University Preparation Course
Extended Essay 3
Extended Essay 3: Answering Key Questions
Have you done your
homework?
For sure! In the last
lesson we wrote an
introduction, and for
homework I did some
more research to answer
my research question.
That’s great!
What’s the next step?
The next stage of the extended essay is to….



find useful information and record it correctly.
use the information to answer your research question.
write a thesis statement.
Read this text and answer the questions on the next page:
Finding and Recording Information
Use the internet to find information, but also include books in your research.
Remember, anyone can post anything on the internet, so you can’t trust everything you read.
Generally, university and academic websites are good sources. Also news sources, such as the
BBC, and newspapers like The Washington Post are generally reliable. Do not use social
network sites, such as Facebook, as they do not always tell the truth.
Remember to keep a record of your sources. Cut-and-paste the website address onto a separate
page. Also mark the pages in books with a bookmark. At the end of your extended essay, you
will include a bibliography. This is a list of the books that you used in your essay. How do we
record a book in a bibliography? Like this:
Publisher
Title of the book
Johnson, Thomas B. The Wildlife of Qatar. London: Longman, 1974
Writer’s family name
Place the book was published
Date published
Writer’s first name
When you get quantitative and quantitative data, be sure to use a number of sources. In this
way you can be sure that your information is correct.
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University Preparation Course
Extended Essay 3
Choose the right words to make correct sentences:
1. We use can use books, news sources and ……. websites to find information.
a. social network
b. academic
c. advertising
2. The New York Times is a/an ………….. source of information.
a. reliable
b. unreliable
c. inaccurate
3. The record of the books you use is called a/an …… .
a. autobiography
b. biography
c. bibliography
Draw lines to match these. (Use the example on page 1).
1
Cambridge
a
Publisher
2
The Life of King John
b
Writer’s first name
3
Cambridge University Press
(CUP)
c
Date of publication
4
Sarah
d
Writer’s family name
5
1984
e
Place of publication
6
Brown
f
Title
Now write a bibliography entry for the book above:
(1) _______,(2)_______, The Life of King John. (3)___________: (4)_______ (5)_____
Your teacher will give you a book. Write the bibliography entry for it:
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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University Preparation Course
Extended Essay 3
Now we can use the information
to answer the research question
and write a thesis statement
What’s a thesis statement?

A thesis statement is a sentence that shows the main idea of the essay. It is a
summary of the main points that the essay will explain. We use the information from
our research to answer the research question. This forms our thesis statement.
For example:
“An investigation to discover the most popular
Topic statement:
leisure activities among Qatari teenagers”
Research question:
Information:
“What are the most popular leisure activities
among Qatari teenagers?”
Favourite Leisure Activities:
Favourite Leisure Activities:
Teenage Boys:
Playing football
Watching TV
Shopping
Using the internet
Others
Teenage Girls:
Shopping
65%
Sport/Exercise
15%
Using the internet 10%
Watching TV
6%
Others
4%
60%
20%
10%
8%
2%
Playing
football is fun
after a day at
school. It’s
good to get
some exercise.
Thesis statement:
I love
shopping
and most of
my friends
feel the
same.
Most teenage Qatari boys enjoy playing football in
their leisure time, while the majority of teenage girls
prefer to go shopping.
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University Preparation Course

Extended Essay 3
Look at the topic and introduction that you studied in your last lesson.
You are going to add a thesis statement to the paragraph.
There are three possible thesis statements. Your teacher will give you
some information about this essay topic. Look at the information and
choose a thesis statement for this essay.
How important was the participation* of Spanish soldiers to the
outcome** of World War Two? *participation=involvement **outcome=result.
Introduction
World War Two was one of the most important events in the 20th century, resulting in
many deaths and redrawing the map of Europe. The two sides were the allies: Britain, Russia,
the USA and France, and the axis: Germany, Italy and Japan. However, soldiers from many
other countries were involved in the war, playing a significant role and possibly influencing the
outcome. One such country was Spain, which had many soldiers involved in the conflict,
fighting in many battles. But how important was their participation to the outcome of the war?
The issue of the participation of Spanish soldiers is still important today, not only in
Spain, but also among historians worldwide. While the soldiers on both sides – allies and axis have memorials to honour them and recognize their efforts, there aren’t any to remember the
Spanish soldiers who fought and died. For this reason it is particularly important to focus on
this issue and establish how important the participation of Spanish soldiers was to the outcome
of World War Two. …
1) Analysis of this subject shows that although Spain was not directly
involved in the conflict, Spanish soldiers fighting in France in World War
Two had a major effect and were therefore extremely important in
determining the outcome of the war.
2) Detailed analysis reveals that the large number of Spanish soldiers
fighting in the Soviet Union were particularly effective and consequently
had a significant effect on the outcome of World War Two.
3) It is clear from closer analysis that although Spanish soldiers were
involved in World War Two on both sides, the numbers were relatively
small compared to many of the other forces and they therefore had no
significant effect on the outcome overall.
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University Preparation Course
Extended Essay 3
Now it’s your turn!
Use the information you have collected to write a thesis statement for
your extended essay.
Ways to begin your thesis statement:





Analysis of this subject shows that….
Detailed analysis reveals that….
It is clear from closer analysis that…
Evidence shows that…
There is considerable evidence to indicate that…
Thesis statement:
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
Now add this thesis statement to your introduction.
For more help on how to record your sources and write a thesis
statement, go to these great websites!
library.cornell.edu/resrch/citmanage/mla
library.concordia.ca/help/howto/mla.php
wiredprof.com/100/lectures/Thesis-Intros.htm
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