IB Docs (2) Team
Introduction to the extended essay
The extended essay can be daunting. It is longer than most other pieces of work in the IB program and the work is usually carried out by students on their own, over a long time span and with less direct contact with a teacher than students normally experience in their IB lessons. The worst student leave everything until the last minute and even the best students experience problems at some point.
Meeting the supervisor at strategic points of the extended essay, with a clear focus for each meeting can help both the student and supervisor to make effective use of their time.
The following eight steps are likely to be necessary in all extended essays.
Planning a short meeting at each step will help the supervisor to support the student in their work in a clearly focussed way.
Choose the Area of Research - and write the Research Question
An Extended Essay proposal form for the student to complete, outlining the area of study and the research question, is useful.
A good research question is one;
- that asks something worth asking
- that is answerable within 40 hours/4,000 words.
- where it is clear what would count as relevant evidence (an experiment) for the question,
- where it is possible to find such evidence (equipment / safety / ethics / time).
There is guidance on the IB Extended essay website about choosing an area of research, and this must be biological. There is a heavy penalty for students with a research question which is not deemed to be Biological.
Inappropriate research questions for the subject of registration will be capped to a maximum of 4 / 6 for criterion A, 4/6 for criterion B, and 3/12 for criterion C.
Conduct preliminary research
If relevant research to support the research question can be found in the first 24 hours then it is probably a good research question.
This is the first challenge.
Keep records of any research right from the start.
It is best to record the title, date, author, web address, a quote / short summary and the publisher of any sources used in the essay. This information will eventually make the bibliography.
Plan your extended essay pathway
Everyone follows their own pathway through the extended essay.
Arrange a first meeting to talk through your plan with your supervisor
and complete the first short reflection on the RPPF form.
This could involve the following:
- your motivation to do this particular essay
- your skills - things that will be easy (hopefully)
- things that you expect to find challenging / or may need help with.
- critical analysis of your RQ,
- how you will include of lab work
- identify the resources required for the lab work.
- predicted conclusions (if known)
Develop a good understanding of the research question and the topic.
The more background a student has in the subject, the better the chance he or she has of writing a good extended essay.
Biological knowledge and understanding is demonstrated not only by the quantity of resources or what types of sources are used, but more importantly how they are used.
Whenever possible candidates should try to base the support of their argument and response to the research question on evidence from within the field of biology. Popular biology, television, newspaper and non-academic Internet sources, should be, avoided or at least treated with a healthy amount of scepticism.
Good essays use biological theory and studies in a carefully planned manner by including only the most relevant information
Complete outline notes as you research. You will be able to use the best of them in your essay later.
Organise a Reasoned Argument within the essay
Now you understand the topic you should be able to give an outline of how the various ideas need to be organised & presented in a sequence, which shows how they are related to each other. Often the connection between ideas is quite complex, and a variety of sequences are possible. You won't know all the answers and this may change, but this outline plan will help you keep focused.
You have to try to anticipate what the reader would ask & what they need to be told.
" Because of the nature of the subject, students writing a biology extended essay must make a special effort to maintain a reasoned, logical argument that focuses on the research question."
Arrange a second meeting to discuss your plan with your supervisor.
Carry out the investigation
Assessment Criterion C is based on the use of relevant biological evidence. In the best essays this involves a sustained use of the evidence by the student to support the argument they are constructing. Application of analytical and evaluative skills and the use of appropriate language are very important to the success of the extended essay.
Write the first draft and submit it to your supervisor and write a second reflection
- research question
- contents page & page numbers
- introduction
- a reasoned argument
- supporting evidence from an investigation
- conclusion
- citations & a bibliography
- word count
Shape the final Extended Essay and complete the final reflection
The IB extended essay guide gives detailed information on the structure and formal presentation of the essay. It is recommended that key sections are clearly labelled to help the student ensure they have included the required sections, which include the following:- Title page
- Contents page
- Introduction
- Body (development/methods/results)
- Discussion / Conclusions
- References and bibliography
- Appendices (optional)
Your supervisor will want to discuss your essay in a Viva voce.
Complete the third reflection in the RPPF form immediately after ths meeting.
Use criterion E as a reference.
Avoid common mistakes
The extended essay examiners report (May 2018) provides an overview of the common mistakes. These include:
- Title page doesn't contain all the elements, subject name, research question, and student code
- No contents list or page numbers
- Simplistic contents page
- Awkward, verbose titles
- Bibliographies in which the sources are not correctly formatted
- Footnotes/references without page numbers
- Essays longer than 4000 words. Note: word-counts should include footnotes.
- Conclusions unrelated to the research question, or missing a summary of the analysis and its limitations.
- The RPPF is not submitted, written in a different language, or longer than 500 words.
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