The Extended Essay is a core element of the IB Diploma Programme (along with CAS and Theory of Knowledge). To succeed in the IB Diploma, you will need to make sure that you are familiar with the formal requirements of the Extended Essay, such as the formulation of an appropriate research question, writing the essay within the 4,000-word limit, and including proper citation and referencing (C&R) throughout your essay. This section of the InThinking Business Management website provides practical advice to help students manage the EE process.

The Extended Essay is an opportunity for students to engage in an academic piece of writing on a topic of direct interest to them. The English proverb “Nothing ventured, nothing gained” is fitting, as essentially this means nothing meaningful can be achieved without effort. The EE provides you with the unique opportunity to independently explore an academic issue in depth, beyond the constraints of the classroom and beyond the scope of the Business Management syllabus where appropriate, but with the advice and support of an EE supervisor.

Make sure you are clear about the formal requirements of the EE, including the assessment criteria against which your essay will be marked. You should refer to the assessment criteria – get a copy from your EE supervisor or click the InThinking link here for further advice. Also note that the Extended Essay must focus on the use of secondary research, although primary research can be used to support this if it is purposeful to do so, and if it adds value to the discussions.

It is also important to refer to the subject-specific advice in the Extended Essay Guide for details and clarification of the requirements for your chosen subject. A vital step in the process is to formulate a probing research question that is worthy of study. Check with your EE supervisor if in doubt. Also ask your supervisor for help with the structure and format of the essay.

One frequently asked question is the timeframe for EE - how far back can students go to formulate and investigate a particular issue? Consider the above advice (the RQ must be probing and worth of academic study) before you attempt to answer this important question.

Not only are citations and referencing (C&R) formal requirements of academic integrity, doing so also shows your respect for the ideas and work of other people. Do not leave the citations and referencing until the end of the writing process as you’ll find it near-impossible to compile a decent bibliography. Similarly, make sure you understand and stick to the word limits:

• 4,000 words for the EE (essays in excess of 4,000 words are subject to penalties as examiners are not required to read material in excess of the word limit)

• 500 words for the RPPF (Reflections on Planning and Progress Form

As the essay needs to be electronically uploaded, this will make it easier for examiners to know at which point your EE has reached 4,000 words. Examiners are instructed not to read beyond the word limit. You have been warned!

Whilst conducting your academic research, be careful of potential source bias. The best essays show evidence of critical thinking (Criterion C), so try to question the validity of your secondary research data in order to write a meaningful discussion.

Citation and referencing are important requirements of the EE. If you are unsure how to do this, get help from your school librarian on research and referencing skills for the essay. You can also seek help from your EE Coordinator and Diploma Programme Coordinator.

Engagement with your essay and the overall research process is formally assessed (Criterion E), being worth 6 out of the 34 marks. By genuinely engaging in the Extended Essay, the process can become more ‘fun’ (or more purposeful at least) for you as an IB learner. Engagement is intended to help you grow as a learner and to allow you to feel proud of what you have learnt in the overall process of academic research and reflective, critical thinking.

Pay attention to the three mandatory reflection sessions as these are an integral aspect of the Extended Essay (and assessed under criterion E). Complete each section of the RPPF form and get your EE supervisor to sign and date this. No other amendments to the form can be made once your supervisor has done this after each reflection session is complete. So, make sure you spend time discussing your reflections with your supervisor.

The duration of the Extended Essay process is about 40 hours. Getting started early and sticking to deadlines mean you have better control of time, rather than allowing time to control you. As the Chinese proverb say, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. Getting started in the EE process will help to prevent a negative spiral effect on your level of motivation.

The demotivation cycle

The root cause of the problem faced by many students is doing nothing. Doing something will make you feel better than doing nothing at all about your essay. For example, conducting thorough and meaningful research is essential for writing a good extended essay, but this can take an immense amount of time. Making a start and staying focused will help to improve the accuracy of your analysis and help displaying evidence of critical thinking (which is assessed in Criterion C).

You should also try to make time to read at least one previous extended essay, in order to identify strengths and possible limitations. This will help you to improve your own essay (but be careful about the rules on academic honesty).

Starting is often the hardest part of the process due to the immense demands of writing an extended essay, but spreading your work out into manageable tasks will help. Do not procrastinate – this is the number one reason for why students struggle with the Extended Essay.

“You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”
- C.S. Lewis (1898 – 1963), British novelist, scholar, and broadcaster

One of the biggest hurdles facing IB Diploma students is how to handle procrastination. We are constantly faced with tempting distractions such as our smartphones, the urge to check and share updates on social media, and irrationally trying to convince ourselves that “there is always tomorrow”. The Spanish proverb “Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week” is a reminder that promising to get things done is not enough to actually get anything done.

