topic. It is obvious that a history teacher is not the best match if you are writing an extended definition essay about Math.

It is not the main requirement, but it very useful, especially, if you don't even realize what an IB extended essay is. Just try to get help from various sources. It is always good to get a helper.

And the sooner you start, the better. With a perfect helper, you can finish your extended essay examples easier and avoid that terrible rush before the deadline. Just do it on your summer holidays or step by step every day.

How to Write an Extended Essay

So it has the same structure as any other academic paper you've used to. Let's review it more detailed.

Extended Essay Outline

Extended essay outline has the same features as any other outline out there. You are writing it for yourself and should make it comfortable to use and to read. Use free structure and writing style. You will build your entire extended essay around it. Consider making separate blocks for each part:

Extended definition essay can reflect the same features other academic essays have. The Introduction should contain the thesis statement and engage the reader. The Body should be divided into three main paragraphs. The Conclusion should restate the main argument. Just use short sentences and bullets.

Annotated Bibliography

This part of the task requires your focus to read through sources. The main thing is about creating a separate page with all the sources of quotes used in your extended essay. Don't put this stage to the very end of the writing process. Just start it with the very first quote you use and then add new ones scrupulously.

Title Page

Successful extended essay examples have all their parts perfect, and title page is not an exception. You may think that it is just the cover of your essay, but it is an important component, and you should treat it properly.

Try to follow IB extended essay format in every tiniest detail to succeed. It is the face of your extended essay. It should be a separate document with the title of your essay, your name, and IB number.

How to Write an Extended Essay Introduction and Body

It is time to learn how to write extended essay introduction. This part always considers a writer to state his thesis and research question. To reach the highest mark, you need to be clear and convincing. Your topic should be described and presented clearly to the reader.

Don't forget to mention the importance of the topic. There always should be a reason to investigate this topic. If your topic is not significant and there is no need to study it, your chances to succeed are less than minimal. Do not use too many transitional words.

In the Body section, you need to open the entire topic and present your supporting arguments. Use standard three paragraphs for this type of essay. Include one argument for each paragraph. Use quotes where needed.

Extended Essay Conclusion

Extended essay conclusion deals with the argument development. Don't present any new subjects or topics. This is your last chance to amaze your reader. You should restate the main thesis, but avoid of simply repeating the argument. Make it uniquely instead to show that you have a complete understanding of your topic and subject.

More About Extended Essay Format

The main research question of your extended definition essay should be clear and sharp. Don't mess around and make it focused.

While stating your thesis don't forget to mention why the entire topic is significant and worth of studying.

Use as many sources as possible. There should be primary, secondary, and tertiary information sources to make the entire picture more diverse and convincing.

Don't forget to include all sources and quotes into Annotated bibliography page.

Make sure you understand the entire topic clearly with no doubtful moments.

Make your essay to flow logically. It should be easy to read. Start with your outline and use it as a constructor for a logical essay. Don't use any extra information if there is no use. It is not about how many words you can write and fact include.

Every fact should be scrupulously analyzed before you include it in your essay. No one wants to read simple facts lists. Make it striking and focused instead.

Avoid tons of passive constructions. Make your Introduction brief and striking.

The Conclusion is a crucial part of the essay. Don't just restate your thesis. Avoid making it very similar to the Introduction.

Don't forget to proofread and edit your extended essay. This is a very important part. Lots of students ignore its significance. Even a well-written essay can be ruined by a great number of mistakes in grammar and spelling. Use thesaurus where needed and check the entire paper with the computer.

Extended Essay Writing Tips from Our Professional Team

This type of essay is not the easiest one to deal with. But you can make it better if you learn few tips from our experts. There are few moments in your writing process that can make a big difference. You need to note that the balance between cold mind and excitement of your topic is crucial. You can create a paper of 8000 words from the start, but remember that the maximum amount of words for this type of paper is 4000. But it just depends on the topic. Some of them require only 2000 words for a full investigation.

