"We do not learn from experience - we learn from reflecting on experience."
- John Dewey (1859 - 1952), American philosopher and educational reformer

"Learning is not doing; it is reflecting on doing."
- Professor Henry Mintzberg (b.1939), Canadian academic and business management author

The Extended Essay (for first assessment in 2018) introduced changes to better engage both students and supervisors, with reflections throughout the process being key to success. This section of the website has been contributed by Jason Chin, who is the Extended Essay Coordinator and Head of Business Management & Economics at PLK Choi Kai Yau School, a private independent school in Hong Kong. Jason offers some top tips to help your navigate and achieve top marks in regards to the EE assessment criteria.

The previous version of the Extended Essay Guide placed far more emphasis on the output of the final essay, while perhaps not giving enough credit for the process of planning, researching and writing what students go through during their EE journey. The changes in the new Extended Essay Guide for first assessment in 2018 seek to amend that, with new requirements and criteria which recognise your students' ability to reflect on their progress.

Being reflective is a vital attribute of the IB Learner Profile, and reflection in the EE process is similar to the reflection that students undertake in Theory of Knowledge (TOK) and Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS).

Reflection is now included in the assessment of your Extended Essay. Reflection in the EE focuses on your progress during the planning, research and writing process. This should help you with the development of your EE as well as allowing you to consider the effectiveness of your choices, to re-examine your ideas and decide whether any changes are needed.

The  Reflections on Planning and Progress Form (RPPF) is an opportunity to show how a student's thinking has developed throughout the EE process. For instance, if the student faced any specific difficulties in their data collection, this should be recorded on the form including consideration of how the student dealt with those challenges after discussing them with their EE supervisor. The examiner wants to see that any problems in the research process has been discussed earlier in the reflection session. The student should note down on the RPPF any changes made to the planning, in response to feedback from the EE supervisor.

It is important to note that the RPPF is worth 18% of the assessment grade in the EE. This is a significant number of marks which can make the difference if the student's total mark is on the borderline of the next grade boundary. Hence, students must ensure that the content of the RPPF and the essay fits together coherently, i.e. they complement each other.

The RPPF is similar to the TOK essay planning form in that three interactions with the student's teacher are logged, allowing the examiner to see the development of the student's ideas through the reflections noted on the form.

The student's own voice should come through in the 500 words of reflection recording in the RPPF. These are the student's own personal reflections following the meetings with their supervisor. Students should enter comments on the RPPF as soon as possible after each reflection meeting, but should not go back and change anything later in the process (the examiner wants to know what the student was thinking at that particular moment).

Reflection involves regular dialogue with your supervisor

Please note that the extended essay must be anonymized as per the IB's guidelines:

• The candidate's personal information must not be included in the submission of the EE (i.e., the candidate's name and the candidate number must not appear in the RPPF.

• The candidate's personal code (e.g., ghm007) can be used as this is indecipherable beyond the candidate and the staff at the school. Speak to your IB Coordinator to access the personal code.

• Supervisors must not refer to the name of the student in their comments on the RPPF - instead, they should use "the student". It is also acceptable to use the student's initials.

• Similarly, students must not refer to their supervisor (or other staff member such as the Librarian or EE Coordinator at their school) by name in their own reflections. There is no requirement for acknowledgements in the RPPF. Any acknowledgements made must not include any information that could identify the school, or its location.

Source: adapted from General extended essay subject report, May 2021, page 5

Regular meetings throughout the EE process allow the supervisor to authenticate the final essay as the student's own genuine work. These meetings include three formal reflection sessions as well as informal ‘check-ins’ throughout the process to ensure the student is supported in making the required progress.

The discussions during the three reflection sessions should become increasingly evaluative in nature:

1. First Reflection - This should takes place after the student's initial ideas and research plan have been considered. It records a descriptive conversation of the topics the student is thinking about focusing on, and how s/he plans to undertake the research.

