Extended Essay

The Extended Essay – a project based on personal, individual student research – will be based on a topic of the student's choice, chosen from the official list provided by the IBO. Students are expected to have sufficient knowledge skills in the chosen subject; typically coming from experience with that subject through an IB or other advanced course. The Extended Essay is written outside of the classroom on the student's own time. Students begin the Extended Essay process in February of their junior year and submit their essays in the winter of their senior year.

Each student proactively obtains a West Islip Extended Essay Mentor to advise and guide him/her during the process. The mentor serves as a guide to research and writing, answering student questions and providing advice on a complete draft. This is excellent preparation for similar tasks given to students in higher education.

Students are advised to choose an Extended Essay topic that:

-is challenging and interesting

-is limited in scope to allow examination of an issue/problem in depth

-allows for the collection or generation of information/data for analysis and evaluation

-is research oriented

Extended Essays should be between 3500 and 4000 words in length, require approximately 40 hours of independent work, and are assessed according to a set of general and subject specific criteria. Throughout the process, the Extended Essay Coordinator provides deadlines and tracks student progress. By following the advice of the EE Coordinator and the EE Mentor, students will find the EE essay process to be a rewarding experience based on personal growth.