THE IB EXTENDED ESSAY
Problems of supervision
and
How to help the student
THE IB EXTENDED ESSAY
Problems of supervision
and
How to help the student
THE EXTENDED ESSAY
What is it?
How do I get started?
Good and Bad Research Questions
Some Common Problems
Basic Facts
Personal research by the student
On a question or hypothesis chosen by
the student, not assigned by the teacher
In a subject or discipline listed by the IB
(e.g., NOT Linguistics, Sociology or
Mathematical Economics)
In the format of a formal research paper
Basic Facts
Length 4,000 words
not including appendices,
illustrations, bibliography,
footnotes or endnotes
with an abstract within 300
words
Basic Facts
Required for the IB Diploma
Counts towards additional
diploma points along with
Theory of Knowledge
Assessed according to
published criteria
WHO IS INVOLVED IN THE
EXTENDED ESSAY?
The student
The student’s supervisor
The IB Coordinator
The International Baccalaureate
Organization
HOW TO CHOOSE A
RESEARCH TOPIC
Decide which subject interests
you the most.
Without personal curiosity and
interest, it’s impossible to do
research.
HOW TO CHOOSE A
RESEARCH TOPIC
In that subject, make a
list of the topical areas
in the subject that
interest you the most.
Discuss this list with
your teacher
your friends
your parents and/or
anyone else who you think
may be able to give you
advice or be interested.
HOW TO CHOOSE A
RESEARCH TOPIC
HOW TO CHOOSE A
RESEARCH TOPIC
Choose an area from
this list, and read more
in this area - if
possible, with advice
from your supervisor.
HOW TO CHOOSE A
RESEARCH TOPIC
While reading, try and list
questions that you are curious
about.
THIS MUST BE DONE RIGHT
THROUGH THE RESEARCH
PROCESS, SO....
KEEP A RESEARCH
DIARY!
Ask yourself
what data you might need to answer
these questions
whether you will have access to the data
whether you will need to find other
sources of data
See whether there has been any
research by others in this area.
HOW TO CHOOSE A
RESEARCH TOPIC
HOW TO CHOOSE A
RESEARCH TOPIC
Consult the librarian
for help with tracking
down research papers
or writings, and read
the abstracts.
HOW TO CHOOSE A
RESEARCH TOPIC
Ask what methods you
will need to adopt to
answer the questions
you have in mind.
HOW TO CHOOSE A
RESEARCH TOPIC
Brainstorm
Draw spider diagrams of
questions and issues and
connections between them.
HOW TO CHOOSE A
RESEARCH TOPIC
Narrow down the number
and scope of your
questions as you proceed.
HOW TO CHOOSE A
RESEARCH TOPIC
Consult your
supervisor at each
stage, and in case of
difficulty.
HOW TO CHOOSE A
RESEARCH TOPIC
EXPECT TO CHANGE
YOUR MIND SEVERAL
TIMES BEFORE YOU
FINALLY SETTLE ON A
TOPIC.
One formulated by the student out
of his/her own curiosity or interest
Non-trivial (i.e., substantial, not
speculative or too limited in scope,
not self-evident)
Sharply enough focused so that the
student can answer it in 4,000
words.
WHAT IS A GOOD
RESEARCH QUESTION?
EXAMPLE OF A BAD
RESEARCH QUESTION
ECONOMICS
Does globalization affect
Turkey?
EXAMPLE OF A BAD
RESEARCH QUESTION
BIOLOGY
What causes cancer?
EXAMPLE OF A BAD
RESEARCH QUESTION
HISTORY
What would have
happened to Turkey if the last
Sultans had been more
powerful?
EXAMPLE OF A BAD
RESEARCH QUESTION
GEOGRAPHY
Does Istanbul have a central
business district? (variant of an
example in The Extended Essay, IBO,
1998)
EXAMPLE OF A GOOD
RESEARCH QUESTION
ECONOMICS
Is there a connexion
between international coffee
prices and living standards in
Uganda?
