Introduction to

ECONOMICS
EXTENDED ESSAY
How the 5 year rule impacts on the individual criteria?
Extended Essay
Criterion A

If the topic relates to a specific event, issue or policy, it should date from within the past five years. It should
not concern a future or hypothetical event. If the topic or research question is deemed inappropriate for
the subject in which the essay is registered, no more than four marks can be awarded for this criterion. This
applies to economics essays that breach the 5-year rule.
Criterion B
If the topic or research question is deemed inappropriate for the subject in which the essay is registered, no
more than four marks can be awarded for this criterion. This applies to economics essays that breach the 5-
year rule.
Criterion C
Failure to follow the five-year rule will limit the grade in this criterion to a maximum of three. Given that this
criteria is marked out of 12, then a ceiling of 3/12 is particularly prohibitive. If the topic or research question
is deemed inappropriate for the subject in which the essay is registered, no more than three marks can be
awarded for this criterion. This applies to economics essays that breach the five-year rule.
Overall
In the case of a particularly strong paper it would appear that there could be as much as a 13 mark penalty,
though it might not hurt a mediocre paper as much.
Presentation Of

THE ESSAY
This will be the front page of the extended essay and should include the following information:

the title of the essay

the research question
the subject (Economics)
word count.
You may note that the title page no longer contains the name of the student or the school because the work is
assessed anonymously.
Contents page
Which must also contain the relevant page numbers. An index page is not required.

Introduction
The introduction should tell the reader what to expect in the essay and should include the following components:

the specific research question must be included in the introduction

the focus of the essay
why it is worthy of study
the sources that will be used
the line of arguments to be taken in the essay.
Body Of

THE ESSAY
(research, analysis, discussion and
evaluation)

This section includes the main task of the essay and should be presented in the form of a reasoned
argument. As the argument develops the candidate should begin presenting all of the relevant
evidence, where or how it was discovered and how this evidence supports the argument. The author
may choose to include sub-headings within this part of the essay to help the examiner understand the
argument, but also to help the author structure their response.
An important point of note also is that examiners will not read any notes or appendices. Therefore it is
important for candidates to include in this section any argument that support the main findings of the
essay.
Body Of

THE ESSAY
(research, analysis, discussion and
evaluation)

Conclusion
The conclusion should state says what the candidate has completed in the essay,
including a recognition of any limitations in the research as well as any questions
that have not been resolved. While the essay may include subsection summaries,
the conclusion should include a final summative conclusion. This must relate to the
research question posed and not simply include a summary of the main points.
References and bibliography
Students should choose their style of academic referencing at the beginning of
the process so that they do not have to go back and include citations later in the
process. Candidates should also make use of the relevant reflection spaces and
as this helps to develop the main arguments.
Appendix
In this section students should include transcripts of any interviews or surveys
completed during the writing process.
 Using the EE Markband
How to use the EE mark bands?
The extended essay criteria contains a range of different indicators for each level. This is
especially true for criteria C, critical thinking as this is now graded out of 12. Therefore,
examiners may find it more difficult to find a grading criteria which exactly describes the
student work. On some occasions students may produce work which fits into different levels.
For example suppose a mark band requires candidates to demonstrate competence in three
areas but only achieves one completely, while the other two are only partially completed. In this
case the examiner would use a best fit approach to decide the exact mark band to award.

As the extended essay is assessed externally (and not by the school) EE supervisors are required
to provide a predicted grade to the IB. A full understanding of the criteria will also help
supervisors better guide their students in writing their extended essay. Simply put, a best fit
approach aims to award a candidate the fairest reflection, given the balance of achievement
against each specific mark band. Supervisors can still award a candidate a level if every
indicator in the criteria is not met, though may tend towards the lower end of the mark band if
one or more of the grade descriptors, within a level, are seriously lacking.
Using the EE Markband

Supervisors should take particular note of the candidates performance in the evaluation and
discussion skills (AO3) as well as their performance in their demonstration of analysis skills, listed
as (AO2). During assessment examiners will work upwards and continue until they find a
descriptor which most appropriately reflects the work being assessed.
As with all other assessment criteria, within the IB, students can still score at the highest mark
descriptors if the work is not faultless in quality, providing that it most accurately matches the
stated criteria.
 Focus on the criteria
Criterion A: Focus and method

