Extended Essay guide for students 2021/2022

1 Extended Essay guide for students 2021/2022 1 IB Mission Statement The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment. These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right. Maarif Schools of Sarajevo Mission Statement The mission of Maarif Schools of Sarajevo is to raise young people with a lifelong commitment to seek knowledge with intellectual curiosity as self-reliant, principled, open-minded, balanced, and caring individuals, who think critically and act responsibly as people of goodwill.

2 2 3 Table of contents 1. The Diploma Programme model 4 2. Overview of the Extended Essay 5 What is an Extended Essay 5 Key features of the Extended Essay 5 Aims of the Extended Essay 6 Subjects and topics 6 3. Extended Essay skills and attributes 7 4. Extended Essay components 7 5. Duties and responsibilities 9 Diploma Programme Extended Essay coordinator 9 Supervisor 9 students 10 The purpose of the viva voce intervju 10 6. Implementation Process at the Maarif Schools of Sarajevo 11 7. Possible Student Questions 12 8. Monitoring work and completing tasks on time forms 14 Checklist action 16 4 1. The Diploma Programme model The programme is presented as six academic areas enclosing a central core (Image 1). It encourages the concurrent study of a broad range of academic areas.

3 students study two modern languages (or a modern language and a classical language), a humanities or social science subject, an experimental science, mathematics and one of the creative arts. It is this comprehensive range of subjects that makes the Diploma Programme a demanding course of study designed to prepare students effectively for university entrance. In each of the academic areas students have flexibility and can choose subjects that particularly interest them and that they may wish to study further at university. Image 1. Diploma Program model 5 2. Overview of the Extended Essay What is an Extended Essay The Extended Essay is an in-depth study of a focused topic chosen from the list of available Diploma Programme subjects for the session in question. This is normally one of the student s six chosen subjects for those taking the IB diploma, or a subject that a course student has a background in. It is intended to promote academic research and writing skills, providing students with an opportunity to engage in personal research in a topic of their own choice, under the guidance of a supervisor (an appropriately qualified member of staff within the school).

4 This leads to a major piece of formally presented, structured writing, in which ideas and findings are communicated in a reasoned and coherent manner, appropriate to the subject chosen. It is mandatory that all students undertake three reflection sessions with their supervisor, which includes a short, concluding interview, or viva voce, with their supervisor following the completion of the Extended Essay . An assessment of this reflection process is made under criterion E (Engagement) using the Reflections on planning and progress form. The Extended Essay is assessed against common criteria, interpreted in ways appropriate to each subject. 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.

5 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 Diploma Programme Assessment procedures 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.

6 6 Aims of the Extended Essay The aims of the Extended Essay are to provide students with the opportunity to: A. Pursue in-depth independent research on a focused topic. B. Develop research and communication skills. C. Develop the skills of creative, analytical, evaluative and critical thinking and reasoning. D. Engage in a systematic process of research appropriate to the subject. E. Experience the excitement of intellectual discovery in a favourite subject/topic of Interest. Subjects and topics You can write an EE in all subjects offered within the IBDP at the school, with the exception of the theory of knowledge. Group 1: Language A: English A Language & Literature, Bosnian A Literature, Turkish A Literature Group 2: Language B: English B Group 3: Information Technology in a Global Society (ITGS), Social and Cultural Anthropology Group 4: Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Computer Science Group 5: Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches 3. Extended Essay skills and attributes At its core, the Extended Essay aims to cultivat or develop a range of skills and attributes, which can be mapped as ( Image 2): 7 Image 2.

7 Extended Essay skills and attributes On top of these an Extended Essay compels students to act in an academically honest and ethical manner both in terms of their approach to research and in the final production of the Essay itself. 4. Extended Essay components A. What does the Extended Essay comprise? It is an academic piece of writing on a topic of the studen s choosing. Bibliography of only the works cited in the Essay itself using an acknowledged referencing style. B. What should the maximum word count be? The maximum word count is 4,000 (plus an additional 500 words for the Reflections on Planning and Progress Form that is submitted with the Extended Essay ). Note: The Essay should not be any longer than 4,000 words as any writing over this limit will not be read and thus could have a negative impact on all assessment criteria. C. How many hours should be spent on it? The IB recommends that you spend approximately 40 hours, spread out over the course of your IB studies.

8 D. What policies accompany it? 8 Academic honesty policy, IB s ethical guidelines, Animal experimentation policy. E. How is it supervised? The IB expects students to receive anything from three to five hours of in-school supervisory support towards the completion of their Extended Essay . A supervisor is expected to provide advice and support but not prescribe questions or edit any work produced. Your supervisor will also be expected to validate the authenticity of the work submitted by you to the IB by signing and dating the Refections on Planning and Progress Form (RPPF). External supervision (that is, non-school-based) is possible under certain scenarios, although only an in-school supervisor can sign the forms. 9 5. Duties and responsibilities Diploma Programme Extended Essay coordinator responsibilities are to: 1. Ensure that Extended essays conform to the regulations outlined in the Diploma Programme Assessment procedures. 2.

9 Ensure that students select the subject for their Extended essays from the list of available subjects until the May of first year. 3. Ensure that each student has a qualified supervisor, who is a member of staff within the school. 4. Introduce, explain and support the reflection process. 5. Provide supervisors and students with the general and subject-specific information and guidelines for the Extended Essay contained in this guide and the accompanying teacher support material. 6. Ensure that the Reflections on planning and progress form (RPPF) is completed and signed by the student and supervisor and submitted to the IB with the Essay for assessment under criterion E by the deadline stated in the Diploma Programme Assessment procedures. 7. Provide exemplars of Extended essays to supervisors and students . Supervisor responsibilities are to: 1. Provide the student with advice and guidance in the skills of undertaking research.

10 2. Discuss the choice of topic with the student and, in particular, help to formulate a well-focused research question. 3. Ensure that the chosen research question satisfies appropriate legal and ethical standards. 4. To be familiar with the regulations governing the EE and the assessment criteria, and give copies of these to the student. 5. Monitor the progress of the EE to offer guidance and to ensure that the Essay is the student s own work. 6. Read and comment on one completed draft only of the Extended Essay (but not edit the draft), as well as read the final version to confirm its authenticity. 7. Submit a predicted grade for the student s Extended Essay to the IB. 8. Complete the supervisor s report (if the EE cover is not signed by both the student and the supervisor, the Essay will not be accepted for assessment and may be returned to the school) and fill in, sign and submit the cover sheet. 9. Ensure proper completion of the three stages of the RPPF (2 reflection sessions and viva voce) 10.