Extended essay guides

The extended essay documentation you can find here:

- Top right - EE proposal form Word document

- Left - EE guide from the IB

- Right - Champittet Core document

- Below left - Core bonus points matrix

- Below right - EE Reflection form & guidelines

- Bottom left - World Studies EE requirements

- Bottom centre - EE examiner rubric

- Bottom right - History EE examples

Reflections guidelines

World Studies - Global Themes - examples, guidelines..

IB extended essay - examiner mark scheme....

Grade A examples of previous extended essays in History

A literature review allows you to pause in the EE process and look around you and at the resources you have uncovered. It should provide you with an opportunity to assess what you have and how it can help you answer your question. The document below expands on what is required and how to go about completing it...

Welcome to the IB Diploma Programme - Y12 EE practice research paper

The Diploma Programme has 6 subjects and a Core programme
Each subject provides 7 possible points - 24 are needed to pass
Moreover. the Core programme needs to be passed
The Core is the EE (Extended essay of 4000 words); CAS (Creativity, Action, Service); and TOK (Theory of Knowledge)
The EE must be written and TOK coursework completed, both at a passing grade
The CAS portfolio must be planned, engaged with consistently + completed

The task you will have over the next 4 weeks is to practice skills for your EE
You will need to create a question concerning any topic of interest from the history course you have completed; or use one of the topics overleaf as a guide
The skills outlined underneath will provide introductory lessons about how to start, engage with and complete a research paper

The word count will be a minimum of 1500 words with drafts expected to be 2000
Your deadline will be the penultimate Friday of the year with all final drafts to be handed in by then

What is analysis? How can structure make or break my essay?

It seems a slightly odd place to start your research paper introduction - why not start with a 'how to write an introduction' section after all? However, the ability to understand what underpins the whole point of research is something that needs spelling out before we go anywhere near technical stuff like that...

Analysis, loosely speaking, is the technique that probably appears most in mark-schemes across the IB subjects (well, maybe most in Group 3) without ever really being explained anywhere in course content or accompanying literature. It seems mystical - a magic formula that once recreated will allow your grades to soar up up and away - well that's not so far off the truth.

Analysis is the process by which you examine the point and evidence you have produced together in answer to a question. This examination needs to establish what your point and evidence help you to answer about the question and how strong that answer is. You need to consider therefore, what weaknesses your point and evidence possess in order to fully analyse any point of evidence you use in answer to any question. This process should hopefully allow you to only use the strongest bits of evidence in the right way and therefore allow you to answer with insight. Once your various points and pieces of evidence have been examined, analysis then consists of you combining your findings into one over-arching answer that answers the big question you've been set or you've devised yourself (such as with your EE).

Analysis however is difficult to conjure out of thin air - just as any magic formula needs a recipe, analysis needs structure in order for it to work properly, or indeed work at all. Your big question needs sub-dividing into smaller questions, each of which will allow you to examine a different aspect of the big question. These smaller questions allow you to focus your analysis even further and so allow your answers to become more detailed, more precise and ultimately, more successful as answers. The correct structure therefore allows for better analysis and therefore a better final result. Research papers therefore at their very core need effective analysis, which is only really allowed by an effective structure.

Your task is in pairs - each read one of the Word docs model history essays at the top. Identify the structure (how is it signposted to the reader and what does it consist of)? and then try to identify the analysis (how does the essay arrive at its answers?)

What are references and when should I use them?

References and referencing...

They allow us to show where we have got our information from.
Anything that is not your own original thinking or work needs referencing!
If you don`t reference these ideas, this is plagiarism
The more references, the better!
It's much better to have too many references rather than too few

What do we need to reference?

Statistics – figures, graphs, images, pictures, photos etc
Quotes – speeches, passages from texts, interviews etc
Ideas from others, phrasing that isn't yours etc

DON`T just copy and paste paragraphs
Choose the most important part of the paragraph, the bit that sums up the idea
EITHER Quote it in speech marks & reference it
OR Paraphrase the rest of the idea – put it into your own words
Reference this as well

4. Maps & graphs,

5. Diagrams. Pictures, Photographs, Posters

How do we reference?

Book reference – 1 author

Surname, Initial ``Title" (Publisher; Year of publication) page number (p 1 page; pp more than 1 page – pp6-8)

2. Edited book reference – collection of different authors` work

Surname, Initial ``Title of chapter"; Surname, Initial "Title of book" (Publisher ; Year of pub.) pg no.