We advise you to start as soon as possible. Always keep in mind that sooner or later you will need to deal with this task. If on the second year you will already have your extended essay done, you will be the happiest guy in the universe, believe us. If you want to start early or the deadline is near, you always can order any type of paper from our experts in the easiest way possible.

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How to Write an Extended Essay: Topics, Ideas, and Tips

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An extended essay is one of the most terrible tasks a student can face with. It is a type of a research paper with a deep and clear analysis of the topic. The standard scheme of Introduction, Body, and Conclusion lays in its basis.

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Splendid Ideas for Topics

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As opposed to ordinary essays, extended essays require more factual backup. Therefore, writing a solid extended essay requires considerably more dedication and research, as well as more critical thinking and experimentation. When writing an extended essay, it is crucial to keep in mind all the existing relevant theories and keep all the facts you refer to substantiated.

Here are some examples of possible topics in various fields of study for a splendid extended essay for you to choose from:

Biology Economics English

1. Racial Conflict and racism throughout the 20th century

2. Spirituality Attitudes of People

3. Ethnic and sexual identity in the 1990s

4. How ideas of social Darwinism got translated into politics

5. The significance of the literary function of a language

6. How does media portrayal influence everyday life

7. Female empowerment in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings

8. Why is it important to learn English literature

English Literature Geography
There are your ultimate topics for extended essays in English, History, Mathematics, and other subjects. The final word of advice while choosing an extended essay topic on any of those subjects would be to pick something that you feel passionate about. And, of course, you have to make sure that the scope of your topic meets the number of pages you have to write. Say, for example, you are a high school student, and you are supposed to write a 3-page essay. Obviously, you will not be able to dig into many details; so choose accordingly.

If you are feeling uncertain that you can write an excellent grade extended essay yourself, you are welcome to employ our assistance in this issue. We cooperate only with top experts with a Ph.D. degree or higher in the topic that they are to write about, and being an English native speaker is another key requirement, so our writers writing skills are also unsurpassed. So, if there is any reason why you cannot have your extended essay written on time yourself, all you need to do is place your order on our website, and leave the rest to us!

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Splendid Ideas for Extended Essay Topics

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As opposed to ordinary essays, extended essays require more factual backup. Therefore, writing a solid extended essay requires considerably more dedication and research, as well as more critical thinking and experimentation. When writing an extended essay, it is crucial to keep in mind all the existing relevant theories and keep all the facts you refer to substantiated.

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With summer either already here or very near, it's time for our next step in the Extended Essay Step-by-Step Guide. This one will help give you that push to put all of that essay preparation to use. Yes, it's time to bite the bullet and write the thing.

To recap, this is the stage that comes after:

If you don't feel you've quite nailed something in that list above, have a read of our previous blogs in the series for a comprehensive breakdown of what you can do to get there. If on the other hand you do feel you've done all of this, you should know WHAT you're going to say. The real question is HOW. This isn't a post about how to write. I know you've written things before. This blog is about how to make yourself get that writing for this Extended Essay on the page in front of you.

1. Know When You'll Write Your Essay

It should be obvious that the key to making sure you write your extended essay is to find the time to write it. But you'd be surprised how easily the time can slip away without a single word getting typed or written. Especially in summer, that pesky thing called procrastination can disguise itself as everything from the new season of Orange is the New Black to a trip to a lake to swim with pelicans.

To make sure you get the writing done when you want it done, take half an hour to get organised. Work out when, objectively, you will have the time to devote some love and care and sweat and blood to this essay. And do it in chunks. Half a day at a time is ideal. Start by scheduling a few at a time near the start of your holiday so that you can see how much time this will actually take you and adjust your schedule accordingly.

