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Pueblo  West  High  School  

International  Baccalaureate  

 

Extended  Essay  

Handbook  

   Created  Updated  December  2010  

 

 

 

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Dear  IB  Student,    

  While  the  extended  essay  is  a  requirement  of  the  diploma,  it  is  much  more  than  just  one  more  hoop  that  you  need  to  jump  through.    This  essay  is  first  and  foremost  an  ACADEMIC  WORK  created  by  YOU.    It  involves  you  doing  independent  research  on  a  topic  of  your  choice  and  investigating  that  topic  under  the  supervision  of  a  mentor  of  your  choice.    This  is  a  formal  academic  piece  that  once  produced,  you  should  be  very  proud  of.      

  You  should  approach  this  piece  of  the  diploma  program  with  fervor,  rigor,  seriousness,  discipline,  enthusiasm,  and  academic  honesty.    Beyond  the  requirement  and  the  grade  that  you  will  receive,  the  reward  will  be  in  the  fact  that  you  wrote  a  4,000  word  college  essay  with  inquisitiveness,  investigation  skills,  and  produced  an  academic  work  that  demonstrates  your  expertise  in  a  topic  of  your  choice.    It  will  be  something  that  you  will  be  able  to  carry  on  to  the  next  phase  of  your  education  and  lean  on  when  you  are  asked  to  write  another  research  paper  at  the  college  level.      

  This  paper  should  not  be  viewed  as  just  another  requirement.    It  should  be  fun  for  you  to  write  since  you  are  the  one  who  gets  to  choose  the  topic  about  which  you  write.    In  addition  to  you  electing  the  topic,  you  will  also  be  able  to  choose  a  mentor  whom  you  enjoy  and  feel  comfortable  working  with  within  our  building.      

  According  to  the  Extended  Essay  Guide  published  by  IB  with  the  first  examinations  in  2009,  the  hope  of  IB  is  that  this  process  will  develop  research  and  communication  skills,  creative  and  critical  thinking,  engage  you  in  a  systematic  process  of  research,  and  allow  you  to  experience  the  excitement  of  intellectual  discovery.      

  Whether  you  choose  to  pursue  research  investigating  the  use  of  dance  in  Jane  Austen’s  novels,  a  study  of  malnourished  children  in  Indonesia  and  the  extent  of  their  recovery  after  a  period  of  supervised  improved  nutrition,  or  how  and  why  the  explanations  of  the  Cuban  missile  crisis  have  changed  since  1962,  the  goal  should  be  to  have  fun  working  through  another  process  of  your  education.  

  Please  read  this  booklet  carefully,  come  to  the  IB  office  to  read  through  extended  essays  that  have  been  scored  by  graders,  and  let  me  know  what  I  can  do  to  help  you  through  this  process.  

Carpe  diem,  Rachelle  Eastep  IB  Coordinator  

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Questions  and  Answers  about  the  EE    

1.  What  is  the  Extended  Essay?  The  Extended  Essay  is  a  focused  piece  of  research  on  a  topic  of  the  student’s  choice.    It  must  be  no  longer  than  4,000  words,  and  it  must  reflect  approximately  40  hours  of  work  by  the  student.    The  4,000  word  requirement  does  not  include  the  abstract,  acknowledgments,  the  contents  page,  maps,  charts,  diagrams,  annotated  illustrations  and  tables,  equations,  formulas,  and  calculations,  citations/references  (whether  parenthetical  or  numbered),  footnotes  or  endnotes,  the  bibliography,  or  appendices.    

2. Do  I  have  to  write  the  extended  essay  in  order  to  earn  the  full  diploma?  

Yes.    This,  along  with  the  theory  of  knowledge  course,  and  the  creativity,  activity,  and  service  piece  must  be  completed  in  order  to  earn  a  full  diploma.  

 3. Must  my  mentor  be  a  teacher  at  the  school?  Yes.    Your  mentor  must  be  a  teacher  at  Pueblo  West  High  School,  but  he/she  does  not  have  to  be  one  of  your  IB  class  instructors.    

