KEY FEATURES

The extended essay is compulsory for all students taking the Diploma Programme and is an option for course students.

A student must achieve a D grade or higher to be awarded the Diploma.

The extended essay is 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.

The extended essay process helps prepare students for success at university and in other pathways beyond the Diploma Programme.

When choosing a subject for the extended essay, students must consult the list of available Diploma Programme subjects published in the Diploma Programme Assessment procedures for the session in question.

The extended essay is a piece of independent research on a topic chosen by the student in consultation with a supervisor in the school.

It is presented as a formal piece of sustained academic writing containing no more than 4,000 words accompanied by a reflection form of no more than 500 words.

Six required elements of the extended essay:

• Title page

• Contents page

• Introduction

• Body of the essay

• Conclusion

• References and bibliography

The title page should include only the following:

• the title of the essay

• the research question

• the subject for which the essay is registered (if it is a language essay also state which category it falls into; if a world studies essay also state the theme and the two subjects utilized)

• word count.

It is the result of approximately 40 hours of work by the student.

Students are supported by a supervision process recommended to be 3–5 hours, which includes three mandatory reflection sessions.

The third and final mandatory reflection session is the viva voce, which is a concluding interview with the supervising teacher.