To be extra efficient, don't just decide when you will work on your essay, but decide what you will work on. Set deadlines for finishing different stages of the essay throughout the summer. For a Language, Literature, or Group 3 essay you might set deadlines for completing the introduction, body, conclusion, and proofreading. For a Group 4 Science essay your deadlines could be more detailed, separated for completing sections on background information, methods and materials, and data analysis, for example.
Exercise 1: Take out your calendar, work out what plans you already have for the summer which you'll need to work around, and mark out your devoted Extended Essay time. Don't have a calendar? No problem! Download our own printable Extended Essay time planner by clicking here!
2. Getting the Words on the Page

Now you've organised yourself and found time to do the writing, it's time to sit down and put the words on the page. The biggest tip I can possibly give you is to remind that getting any words on the page at all is more important, at this stage, than getting 'the right words'. This is only a first draft, and at this point it's only a draft of a first draft. So do whatever you can to help yourself put pen to paper/hands to keyboard.

If you feel like you can launch straight into writing that essay, great! Sit down and do that. On the other hand if you're still unsure where you start there are a bunch of techniques you can try to help get you started.

1. There's nothing to say you have to write the essay in chronological order! Instead you could take each paragraph of your essay one at a time, and start with the section you feel most confident, or excited about.

2. A lot of people find it easier to write things by hand before typing it. If you're experiencing what I like to call 'keyboard fear', ditch the laptop, take a pen and a piece of paper, and write your essay as if you are answering the question in an exam.

3. If you're struggling to turn your outline into full sentences, forget about eloquence for a while and just write it in whatever way you like. No need for good words. Just write. No one will see it but you.

Exercise 2: Pick one of the three options above and try it: write your favourite 'piece' of the essay first, write as much as you can by hand in one writing sprint, or lose the grammar and just get the ideas down in the right order.
3. Perfect Your Extended Essay Language

Perfect language doesn't matter at the beginning of your writing process. But making sure that your writing is clear, well-paced and polished is essential for the final product. You'll get a chance to fix up the writing later in the process, but paying attention to your language, tone and style as you go along will save you a lot of time in the long-run. More importantly, it will help you to see what is and isn't making sense now.

A great way to get into the right frame of mind for writing a formal essay is to read other examples. Have a look at our free resources page to see how other successful IB students have written their essays in the past. Alternatively you could remind yourself of general guidelines to academic writing like this guide here.

In general it's better to be simple. Avoid the temptation to write as many long, complicated words as you possibly can so that you reach the 4000 word limit faster! I promise you that the most common Extended Essay problem of all IB students is fitting their words into the word limit at the end. So take some time to relax, breathe, and only write what you need to write.

Case in point: Which sentence makes more sense to you?

1. It is arguable that during the nineteenth century, and in the latter half of the century in particular, many people perceived a growth in what can be termed the mass market for novels and literature.

2. The later nineteenth century saw an increase in the literary mass market.

Exercise 3: Paste one of your completed paragraphs onto a new document and cut out the unnecessary words and phrases. Aim to cut words down by 10%. Do this for each one of your paragraphs either as you go along or at the end.
The only thing left to say now is to just do it. It will be tough, but you won't have a better time to work on it than this summer*. If you'd like more help from us have a look at our assignments package for online private tuition, or our Mid-IB Extended Essay workshop.

(*And if you hate the idea of doing it now, think about doing it next term when you have 10 other deadlines to meet as well!)

Happy writing!

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The Extended Essay Step-by-Step Guide 6: How to Write It

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With summer either already here or very near, it's time for our next step in the Extended Essay Step-by-Step Guide. This one will help give you that push to put all of that essay preparation to use. Yes, it's time to bite the bullet and write the thing.

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Starting your Extended Essay is a big challenge.

The best advice I can give you is start early and choose your research question carefully. Starting early is a time-management aspect you'll have to figure out on your own. But I can help you a lot on the second part.

Coming up with an appropriate question is about 25% of the whole battle. Your supervisor can help you with this, but often they'll leave it to you.

And you'll want to be very careful here. With the right question almost anything is possible. With the wrong question, you're setting yourself up to fail. Most students brainstorm possible ideas, ask for suggestions and read successful EE samples (which are often available in your high school library). But I want to help you to do better than the average student. The following 4 tests will help you make sure your RQ is top notch.

