ESS

What is an EE in ESS

The extended essay (EE) is an integral part of the IB Diploma course. In order to write a good EE in ESS you need to first of all be interested in and passionate about the environment; and secondly be prepared to put in the hard work.

You will research and write about an environmental topic or issue of relevance to you and your environment. Your

writing should cover the environmental system and how society functions – you must conduct an analytical argument.

It is important that you read through this guide before you even think about doing EE in ESS. You can also go to the IB and read through the subject specific guide or to the DP Extended Essay Home page

Choice of topic

Environmental systems and societies focuses upon the interaction and integration of “natural” environmental systems and human societies. Your topic should:

• have a sharp focus on the interaction between environmental systems and societies,

• should give significant (though not necessarily equal) weight to both the ecological processes and societal activities

• be interdisciplinary in nature,

• be open to analytical argument,

• allow you to demonstrate some grasp of how both environmental systems and societies function in the relationship. Your study must explore the context of some human interaction with the environmental system.

Before a final decision is made about the choice of topic the relevant subject guidelines should be carefully considered.

You should aim to choose a topic that is both interesting and challenging.. The topic chosen should be limited in scope and sufficiently narrow to allow you to examine an issue or problem in depth. It should present you with the opportunity to collect or generate information and/or data for analysis and evaluation. You are not expected to make a contribution to knowledge within a subject.

A crucial feature of any suitable topic is that it must be open to analytical argument. If the topic chosen fails in this regard, and lends itself only to a descriptive or narrative treatment, then you will be denied a large proportion of the available credit according to the assessment criteria. For example, it would be of minimal value simply to describe a given nature reserve; it would be necessary to evaluate its relationship with a local community possibly, or compare its achievement with original objectives or with a similar initiative elsewhere. The topic must, in some way, leave room for an argument that you construct and support from your own analysis of the information, rather than simply reporting analyzed data obtained from other sources.

Some topics are unsuitable for ethical or safety reasons, such as those requiring experiments that might:

• inflict pain on living organisms

• cause unwarranted environmental damage

• put pressure on others to behave unethically

These guidelines should be read in conjunction with the IB extended essay general guidelines.

Advice on choosing a topic in ESS

o Is it obviously an ESS Extended Essay? If not - refine it

o Is it spatially (place) focused? If not - refine it

o Can environmental concepts, theories or ideas be applied to it? If not - refine it

o Are a wide range of environmental sources available? If not - change the topic

o Is it sharply focused? If not - refine it

o Does it encourage an investigative approach? If not - refine it

o Will it encourage written analysis, interpretation, evaluation and the development of an argument? If not - refine it

Advice for research in ESS

Before your title and research question will be agreed by your supervisor it is necessary to demonstrate that you have access to enough substantial secondary data or that you have a practical and efficient primary data collection scheme planned.

If you are using secondary data as the basis of your Extended Essay you need to be able to ‘add value’ to it by analysing it, interpreting it, graphing and/or mapping it. If you are using primary data as the basis of your Extended Essay you need to outline what data you are going to collect, the data collection techniques you will be using and the location of your data collection sites.

Advice on write-up in ESS

An extended essay in Environmental Systems and Societies may be investigated either through primary data collection (from fieldwork, laboratory experimentation, surveys or interviews) or, alternatively, through secondary data collection (from literature or other media).

It may involve a combination of the two, although, given the limited time available and word limit for the essay, the emphasis should be clearly with one or the other to avoid the danger of both becoming rather superficial. If the essay is focused largely on the collection of primary data, you need to exercise great care in selecting appropriate methods of data collection and carrying them out effectively.

Before commencing the investigation, explore literature relating to your methodology, and also any pertinent research that may give you guidelines and useful points of theoretical comparison. Hence, even in an investigation based exclusively on primary data, the bibliography should indicate at least some recognition of secondary sources, perhaps supporting the choice and implementation of methods or providing an academic context for the conclusions.

If the essay is focused on secondary data, you need to take great care in selecting sources, ensuring that there is a sufficient quantity and range, and that they are all reliable. There is a great mass of populist, journalistic, partisan and unfounded claims available through the Internet and other media.

You MUST take on the task of sorting through these and using only those sources that have some academic credibility. An essay of this type would normally be expected to produce a substantial bibliography and not be limited to just a few sources.

It is vital that you are involved in producing your own analysis of the data and arguing your own conclusions. This will happen more naturally if the essay is based on primary data since the data will not have been previously analyzed. A source of secondary data, however, may come with its own analysis and conclusions. In this case, it is essential that you further manipulate this data, or possibly synthesize it with other sources, so that there is clear evidence in the essay of your personal involvement in analysis and drawing of conclusions. Whether using primary or secondary data, you should construct your own critical arguments by using and evaluating the sources available.

Finally, a central theme in the Environmental Systems and Societies syllabus is the use of the systems approach, and this should be reflected to some degree in the extended essay. The essay should include an attempt to model, at least partially, the system or systems in question. The term “model” in this context is intended in its broadest sense to include:

• mathematical formulae,

• maps,

• graphical representations,

• flow diagrams.

Students should use ESS terminology, where appropriate.