4. Are  there  any  example  papers  at  which  I  can  look?  Yes.    There  are  exemplar  papers,  papers  that  have  been  scored  by  IB  graders,  to  look  at  and  review  in  the  IB  office.    There  is  also  a  CD  available  to  use  entitled  50  Excellent  Extended  Essays.    This  CD  contains  a  collection  of  essay  which  all  scored  a  top  A  grade  by  senior  examiners.    The  CD  contains  essays  in  all  of  the  areas  that  are  currently  taught  at  Pueblo  West  High  School  with  the  exception  of  Business  and  Management.    There  are,  however,  hard  copies  of  exemplar  papers  available  for  review  in  the  IB  office  in  the  area  of  Business  and  Management  if  this  is  an  area  that  interests  you.    

 5.  What  are  the  elements  of  the  extended  essay?  According  to  the  Extended  Essay  Guide  First  Examinations  2009  (2007),  the  elements  of  the  essay  are  a  title  page,  an  abstract,  contents  page,  introduction,  body  (development/methods/results),  conclusion,  references  and  bibliography,  and  appendices    

   

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 6. How  will  the  extended  essay  be  graded?  Each  student’s  essay  will  fall  into  one  of  the  categories  listed  below:     A   Work  of  an  excellent  standard     B   Work  of  a  good  standard     C   Work  of  a  satisfactory  standard     D   Work  of  a  mediocre  standard     E     Work  of  an  elementary  standard  

 

7. How  many  points  is  the  extended  essay  worth  towards  the  diploma?  

A  maximum  of  three  points  are  awarded  for  a  student’s  combined  efforts  in  theory  of  knowledge  and  on  the  extended  essay.    The  total  number  of  points  awarded  for  this  combined  effort  is  outlined  in  the  chart  below.      

 

 

8. Must  I  have  bibliographies,  references,  and  citations?  Because  you  are  required  to  display  academic  integrity  as  an  IB  candidate,  credible  research  practices  require  that  you  provide  your  reader  with  EXACT  sources  of  quotations,  ideas  and  

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points  of  view  through  accurate  bibliographies  and  referencing.    “Failure  to  comply  with  this  requirement  will  be  viewed  as  plagiarism  and  will,  therefore,  be  treated  as  a  case  of  malpractice.”  (Extended  Essay  Guide:  First  Examinations  2009,  16)    In  addition  to  the  above  information,  students  should  be  aware  of  the  fact  that  the  electronic  service  provided  through  www.turnitin.com  that  checks  for  plagiarism  will  be  used  by  instructors  to  monitor  academic  honesty.        

So……how  do  I  get  started?    

1.  Choose  a  group  in  one  of  the  areas  of  study  for  the  IB  programme  on  which  you  would  like  to  base  your  research  and  writing.    Extended  essays  may  be  submitted  in  one  of  the  subject  areas  listed  below:    English:    In  this  area,  students  may  choose  three  different  areas  of  study  about  which  to  write.    Category  1  includes  a  study  of  a  literary  work  originally  written  in  English.    Category  2  includes  a  study  a  literary  work  originally  written  in  English  compared  to  a  literary  work  originally  written  in  another  language.    In  category  1  and  2  these  essays  often  address  philosophical,  political,  or  social  questions.    It  is  important  that  students  are  not  simply  writing  an  essay  that  summarizes  the  views  of  literary  critics  that  are  already  out  there  in  the  research.    Essays  that  are  written  as  a  biography  of  literary  authors  are  not  acceptable  for  category  1  or  2.    Category  3  includes  an  essay  which  explores  a  study  in  language.    A  category  3  essay  analyzes  the  use  of  language  and  the  potentially  conflicting  viewpoints  on  the  text  based  on  cultural  difference  and  the  use  of  the  language  in  the  text.    If  you  are  choosing  an  essay  in  this  area,  please  see  Mrs.  Eastep  for  a  list  of  possible  essay  titles  to  use  as  examples.        Spanish:    These  essays  must  be  written  in  Spanish.    There  are  three  categories  for  a  Spanish  essay.    Category  1  is  language.    This  type  of  essay  should  be  an  analysis  of  the  use,  and  structure  of  the  Spanish  language  in  relation  to  its  cultural  context  or  a  specific  text.    Category  2  essays  pertain  to  culture  and  society.    These  essays  analyze  the  impact  of  a  particular  issue  on  the  impact  of  the  language  used.    These  essays  may  also  be  based  on  cultural  artifacts.    These  could  include  fine  art  to  newspaper,  magazines  and  cartoons,  to  films,  television  programs,  and  popular  music.  Category  3  essays  fall  under  the  heading  of  literature.    These  essays  should  b  e  an  analysis  of  a  literary  type,  based  on  a  specific  work  or  works  of  literature  that  are  written  in  the  target  language.      If  you  are  choosing  an  essay  in  this  area,  please  see  Mrs.  Eastep  for  a  list  of  possible  essay  titles  to  use  as  examples.      