A good research question (RQ) passes the following 4 tests:

#1 Is it the right scope?

Of course the question needs to be one that is answerable within the 4000 word limit. You should be asking one relatively simple question. 4000 words seems like a lot right now, but (after a few months of research and writing) it won't.

Try to make your question as focused (small) as possible. A question like, " Has the Singapore government's approach to health care improved economic growth" is WAY too broad. That's crazy talk. Why? Because the government has a lot of approaches to health care (thousands of them for all we know) and it's would be pretty hard to show a causal link between any of these strategies and economic growth. A question like, " Is Singapore's grocery store industry an oligopoly?" is much better. It's not too broad; however, that one's also probably too obvious. Singapore only has 2 or 3 grocery store chains, so you can pretty much answer this question on the first page. You need something that fits between these two extremes. In Singapore, it's much less clear (to me anyway) whether the movie theatre industry is an oligopoly, so you could ask, " What market structure would best characterise Singapore's movie theatre industry."

#2 Can you see which course concepts (tools) you'll use?

Are you able to identify several course concepts (analytical models) that you can use to analyse your question? In Business you'll need 4 or 5 of these. In Economics you'll need one main one and then one or two smaller ones to touch on. Obviously, if you can't tackle the question using ideas from the course than it's not appropriate.

As I explain here, your mission is to show off how much you understand the ideas taught in class. A common mistake (which happens slightly more in Business EE's) is to research every possible aspect of a business (maybe because your dad works there) and then expect that sharing that information will impress the marker so much that you'll get a 7. Every year there's a student who does this (normally without realising it). They think that knowing as much about the company as an insider does is enough. It is not. We just want to see that you understand course concepts and can use those to prove or disprove a thesis using course concepts.

#3 Will you have the information?

Will you actually have access to the secondary information you'll need to answer your question and will you actually be able to do the primary research required? This is a tricky one, which you won't always be able to answer right away. However you do need to answer it really soon.
If your RQ fails test 3 you won't be able to use it.
Try to think about the concepts you'll be using (Test 2). For the economics example above (the theatre one), you might want to determine whether there is price competition, so you'd want to compare prices over time (from different theatres, in different locations, at different times, etc). That information won't be easy to get.

Test 3 is about access. EE research normally requires that someone on the inside trusts you. For a business student, if you're doing to do a SWOT analysis and some kind of investment appraisal, what data will you need to fill in those tools? Consider, what information you would need to answer those questions. Data that you expect is probably available (i.e. online) often isn't. So you'll have to do your homework here. And the earlier the better.

If you're going to be relying on someone (i.e. that your uncle turn over a copy of his company's balance sheet) get what you need from them as soon as possible. If they don't give you the numbers or the interview that you need within a month, it's probably time to change your RQ.

This stuff isn't personal, people are busy, information is sometimes confidential.Get as much of your data as you can in the first month and show this to your supervisor. Every year there are students who don't problems related to lack of information until there are only a few months left and that's too late.

#4 Will this topic help you?

Ideally the research you do here will help you get into your preferred university program. If you're applying to an Econ program at university next year, than it would be great to have a letter from your Econ teacher explaining what a great job you did on your recent Econ EE. Or, perhaps you aren't sure if you want to pursue Business in university or not, the EE might be a great opportunity to experience what university study is like. Or maybe you're simply genuinely interested in the research question. The point here is that it's great if you have some other kind of motivation other than just finishing the EE. That will help you do better work and get ahead of the pack.

You should ask yourself whether you feel your question has passed each of these tests. Take your time and be sure. It's okay to ask other people if they think your question passes these tests as well. And of course you can ask your teacher or your supervisor (as soon as you've been assigned one) if they think the RQ passes these tests.
When you meet with your supervisor

By the time you meet with your supervisor for your first real meeting you would ideally have chosen a question that you think passes the 4 Tests. And you will ideally have started to organize yourself.

