The DP Core

*Revision coming August 1st, 2025*

Extended Essay

The International Baccalaureate (IB) Extended Essay (EE) is a 4,000-word research paper that is completed by students during the summer before the final year of the IB Diploma Program. The extended essay is an opportunity for students to investigate a topic of their own choice and to demonstrate their ability to think independently and critically. The essay is completed under the guidance of a teacher and is assessed based on a set of criteria established by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). 

The extended essay should be an in-depth study of a specific research question within a subject area. The essay should be based on a student's own research and should demonstrate their ability to engage with the subject matter, think critically, and present their ideas in a clear and structured manner. The extended essay should also demonstrate the student's ability to conduct research, use evidence, and present a well-argued, well-supported, and well-structured analysis. This leads to a major piece of formally presented, structured writing, in which ideas and findings are communicated in a reasoned and coherent manner, appropriate to the subject chosen. Completion of the written essay is followed by a short, concluding interview, or viva voce, with the supervisor.

The extended essay is assessed based on the following criteria:

• Research question

• Introduction

• Investigation

• Knowledge and understanding of the topic studied

• Critical thinking

• Presentation

The extended essay is a requirement for the IB Diploma and it allows students to demonstrate their ability to conduct independent research and to communicate their findings effectively. 

The extended essay is:

• compulsory for all Diploma Programme students

• externally assessed and, in combination with the grade for theory of knowledge, contributes up to three points to the total score for the IB diploma

• a piece of independent research/investigation on a topic chosen by the student in cooperation with a supervisor in the school

• chosen from one of the student’s six chosen subjects for the IB diploma

• presented as a formal piece of scholarship containing no more than 4,000 words

• the result of approximately 40 hours of work by the student

• concluded with a short interview, or viva voce, with the supervising teacher.

In the Diploma Programme, the extended essay is the prime example of a piece of work where the student has the opportunity to show knowledge, understanding, and enthusiasm about a topic of his or her choice.

DHS Extended Essay Handbook

Theory of Knowledge

Theory of knowledge (TOK) plays a special role in the International Baccalaureate® (IB) Diploma Programme (DP), by providing an opportunity for students to reflect on the nature of knowledge, and on how we know what we claim to know. It is one of the components of the DP core and is mandatory for all students. The TOK requirement is central to the educational philosophy of the DP.

How is TOK structured?

As a thoughtful and purposeful inquiry into different ways of knowing, and into different kinds of knowledge, TOK is composed almost entirely of questions.

The most central of these is "How do we know?", while other questions include:

• What counts as evidence for X?

• How do we judge which is the best model of Y?

• What does theory Z mean in the real world?

Through discussions of these and other questions, students gain greater awareness of their personal and ideological assumptions, as well as develop an appreciation of the diversity and richness of cultural perspectives.

Assessment of TOK

The TOK course is assessed through an exhibition and a 1,600-word essay.

• The exhibition requires the students to create an exhibition of three objects that explores how TOK manifests in the world around us.

• The essay focuses on a conceptual issue in TOK. For example, it may ask students to discuss the claim that the methodologies used to produce knowledge depend on the use to which that knowledge will be used.

What is the Significance of TOK?

TOK aims to make students aware of the interpretative nature of knowledge, including personal ideological biases – whether these biases are retained, revised, or rejected.

It offers students and their teachers the opportunity to:

• reflect critically on diverse ways of knowing and on areas of knowledge

• consider the role and nature of knowledge in their own culture, in the cultures of others, and in the wider world.

• be aware of themselves as thinkers, encouraging them to become more acquainted with the complexity of knowledge

• recognize the need to act responsibly in an increasingly interconnected but uncertain world. 

• provide coherence for the student, by linking academic subject areas as well as transcending them.

It, therefore, demonstrates the ways in which the student can apply their knowledge with greater awareness and credibility.

Theory of Knowledge Essay

The International Baccalaureate (IB) Theory of Knowledge (TOK) Essay is a 1,600-word essay that is completed by students in their final year of the IB Diploma Program. The essay is an integral part of the TOK course, which is designed to encourage students to think critically and reflectively about the nature of knowledge.

The TOK Essay is an opportunity for students to explore a particular aspect of knowledge and to demonstrate their ability to think critically and reflectively about the nature of knowledge. The essay should be based on the student's own research and should demonstrate their ability to engage with the subject matter, think critically, and present their ideas in a clear and structured manner.

