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My top 10 advice for choosing your EE topic
By Katie Xu
EE is a crucial part of the IB program. Getting an A in EE may help you to achieve the three bonus points in the IB. Therefore, it is important to consider the next ten advice when choosing your EE topic since your choice may have a large impact on your result. Choosing a correct topic may make the writing of your EE easier and allows for better performance.
Choose a topic that interests you: interest is motivation. Since you will be spending approximately one year investigating your EE topic, it will be more preferable to write your EE about a topic that interests you.
Choose a topic on which you already have some knowledge: As you have limited time to complete your EE, it is best to focus on topics where you know some of the background theory so that you have direction when writing your essay and will not lose control over the topic of your investigation.
Be specific about your research question: Your research question should focus on a specific area of your research topic. If your research question is too vague or consists of many elements, you may not be able to comment on your research question in detail within the limited number of words available.
Be creative: An innovative and unique topic that relates to you personally may help you score higher on the personal engagement criteria. If your topic is unique, the examiner may be more likely to find the purpose of your essay.
Choose a topic that does not go too far beyond the IB program level: Your EE topic should go beyond the IB level, but not too far beyond, as you may not have sufficient knowledge to write about a detailed university-level research topic.
Discuss with your supervisor: Your supervisor should be experienced and know which topic is appropriate. Proposing different topics to your supervisor and having a discussion may help you to choose a topic that is appropriate for you and the IB program.
Do some research: Once you have an idea of the topic you might want to research, you should research the topic to see if it really interests you and if your understanding of the knowledge required is sufficient to write an EE.
Make sure that the topic you choose is likely to provide you with enough information to write approximately 4,000 words: Some topics may be too easy or not give you enough space to research, analyse and evaluate.
You need to brainstorm: You should brainstorm and develop several ideas so that you can later choose the most suitable and interesting one.
Choose a topic for your EE as fast as you can: the sooner you decide on your EE research question, the sooner you can start gathering information and writing the main body. You will have many deadlines later in your IB course, so it is best to do things as soon as possible.
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