Name: ____________________
Supervisor Name: ______________
Subject: __________________
Class of: __________________
Extended Essay Guidelines
(Guard this with your life!)
Peggy Farris and Carolyn Bason, Extended Essay Coordinators
Graduating class of 2013
Table of Contents
Student Calendar
3
Extended Essay Basics
4
Choice of Subject
5
Choice of Topic
6
Research Question
6
Across-the-board Assessment Criteria
7-11
Grammar/Conventions
11
Supervisors
12
Sources and Abstract
13
General Advice
14
Grading and Matrix
15
Student Calendar for Extended Essay – Fall 2011
September
Intro to EE
Browse, read widely
EE topic/question due
Research Log due
Mentor Assigned
September 1, 2011
September/October
September 20
September 28
September 30
October
Plagiarism lecture
Meet with supervisor by
Browse, read widely
Refined topic/question due
Plagiarism assignment due
Bibliography lecture
October 4
October 14
October/November
October 14
October 13
October 25
November
Bibliography assignment due
Research log due
Meet with supervisor
Rough Draft introduction
November 2
November 4
November 30
November 18
December
EE bibliography due
Research log due
Final introduction due
Exam
December 1
December 9
December 15
December 15
Extended Essay Basics
Focus on original personal research
o Neither we nor your supervisor is the main source of information,
words, or editing. The IB examiner wants to see you grappling with a
difficult question/topic.
o As a result of this emphasis, there is not class time given to work on the
EE. Instead, you will need to complete your EE on your own time.
o Do NOT plagiarize. An original EE is required in order for you to even be
considered for an IB Diploma. Messing up your opportunity by using
any text or ideas without attributing them to their sources would be a
dire mistake.
4,000 words
o Do not write more than 4,000 words. Some examiners will stop reading
at 4,000, and according to IB, they have every right to do that since the
guidelines are laid out from the beginning of the process.
o Footnotes are included, but your works cited information is not
included.
o Count every word, including “a,” “of,” and other short words.
o Your abstract is included! The abstract is a brief summary of your EE
placed at the beginning (about ½ of a page). See an example on page
13.
o At the end of the essay, you must include a total word count. (Before
you use your Microsoft “word count” option, test it on a small sample
of text to ensure that it counts every word.)
Logical Cohesion
o This paper needs to flow together as a formal address to one research
question. Do not begin the paper until you have crafted a formal plan
regarding how to address your topic.
o
o
Choice of Subject/Extended Essay Guide
http://occ.ibo.org/ibis/documents/dp/drq/extended_e
ssay/d_0_eeyyy_gui_0903_1_e.pdf
Your subject must be chosen from the following list approved by IB:
Group 1
Category 1 – based on the literature of countries where the language is spoken
(all works discussed originally written in the language of the essay)
Category 2 – a comparison of at least one literary work originally written in the
language of the essay with a literary work or works originally written in a different
language to that of the essay
Group 2
Category 1 – language (specific analysis of the language – use, structure and so
on – related to its cultural context or a specific test)
Category 2 – a. sociocultural nature with an impact on the language
b. general cultural nature based on specific cultural artifacts
Category 3 – literature – an analysis of a literary type, based on a specific work or
works of literature exclusively from the target language (in the case of a comparison, all
texts must be originally written in the target language)
Business and management
Chemistry
Classical Greek and Latin
Computer Science
Dance
Design technology
Economics
Environmental systems and societies
Film
Geography
History
Human Rights
Information technology in a global society
Mathematics
Music
Peace and conflict studies
Philosophy
Physics
Politics
Psychology
Social and cultural anthropology
Theatre
Visual Arts
World religions
-
If you want to know more about what is required in a specific subject before
beginning, check the link above for the Extended Essay Guide.
-
Pick a subject you enjoy. No subject is thought of more highly than any other
by examiners, so go with your passion, not anyone else’s.
Choice of Topic
- Your topic needs to be narrow in scope and sufficiently specific to allow
you to examine/grapple with your issue or problem deeply. For instance,
if you are doing your EE in the subject of history, a topic like “Vietnam
War” probably will not allow you to accomplish anything deep or
substantial.
- Your topic should allow you to collect or generate information and/or
data for analysis and evaluation. For instance, if you are doing your EE in
the subject of art, and you pick an artist who is relatively new and about
whom there has been little research done, you are essentially crippling
yourself.
- Be careful to pick a topic that fits under your subject. Do not pick a
sociology topic and try to cram it into English or history. The problem
with this plan of attack is that your examiner will be an expert in the
subject you choose and will be adhering strictly to the subject-specific
assessment criteria. A sociology topic will not receive high marks on
English or history criteria.
The Research Question
- Narrow the focus of your topic down even more to formulate a narrow,
functional research question. In the case of a chemistry or biology EE,
this might be in the form of a hypothesis.
