Introduction to the IB Extended Essay

Assignment #1 Before this presentation begins, take 5-10 minutes to write down any and all questions you have about the IB extended essay. Use a separate sheet of paper that can be turned in. You will revisit this list when the presentation is over.

Assignment #2 You need to take notes from this presentation. You will complete an open-notes quiz when it is over (from the last slide of the presentation). Use this opportunity to practice your note-taking skills. Do not try to write down every word in the presentation! Read the slides, let your brain quickly process them, and then write your notes as words or phrases that are meaningful to you.

What is the extended essay? Commonly called the EE, the extended essay is the end result of a research project undertaken by Diploma Program students in their 11 th and 12 th grade years. It must be completed in order for a student to earn the IB diploma. Students spend about 40 hours working on the paper, which is a research paper or lab report of no more than 4,000 words.

What is the extended essay? The EE is similar to a college-level research paper. It should be well planned, including rigorous research from scholarly sources (more on this later). It is presented as professionally as possible— the rough and final drafts will be word-processed and adhere to the requirements for “formal presentation” described in the IBO Extended Essay Guide (or EEG).

How is the EE assessed? The EE is assessed externally—this means that, when you have turned in your final draft in the fall of your 12 th grade year, it will be sent to an IB-trained reader/grader, who can be located anywhere in the world. That person will score your essay, and the score will be figured into your overall final diploma score.

What sources are appropriate for the EE? You should use scholarly sources from the very beginning of your research. This means essays, articles, and books written by professionals with advanced academic degrees in the appropriate field of study. Scholarly sources can be found on the Alabama Virtual Library, in the FHS library or public library (for some subjects), and in college libraries.

What sources are appropriate for the EE? You should try, whenever possible, to locate and use primary sources for your EE. Your EE supervisor (a teacher at FHS with a degree in the subject of your EE) will help you determine what primary sources would be most useful for your research question. Your EE supervisor is the person you should refer to any time you have questions about the legitimacy of a source.

What sources are NOT appropriate for the EE? Your high school textbooks are not appropriate sources for the EE. They contain information that should become your common knowledge about a subject. Sources found through internet search engines will probably not be appropriate. Wikipedia and other online “information” sources are not appropriate. You will consult your EE supervisor for advice on which internet sources, if any, can be used.

What subjects are appropriate for the EE? According to the IBO’s Extended Essay Guide, your subject must be “chosen from the list of approved Diploma Programme subjects” You must first choose a broad subject area, then narrow it to a topic, then refine the topic to a research question.

What subjects are appropriate for the EE? For FHS students, the list includes Biology Chemistry Film Group 1 (Literature written in English) History Mathematics Music Visual Arts

The research question Within those subject areas are a myriad of appropriate research questions. The next two slides will show you research questions from the current group of IB seniors here at FHS. History: What effect did the newly revolutionized military tactics and strategies have on technologies produced during World War II?

examples of research questions Mathematics: What is card counting within the card game blackjack, and will it increase a player’s chance of winning? Biology: How do differing levels of gibberellic acid affect the growth of zinnia elegans?

examples of research questions History: What were the political and economic relations between the British and the Confederacy during the American Civil War? History: Which of King Henry VIII’s wives had the most influence over his decisions?

Research question, cont’d Developing a research question will be one of the most crucial parts of the extended essay process. Your research question must be specific enough to answer thoroughly and meaningfully, but broad enough to justify writing 4,000 words (approximately 10 double spaced pages) about it.

Conducting Research While developing and refining your research question, you will also be working on preliminary research. The next three slides will describe the type of research generally undertaken for each of the subject areas available at FHS.

Biology/Chemistry The most successful science EEs include a lab report describing an experiment conducted by the student. You should begin with research of scholarly literature on your topic, but you will also need to include data from an experiment.

History History EEs are somewhat challenging, because a successful and high-scoring paper cannot be a simple narrative or description of historical occurrences. Your goal is to complete a “critical analysis of source material, and not depend on summarizing general secondary sources.” Focus on a local history topic and/or use of primary sources is recommended.

Group 1 (Literature written in English) A group 1 paper must include very specific textual analysis of a work (or perhaps two) originally written in English. You may also discuss a translated work, but only by comparing it to a work originally written in English. You will engage in close reading of a text and scholarly criticism of it, and you will include numerous quotations from the text in your essay.

Film You may only write a film essay if you enroll in the IB film course. You must analyze an aspect of film in a scholarly way. Primary sources will include films, scripts, screenplays, scores, and interviews with persons involved in making a film.

Music You may only write a music EE if you are enrolled in IB music. The topic and research question must lead you to the scholarly analysis of an aspect of instrumental music that is performed— NOT biographies of musicians, the structure of musical instruments, or song lyrics.

Mathematics Math EEs should involve scholarly analysis of a mathematical formula, theory, or issue. Here are some sample research questions from the EEG: What was the role of mathematics, and geometry in particular, in navigation when sailors relied on the stars? What is the legacy of Archimedes’ calculations of circular and parabolic areas in today’s methods of integration?