2. Interim Reflection - This should take place around the time of submission of the draft essay. It is a more analytical discussion of the strengths and limitations of your initial findings and research methods.

3. Final Reflection – Viva voce (after your final essay has been submitted): a more evaluative discussion that weighs up what you have learned throughout the entire EE process.

During the initial and interim reflection sessions with the supervisor, students should reflect forward (as well as on the present or past). Does the research question need to be adjusted, for example, due to a lack of secondary research being available on that specific question? Students should discuss any concerns they may have about the next stage in their research or writing. They should also look forward and plan ahead by considering where they are now in the process, what they want to achieve by the next reflection meeting, and the specific actions they need to take for achieving those goals.

The final reflection session encourages students to evaluate the wider implications of his/her EE journey. They must consider not only the output of their research findings, but also how the EE process has made them more self-aware of their personal strengths and development needs as an IB learner. Towards the end of the process, students should also reflect on the following questions:

1. What did I used to think?

2. What do I think now?

3. What happened to change that?

Although not a compulsory element of the EE, the Researcher’s Reflection Space (RRS) allows students to record their personal reflections and questions on what they have been reading, writing and thinking about in relation to their essay.

Students might create their RRS using a virtual learning environment (such as ManageBac or Moodle) to respond to artefacts like photos, newspaper clippings, charts, info-graphics, social media posts, blogs, and so on. The space could be used for more creative reflections including mind-maps, podcasts, poems or even short songs with subject-specific lyrics! The RRS allows students to record their responses to a variety of materials, which can later be discussed during reflection meetings with their EE supervisor.

Again, although the RRS is not a formal or compulsory part of the EE, using a reflection space is highly recommended to aid the reflection process. Essentially, the RRS is similar to a creative journal for responding to the researcher's (student's) findings.

Reflections are about looking back in order to move forward

The number of assessment criteria for the new extended essay (first assessments 2018) was reduced from 11 to just 5, and the number of total marks was reduced from 36 to 34. The five assessment criteria are applied  holistically, meaning that each criterion should be addressed throughout the whole essay. Four criteria apply to the final essay, while one criterion (E: Engagement) applies to the Reflections on Planning and Progress Form (RPPF).

A move to mark-bands (e.g. 1-2, 3-4, etc.), and the ‘best-fit’ approach for assessing the EE, allows the examiner to use their judgement in crediting students for what is there in the essay, instead of penalising them for what is missing.

The following section provides specific advice for students with reference to the assessment criteria used to mark the extended essay.

Your research question should be posed as an actual question, and must be sharply focused to be discussable within 4,000 words. Ensure you have maintained a focus on your research question throughout the essay, by linking back to the question explicitly at various points throughout your work. Moreover, use the methods and sources of data identified in the introduction throughout your essay.

Criterion B - Knowledge and understanding (6 marks)

Ensure you have used any subject-specific terminology in a consistently appropriate way throughout the essay - there has to be clear evidence of the appropriate use of Business Management tools, theories and techniques. Show evidence of your knowledge and understanding of relevant concepts throughout the essay by defining or explaining them clearly in the context of your research question.

Criterion C - Critical thinking (12 marks)

The greatest focus of the extended essay is on critical thinking, with this criterion being worth over one third of the total marks. Therefore, you should be studying your choice of EE subject, ideally at higher level (HL). Otherwise, you might struggle to demonstrate critical thinking when analysing sources without a deep understanding of Business Management terminology, tools, theories, techniques and concepts.

Secondary research is required in an EE for all subjects, and you will need to show the examiner your ability to engage with the sources in a critical way. A literature review of academic journals related to your topic is necessary, such as showing knowledge and understanding of others’ critiques on a tool, theory or technique, for example. Recognising alternative viewpoints from academics or other sources with expertise in your chosen topic helps you to critically evaluate your own arguments. Challenging your personal stance on the question, by considering the opposing perspective of others, perhaps from different cultures, is one aspect of being an effective critical thinker.

