Extended Essay - Recommended Subjects

Recommended Subjects

Although the extended essay may be written on a topic of the student's choice, it is recommended that it be taken from the field of one of the IB subjects being studied (e.g. the essay may be about a book that has not been studied as part of IB English). However, the topic must not be too broad or too narrow as to make it difficult to write 4,000 words, and the general subject must be taught under the IB diploma program by one of the members of staff at the high school (so that there is someone with expertise able to help). The subject (not topic) on which the extended essay is written is recommended to be one that the candidate has formally studied, but this is not required. Also, the EE may not be written across different subjects – it must concentrate on one subject only, unless the student is writing under the World Studies topic. However, some subjects include several disciplines, with an emphasis towards one. An example is the subject Societies, which can include chemistry, biology, psychology, etc. generally with an emphasis toward one discipline. Subjects such as Psychology and Social work may not be chosen for extended essays, as they have been deemed not challenging enough.