Extended Essay
4k word research paper
Research a topic you actually care about and find interesting! Yes this is generic but I cannot stress this enough it's the difference between enjoying the EE and it being a living hell.
START EARLY -- work on it over the summer in DP1, start implementing your feedback the second you get it. No the essay isn't as long and daunting as people make it out to be from what I've seen but you will save yourself so much stress and time.
ASK for help, your supervisor is there for a reason, don't take them for granted.
CITE! Don't put off adding in-text citations, don't put off making your works cited list. It is very exaggerated that you need to have all your research done before writing the EE, realistically a lot of people will add sources during the process. BUT don't wait to cite them it will be so tedious and unnecessarily annoying, just do it!!!!!
STRONG first draft -- one round of written feedback! I know so many people who slacked on their first drafts and were left with useless feedback about weaknesses they were already aware of. You only get once chance to get your supervisor to properly read your EE so make it worth your while, make sure the content is great and worry about the nitty gritty LATER.
Stick to what you're good at, this kind of ties into my first point but doing the EE in a subject you're actually very capable at will make it so much better. No need to make it harder for yourself! Don't do something just cause it'll look better on your transcript/ make you sound smart or cause your supervisor told you to do it. (ps: come up with ur own idea!! ur the one writing the essay make sure its interesting to u!)
IT'S NOT THAT BAD! Don't be put off by the length of the paper, most people I know didn't spend a whole lot of time doing it, or didn't even work on it during DP1 and still wrote enough and did well. Do not worry that you won't have enough content, as long as your question is good you will have plenty to talk about, almost everyone i know found it difficult to stay UNDER the word count.
REFLECTIONS -- don't neglect them! Ask a language teacher or your supervisor for help writing them. These are such easy grades to get and they could be the difference between a B and an A etc.
PROOFREAD SO MANY TIMES -- because the EE is so long, nobody's writing it in one go obviously, and also you see it so many times that you don't really question if its cohesive. Read it as a WHOLE more than once to make sure it is actually fluid and well structured, remember the person reading it only knows what you tell them! Just cause it makes sense to you does't mean it will to other people.
ENJOY :)) -- (again!!) the EE is your one chance in the IB to get free reign over your work. Take this opportunity and write about something you really care about and are willing to dedicate your time to. I wrote my extended essay about something I really like and it honestly felt more like a passion project than a piece of coursework. Obviously it still sucks but I loved writing it and I learned so much!! I'll take any opportunity to talk about my EE! So many people I know absolutely hated this essay compared to the absolute love i have for mine. So choose wisely!
^advice from A getter
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