Assessment of the Extended Essay
How is the Extended Essay Assessed?
From May 2018 new assessment criteria and a new emphasis was implemented for the Extended Essay. On this page we will look at the criteria, how they relate to ESS and World Studies essays and what this means for the Extended Essay process.
This information is adapted from the IB's own TSM for Extended Essays which you can find on the Programme Resource Centre of MyIB. It is very comprehensive and worth a look.
There are five criteria with a total of 34 marks
A: Focus and Method (total 6 marks)
B: Knowledge and Understanding (total 6 marks)
C: Critical Thinking (total 12 marks)
D: Presentation (total 4 marks)
E: Engagement (total 6 marks)
The grade boundaries in 2018 were as follows:
Grade | From | To |
---|---|---|
A | 27 | 34 |
B | 21 | 26 |
C | 14 | 20 |
D | 7 | 13 |
E | 0 | 6 |
To guarantee a pass you need 7 points.
Overall, the IB does not expect perfection or originality in the EE but credit should be given to the following/compliance of the subject criteria.
Best fit approach
The aim is to find the mark band descriptor that conveys most accurately the level attained by the candidate's work, using the best fit approach.
A best fit approach means that compensation should be made when a piece of work matches aspects of different mark bands.
The mark awarded should be one that most fairly reflects the balance of achievement against the mark band.
It is not necessary for every indicator within a mark band to be met for a mark to be awarded in a mark band.
Criterion A: Focus and Method
In this criteria, the examiner looks at the development of the research question and how the methodology will address the question. The examiner wants to see a focus on the research question throughout the essay and not just at the start and end.
Question | ESS Advice |
---|---|
What the criterion focus on? | The topic,the research question and the methodology make sure it is a question! If not, there is an automatic cap of 2...the research quetion is expressed but not clearly. The student should refer to the RQ throughout the essay - its worthwhile to add the RQ to a header on the document whilst completing the essay. It assesses the explanation of the focus of the research (this includes the topic and the research question), how the research will be undertaken, and how the focus is maintained throughout the essay.
An EE in environmental systems and societies should focus upon the interaction of the natural environment and human societies. Students must ensure that the topic would not be better submitted under a subject area within the experimental or human sciences. |
What do the IB want to see in this criterion? | Titles are required amongst other formal presentation requirements Key question: Has a focus been maintained on the research question throughout the essay? |
How is it assessed? | Maxiumum mark available is 6 |
Criterion B: knowledge and understanding
Question | ESS advice |
---|---|
What does the criterion focuses upon? | Context subject specific terminology and concepts |
What do the IB want to see in this criterion? | The EE must demonstrate an effective understanding of the place of the research question in a broader environmental systems and societies context. For example, in an essay on the effects of a specific human activity on the environment, the student may use repeated measurements on the ground, satellite images or maps. Students should show clear and perceptive links between their own study and the body of theoretical knowledge associated with the subject. The literature cited should predominantly come from acknowledged scientific sources and be applied effectively to support the student’s argument. Students need to show fluency in the use of appropriate environment-related terminology and avoid excessive use of jargon. Any technical terms that are used should be clearly explained. The student must demonstrate an understanding of these terms by using them appropriately within the text. Students should maintain a consistent linguistic style throughout the essay. Students are expected to use appropriate scientific and systems terminology. Key question: Are the terminology and concepts used throughout the essay indicative of the subject and area of research? Is knowledge and understanding of concepts evident and sustained throughout the essay? The EE must demonstrate an effective understanding of the place of the research question in a broader environmental systems and societies context. For example, in an essay on the effects of a specific human activity on the environment, the student may use repeated measurements on the ground, satellite images or maps. |
How is it assessed? | Maxiumum mark available is 6 |
Criterion C: Critical Evaluation
Question | Advice |
---|---|
What does this criterion focus on? | Research, analysis, discussion and evaluation |
What does the IB want to see in this criterion? | This criterion assesses the extent to which critical-thinking skills have been used to analyse and evaluate the research undertaken. This criterion carries the most marks (12 marks) accounting for more than a third of the marks available. When considering a candidate's performance against this criterion compensation should be given for performance in higher order skills. The criterion covers research, analysis and discussion/evaluation.
Key Question: Is there evidence of critical engagement throughout the essay in terms of an analysis and evaluation of the data, materials and sources? Does the discussion link to the research question and the sources? |
How is it assessed? | Maxiumum mark available is 12 |
Criterion D: Presentation
Question | Advice |
---|---|
What does this criterion focus on? | Structure and layout |
What does the IB want to see in this criterion? | This criterion assesses the extent to which the presentation follows the standard format expected for academic writing and the extent to which this aids effective communication.
Things to think about Does the student know to provide a section and subsection structure to their essays, with appropriate informative headings. Has the student properly refernces any charts, images or tables from literature sources included in the essay. Are these tables etc, relevant and referred to in the body of the essay? Is there large amounts ofraw data collected by the student? best in an appendix Of course tables and graphs should be included in the body of the work but they have to be learly labelled and referenced. Tables and graphs should be easy to read and informative and should only include processed data. Anything important and pertinent to the argument of the essay should be included in the body of the essay and not in the appendix; an examiner is not required to read anything in the appendix. For experiments where numerical results are calculated from data obtained by changing one of the variables, it is generally good practice to show one example of the calculation in the main body of the essay. The remainder can be displayed in tabular or graphical form. Key question: Are the layout and structural elements consistent throughout the essay? |
How is it assessed? | Maxiumum mark available is 4 |
Criterion E: Reflection
Question | Advice |
---|---|
What does this criterion focus on? | Process and research focus |
What does the IB want to see in this criterion? | This criterion assesses the student’s engagement with their research focus and the research process. It will be applied by the examiner at the end of the assessment of the essay, and is based solely on the candidate’s reflections as detailed on the RPPF, with the supervisory comments and extended essay itself as context.
Things to think about: Has the student been expected to provide reflections on the decision-making and planning process undertaken in completing the essay? The easiest way to do this is for the student to signpost some decisions during the process - this makes life much easier at the end! Students should be able to justify why they made those decisions and how the EE has evolved from their initial plan For example, students may reflect on:
Maximum word count is 500 |
How is it assessed? | Maxiumum mark available is 6 |