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 Biology:      It  is  important  that  an  extended  essay  in  this  area  clearly  has  a  biology  focus  and  not  some  other  science.  It  should  also  be  researched  within  the  realm  of  a  scientific  investigation.    Essays  in  the  field  of  Biology  may  include  research  that  is  conducted  by  the  student  or  may  be  based  on  data  obtained  from  literature  that  the  student  manipulates  or  analyzes  in  an  original  way.    “Essays  that  simply  restate  facts  or  data  taken  directly  from  the  sources  are  of  little  value.”    (Extended  Essay  Guide  2010,  p.  36)  If  you  are  choosing  an  essay  in  this  area,  please  see  Mrs.  Eastep  for  a  list  of  possible  essay  titles  to  use  as  examples.          Business  and  Management:      Topics  in  this  area  provide  students  with  the  opportunity  to  review  business  theory,  concepts  and  principles,  and  critically  analyze  how  these  have  been  put  into  practice  in  the  business  world  and  the  impact  on  business  activity.    Students  writing  an  essay  in  this  area  are  expected  to  apply  business  theory,  tools  and  techniques.    Students  that  write  an  essay  which  simply  summarizes  research  rather  than  analyzing  and  evaluating  data  will  not  score  well.  If  you  are  choosing  an  essay  in  this  area,  please  see  Mrs.  Eastep  for  a  list  of  possible  essay  titles  to  use  as  examples.        Chemistry:    Topics  in  this  area  provide  students  with  the  opportunity  to  investigate  a  particular  aspect  of  the  materials  of  our  environment.    Essays  in  this  area  must  contain  a  chemical  emphasis  dealing  with  the  composition,  characterization  and  transformation  of  substances.    Essays  in  this  area  may  be  based  on  literature,  theoretical  models  or  experimental  data.    Essays  in  this  area  should  be  written  with  a  high  level  of  scientific  quality.    Essays  written  at  the  level  similar  to  a  newspaper  magazine  article  will  not  score  well.    Students  writing  essays  in  this  area  must  undertake  experimental  work.    If  you  are  choosing  an  essay  in  this  area,  please  see  Mrs.  Eastep  for  a  list  of  possible  essay  titles  to  use  as  examples.          History:    Topics  in  this  area  must  focus  on  the  human  past,  be  worthy  of  study  and  lend  themselves  to  systematic  investigation.    Essays  focused  on  events  in  the  last  10  years  are  not  acceptable  as  these  are  considered  current  affairs,  not  history.    Essays  in  this  area  must  focus  on  a  research  question  and  not  merely  summarize  secondary  sources.  If  you  are  choosing  an  essay  in  this  area,  please  see  Mrs.  Eastep  for  a  list  of  possible  essay  titles  to  use  as  examples.                    

