Getting the Marks: the Extended Essay

1. The Research Question

a. Use EXACTLY the same words each time you write down the RQon the cover sheet,
on the title page, in the Abstract, in the Introduction Do NOT paraphrase it or switch
around the words so it sounds nice.
b. The RQ needs to be tightly focused, answerable within 4,000 words, and not phrased in
a way which you can answer with a Yes or No
2. The Introduction
a. Your RQ must be clearly stated in the Introduction preferably in the first paragraph
as early as possible
b. The Introduction must contain the SIGNIFICANCE of this investigation. Why is it
important that this question be asked (and answered) and this research be
undertaken. In History, this could be both the historical significance of the research
and its personal significance to you/your family.
c. The Introduction must show the context within which your research/investigation is set
what is the literary/historical/economic/scientific CONTEXT of your essay?
3. The Abstract
a. The Abstract has a word count of 300 words that does NOT count towards the overall
word count.
By reading the Abstract, someone should know immediately what you were
investigating, how you investigated it and what you discovered at the end. Therefore, it
MUST contain
i. The Research Question
ii. The scope of your investigation. Do NOT summarise your essay. According to
the mark scheme, scope means HOW the investigation was undertaken what
processes were involved in getting from the RQ to the conclusion
iii. The conclusion you reached. State this clearly
4. The Conclusion
a. ANSWER the RQ! That is all you have to do really. Look back at the words of the RQ on
the title page and make sure you have clearly responded to what it asked in one or two
sentences. Do not get fancy.
b. Your conclusion must arise from what you have written. Do not come to a conclusion
which has no link of any type to the previous 4,000 words
c. You should include some questions that remain unanswered, or avenues of research
that could now be undertaken.
d. Your conclusion should be short perhaps two or three sentences
e. LABEL it as CONCLUSION
5. Formal Presentation
a. Your title page should contain your name, your candidate number, your subject, your
research question and your word count. That is enough but if you wish to add a
relevant picture, image, quote that is fine, as long as it is correctly referenced and
captioned. Do not just dump an image on the front without saying what it is.
b. Your Table of Contents should contain more than just Introduction, Body, Conclusion
(truly a dreadful Table of Contents). Try to ensure that the body of your essay has some
subtitles that can then be placed in the Table of Contents. This isnt relevant for every
subject, so check with your supervisor

c. Everything you do not know out of your own head should be cited/referenced. Most
teachers ask for MLA but not all. Check!
d. Every citation MUST appear in the Bibliography. Everything in the bibliography MUST
appear in a citation. This is checked and is one of the easiest ways to lose 2 marks.
e. Label the Bibliography as Bibliography (not References, not Citations, not Books
Consulted) and ensure that it is on a separate page not added on below the
Conclusion
f. Equally, the Abstract should be on a separate page, and not immediately followed by
the Introduction
g. The order of your Essay (and therefore Table of Contents) should be Abstract, Table of
Contents, Essay, Bibliography, Appendices.
h. If you have Appendix/Appendices, then these should be numbered (Appendix 1,
Appendix 2), and they must be referred to in the body of the essay (see Appendix 1).
Do not make the classic mistake and forget to (a) reference the material in the Appendix
and (b) include that reference/citation in the Bibliography
i. BUT, remember, the examiners do not have to read your Appendices, so dont put
anything vital to your essay in there. It looks good to have an Appendix or two any
more is overkill (except in Sciences.)
j. If you included tables, charts, pictures, graphs, in the body of your essay, these must be
labelled (Fig.1, Table 1 and what it is) and then referred to in the essayas can be
seen in Fig 1
k. Page numbers! It would be good not to have a page number on the title page.
l. EVERYONE should get a full 4 marks for Formal Presentation
6. Holistic Judgement
a. There are four marks for this. Examiners look for impressive research, intellectual
engagement, an unusual area well examined, items in the bibliography going beyond
the usual list of booksessentially they are looking for evidence that you have gone
above and beyond the call of duty.
b. So to get the marks try to have a very impressive range of resources including
interviews, videos, journal articles, books, websites (and really try hard not to have
just a list of websites in your bibliography)
c. And, obviously, have a well-written, well-structured, pleasing to read, pleasing to the
eye, fabulously brilliant piece of research
d. Supervisor comments play an important role in helping an examiner decide what mark
to give for this criterion. As an examiner, I would generally give two marks for any
reasonable essay and then I have to be persuaded that the student deserves two
more. So, supervisor comments which comment on some (or preferably all) of the
issues below are very helpful in persuading an examiner that the full marks are
deserved for this criterion.
i. What inspired the student to undertake this particular area of research?
ii. Has the student met most if not all of the deadlines?
iii. Was the student proactive, making good use of meetings, supervisorswas
he/she a pleasure to supervise?
iv. Did the student respond well to support, suggestions for improvement,
discussion, constructive criticism...
v. If there were particular challenges, such as changing research question, or
changing subject, did the student cope well with the challenge?

vi. What did the student do that was unusual, beyond the normal, which resources
required more than usual energy to locate?
vii. Did the student make interesting points in his/her Viva Voce which showed that
s/he gained knowledge and skills from the EE process?
Essentially, you have to persuade your supervisor (through your attitude and work ethic) to
write a comment to persuade the examiner that you are a fabulous human being! I have copied
part of a supervisor comment below, so that you can see what might be written:
Once he had decided on his research question, X threw himself into the research process. From a
starting point when the only resources seemed to be guides to Copenhagen and a tour of Christiania,
he uncovered a very interesting array of source material, varying from newspaper articles to
independently produced pamphlets to a BBC Radio 4 documentary.
X was an easy supervisee to work with. He responded very well to advice, and was happy to
structure and re-structure his arguments until a less chronological and more analytical approach had
been adopted. X always came to our supervision sessions very well prepared, and he met all internal
school deadlines with ease. In his Viva, X noted that he believed that the main reason for
Christianias survival could be distilled as the inhabitants willingness to be open to everyone. This
distillation was arrived at after some exhaustive research on which X really can be commended. This
essay is a fascinating examination of Denmarks micro-state and points to the historical reality behind
what is too often just seen as a tourist destination. I think you will enjoy reading Xs work very much
I certainly enjoyed the supervision process, and now look at Christiania quite differently!