Extended Essay Session 3

Extended EssaySession 3

Sydney workshop 14-15 July 2011

© International Baccalaureate Organization 2007

Topic choice: Choosing topics NOT teachers!

The greatest hurdle for the student They need guidance – a system1. Which discipline?2. Find a topic3. Is it appropriate4. Is it narrow enough?5. Does it involve any ‘double-dipping’?


What is the difference between a topic and a research question?

p13 ‘The research process’


Extended Essay Topics

What can the essay represent to the student? The opportunity to investigate a topic of general

interest Or of specific relevance to family or culture A useful document for university entry Flexibility in style of criteria so that it can really be

‘owned’

But it can be an extension of the a subject course and useful for examinations. Should it be?


How far is passion needed?


Problems of topic choice

1. Topics not linked to a discipline2. There is a criteria for writing the question. The

Student MUST do it themselves3. Students like macro questions.4. The criteria and guidelines must be checked for

every question before proceeding.5. Students are dogmatic!


Problems of topic choice: Example



Hanaho’s list1.The extent at which morals are sneaked into

children’s literature2.Humanity’s fascination with immortality.3.Metaphors in children’s rhymes and their origin

(eg Ring a Rosie and the Black Death)4.Communism and capitalism5. Chaos Theory



Atlantis King Arthur ‘Something to do with PE.’ Ancient Greek Theatre and its reflection on the

social, religious and political life of the Greeks


Typical Problem

After five months a student comes to the IB/EE coordinator and says one of the following:

‘My topic is too boring’

‘My supervisor does not help me, he never returns work submitted’

‘My supervisor agrees that this topic will not work, there is not enough information/the experiments have failed’

Think about the best way to help this student


Sorting out problems:

a real one from 2011


Read the Guide subject information about topic choice in your subject

TASK: Work in pairs on topic/question choice problems.Make suggestions to the student as to where to go next. You might even conduct a second interview.

Extended Essay Session 3

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