This criteria assesses the candidates ability to write about the extended essay topic in a coherent and effective
manner. In order to achieve the top mark band for this criteria, candidates must demonstrate that they have
successfully completed the following:
How the research was conducted must be clearly communicated. This should be explained at the beginning part
of the essay and must be expressed in the form of a question. The focus and research question must also be
suitable for answering the topic effectively within the word limit of the essay. Extended essay supervisors must
be particularly vigilant in ensuring that students select a suitable research topic. The temptation for many
students in the IB is to select a particular area of interest such as the economic impacts of Brexit. In reality this
is simply too broad a topic to describe within the word limit of the essay. A far more suitable research question
might be the impact of the UK referendum decision on a small geographical area, perhaps one likely to be
directly effected by the decision.
The research methodology must also be complete and clearly connected to the research being undertaken. The
discussion detailed in the essay must draw on the research completed. The candidate uses appropriate and
sufficient sources in completing their work. This may be evident in the variety of the resources used as well as
the quantity used. Students must indicate in the introduction which theories and studies they intend to use and
how they will use them.
Candidates will need to explain, during the introduction how they will develop their argument throughout the
essay. In other words they need to explain their plan of how they will write their essay. Overall the introduction
now plays a larger element of the essay and for this reason the number of marks for this criteria has been
increased.
Maximum mark for this section 6.
Focus on the criteria
Criterion B: Knowledge and understanding
To score highly in ths section candidates must demonstrate excellent
knowledge and understanding of the relevant economics concepts. This
means also that the candidate has effectively used an appropriate array
of sources (this is also included in criteria A). The essay must show not only
a definition of relevant economics topics, included in the essay, but that
they have used them accurately in writing the essay. Simply providing a
textbook definition for a term such as demand elasticity would not be
sufficient to achieve the top mark band for this criteria.
Focus on the criteria
Criteria C: Evaluation
This is the most important assessment criteria under the new criteria as it awards the most
marks. To reach the highest grade boundary in this criteria, a candidate must demonstrate
evidence of the following:
The research completed during the essay must be excellent and builds on the relevant work
already written in this subject area. One way of achieving this is to focus on a local area or
problem that can be investigated. The research and analysis completed must be excellent and
relevant to the investigation. Almost all of the research is entirely focused on the scope of the
essay and adds to the overall quality of the content. Conclusions identified will be supported by
the research completed during the essay. There must be effective discussion through out the
essay containing a balanced argument, that is effectively supported by the evidence provided.
This section must include a critical evaluation of all the research completed and this must
highlight both the weaknesses and strengths of the research.
Maximum mark for this section 12.
Focus on the criteria
Criteria D: Presentation

The overall presentation of the essay must be good to score highly in this criteria. The essay must be well
structured, making it easy to read and follow the main arguments and conclusions. There are two main changes
from the previous criteria.
Examiners will no longer give credit for anything written in footnotes. Previously students could use footnotes to
clarify an argument and some students would use these footnotes as a way of getting around the word count.
Definitions must now be written in the body of the essay.
Students will no longer write an abstract under the new criteria. This will now be included in the introduction.
Citation will also no longer be assessed, although candidates may be penalised for academic dishonesty should
the citation not represent the work accurately.
The IB are also tightening up on the reference section. Examiners will penalise students in situations where a
candidate includes a number of sources in the References section which were not included in the body of the
work.
Maximum mark for this section 4.
Focus on the criteria
Criteria E: Engagement
This is a new criteria for the extended essay and assesses the candidates ability in planning the essay as well as
following through with the process. This criteria might also reflect the extent to which a student has reacted to
either set backs or additional information encountered during their research process. To score highly in this
section the candidate must demonstrate that the level of engagement, employed during the writing and
research process, has been excellent. It is likely that supervisors will have a more active involvement in assessing
this criteria, than under the existing criteria, which used a viva voce as the primary method of assessing the
student's engagement in the essay writing process. Under the new criteria students are required to submit
three reflections on the research process. The first of these will be early on in the process, the second will
consist of a meeting during the essay process and then the last of these will be conducted after the final viva
voce. IB refers to these as "Planning, Process and Product."
Schools using the Managebac system will find a tab for the 'Planning and Progress Form' on the EE page in the
right-hand column. This is where students can enter their reflections.

Maximum mark for this section 6.

Approaches to learning (ATL)

Approaches to learning (ATL)

The new extended essay guide now includes all five ATL skills - thinking,
communication, social, self management and research skills.
Supervisors are expected to monitor the ATLs through the essay supervision
process. For example, when writing their essay students will develop their own
verbal communication skills when discussing their ideas and reflections with their
supervisor. They will also develop social skills through their research process. Writing
the essay also requires the student to develop significant self-management skills,
evident in their time management. The essay process will also test a candidates
ability to think critically about the research they have completed. It is also the
expectation that while researching and writing the extended essay the student will
develop life-long skills which can be used and developed within their DP studies but
also in their lives beyond the IB.
Formal reflection sessions: Form EE/RPPF

