Stage 1) Chosing a subject and topic

It is recommended that you chose a subject and topic that you are genuinely interested in.

Available subjects

There are a number of options available

1. Group 1: Language A: Literature or Language A: Language and Literature

2. Group 2: must not be written in the language that the student is studying in Group 1

3. Group 3-6:

4. World Studies: these are essays which combine two distinct disciplines into the essay. The themes are:

a. Science, technology and society

b. Culture, language and identity

c. Conflict, peace and security

d. Equality and inequality

e. Health and development

f. Environmental and/or economic stability

Choosing a subject

Unless you chose a World Studies EE, your subject must fall clearly into a single subject area.

Write your IB subjects in the table below. For each one list any ideas that you have about the topic that you could study within that subject. There is a space at the end of the table for any ideas that you have which do not clearly fall into one of your subjects. To help you:

· Read the guidance for each subject. Think carefully about which criteria you can reach, and would enjoy pursuing.

· Look at your textbook and Subject Guides for each subject to identify topics of interest

· Investigate why your subjects are in the news (remember to look in the popular media as well as journals related to the subject)

· Talk to teachers about your ideas (Teachers are often interested in lots of different things beyond what they actually teach you, so discuss with a variety of people not just those who actually teach you this year)

WORK THROUGH THIS DOCUMENT AND UPLOAD A COPY TO YOUR RRS.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Tv79Q2CtM1jrCk0Cj3ZqRrSo6EKthsJZwubilxtsYSs/edit

The Questia site generates suggested sources linked to a research topic. Just the titles may provide further ideas

Questions to reflect on in your RRS

(Tip:create a brainstorm/mind map/Annotated bibliography/annotated photo or article and don't be concerned about whether they are 'suitable' for an EE yet)

• What gets you emotional? - angry, joyful, upset, consumes every waking moment and you'd rather be doing than anything else?
• What issues or events have been in the local, regional and global news recently that interest you?
• What questions have you tried to ask in class and the teacher has said 'its not on the syllabus so don't waste your time'.
• What topics in class have been really enjoyable, interesting, puzzling or elicit another strong emotion for some reason.
• What career/degree are you considering and why specifically?
• Why are you most drawn to this topic?
• What interests you about it?
• Where might it lead you in the future (think about the skills/knowledge that you have already demonstrated/used and those that you may develop during your EE journey.
• What are the issues to do with the topic? Why is it in the news (remember this could be public media or more specilist media)?
• What kind of vocabulary is particpular to this topic?
• What inquiry questions are you using to research and how useful are they as a startign point?
• What has already been written about the topic?
• How easy is it to find reliable sources of information on your chosen topic? Are there a wide range of different sources available?
• Are there clearly a range of perspectives or views on the topic?
• What interesting questions have started to imerge from your reading?

Once you have carried out some preliminary reading, consider whether you are still interested and committed to the topic.

If so continue to 'Developing a Research Question'.

If not, restart the process with another topic that you had an idea of.

Use your RRS to record your planning, research, thoughts and ideas.

When you have chosen a topic, edit your EE proposal in MB to include this information.