- As you are writing your formal plan and your actual paper, refer to your
research question often so that you can check yourself to make sure you
are still on track. Everything included in your EE should work to the end
of answering/grappling with your question. If you notice that you have
gone astray, go back to the last place you addressed the question and
start re-working that section.
- Your research question should be challenging—not “How do plants
grow?”—yet it must be addressable considering the length, time, and
available resources. Take on something that you know you will have to
work at but is achievable.
Grammar/Conventions
- Examiners are not grading the EE specifically counting your conventions
mistakes. On the other hand, if they see that the first paragraph has
two incomplete sentences, they are looking for other elements in the
rest of your paper to be inferior. If you are spot-on with your
conventions, they are looking for your paper to be high quality in other
areas as well.
About You and Your Supervisor
-
The supervisor is a tool for you; do not abuse or misuse the opportunity to
have an expert in your chose subject helping you on your EE.
o Always be thankful! Remember you are showing that teacher what an
IB student represents. Be prepared, honest, dependable, and
communicative.
o Know that your supervisor will have the final comment on your
meetings when we send the EE in to IB. When we send in your EE, the
advisor will be required to write how many hours he spent with you. If
the answer to that question is 0, the supervisor must write an
explanation. A supervisor cannot make excuses on your behalf in that
blank.
-
Every time you go to visit your supervisor, you need to fill out the meeting log
(I will give you a form) and have your supervisor sign off that you have been
there.
-
Keep in mind that supervisors may not edit the exact words on your paper.
They can give you general comments, answer questions, guide you in the
specifics of your subject, and check for plagiarism.
-
It would be wise to set up a weekly day and time to meet with your advisor so
that both of you get into a routine of meeting at a certain time. I don’t want
either of you to be waiting to meet while the other forgot and is at home
watching reruns of “Cops”.
-
Keep in mind that a supervisor may not edit the exact words on your paper. He
can give you general comments, answer questions, guide you in the specifics of
your subject, and check for plagiarism. Your EE is your work to edit.
o Bring specific questions for your supervisor to look at with you. For
instance, “Does this paragraph seem to fit with my line of thinking, or
am I just wandering off on a bird trail?” (Remember that an EE is a
thesis-based paper. Everything you say in your paper should lead back
to the thesis/research question.)
Sources
- Examiners also require that you include a works cited at the end of your
paper; however, they do not require that it be separate as on most of
your in-class assignments. In the interests of conserving paper, IB has
asked that all citations go directly under the word count on the final
piece of paper.
- There will be different expectations for how to cite depending on the
subject. Your advisor should be able to help you decide which citation
guide you should use (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.).
- Every source used MUST be cited. Do not ever take a chance; if it is
someone else’s words or ideas, you need to put quotes around it and
attribute the idea to that other person. Plagiarism will cause you to lose
your shot at an IB diploma.
Abstract
The following is an example of an abstract:
“There are few models that describe learner behaviour during the simultaneous
processing of several types of information, yet this is the defining characteristic of
the use of multimedia tools, which bring together media in different
informational formats (fixed or moving images, sound, text). Following studies in
cognitive psychology concerning the increase in the ability to form mental images
of words, this article aims at defining how different multimedia presentation
modes affect the learning of foreign language vocabulary (Russian). 60 college
students learned Russian phrases and then participated in a recall experiment
where the multimedia presentation of the phrases was varied. An effect was
observed on word memorisation in the different information presentation modes,
suggesting better processing when there is co-referencing of the different
sources, especially when the encoding and tests modes are the same. In addition
to these experimental results, some principles for the design of multimodal
learning tools are discussed.”
- This was taken from the APA website and was written by a British student (hence
the weird spellings).
General Advice
-
Your English and language teachers have taught you many strategies for
prewriting and revising. Use those strategies. Our librarians are experienced
in helping with resources. Use those resources.
-
Do this assignment! Please do not cripple yourself by waiting until the last
minute to work on any section of the requirements. We can feel as much pity
for you as you would like, but an IB examiner certainly will not.
-
Work on your EE right after you meet with your supervisor. Otherwise, two
days, three days will go by, and you might forget everything about which they
gave you advice. Keep notes in your Research Log as you meet.
-
You can tap outside source (college professors, writers, doctors, engineers),
but you need to make sure that you cite all of the information included in
your EE that was provided by them.
-
Pick something you enjoy; don’t be afraid to pick a topic that seems unusual
as long as it interests you.
Grading
-
In order to be awarded an IB diploma, you must earn 24 out of a possible 45. Each of
the six areas in the hexagon (classes in which you take an IB exam) comprises 7
points of the total, and your EE score combined with your TOK performance is worth
3 additional points.
Matrix
You can earn a maximum of
36 points on the EE. The
general criteria on pages 7-11
are worth 24 points, and the
subject specific criteria
comprise the remaining 12
points. Grades are typically
awarded as follows:
A:
30-36
B:
25-29
C:
17-24
D:
9-16
E:
0-8