IBDP: Extended Essay

Writing the Paper

With your research organized, you can begin writing your paper. Follow these steps:

• Body Paragraphs: Each paragraph should focus on a single idea, supported by evidence from your research.
• Introduction: Introduce your topic and present your thesis statement (write your introduction after the body paragraphs because you will know your topic and argument well and will be able to concisely describe it.)
• Conclusion: Summarize your findings and restate the significance of your research.

Citing Your Sources

Properly cite all the sources you used in your research to avoid plagiarism. Follow the citation style required by your assignment. It's easiest to cite as you write, but be sure to check all citations once the essay is finished.

Final Review

Before submitting your paper to your supervisor for feedback, take the time to review it:

• Proofread: Check for grammatical errors and typos.
• Ensure Clarity: Make sure your arguments are clear and well-supported.
• Seek Feedback: If possible, ask a peer to review your paper for additional insights.
• Using AI: If you are writing in Language B, you cannot use AI to improve your grammar. In all other subjects, small edits or suggestions from AI tools are fine. However, a copy-and-paste rewrite of the entire paper or complete paragraphs is not acceptable and constitutes academic dishonesty.

The following structural conventions must be present in the essay you submit for assessment:

• Title page

• Contents page

• Introduction

• Body of the essay

• Conclusion

• Reference list or bibliography

In addition to the recognized structure of any extended essay, as above, it is also important to incorporate any structural conventions that relate to the subject(s) you are using.

Your extended essay should be clearly written in a formal academic style, appropriate to the subject(s) from which the topic is drawn. Given that the extended essay is a formally written research paper, it should strive to maintain a professional, academic look. To help achieve this, follow this formatting guidance:

• Font size 12 and 1.5 line spacing—this helps the examiner with on-screen marking.

• Page numbering (mandatory), beginning with the first page following your contents page.

• Anonymity—there is no student, supervisor or school name anywhere in the file submitted.

• A file size smaller than 10 MB. Consider the size of embedded images, which may add considerably to the file size, and optimize them if needed. Note that the reflection and progress form (RPF) is uploaded separately and is not part of the overall file size of the essay.

Submitting your extended essay in the required format will help set the tone of the essay and will aid readability for on-screen assessment by examiners.