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Mathematics:    Topics  in  this  area  allow  students  to  research  a  wide  range  of  topics  from  applicability  of  math  to  solve  both  real  and  abstract  problems,  the  beauty  of  math  as  in,  for  instance,  geometry  or  fractal  theory,  the  origin  and  subsequent  development  of  a  branch  of  mathematics  over  a  period  of  time,  measured  in  tens,  hundreds  or  thousands  of  years,  or  the  way  that  a  branch  of  math  has  been  born,  or  has  flourished,  as  a  result  of  technology.    Essays  in  this  area  should  not  focus  on  the  lives  of  mathematicians.    If  you  are  choosing  an  essay  in  this  area,  please  see  Mrs.  Eastep  for  a  list  of  possible  essay  titles  to  use  as  examples.        Psychology:    Topics  in  this  area  allow  a  student  to  actively  research  a  question  which  will  develop  communication  and  analytical  skills  in  the  area  of  behavior.    The  focus  of  a  paper  in  psychology  should  be  on  the  behavior  of  human  or  non-­‐human  animals.    Topics  that  fall  into  the  category  of  “pop  psychology”  or  “self-­‐help”  are  not  appropriate  for  an  extended  essay  in  psychology.    Essays  written  under  the  heading  of  psychology  should  use  terminology  embedded  within  the  IB  psychology  course.    If  you  are  choosing  an  essay  in  this  area,  please  see  Mrs.  Eastep  for  a  list  of  possible  essay  titles  to  use  as  examples.        

2. Develop  a  “research  question.”  To  earn  the  maximum  amount  of  credit,  the  research  question  should  be  clearly  stated  in  the  introduction  and  sharply  focused.        Examples:    English:    What  are  the  role  and  the  significance  of  dance  in  Pride  and  Prejudice  and  Emma?    Spanish:    Which  roles  do  women  play  in  tango  lyrics?    Biology:    Are  commercially  available  antibacterial  cleaning  agents  effective  at  controlling  the  growth  of  E.  coli  on  nutrient  agar  under  laboratory  conditions?    Business  and  management:    To  what  extent  has  the  introduction  of  Total  Quality  Management  (TQM)  improved  quality  at  ABC  Ltd.?    Chemistry:    Does  the  time  it  takes  to  brew  a  cup  of  tea  using  a  specific  commercial  brand  of  tea  leaves  significantly  alter  the  amount  of  caffeine  that  is  dissolved  in  the  drink?    History:    How  and  why  have  explanations  for  the  Cuban  Missile  Crisis  changed  since  1962?    

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Math:    How  does  the  exponential  function,  and  its  calculus,  inform  areas  of  science  such  as  nuclear  physics,  geology,  anthropology  or  demography?    Psychology:    How  can  findings  from  psychological  research  on  perception  differences  between  Asians  and  Americans  be  applied  to  website  design?    

3.  Find  a  mentor  and  return  the  mentor  agreement  form  to  Mrs.  Eastep  in  the  IB  office.  Your  mentor  teacher  does  not  necessarily  have  to  be  a  teacher  who  is  teaching  an  IB  course.    He  or  she  does,  however,  have  to  be  a  teacher  at  Pueblo  West  High  School.    Please  keep  in  mind  that  each  teacher  is  limited  to  supervising  one  essay.  

                                       

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IB  Extended  Essay  Supervisor/Mentee  Agreement    

Thank you for agree ing to ass is t me in the wri t ing of the ex tended essay for my IB diploma. I understand and apprec iate the ef for t that th is requires of you and promise to ful f i l l the commitments l is t ed be low: _____1. I will choose a topic that fits into one of the subjects on the approved extended essay list that the IB Coordinator discussed with us. _____2. I will observe the regulations relating to the extended essay as outlined by the IB Coordinator. _____3. I will meet all deadlines set by the IB Coordinator and my mentor. _____4. I will acknowledge all sources of information and ideas in an approved academic manner. _____5. I will start work early in order to not put my mentor in a position where he/she is unable to help me. _____6. I will think very carefully about the research question for my essay and discuss it with my mentor. _____7. I will plan how, when and where I will find material for my essay. _____8. I will plan a schedule for both researching and writing the essay, including extra time for delays and unforeseen problems. _____9. I will record sources as my research progresses rather than trying to reconstruct a list at the end. _____10. I will have a clear structure for the essay itself before beginning to write. _____11. I will check and proofread the final version carefully before submitting it to my mentor. _____12. I will make sure that all basic requirements are met. _____13. I will submit a copy of the rough draft of the extended essay to www.turnitin.com to check for plagiarism. Student  Name  _________________________________________________________________  Student  Signature  ______________________________________________________________  Year  of  Graduation_________________    Research  Question:    ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________          