Although it may be challenging to show critical thinking when analysing the data and research methods of others in, for example, an EE focused on motivation, theoretical essays (which do not require much secondary research to be conducted) are highly discouraged by examiners as it tends to lead to descriptive essays, rather than ones that require evidence of critical and reflective thinking.

In summary, show evidence of critical engagement throughout the essay by analysing and evaluating the data, materials and sources you have used. Moreover, ensure your discussion links explicitly to the research question and the sources of data cited. Finally, ensure you reflect on these processes during your EE journey.

Critical thinking takes centre stage in the EE assessment criteria

Criterion D - Formal presentation (4 marks)

The standard format and presentation of your essay includes the requirement of citations and referencing, which some students find challenging. Referencing, though time-consuming, is not overly difficult. Get into the habit of citing any materials or ideas that are not your own, including graphs and charts, tables and diagrams.

Use a single referencing style (for example MLA or Chicago) consistently throughout your work. If you have spoken to your parents, teachers or any other external mentor, and then used their ideas, cite them! Be aware that you cannot make up any references as this constitutes academic dishonesty and note that examiners often check and follow up on such matters. In the worst case scenario, missing citations and references could be flagged up to the assessment team, which will then decide whether the candidate is disqualified on the grounds of academic misconduct / malpractice.

Ensure the layout and structural elements of the EE (such as the title page, contents page, introduction, and so forth.) are consistent throughout the essay. Note that an abstract is not a requirement of the Extended Essay.

Very importantly, avoid any attempt to go over the word count limit by, for example, referring to supplementary analysis provided in the appendices of the essay which extends your discussions. Examiners will not read the items placed in the appendices - checking the evidence and supplementary information in the appendices is not the same as readying analysis that addresses the research question. All relevant and important information should be discussed in the body of the essay, and not hidden in an appendix. Similarly, extensive use of footnotes must be avoided as they are included in the word count unless used for citation and referencing purposes. Use footnotes if the referencing style followed by your school permits footnotes instead of in-text citations, but be consistent and never use a mixture of the two.

Criterion E - Engagement (6 marks)

Your personal engagement with the EE is assessed via the three reflections that you submit on the RPPF (explained above). A maximum of 500 words (for all three reflections combined) on the RPPF should complement your essay and allow your own voice to come through. The reflections highlight what you are thinking, planning or reviewing at three different stages during the EE process.

For more top tips on the mandatory reflection sessions, please take a look here.

CAS projects often provide inspiration for examples of real-life situations in the TOK presentation or TOK essay. Real-life examples, which are usually issues of local and global significance, in turn, can provide useful prompts for topic ideas for the Extended Essay.

Business Management is an increasingly popular subject choice for the EE. In many schools, the demand from students outstrips the supply of suitable EE supervisors. One option to get around this issue is for students to write a World Studies EE, which can include a significant portion of Business Management.

There are links between TOK and the EE which students could look to exploit. For example, real-life situations in TOK can provide ideas for a research question in the World Studies Extended Essay (WSEE) by linking with one of its six global themes:

• Conflict, peace and security

• Culture, identity and language

• Environmental and/or economic sustainability

• Equality and inequality

• Health and development

• Science, technology, and society

The World Studies EE is similar to the TOK essay in its interdisciplinary nature, meaning that the research question is discussed using the perspectives of two different DP subjects (or areas of knowledge). Students should be studying the two DP subjects which you will use as ‘lenses’ to examine the research question, enabling you to show knowledge, understanding and critical thinking to a sufficiently deep level.

The Extended Essay Guide embeds Approaches to Learning (ATL) throughout the Extended Essay journey. The five ATL skills are essential at various stages in the EE. Working closely with your supervisor, and using her/him as a sounding board when communicating your ideas and reflections, develops valuable social skills. The self-management needed for an independent essay, and the ability to think critically about the research you have engaged with, are life-long skills that you will use and develop well beyond the IB Diploma Programme.