What Is the Extended Essay?

The Extended Essay (or EE) is a 4,000 word structured mini-thesis that you write under the supervision of an advisor which counts towards your specific Diploma.  

For the Extended Essay, you choose a research question as a topic; this topic needs to be approved by your supervisor. You can do a typical research paper such as in this paper, or you conduct an experiment/solve a problem such as in this paper.

The Extended Essay must include a cover page, an abstract, a table of contents, the 4,000-word essay and a bibliography.

Six Tips for Writing a Grade “A” Extended Essay

1       Write about Something You Enjoy Because You'll Be Spending a Lot of Time on It.

2       Chose a Topic That Is Not Too Broad, But Not Too Narrow.

3       Choose an Advisor Who Is Very Familiar With Your Topic and Who Seems Excited About It.

4       Choose an Advisor Who Will Push You to Be Your Best. 

5       Make Sure Your Essay Has a Clear Structure and Flow.

6       Start Writing Sooner Rather Than Later!

Helpful Hints

1. Do not wait until the last minute on any step of this process. Utilize the new Researcher’s Reflection Space to plan, write notes, reminders, thoughts, ideas, and anything else.

2. Though only few meetings with your supervisor are required, see them regularly to discuss your progress or any questions you may have.

3. Save your notes and work from every stage of this process. Uses manage back to communicate with your supervisor, so that all your meetings and conversations are captured.

4. If you are confused about anything, talk to your teacher or supervisor as soon as humanly possible.

5. Do not panic if you mess up. Until you submit your final draft, everything is fixable.

6. Do not limit yourself to electronic sources; books are extremely valuable.

7. The EE requires patience. Research doesn’t always go smoothly; sources can be hard to find; conclusions might be not what you were expecting; it can be very hard to synthesize the information you’ve found. Be patient and devote time just to thinking things through.

8. You do not need to come up with an earth-shattering thesis or conclusion. The point of this project is to learn how to research properly and make an effective argument by presenting information in an organized way. Do not feel pressure to come up with an “original” thesis.

HOW TO WRITE A CONCLUSION

Your conclusion wraps up your argument and leaves the reader with some final things to think about. Your conclusion should stem from what you have already written. Effective conclusions therefore often refer back to ideas presented in a paper’s introduction.

In general, your conclusion should echo your major thesis without repeating the words verbatim. However, since your paper has already proven your thesis, your conclusion should move beyond it to reflect on the significance of the ideas you just presented. It should answer the question, “OK, I’ve read your paper, but so what?” In other words, why are these ideas important?

Effective conclusions

·         Reflect on how your topic relates to larger issues (in the novel, in society, in history).

·         Show how your topic affects the reader’s life.

·         Evaluate the concepts you have presented.

·         Issue a call for action on the part of your audience.

·         Ask questions generated by your findings.

·         Make predictions.

·         Recommend a solution.

·         Connect back to introduction, esp. if you used a metaphor, anecdote, or vivid image.

·         Give a personal statement about the topic.

HOW TO WRITE AN ABSTRACT

An abstract is a concise, stand-alone statement that conveys the essential information contained in an article, book, research paper, or document. Written in a direct non-repetitive style,

The abstract should:

·         Identify the problem (research question or thesis) investigated.

·         Describe the scope or method of investigation.

·         Summarize the results.

·         State the conclusion(s)

   Organization

Your first draft should show evidence that you’ve started to organize sections of your essay in a logical way. You should arrange the sections of your essay in a way that best supports your argument and best keeps the attention of the reader.* It’s harder than it seems, so think about it carefully. You do not need to do an outline, but they really can help.

Here is a suggested structure:

    I.        Introduction

a. Background information

b. Research Question and Thesis

 II.        II-X. Body Paragraphs

c. Topic sentence(s) that supports/opposes/relates to thesis in some way

d. Evidence with citations and/or footnotes and an explanation of how it supports the topic

III.     Sentence/thesis

e. Rebuttal of opposing evidence, if applicable

f. Concluding sentence(s)

IV.        X+1. Conclusion

g. Restate thesis

h. Briefly review strongest evidence

i. Acknowledge and rebut opposing evidence

j. Wrap-up

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