Structure
There are six required elements of the EE:
Presentation
Your EE should be written in a clear, correct and formal academic style, appropriate to the subject from which the topic is drawn. Given that it is a formally written research paper, it should strive to maintain a professional, academic look.
To help achieve this, the following formatting is required:
Submitting the EE in the required format will help set the tone of the essay and will aid readability for on-screen assessment by examiners.
It is strongly recommended that, before you begin to write your first draft, you set up a document with a Contents Page and each of these main sections (with appropriate section headings for the topic) as well as the presentation style. This will save you a lot of time in the long run!
There should be nothing to identify you, your Supervisor or school on it.
The Title and Reasearch Question
The title of your essay should be a clear, focused summative statement of your research, which gives the reader an indication of your research topic. It should not be phrased as a research question.
The research question MUST have a question mark!!
For example:
2) CONTENTS PAGE
A contents page must be provided at the beginning of the extended essay and all pages should be numbered.
Please note that an index page is not required and if included will be treated as if it is not present.
3) INTRODUCTION
The introduction should tell the reader what to expect in the essay. The introduction should make clear to the reader the focus of the essay, the scope of the research, in particular an indication of the sources to be used, and an insight into the line of argument to be taken.
While you should have a sense of the direction and key focus of your essay, it is sometimes advisable to finalize the introduction once the body of the essay is complete.
4) MAIN BODY OF ESSAY
The main task is writing the body of the essay, which should be presented in the form of a reasoned argument. The form of this varies with the subject of the essay but as the argument develops it should be clear to the reader what relevant evidence has been discovered, where/how it has been discovered and how it supports the argument.
In some subjects, for example, the sciences, sub-headings within the main body of the essay will help the reader to understand the argument (and will also help you to keep on track).
In structuring tyour EE, you must take into consideration the expected conventions of the subject in which your EE is registered.
Once the main body of the essay is complete, it is possible to finalize the introduction (which tells the reader what to expect) and the conclusion (which says what has been achieved, including notes of any limitations and any questions that have not been resolved).
Any information that is important to the argument must not be included in appendices or footnotes/ endnotes. The examiner will not read notes or appendices, so an essay that is not complete in itself will be compromised across the assessment criteria.
5) CONCLUSION
The conclusion says what has been achieved, including notes of any limitations and any questions that have not been resolved. While you might have drawn conclusions throughout the essay based on your findings, it is important that there is a final, summative conclusion at the end.
This conclusion(s) must relate back to the research question posed.
6) REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
You should be using a consistent style of academic referencing as soon as you start researching and writing (ie MLA). That way you are less likely to forget to include a citation. It is also MUCH easier than trying to add references at a later stage
Look at Stage 5 tab and Skills Support section on effective citing and referencing for tips and requirements.
Writing the essay takes time but if you have used your RRS and reflection sessions in a meaningful way you should be well prepared to develop your arguments.
Word counts
The upper limit is 4,000 words for all EEs
Note: Examiners are instructed not to read or assess any material in excess of the word limit. This means that essays containing more than 4,000 words will be compromised across all assessment criteria.
Given the holistic nature of the assessment criteria, students who write in excess of the word limit will selfpenalize across all criteria.
For example, in criterion B, any knowledge and understanding demonstrated beyond the 4,000-word limit will be treated as if it were not present; in criterion C, analysis, discussion or evaluation made beyond the 4,000-word limit will be treated as if the point had not been made.
Supervisors and students should be aware that the e-upload of EEs will facilitate the automatic recognition of a cut-off point for assessment.
You should ensure that you remain within the word limit and should edit accordingly.
The following guidance shows what content should be included in the word count:
A note for students writing in Chinese and Japanese:
Students writing their extended essay in Japanese or Chinese should use the following conversions.
• Japanese: 1 word = approximately 2 Japanese characters (upper limit 8,000 characters)
• Chinese: 1 word = approximately 1.2 Chinese characters (upper limit 4,800 characters)
Illustrations
Presentation and overall neatness are important, and it is essential that illustrative material, if included, is well set out and used effectively.
Graphs, diagrams, tables and maps are effective only if they are clearly labelled and can be interpreted with ease. Any labelling should contain the minimum information to ensure the examiner understands the significance of the map, chart, diagram or illustration. It must not include commentary, as this will be considered as part of the essay discussion and thus included in the word count. All such material that is incorporated into the extended essay must be directly related to the text and acknowledged where appropriate.
The use of photographs and other images is acceptable only if they are captioned and/or annotated and are used to illustrate a specific point made in the extended essay. You are advised to use illustrations with caution as excessive use may detract from the discussion in the essay. They should only be used if they are relevant and appropriate to a point being made as part of the argument of the essay.
Tables
The use of tables should be considered carefully and are only really appropriate in certain subjects. Tables must not be used in an attempt to circumvent the word limit.
Footnotes and endnotes
Footnotes and endnotes may be used for referencing purposes and if this is the case will not be included in the word count of the essay. If information is contained in a footnote or endnote and is not a reference, this must be included in the word count. In order to avoid confusion and unwittingly exceed the word limit, you are advised to avoid using footnotes or endnotes other than for referencing purposes unless it is appropriate.
As footnotes and endnotes are not an essential part of the extended essay you must take care to ensure that all information with direct relevance to the analysis, discussion and evaluation of your essay is contained in the main body of it.
An essay that attempts to evade the word limit by including important material in footnotes or endnotes will be compromised across the assessment criteria. Please note that footnotes and endnotes are added to the word count as they are encountered.
Appendices
Appendices are not an essential part of the extended essay and examiners will not read them, or use any information contained within them, in the assessment of the essay. You must take care to ensure that all information with direct relevance to the analysis, discussion and evaluation of your essay is contained in the main body of it.
Appendices should therefore be avoided except in the following instances:
• an exemplar of a questionnaire or interview questions
• an exemplar of permission letters
• group 1, category 1 essays: copies of poems or short stories (of less than three pages)
• group 1, category 3 essays: excerpts from newspapers, advertisements and transcripts of speeches
• language acquisition, category 1 and 2: excerpts from newspapers, advertisements, transcripts of speeches, etc
• language acquisition, category 3: excerpts or copies of poems or short stories (less than 3 pages)
• an external mentor letter, where one has been used
• raw data or statistical tables for experimental sciences (this should not include any analysis or conclusions).
You should not continually refer to material presented in an appendix as this may disrupt the continuity of the essay and examiners are not required to refer to them.