Your supervisor will be interested to hear about (and see evidence of):

Your research findings so far. Hopefully you've found a number of secondary sources, beyond just your text book. (Magazine and newspaper articles, annual reports from the internet, etc) and you have an idea of your primary research plans.

And also try to be ready to explain what you think you will be able to show in your essay. You should be ready to explain how your question relates to course concepts. Forward planning. Begin to chart-out your timeline of the coming months, your to-do list.

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How to Write Your Extended Essay (Getting Started)

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Starting your Extended Essay is a big challenge. The best advice I can give you is start early and choose your research question carefully. Starting early is a time-management aspect you'll have to figure out on your own. But I can help you a lot on the second part.

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As thousands of students and teachers worldwide prepare for their exams, here are some tips to support academic integrity, prevent plagiarism and ensure that students can take great pride in knowing that the work they complete is their own.

4. Ensure that students receive guidance on how to produce genuine and authentic work. This IB World article by a teacher in Texas in 2015 asks: Authentic learning can create a generation of thinkers-but are teachers themselves authentic enough?

6. Give students regular feedback and encourage them to respond to the feedback.

7. Involve students and staff in developing your academic integrity policy-embed integrity into the culture of your school.

9. Encourage your students to accept their strengths and weaknesses and encourage them to do the best they can.

In this digital age, where a world of information is just a click away, and where interaction with others across the world is so easy, we need to help young people understand the benefits of such opportunities but also the many risks associated with them. Through learning and teaching we can create the culture where academic integrity is understood and valued.

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11 tips for teachers to foster academic honesty

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As thousands of students and teachers worldwide prepare for their exams, here are some tips to support academic integrity, prevent plagiarism and ensure that students can take great pride in knowing that the work they complete is their own. 4. Ensure that students receive guidance on how to produce genuine and authentic work.

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The extended essay at a glance

The extended essay is an in-depth study of a focused topic chosen from the list of available Diploma Programme subjects for the session in question. This is normally one of the student's six chosen subjects for those taking the IB diploma, or a subject that a course student has a background in. It is intended to promote academic research and writing skills, providing students with an opportunity to engage in personal research in a topic of their own choice, under the guidance of a supervisor (an appropriately qualified member of staff within the school). This leads to a major piece of formally presented, structured writing, in which ideas and findings are communicated in a reasoned and coherent manner, appropriate to the subject chosen. It is mandatory that all students undertake three reflection sessions with their supervisor, which includes a short, concluding interview, or viva voce, with their supervisor following the completion of the extended essay. An assessment of this reflection process is made under criterion E (Engagement) using the Reflections on planning and progress form.

The extended essay is assessed against common criteria, interpreted in ways appropriate to each subject.

Key features of the extended essay

The extended essay is compulsory for all students taking the Diploma Programme and is an option for course students.

A student must achieve a D grade or higher to be awarded the Diploma.

The extended essay is externally assessed and, in combination with the grade for theory of knowledge, contributes up to three points to the total score for the IB Diploma.

The extended essay process helps prepare students for success at university and in other pathways beyond the Diploma Programme.

When choosing a subject for the extended essay, students must consult the list of available Diploma Programme subjects published in the Diploma Programme Assessment procedures for the session in question.

The extended essay is a piece of independent research on a topic chosen by the student in consultation with a supervisor in the school.

It is presented as a formal piece of sustained academic writing containing no more than 4,000 words accompanied by a reflection form of no more than 500 words.

It is the result of approximately 40 hours of work by the student.

Students are supported by a supervision process recommended to be 3-5 hours, which includes three mandatory reflection sessions.

The third and final mandatory reflection session is the viva voce, which is a concluding interview with the supervising teacher.

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The extended essay is an in-depth study of a focused topic chosen from the list of available Diploma Programme subjects for the session in question. This is normally one of the student's six chosen subjects for those taking the IB diploma, or a subject that a course student has a background in.

