Extended Essay Guide for CAC: EE Home

The following is taken from "The Overview of the Extended Essay" in the Extended Essay Guide: Online, (2016):

Key features of the extended essay

• 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 Handbook of procedures for the Diploma Programme 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.
• 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.