EXAMPLE OF A GOOD
RESEARCH QUESTION
BIOLOGY
The ecology of snails in the Koç
School campus.
EXAMPLE OF A GOOD
RESEARCH QUESTION
HISTORY
The establishment of foreign
schools in Turkey in the 19
th
century
EXAMPLE OF A GOOD
RESEARCH QUESTION
GEOGRAPHY
How has migration affected land
use patterns in Van province?
COMMON PROBLEMS
WITH EXTENDED
ESSAYS
Students discover too
late that there is too
little data, or data is
inaccessible.
COMMON PROBLEMS
WITH EXTENDED
ESSAYS
Bad pacing of the
research and writing
process
COMMON PROBLEMS
WITH EXTENDED ESSAYS
PLAGIARISM
The use of the work of other authors
(texts, data, creative productions,
oral statements OR ideas) without
proper acknowledgement, with the
effect that it appears to be the
plagiarist’s own work or idea.
COMMON PROBLEMS
WITH EXTENDED
ESSAYS
Over-reliance on
web-based
sources
COMMON PROBLEMS
WITH EXTENDED
ESSAYS
Students discover
too late that their
knowledge of the
subject is not deep
enough.
COMMON PROBLEMS
WITH EXTENDED
ESSAYS
Ethical issues
regarding gathering of
data or performing of
experiments
COMMON PROBLEMS
WITH EXTENDED
ESSAYS
No contribution by the
student – the
extended essay is a
compilation of
information from other
sources.
EXTENDED ESSAY
ADVISORY SESSION
with STUDENTS
End of IB 1 or Beginning of IB
2
What does this session
cover?
Where you should be in the process now.
What you need to do if you are not there.
Possible problems at this stage, and what
to do about them.
Tips and pitfalls
Discussion with subject teachers and
librarian.
Where should you be in
the EE process by now?
You should have:
Assembled the material and bibliography for
your research
Performed experiments (where required)
Recorded data or observations on which
your research is based.
Written up research notes
Outlined your analysis
Started writing the SECOND DRAFT
What you need to do if you
are not there
Decide whether you still want the IB diploma.
If you do…
Show your supervisor what you have done
Ask for advice.
Spend more time on the EE research process
to complete what needs to be done up to the
second draft.
Submit a second draft with what you have,
and try and improve on it AFTER it is returned
to you with your supervisor’s comments.
What you SHOULD NOT do
if you are not there
DON’T PANIC!
Don’t give up. No extended essay
means NO IB DIPLOMA.
Don’t PROCRASTINATE and DELAY,
or pretend that the problem will go
away.
Possible Problems at this
Stage 1
You have not focused your research question
appropriately for the size of the essay or the
discipline.
The direction of your research may be
contrary to the guidelines.
You have not identified resources for
answering your research question.
You have not completed readings or
experiments or the gathering of data for your
research.
You find it difficult to organize,
analyze or interpret the material or
data required for your research.
You find the material is insufficient
or inconclusive for your research.
You feel you don’t know enough in
the discipline to be able to complete
your research.
Possible Problems at this
Stage 2
If you have not focused your research
question appropriately for the size of the
essay or the discipline…
Remember that your research question needs to
be addressed in 4,000 words.
Remember that the essay has to be firmly in one
of the disciplines taught in the IB, e.g., English,
History, Peace & Conflict Studies; but not
Cultural Studies, Mathematical Economics, etc.
Seek your supervisor’s guidance.
Relate your essay to a specific thing, such as a
novel, country, time, effect, law. The Ecology of
Snails in the Koç School Campus is better than
The Ecology of Turkey.
If the direction of your
research is contrary to the
guidelines…
Check carefully from the Extended Essay
Guide what the criteria for your essay are.
Refocus the question and start again. (It
may be too late to do this, so…)
Complete the essay as you have started
to the best of your ability, and hope for
the best!
Remember that NO ESSAY MEANS NO IB
DIPLOMA.