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Try to describe your research by developing a question that specifies something about your topic.

I am studying ______________________ because I want to find out (who, what, when, where, whether, why or how) ___________________________.

Example: I am studying public funding for the arts because I want to find out how accessible the arts are to those people who are on low incomes.

Direct question: To what extent are the arts accessible to people who belong to the class of the working poor?

Include a command term from your subject area to help form the research question.

Will you be able to argue a specific position? What are some possible issues or arguments?

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Practice exercise: Formulating well-focused research questions Developing a narrow, focused research question is an integral part of your extended essay process. A research question will provide a path to guide you through your research and writing. Step 1. Choose your subject area Which subject area is of most personal interest to you?

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Approaches to teaching

Inquiry and the extended essay

The extended essay is perhaps the most inquiry-based activity that students will undertake, especially given that it is a completely open-ended task, directed by student interest. This is not coincidental: the extended essay is intended to encourage students to examine significant issues and areas of research that they personally care about in an in-depth and meaningful way. Through their research, students can learn not only about the topic of their research, methodology, and critical thinking, but they can also learn important transferable skills such as time management, perseverance, resilience, and decision-making.

IB Programme Essentials

The idea behind inquiry-based teaching in IB programmes is to develop students' natural curiosity together with the skills of self-management, thinking, research and collaborative learning so that they can become motivated and autonomous lifelong learners.

There are different types of inquiry-based learning. These include:

experiential learning

problem- and project-based learning

case-based learning

discovery learning.

The most significant aspect of inquiry-based teaching is that students are actively engaged in their own learning, constructing their own understandings. In a classroom where inquiry-based teaching is happening, there is much interaction between students and between students and the teacher. The teacher's primary role in such a setting is to promote questions and to facilitate the learning process. Students have a degree of freedom to make decisions about how to proceed in their learning, which most often progresses from the concrete towards the abstract.

Conceptual understanding and the extended essay

In the extended essay, concepts play an important role in helping to frame the focus of the research students are undertaking, and also as a demonstration of their knowledge and understanding. Students who are able to engage critically in discussion about the concepts relevant to their area of research are able to demonstrate at a deeper level how different aspects of their learning are connected.

IB Programme Essentials

An important reason for using conceptually focused teaching in IB programmes is to help students develop their ability to engage with significant and complex ideas. Equally valuable are the discussions of the "big ideas" behind a topic, which can help students get to the heart of why they are learning what they are learning.

To appreciate the role of concepts in building lasting and significant understandings, it is helpful to think of concepts as the building blocks of students' cognitive frameworks. When they are learning at a conceptual level, students are integrating new knowledge into their existing understandings. They see how seemingly discrete topics are connected and are ready to transfer their learning to new contexts. A subject emerges for them in a holistic light. In a classroom where conceptually focused teaching is happening, there is continuous movement between learning facts and discussing what they mean, with students asking why the facts matter as a natural part of their learning process.

Local and global contexts and the extended essay

In extended essays contemporary examples, case studies and real-life engagement with local and global issues can bring students' research to life. This is particularly true for students choosing to complete a world studies extended essay, where the focus is on a contemporary issue of global significance. These issues tend to be dynamic, varied and present at all levels of global social organization; global issues have local ramifications and local issues are often a part of a wider phenomenon. Different factors can prompt students to choose to engage with an issue such as CAS activities or the desire to further investigate an issue raised in an individual subject but from a different perspective. Students who choose to focus on a global issue tend to have an interest in global issues generally, wanting to explore them through different disciplinary and interdisciplinary lenses.

IB Programme Essentials

As young individuals and as members of local and global communities, students make sense of the world through their life experiences and the world around them. IB programmes emphasize contextualized teaching because the more students can relate their learning to real-life contexts the more likely they are to engage with it. Equally valuable is that through enabling students to see the applications of their learning, contextualized teaching, like conceptually focused teaching, helps students to get to the heart of why they are learning what they are learning.