Visual Arts According to the EEG, “the research may be generated or inspired by the student’s direct experience of artwork, craftwork or design, or interest in the work of a particular artist, style or period….Personal contact with artists, curators, and so on is strongly encouraged, as is the use of local and/or primary sources.”

requirements The next four slides contain the overall requirements and recommendations, directly quoted from the IBO Extended Essay Guide, for the student writing the EE.

Requirements from IBO EEG choose a topic that fits into one of the subjects on the approved extended essay list (in the Vade Mecum) observe the regulations relating to the extended essay meet deadlines acknowledge all sources of information and ideas in an approved academic manner [such as MLA or APA documentation style].

Strong Recommendations for students from IBO EEG start work early think very carefully about the research question for their essay plan how, when and where they will find material for their essay plan a schedule for both researching and writing the essay, including extra time for delays and unforeseen problems

Strong Recommendations for students from IBO EEG record sources as their research progresses (rather than trying to reconstruct a list at the end) have a clear structure for the essay itself before beginning to write check and proofread the final version carefully make sure that all basic requirements are met (for example, all students should get full marks for the abstract).

What are the “basic requirements” from the previous slide? Title page Abstract Contents page Introduction Body (development/methods/results) Conclusion References and bibliography Appendices

Who supervises and helps with the EE? Mrs. Bodenmann in room 302 (next to the computer lab) is the extended essay coordinator for the school. She will approve your subject choices and set deadlines for your completion of the essay.

Who supervises and helps with the EE? Mrs. Bodenmann will assign you an extended essay supervisor—a teacher at FHS who has specialized knowledge in the subject area you choose to write about. This person may or may not be an IB teacher. The EE supervisor will advise you during the entire process, will read your rough draft and give you comments for revising it, and will read your final draft and submit a predicted grade to the IBO.

When do you work on your EE? During 11 th and 12 th grade, most of the work on your EE must be done outside of the school day. It is a project to be completed independently of your coursework. Meetings with your EE supervisor or the EE coordinator may sometimes take place during the school day (for example, at lunchtime).

Does the EE count for a grade here at FHS? During 11 th and 12 th grade, you will have assignments to complete and turn in to Mrs. Bodenmann. These assignments ensure that you are completing your EE in a timely manner, as recommended in the IBO EEG. In 11 th grade you will receive a grade in the Theory of Knowledge class for completing these assignments. In 12 th grade you will receive a grade in your English class for completing these assignments.

Timeline for completing the EE Fall of 11 th grade: choose a subject and topic, formulate a research question, plan how to answer that research question, and begin conducting research Spring of 11 th grade: continue conducting research and write a rough draft of the essay Summer after 11 th grade: if necessary, continue conducting research (esp. for science papers) Fall of 12 th grade: revise the essay according to your supervisor’s comments and prepare it for evaluation by an IB grader; turn in final copy to Mrs. Bodenmann

End of EE information The informational section of the presentation is now over. You should take out the list of questions that you made before the presentation began and cross out any questions that have been answered. Then, turn in the list (make sure your name is on it).

Assignments 3, 4, &5 For the next several days of IB seminar class, you will be spending time in the library to explore EE topics and read sample essays. Assignments 3, 4, and 5, which are described on the next several slides, should be completed during your library time (and perhaps other class time) and turned in. You should write down the assignments from the next 5 slides.

Assignment #3 Over the next few days you will be reading real extended essays that IBO has provided to serve as examples for students. For each essay that you read, you will write a response and turn it in. The requirements for the response are on the next two slides. You should copy the requirements and use them each time you read/write about a sample essay. You must read essays from at least 3 different subject areas; you will turn in those three responses.

Response to sample EEs (1 of 2 slides) 1. List subject area and title of essay 2. What is the research question for the essay? It should be directly stated in the abstract. If it is not, you must try to reconstruct it after reading the essay. 3. What kind of research did the student do? Write at least three sentences describing it.

Response to sample EEs (2 of 2 slides) 4. What were the conclusions of the student’s research? 5. What were the strengths and weaknesses of the essay? List at least 3 of these (in any combination). 6. What did you learn from reading this essay? Write at least three sentences.

Assignment #4 Think about the subject areas you might want to explore in your EE. From the list in the presentation, choose TWO subjects that you think are the best fit for you. For each subject, write a paragraph about why you would like to write an EE in that subject. Turn in the two paragraphs.

Assignment #5 Find three scholarly sources (most likely from the AVL) on a topic that interests you in that subject area. Read each essay, take notes from your reading, and turn in one page of notes per essay. At the top of each page, include the necessary bibliographic information on the source, according to MLA format (see the Purdue University Online Writing Lab for MLA format: ). Turn in those three pages of notes.

Notes quiz 1. Who will read the rough draft of your EE? 2. At FHS, can you write an EE in the subject area of peace and conflict studies? 3. When do you turn in the final draft of the EE? 4. What is the maximum length of the EE? 5. What is the second item in the EE on the IB “basic requirements” list?