Extended Essay Biology

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

You will research and write about a biological topic or issue of relevance to you and your environment. Your writing should cover the biological system – you must conduct an analytical argument.

It is important that you read through this guide before you even think about doing EE in Biology.

Your choice of essay must emphasis the Biology of a topic even if it is an interdisciplinary topic area.

• i. e.g. an essay which is based on Biochemistry must emphasis the Biology not the Chemistry.
• ii. e.g. essay which looks at human disease must emphasis the Biology not with the diagnostic or treatment of a disease.

Great care should be taken, therefore, to ensure that the topic chosen would not be better submitted under one of the more specialized subject areas of either the experimental or the human sciences. This would invariably apply, for example, to topics focusing exclusively on human health, disease or politics.

There are also some topics that should be considered unsuitable for ethical or safety reasons. For example, experiments likely to inflict pain on living organisms, cause unwarranted environmental damage or put pressure on others to behave unethically must be avoided. Similarly, experiments that pose a threat to health, possibly using toxic or dangerous chemicals, or putting oneself at physical risk during fieldwork, should be avoided unless adequate safety apparatus and qualified supervision are available.