The essay should be written on one of the ten prescribed titles from the IBO. The titles are intended to be open-ended, and students are expected to develop their own interpretation of the title. The essay should demonstrate the student's ability to identify knowledge issues, connect knowledge issues to the title, and evaluate the implications of the knowledge issues.

The TOK Essay is assessed based on the following criteria:

• Understanding knowledge issues

• Identifying and exploring knowledge issues

• Developing a reasoned argument

• Use of examples

• Reflective thinking

The TOK Essay is a requirement for the IB Diploma and it allows students to demonstrate their ability to think critically and reflectively about the nature of knowledge.

Theory of Knowledge Exhibition

The International Baccalaureate (IB) Theory of Knowledge (TOK) Exhibition is a group project that is completed by students in their first year of the IB Diploma Program. The exhibition is an integral part of the TOK course, which is designed to encourage students to think critically and reflectively about the nature of knowledge.

The TOK Exhibition is a student-led project, where groups of students (typically groups of 3-4) are tasked to select an area of knowledge or a real-life situation and to explore the knowledge questions arising from it. The exhibition should be based on the student's own research and should demonstrate their ability to engage with the subject matter, think critically, and present their ideas in a clear and structured manner.

The exhibition should be presented in a visual format, such as a poster, a podcast, a video, or a physical display, and it should be accompanied by an oral presentation, where students explain and defend their understanding of the knowledge questions arising from the exhibition. The exhibition should also demonstrate the student's ability to connect different areas of knowledge, evaluate the implications of the knowledge questions, and reflect on their own learning.

The TOK Exhibition is assessed based on the following criteria:

• Understanding knowledge issues

• Identifying and exploring knowledge issues

• Developing a reasoned argument

• Use of examples

• Reflective thinking

• Presentation and communication

The TOK Exhibition is a requirement for the IB Diploma and it allows students to demonstrate their ability to think critically, reflectively, and creatively about the nature of knowledge.

DHS Theory of Knowledge Handbook

Creativity, Activity, & Service (CAS)

Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) is a core component of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme and Career-related Programme. CAS is designed to encourage students to develop holistically by involving themselves in a range of activities that will challenge them creatively, physically, and emotionally, and also to learn through engagement with their communities.

• Creativity is about engaging in the arts or exploring new ways of thinking and working.

• Activity is about engaging in physical activity, sport, or exercise, and developing physical and mental well-being.

• Service is about engaging in service to the community, and developing a sense of social responsibility (an unpaid and voluntary exchange that has a learning benefit for the student).

CAS is a self-directed program, students are expected to set their own goals and to reflect on their experiences throughout the process. The CAS program is intended to be a learning journey for students and is not meant to be a competition or a form of evaluation. As part of the CAS requirement, students will participate in a variety of activities that will challenge them in different ways. They will keep a portfolio of their activities, and reflect on their experiences and the skills they have developed. In order to demonstrate these concepts, students are required to undertake a CAS project. 

The project challenges students to:

• show initiative

• demonstrate perseverance

• develop skills such as collaboration, problem-solving, and decision-making.

The CAS Project

CAS requires students to take part in a range of experiences and at least one project. 

These should involve:

• real, purposeful activities, with significant outcomes

• personal challenge

• thoughtful consideration, such as planning, reviewing progress, reporting

• reflection on outcomes and personal learning

All students should be involved in activities they've initiated themselves. 

Example of a creativity project

For a creativity project, a talented musician could learn a particularly difficult piece or a different style of playing.

Read our blog about a group of students in New York who produced and performed a play to raise awareness of a real-world issue.

Example of an activity project

Activity projects do not have to be sports-related or competitive. A valuable activity project could help a student overcome a personal fear, such as rock climbing.

Read our blog about a student in Australia who achieved his dream of becoming a youth soccer coach through CAS.

Example of a service project

Service projects must be beneficial for the community as well as provide a learning opportunity for the student.

Read our blog about students in Indiana who organized a huge recycling drive to help an IB World School in Flint, Michigan.

The CAS project can address any single strand of CAS, or combine two or all three strands of creativity, activity, and service.

DHS Creativity, Activity, and Service Handbook