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Extended Essay
Extended Essay
The EE title needs to be accompanied by an Extended Essay Research Question (RQ). You might thinkg that 4000 words is a lot (it isn't!) and subsequently write a very broad research question that addresses a wide range of technologies, people, or areas. Instead, you should narrow down your question and use your 4000 words to reach the appropriate level of depth and detail.
Writing 4000 words will be easy if it is a topic that you enjoy, that you are knowledgeable about, you want to study further in university, or are interested in for a potential career
Digital Society Extended Essay Checklist
Digital Society Extended Essay Checklist
The following is an initial checklist to see if a topic qualifies for an extended essay:
Are you able to reference social impacts and ethical issue(s)?
Are these issues and impacts caused by information technology?
Do you have sufficient, reliable sources to support these issues and impacts?
Are you able to find expert stakeholders to perform quality primary research?
If the answer to any of these questions is no, you may need to think of a different topic
Assessment Criteria:
A: Focus and Method (6 marks)
B: Knowledge and Understanding (6 marks)
C: Critical Thinking (12 marks)
D: Presentation (4 marks)
E: Engagement (6 marks)
Total marks possible: 34
Extended Essay Advice
Extended Essay Advice
#1: Write About Something You Enjoy
#1: Write About Something You Enjoy
You can't expect to write a compelling essay if you're not a fan of the topic on which you're writing.
Think about which classes you enjoy the most and why.
Pick a topic that will help you in your future major or career. That way you can use your Extended Essay as a talking point in your university applications
#2: Select a Topic That Isn’t Too Broad or Too Narrow
#2: Select a Topic That Isn’t Too Broad or Too Narrow
There's a fine line between broad and narrow. If there are more than 1,000 books, articles, or documentaries out there on that exact topic, it may be too broad. But if there are only two books related, it may be too narrow.
Try to brainstorm a topic that uses a comparison, many Extended Essays use comparisons in their main arguments.
When choosing a comparative topic, the key is that the comparison should be significant and helps build an argument
#3: Make Sure Your Essay Has a Clear Structure and Flow
#3: Make Sure Your Essay Has a Clear Structure and Flow
The IB likes structure. Your EE needs a clear introduction (which should be one to two double-spaced pages), research question/focus (i.e., what you're investigating), a body, and a conclusion (about one double-spaced page). An essay with unclear organisation will be graded poorly.
The body of your EE should make up the bulk of the essay. It should be about 8-18 pages long (again, depending on your topic). Your body can be split into multiple parts.
The body of your EE should make up the bulk of the essay. It should be about 8-18 pages long (again, depending on your topic). Your body can be split into multiple parts.
#4: Start Writing it NOW
#4: Start Writing it NOW
Take the Extended Essay seriously!
You will not be able to crank out a 4,000-word essay in just a week and get an A on it. You'll be reading many, many articles (and, depending on your topic, possibly books and plays as well!). As such, it's imperative that you start your research as soon as possible.
Further ideas for finding the right topic here
Topics which are too broad
Topics which are too broad
The effects of e-waste
Social media
Cyber security / fraud / hacking
Better examples
Better examples
An evaluation of the e-waste policies of small businesses in Cartagena
The effectiveness of social media for customer relations in the hotel industry in Peru
Notice how the better examples all refer to a specific stakeholder or small group of stakeholders rather than "people", "businesses", or other broad group. Equally the technology which is the focus of the EE is clearly stated, and the aspect which will be investigated ("evaluation of policies", "effectiveness of social media for customer relations").
Other Topics to Avoid
"Laptops in schools", "TikTok in schools", "Social media and mental health" or similar. Often these topics are chosen by students looking for an "easy" option. You will struggle to find reliable research relating to these topics - a lot of information out there is vague and anecdotal and it can be difficult to get a meaningful conclusion. In these cases students also frequently try to interview their friends as primary sources - a sure path to disaster.
Any topic where primary research cannot be performed. While "Robotics in medicine" might interest a student, finding a doctor who uses robots and is willing to be interviewed is difficult. The same applies to "Computers in space", "Smart homes", and many more. If you cannot find primary research sources, you can't do the topic - it's that simple.
Topics about IT products (e.g. "New iPad released", "Faster graphics card released"). The social impact of these is minimal.
Topics about things which haven't happened yet or have only just happened. How can you find examples if something hasn't happened yet? (E.g: new nano-computers to be released, Saudi Arabia will monitor Blackberry use, Google will release new Google Glasses)
Recommended EE timeline
Aug: Come up with your final research topic (or at least your top three options)
Sept: Dragons Den to choose a supervisor. Supervisor chosen by end of Sept
Mid Oct: Initial Research Question Deadline
End Oct: Literature Review Deadline
Mid Nov: Data / Material Deadline
Dec: Essay Plan Deadline
Mid Dec: IB Core Day
Summer: Complete your first full draft over the summer. This will save you so much stress
March 2nd Year: Turn in your first draft of your EE to your advisor and receive feedback. Work on incorporating their feedback into your essay. If they have a lot of suggestions for improvement, ask if they will read one more draft before the final draft
April 2nd Year: Submit second draft of EE to your advisor (if necessary) and look at their feedback. Work on creating the best possible final draft
May 2nd Year: Schedule your viva voce. Submit two copies of your final draft to your school to be sent off to the IB. You likely will not get your grade until after you graduate
Remember that in the middle of these milestones, you'll need to schedule two other reflection sessions with your advisor
What is Primary Research?
You must include some primary research in your Extended Essay such as interviews with experts in the field, observation of a process or collecting data, or inventigating appropriate methods based on original sources such as legislation, policies, photographs
Questionnaires or surveys for Digital Society are often poor quality because students think it is OK to send these out to friends, teachers or school. This is not good enough
If you do decide to use surveys, they must be targeted at a specific group e.g. users of a [...] app aged between 60 and 75 who are Peruvian, female, disabled and live in Cusco. How would you send your survey to this type of user?
Consider targetting in terms of age, gender, first language, location, finance, married, single, parents, ability, ethnicity
Further ideas and help on Primary Research at Purdue
Extended Essay Examples
Extended Essay Examples
Digital Societies is a new course for this year, so many of the examples written below are for the older version of this course, ITGS (Information Technology in a Global Society)
Franco Music AI generators 2024 Grade B_ 22_34.docxExtended Essay Example: AI Music Gnerators 2024
Graded 21/36 (B)
Blockchain.pdfExtended Essay Example: Impacts of Blockchain
Graded 28/34
Auto Vehicles 25-36.pdfExtended Essay Example: Autonomous Vehicles
Graded 25/36
EE Literature Review
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