In order to appreciate the role of contexts for relevant learning, it is helpful to think of contexts as students' frames of reference. When they are learning in a contextualized way, students are grounding abstract ideas and new information in familiar real-life situations. In a classroom in which contextualized teaching is happening, concepts and theories are related to accessible and meaningful examples, illustrations and stories, which in turn inform further conceptual and theoretical understandings.

Effective teamwork, collaboration and the extended essay

Although the extended essay is an independent task, students should be guided through the process by an appointed supervisor. The supervision and reflection process is to ensure that students are given the opportunity to explore ideas, issues and challenges in a supportive environment. Using evidence from their Researcher's reflection space, students can engage in discussions with their supervisor about the direction and progress of their research, establishing working objectives and timelines.

IB Programme Essentials

IB programmes acknowledge that learning is a social activity. Students and teachers come together, each with unique life experiences, beliefs, ideas, strengths and weaknesses. Learning is the result of these complex interactions.

An important aspect of the learning process is regular feedback from students to teachers on what they have and have not yet understood. Concrete and constructive feedback from teachers to students on performance is similarly crucial for learning to take place.

Meeting the needs of all learners and the extended essay

Although the extended essay is an independent task, guided by common criteria across all subjects, supervisors play an important role in guiding students to choose areas of research that allow them to demonstrate their ability within the subject area. Identifying and refining an appropriate and feasible research question early on in the process is crucial. Additionally, throughout the research process supervisors can offer guidance and support-within the parameters of the task-at different levels for different students. For example, some students may not require the full five hours of supervision time permitted, whereas others will.

At the beginning of the process, the Diploma Programme/Extended Essay coordinator may wish to provide differentiated learning materials related to research methods and academic honesty to students. This could be in the form of study skills classes focused on research or note-taking, for example, or reading materials related to these.

IB Programme Essentials

IB programmes promote equal access to the curriculum for all learners. Differentiation entails planning for student differences through the use of a variety of teaching approaches; implementing a variety of learning activities; and making a variety of formats and modes of exploring knowledge and understanding available to students. It also involves identifying with each student the most effective strategies to develop, pursue and achieve realistic and motivational learning goals. In the context of an IB education, special consideration often needs to be given to students' language backgrounds and skills. Affirming students' identity and valuing their prior knowledge are important aspects of treating students as unique individuals and helping them develop holistically as young human beings.

Assessment and the extended essay

The extended essay is assessed using generic assessment criteria complemented by subject-specific interpretations of the criteria. Students should have access to this early on in the process so that they are clear about how their work will be assessed. They should also be able to view exemplars of extended essays along with the accompanying examiner comments.

Through the supervision and reflection process, as part of the learning process, students should be tracking their progress, monitoring specific issues and reflecting on their own learning and skills development.

IB Programme Essentials

Assessment plays a crucial role in IB programmes in supporting and measuring learning. Formal Diploma Programme assessments are based on course aims and objectives and, therefore, effective guidance of these requirements also ensures effective teaching. Formative assessments developed by teachers are tools and processes to improve student learning. Here, feedback is most effective as a two-way process: students learn how they are doing, and teachers learn what students understand, struggle with, and find engaging. In addition to assessment tasks, such feedback can be provided more informally.

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The extended essay is perhaps the most inquiry-based activity that students will undertake, especially given that it is a completely open-ended task, directed by student interest. This is not coincidental: the extended essay is intended to encourage students to examine significant issues and areas of research that they personally care about in an in-depth and meaningful way.

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The EE what and why

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Extended Essay at ISB - The EE: What and Why?

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You'll turn you ideas into a research question (RQ), you'll refine and explore the ideas. You'll likely produce a literature review and select an appropriate methodology to answer your RQ. You'll sprinkle some critical thinking in the mix and draw some conclusions. You'll defend your conclusions and be proud of your work.

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Five steps to teach Students how to do Research.

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Five Steps to Teaching Students How to Research and Filter Information by Kathleen Morris 2020.pdf