If you have not identified all
necessary resources…
Tell your supervisor, and ask for
advice.
Seek help from the librarian to find
various sources of information
and/or ideas.
Find people or institutions outside
school that may be able to help you,
and approach them.
If you have not completed
readings or gathering data…
Submit a second draft on the
basis of what is available, and
try to improve in the third draft.
OR
Complete the readings or data
collection in time for your
second draft.
If you find it difficult to organize, analyze or
interpret the material or data required for
your research…
Seek your supervisor’s advice.
Consider whether you need to re-
word or re-think your research
question.
Look for theoretical frameworks or
tools in your discipline that can help
you analyze or interpret the material
you have available.
If you find the material is
inconclusive for your
research…
Speak to your supervisor.
Re-examine the material and see
whether you are missing something.
Re-examine the theoretical
“spectacles” with which you are
viewing the material.
Examine why it is inconclusive as part
of the analysis and discussion in your
essay.
If you feel you don’t know enough in
the discipline to be able to complete
your research…
Seek help from your supervisor to find out
what ideas, concepts, frameworks, tools or
techniques will help you address the
research question.
Read more in the discipline in which you
are doing the research.
Seek help from professors or graduate
students at universities to teach you what
you need to know. (Your supervisor will
probably not teach you, but may help you
teach yourself. )
TIPS AND PITS
Tips:
Make sure your question is narrowly focused.
It helps to exceed by about 20-30% the word
limit in the first few drafts, and cut it back to
the maximum of 4,000 for the final.
Keep assessing each draft of your essay
against the General and Subject Criteria in
the Extended Essay Guide, or ask your
supervisor to do so.
Record ALL sources that you consult and
use, and cite them carefully.
TIPS AND PITS
More Tips:
Keep a Research Diary or Journal or Notebook,
especially a pocket-sized one that you can carry about
and record any ideas that occur to you anywhere.
Frequently draw spider diagrams to get the bigger
picture, and make links that you know of, and look for
other possible links that you may have missed.
Make sure that you present, analyze and interpret
data – not just present them!
Use the technical vocabulary and concepts of the
discipline in which you are working - don’t write like a
journalist.
TIPS AND PITS
STILL more tips:
Remember that if you give up on the essay, you
still need to hand in a Yearly Project, and you
disqualify yourself from the IB Diploma. So…
Complete the essay as best you can, even if
you run into problems. That way you will have
learnt something valuable!
Write the Introduction LAST, so that you can
give the reader a clear statement of the
research question, and how you have
addressed it (a “roadmap” of the essay).
TIPS AND PITS
Pitfalls:
Don’t neglect to refer to BOTH sections of
your Extended Essay Guide FREQUENTLY.
DON’T leave everything till the last. The
deadlines for drafts are there to help you
pace your work. They are not a monument
to my alleged sadism!
Do NOT rely entirely or mostly on web based
resources because of they often tend to be
unreliable.
TIPS AND PITS
MORE Pitfalls
KEEP BACK-UPS (note the
KEEP BACK-UPS (note the
plural) OF ALL YOUR
plural) OF ALL YOUR
WORK.
WORK.
You will be surprised
You will be surprised
how well your computer
how well your computer
knows when to crash.
knows when to crash.
BEWARE OF PLAGIARISM
BEWARE OF PLAGIARISM
(especially the unintentional
(especially the unintentional
kind)! The consequences are
kind)! The consequences are
UNPLEASANT
UNPLEASANT
.
.
HELPFUL WEBSITES
http://www.hamilton.edu/academic/Resource/WC/index.htm
http://sja.ucdavis.edu/avoid.htm#guidelines
http://web.mit.edu/writing/index.html
MIT Writing Centre.
Many of the pages here have restricted access.
http://webster.commnet.edu/mla/index.shtml
This is a
comprehensive guide to writing research papers which also
contains the MLA style guide whose citation conventions
you to adopt in writing your essay. In addition, it also
contains sections on plagiarism and citation.