Extended Essay

If you’re an IB student or you have any contact with someone who is, you have probably heard about the Extended Essay, or EE for short. However, this concept is quite vague and confusing for many, so I thought I’d take some time to explain it. 

The extended essay is a 4000 word essay completed by all IB students, which contributes to their final IB grades. It is usually done in a time period between the end of IB1 and IB2 autumn. The choice of topic and subject is free, and every student conducts personal research about their topic. All subjects offered at the school are possible to do an EE in, as well as a the called “World Studies”, which combines two subjects and hence allows for a wider approach to the essay. At the end of IB1, all students choose a topic and are then assigned to a supervisor, usually the teacher of the chosen subject. 

After the subject choice, the process of choosing a topic and formulating a research question begins. Many students may already have chosen their topic, myself included. From the very beginning I was very set on my topic and did not end up making any drastic changes to it throughout the process, but many students only choose their topic later. The supervisors are able to help with this process through discussion and guidance, which is much appreciated. 

After choosing a topic, the writing process begins. Despite support and guidance from supervisors, it is quite an individual process. Most of it is expected to be done over the summer holidays, but when school starts again there are still a couple of weeks left for students to finish up the first draft before handing it in. The supervisors then give comments and feedback on the first draft, and after that the final touches and modifications are added. 

Throughout the process, all students write three reflections on their experiences. These reflections are assessed, and hence affect the final score of the EE which makes them an important part of the process. I personally found these reflections to be fairly helpful, as they often allowed me to stop and think about the work I had done. As it is such an extensive essay, you spend a lot of time on it and it is easy to get totally absorbed by your topic, so stepping back and getting some perspective is very important. 

The feeling of pressing submit on the final draft of my EE was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. It felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders, but also a bit underwhelming. There was no confetti or balloons, it was just me sitting in my room alone, incredibly tired. All in all, I am very proud of myself for completing it, especially as English is not my first language and it is a very extensive assignment. 

Ingrid Geust, 19I