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 Name  of  Extended  Essay  Supervisor  ________________________________________________    Please  initial  each  line  below  indicating  that  you  have  read  and  understand  the  responsibilities  of  the  EE  supervisor.    As  the  Extended  Essay  Supervisor,  I  understand  that  it  is  my  job  to    _____offer  guidance  on  the  research  and  writing  of  the  Extended  Essay.  _____ensure  that  the  chosen  research  question  satisfies  appropriate  legal  and  ethical   standards  with  regard  to  health  and  safety,  confidentiality,  human  rights,  animal   welfare  and  environmental  issues.  _____familiarize  myself  with  the  regulations  governing  the  Extended  Essay  and  the   assessment  criteria.    There  will  be  a  meeting  for  all  Extended  Essay  supervisors  where   documents  and  instructions  will  be  made  available.      _____read  and  comment  on  the  first  draft  only  of  the  Extended  Essay  (but  I  am  NOT  TO  EDIT   the  draft).  _____monitor  the  progress  of  the  Extended  Essay  to  offer  guidance  and  to  ensure  that  the   essay  is  the  student’s  own  work;  and  to  read  the  final  version  to  confirm  its   authenticity.  _____submit  a  predicted  grade  for  the  student’s  Extended  Essay  with  the  IB  Coordinator  _____complete  the  supervisor’s  report.    (This  is  basically  a  form  to  sign  off  on  verifying  that   this  is  actually  the  student’s  own  work.)  _____write  a  report  and  present  it  to  the  school’s  IB  Diploma  Programme  coordinator  if   malpractice,  such  as  plagiarism,  is  suspected  in  the  final  draft.    Signature  of  Extended  Essay  Supervisor  ________________________________  Date:  _______      

4.  Begin  working  on  your  research  with  the  guidance  of  your  mentor.    As  you  begin  the  research  process,  please  be  aware  of  the  importance  of  working  with  your  mentor  closely  for  guidance.    It  is  also  critical  that  you  are  working  closely  with  the  IB  Coordinator  to  meet  all  required  dates.    Ultimately,  this  is  your  responsibility.        

       

 

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Extended  Essay  Student  Deadlines  (These  deadlines  will  have  specific  dates  attached  that  will  be  given  to  each  candidate  

during  the  spring  of  his/her  junior  year.)  Junior  Year  January  5:   Candidates  meet  with  coordinator  to  review  

guidelines  and  requirements  of  the  extended  essay.    Candidates  should  also  visit  the  IB  Coordinator’s  office  to  read  sample  Extended  Essays  and  review  how  they  were  marked.    

 February  1:   Extended  Essay  supervisor/mentee  contract  

due  to  the  IB  Coordinator  with  the  research  question  identified  and  approved.      

 March-­‐August:   Work  on  researching  and  writing  the    between  jr./sr.  year:   extended  essay.    This  should  include  

periodic  meetings  with  the  candidate’s  mentor  

 April  30:   Evidence  of  half  of  the  research  for  the  EE  

due  to  the  supervisor.    Emails  will  be  sent  to  all  supervisors  from  Mrs.  Eastep  on  this  date  to  see  if  this  deadline  has  been  met.    

Senior  Year  By  first  week  of  September   Meet  with  mentor  to  review  progress  

during  the  summer.    October  31:   Draft  of  Extended  Essay  must  be  submitted  

to  www.turnitin.com.      November  29:   Extended  Essay  Final  Draft  due  including  

title,  abstract,  contents  page,  illustrations,  bibliographies,  references  and  citations,  appendices,  footnotes  and  endnotes  

 CSAP  Week:   Presentation  of  EE  to  juniors          

 

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Works  Cited  International  Baccalaureate  Organization.  Extended  Essay  Guide:  Diploma  Programme.  

Chippenham,  Wiltshire,  GB:  Antony  Rowe  Ltd.  2010.  International  Baccalaureate  Organization.  Handbook  of  Procedures  for  the  Diploma  Programme:  

May  and  November  2011  Examination  Sessions.  Cardiff,  Wales,  GB:  Peterson  House.  2009.