Criterion D: Presentation

Please re-read this section of the Global Politics Extended Essay to ensure you have met all of the "presentation" expectations.

(Strands: Structure, Layout)

This criterion relates to the extent to which the essay conforms to accepted academic standards in relation to how research papers should be presented. It also relates to how well these elements support the reading, understanding and evaluation of the essay.

Students may provide a section and subsection structure to their essays, with informative headings. Subheadings should not distract from the overall structure of the essay or argument presented.

Charts, tables and images may appear in the body of the essay only if they illustrate or clarify the argument at that particular point. The inclusion of non-relevant or superfluous material will not be rewarded and may actually detract from the argument. All charts, images and tables must be properly referenced with respect to their origin or source.

Any tables should enhance a written explanation and not themselves include significant bodies of text. If they do, then these words must be included in the word count.

Students must take care in their use of appendices as examiners are not required to read them. All information with direct relevance to the analysis, discussion and evaluation of the essay must be contained in the main body of the essay.

A bibliography is an essential structural element, contributing as far as it is visually presented, to criterion D, in addition to the other presentation requirements: title page, table of contents, page numbers, and so on.

While there is no explicit penalty in criterion D for exceeding 4,000 words, students should be aware that examiners will not read beyond the 4,000-word limit, therefore affecting the application of multiple criteria. Criterion D specifically may be impacted if, in exceeding 4,000 words, one of the structural requirements of the essay (for example, the conclusion, or important illustrative material) is unassessed by the examiner because he or she is not required to read beyond 4,000 words.

Any material that is not original must be carefully acknowledged, with specific attention paid to the acknowledgement and referencing of quotes and ideas. This acknowledgment and referencing is applicable to audiovisual material, text, graphs and data published in print and electronic sources. If the referencing does not meet the minimum standard as indicated in the guide (name of author, date of publication, title of source and page numbers, as applicable), and is not consistently applied, work will be considered as a case of possible academic misconduct. Incomplete references and those that do not meet the minimum requirements as detailed in the Effective citing and referencing document are not penalized in criterion D, but examiners are required to alert the IB to candidates who overlook these minimum requirements, for further investigation. Criterion D assesses references and bibliography purely on how they are presented (for example, consistent, laid out in an appropriate academic manner).

Overall Criterion Expectations:

• To what extent does the presentation of the essay follow a standard format expected for academic writing?
• To what extent does the presentation aid in effective communication?

Total Marks Available: 4

Marks 1-2

Presentation is acceptable.

• The structure of the essay is generally appropriate in terms of the expected conventions for the topic, argument and subject in which the essay is registered.
• Some layout considerations may be missing or applied incorrectly.
• Weaknesses in the structure and/or layout do not significantly impact the reading, understanding or evaluation of the extended essay.

Marks 3-4

Presentation is good.

• The structure of the essay clearly is appropriate in terms of the expected conventions for the topic, argument and subject in which the essay is registered.
• Layout considerations are present and applied correctly.
• The structure and layout support the reading, understanding and evaluation of the extended essay.

This criterion assesses the extent to which the presentation follows the standard format expected for academic writing and the extent to which this aids effective communication.

1. Structure: the structure of the essay is compatible with the expected conventions of a research paper in the subject for which the essay has been submitted. (Examiners, supervisors and students are advised to check the guidance given in the Extended essay guide for the relevant subject.)
2. Layout: title page, table of contents, page numbers, section headings (where appropriate), effective inclusion of illustrative materials (tables, graphs, illustrations, appropriately labelled) and quotations, bibliography and referencing.

• The referencing system should be correctly and consistently applied and should contain the minimum information as detailed in the

Effective citing and referencing document.*

• The extended essay has not exceeded the maximum word limit.**

3. Formal requirements:

Suggested formatting

• The use of 12-point, readable font

• Double spacing

• Page numbering

• No candidate or school name on the title page or page headers

A title page, including only:

• the title of the essay

• the research question

• the subject for which the essay is registered (if it is a language essay also state which category it falls into; if a world studies essay, also state the theme and the two subjects utilized)

• word count.

* Referencing and bibliographies are only assessed against criterion D based on their visual layout (for example, consistent presentation of footnotes) and presence (bibliography as a structural requirement).

The content and completeness of a reference or bibliography should not be assessed.

Insufficient or incomplete references or bibliographies will be raised by examiners as a case of “suspected malpractice” for further investigation prior to issue of results, with no undue assessment penalties applied.

** While there is no explicit penalty in criterion D for exceeding 4,000 words, students should be aware that examiners will not read beyond the 4,000-word limit. Criterion D specifically may be impacted if, in exceeding 4,000 words, one of the structural requirements of the essay (for example, the conclusion, or important illustrative material) is unassessed by the examiner because he or she is not required to read beyond 4,000 words

• Using a consistent and accurately formatted referencing system is part of the Criterion D: Presentation grade so it is important that students be supported in this area. At CDNIS we use the Modern Languages Association (MLA) style of referencing. Please do not use any other referencing style unless you have consulted with the EE Coordinator.
• NoodleTools (open using the NT app icon on the waffle pad on the top right of your CDNIS email page) is the most effective referencing tool and the one we use at CDNIS.
  • Once all information has been input into the relevant templates (including date of access for all online sources), it is a simple process to export it to a Google Doc, then copy and paste it into the EE. The only change you should make to the page is to change the font to match that used in the body of their EE (no boldface type, etc.).
• On the Upper School Library website’s tab dedicated to Gr. 11-12 students, there are links to all sorts of support for the Extended Essay, including to various resources regarding MLA style citation including examples of what a Works Cited sheet should look like (no adding bold face or increasing font size for the heading, etc.) as well as everything you need to know about in-text citation. Another excellent site for help with MLA Style is found in WSA Libguides.