3. Newspaper/magazine article reference

Surname, Initial "Title of article" (Name of newspaper, magazine ; City ; Date of issue) pg no.

4. Academic journal article reference

Surname, Initial ``Title of article" (Name of academic jounal ; issue number ; date of pub) pg no.

5. Internet site article reference

Surname, Initial "Title of article"; URL address ; last date accessed

..these protocols are for the first time you reference the source in your text - thereafter, shorten to:

Surname ``abbreviated title in italics`` pg no.

..if you use the same source on the same page straight after, you can further shorten your reference to:

Ibid, pg no.

How do I write an effective introduction?

Introductions are a necessary evil of essay writing - they fulfil vital roles and determine in many ways the success or otherwise of the whole piece

BUT

they are tricky to write - and can lead to a procrastination vortex where we end up writing, then rewriting, then rewriting them over and over and over whilst never really starting the proper essay.

So - how do we avoid this and how do we write a decent introduction?

The key introduction consists of 4 vital ingredients...which we will talk quickly about at the end of the exercise

Exercise:

- watch the clip above and see if you can identify what makes these film introductions great introductions

- get into a group and decide on 4 main ingredients these film introductions have

- add onto whiteboard under your names..

- then ask for the handout which reveals your 4 vital ingredients

- can you match up your film introductions to these vital ingredients? Which films match up to each vital ingredient? (two ingredients have multiple film openings attached; two ingredients only have one attached)

How do I write an effective conclusion? (https://libguides.hull.ac.uk/essays/conclusions - last accessed 14/06/22)

Essay writing: Conclusions

'Conclusions are often overlooked, cursory and written last minute. If this sounds familiar then it's time to change and give your conclusions some much needed attention. Your conclusion is the whole point of your essay. All the other parts of the essay should have been leading your reader on an inevitable journey towards your conclusion. So make it count and finish your essay in style.

Know where you are going

Too many students focus their essays on content rather than argument. This means they pay too much attention to the main body without considering where it is leading. It can be a good idea to write a draft conclusion before you write your main body. It is a lot easier to plan a journey when you know your destination!

It should only be a draft however, as quite often the writing process itself can help you develop your argument and you may feel your conclusion needs adapting accordingly.

What it should include

A great conclusion should include:

A clear link back to the question. This is usually the first thing you do in a conclusion and it shows that you have (hopefully) answered it.

A sentence or two that summarise(s) your main argument but in a bit more detail than you gave in your introduction.

A series of supporting sentences that basically reiterate the main point of each of your paragraphs but show how they relate to each other and lead you to the position you have taken. Constantly ask yourself "So what?" "Why should anyone care?" and answer these questions for each of the points you make in your conclusion.

A final sentence that states why your ideas are important to the wider subject area. Where the introduction goes from general to specific, the conclusion needs to go from specific back out to general.

What it should not include

Try to avoid including the following in your conclusion. Remember your conclusion should be entirely predictable. The reader wants no surprises.

Any new ideas. If an idea is worth including, put it in the main body. You do not need to include citations in your conclusion if you have already used them earlier and are just reiterating your point.

A change of style i.e. being more emotional or sentimental than the rest of the essay. Keep it straightforward, explanatory and clear.

Overused phrases like: “in conclusion”; “in summary”; “as shown in this essay”. Consign these to the rubbish bin!

Here are some alternatives, there are many more:

The x main points presented here emphasise the importance of...
The [insert something relevant] outlined above indicate that ...
By showing the connections between x, y and z, it has been argued here that ...

Never end with someone else's words! You don't need memorable quotes here (use the intro for that) - bowl the examiner over with your own final sentence which nails the question!!

Maximise marks

Remember, your conclusion is the last thing your reader (marker!) will read. Spending a little care on it will leave her/him absolutely sure that you have answered the question and you will definitely receive a higher mark than if your conclusion was a quickly written afterthought.

Your conclusion should be around 10% of your word count. There is never a situation where sacrificing words in your conclusion will benefit your essay.'

Final exercise

...return to the first workshop we did and access the two model essays - how effective are the conclusions?

Which bits work and why? Are there any sections that could be done better - how?

Make a note of how they answer the question, the judgement they arrive at as a result, and the impression that they leave the reader with... a sense of completion? underwhelmed? satisfied? feeling of unfinished business?

Make sure your final section in your draft maximises the potential within your written work......

historychamps