Procrastination refers to the psychological barriers to work. It is natural and everyone does it to some extent! However, try to do something about it as it will make the Extended Essay writing process much more manageable for you. Try some of these strategies to help deal with procrastination:

• Create a planner and stick to it! Lots of people find it useful to have a “to do” list or a checklist. This works equally well for your EE, IA or any other assessments.

• Try to be SMART in what it is you are trying to achieve – your targets should be:
  o    Specific
  o    Measurable
  o    Achievable
  o    Realistic
  o    Time bound

• Break large tasks into smaller activities of 30 minute slots. For example, work specifically on the introduction or secondary research data and findings, rather than trying to tackle too much at a time.

• Create incentives to rewards for yourself when you complete the various tasks that you complete. Rewards, including fun things to do, are important as they allow you to get more things done (and therefore procrastinate less).

• Be smarter about your use of time in order to free up some time. For example, can you make better use of ‘dead time’, such as when travelling to/from school? Is there some reading you can do or a podcast you can listen to which will help with the research or writing process?

• Use online apps for support, such as Forest (available from iTunes). These apps are used to temporarily ban websites on your smartphone or laptop that distract you. You can block these websites for a pre-determined time, but still have access to the Internet (for work-related matters!)

Nevertheless, it is important to pace yourself and to take regular breaks. Our brains, like all muscles, need a break too. Taking short, but regular rest breaks, can therefore help to reduce procrastination and improve your focus and productivity.

The EE is a highly academic and scholarly piece of work, and encourages students to go beyond the parameters and contents of the official IB Business Management syllabus. The highest marks are typically rewarded the candidates who:

• Investigates a research question that is original and probing, i.e. worthy of study.

• Carries out substantial academic research, as reflected in their bibliography (see assessment criteria A, B, and C).

• Demonstrate a high level of both data analysis and discussion of their findings (see assessment criterion C).

Note that the above are not mutually exclusive but interdependent.

Extended essays that replicate the HL Internal Assessment rarely get beyond to a "C" grade or above, as the requirements of the task and the rubric requirements (assessment criteria) are drastically different. Students must ensure their essay does not read like an IA task (with primary research and recommendations made at the end for the owners or managers of the chosen business) and/or that their bibliography is short (typically, mediocre essays will include just the prescribed class textbook and some generic URL addresses of websites used). Such an approach is perhaps more journalistic than academic.

As noted in the May 2018 EE Business Management subject report, "the confusion between IA and EE was the main reason why many candidates underperformed." (page 1). Finally, note that should a student choose to write their EE as the HL IA, they will not usually score more than 2 marks (out of 6 marks) under assessment criterion A (focus and method). This is because neither the methodology (focusing on primary research) nor the research question (leading to actual recommendations to an organization) are suitable for the EE in Business Management.

Refer to the table below that summarises the differences between the HL IA and the EE:

As mentioned above, the EE is marked out of 34 marks. The grade boundaries for all extended essays are set out in the table below.

A    =    27 – 34
B    =    21 – 26
C    =    14 – 20
D    =    7 – 13
E    =    0 – 6

Being able to stay on top of your essay relies on your research and time keeping skills as well as your ability to prioritise. These traits will help you at university and your future career too. Essentially, managing the EE process takes time to plan, but will save you time in the long run. Effective planning will help with your executive and ensure you stay on task.

Remember to use your supervisor for support! Your supervisor is required, as part of the supervision process, to spend between 3 to 5 hours with you. Ask your supervisor to help you with the construction of a suitable research question. Meet your supervisor regularly, and make sure you turn up for all the scheduled meetings. The level of support and the discussions that take place are formally recorded in the RPPF, so make the most of the opportunities to meet your supervisor for support, rather than to procrastinate. As the English proverb goes, “After rain comes fair weather; March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers”, i.e. there will be hardships during the EE process, but there will also be many delights that follow.

• The EE is a core element of the IB Diploma Programme.

• The EE is a highly academic and scholarly piece of work, that encourages students to go beyond the syllabus.

• Make sure you are familiar with the formal requirements of the Extended Essay.

• The Extended Essay is not the same as the Higher Level Internal Assessment (or the SL IA for that matter).

• There are many distractions for an IB student, so you need effective strategies to tackle procrastination (psychological barriers to your school work).

• Set yourself SMART goals to help you with the planning process. These goals need to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time bound.

• All aspects of the EE must focus on and relate to your research question. Plan your research to directly address the research question.

• Create a planner and stick to it in a strict and disciplined way. This will help you to better manage the overall process and to complete your essay on time.

• You should read the subject-specific advice in the Extended Essay Guide to get information and clarification of the requirements for your chosen Diploma Programme subject.

• You need to complete all the sections of the RPPF form and get your supervisor to sign and date this too.

• The duration of the Extended Essay process is about 40 hours, so plan and use your time sensibly and productively.

• Your supervisor and EE Coordinator are at hand to help you throughout the overall process.

Wishing you the very best for researching, writing and completing a successful Business Management extended essay!