Formal reflection sessions

Under the new extended essay criteria, from the May 2018 session onwards, extended essay
supervisors must now complete a series of mandatory reflection sessions. These must be
recorded using the Reflections on planning and progress form. Each session should last between
20 – 30 minutes. The aim of these sessions is for students to share their reflection with the
supervisor. Sessions will focus on the progress being made as well as providing clear objectives
to help the supervisee move forward with their extended essay. Each session will consist of a
set of guided questions, posed by the supervisor.
One of the purposes of the reflection sessions is to ensure the authenticity of the student’s
work. After each reflection session the candidate should record their reflections on the EE/RPPF
(Reflections on planning and progress form), with the word limit for the three reflections set at
500 words. At the end of each reflection both supervisor and supervisee will sign and date the
form and at the end of the whole process supervisors must add their own comments. This
should be between 200 - 250 words and is taken into account when the external examiner
assesses the final essay.
The first reflection session
Before the first session takes place the student should complete their preliminary
research, including background reading and complete the first reflection in the
appropriate space. They should include the initial research proposal and an
explanation of have why they were interested in the area chosen and how the topic
is appropriate for writing an extended essay in the subject.
This initial reflection session should focus on the student’s initial explorations and
include some of the following topics:
the requirements and assessment criteria for the subject
the approaches that the student may take to complete their research as well as
a discussion of the potential problems that might arise
development of the student’s ideas and research
how the student may refine the research question, making it suitable to be
completed adequately within the word limit.
The interim reflection session

The second reflection session should focus on the progress the student has made towards their
research. This session might also address any challenges or problems that have been
encountered and how these might be resolved.
This should take place after they have attempted to refine an appropriate and sharply focused
research question and recorded relevant evidence and data in their researcher’s reflection
space. They should have reviewed and consolidated the methods they are using and formulated
arguments based on the evidence they have collected.
During the session the student needs to demonstrate the progress they have made. They should
be able to discuss any challenges or set-backs they are facing and offer possible solutions.
Suitable areas for discussion might include:
progress made since the initial reflections session
which resources have been used in the project so far
steps required to complete the first draft.
The final reflection session (viva voce)

The viva voce is a short interview conducted after the final submission of the extended essay
and is the final stage in the process. This takes the form of a final reflection on what the
student has learned from the essay writing process. The viva voce should last 20–30 minutes
and provide an opportunity to ask open-ended questions designed to elicit holistic evidence of
the student’s learning experience, as well as confirm the authenticity of the student’s ideas and
sources.
When completing the viva voce the supervisor must remember the purpose of the reflection
process. This is not to undertake do the examiner’s job but instead refer to the process itself,
highlighting areas that may not always be obvious when reading the essay itself. As a final
guidance the viva voce should begin and end positively, wherever possible.

Typical questions to be asked in the final reflection sessions:

what has the candidate enjoyed when writing the essay?
how has this project improved your knowledge of the subject?
what would you have differently if you took the process again?
what more could I have done to advise future EE students?
Supervisor’s comments
After completing the three reflections on the EE/PRRF form, the final task in the process is to
sign and date the EE/PRRF form, before adding the supervisor comments. Examples of
appropriate comments might include whether the student’s own comments represent a genuine
reflection of the process and provide a summary of the student's level of engagement in the
process.
The job of the supervisor is also to provide assistance to the external examiner in grading the
essay. This might include a reflection on how the student has reacted to any set-backs that
may have arisen. The supervisor should not provide a grade - this is job of the external examiner,
not the supervisor.
Supervisors may also include examples of economic concepts that the student understood well,
in situations where it may not be obvious simply from reading the essay.
Lastly, the form will be uploaded and the supervisor will then make a declaration to confirm that
they are satisfied that the whole essay is the student’s own work and that no plagiarism or
other form of academic misconduct has occurred. In situations where the supervisor remains
unconvinced they are allowed to decline to authenticate the essay.
Extended essay checklist

Extended essay checklist on formal presentation

Candidates should not submit the final version of your extended essay to their supervisor until
they have completed the following checklist. Completing each of the following tasks maybe
worth a significant number of marks.
Extended essay checklist
Point Action Check

1 Is the essay within the limit of 4,000 words?

2 Is there a content page?

3 Are all pages numbered?

Are all diagrams, charts and graphs indexed and labelled and sources referenced
4
where applicable?

5 All necessary terms defined / explained?

6 Is every reference cited in a footnote?

7 Are references cited consistently and correctly?

Does the bibliography include all and only the works of reference included in the
8
essay?

Does the bibliography specify author (s), title, date of publication and publisher for
9
every reference?

10 Are the bibliography sources cited consistently and correctly?

11 Does the appendix contain only relevant information?

12 Are all references to the appendix clearly cross- referenced and labelled?

13 Is the research question stated on the title page?

14 Is the research question stated and in bold in the introduction?

15 Is the research question stated and in bold in the conclusion?

16 Does the conclusion address unresolved questions?

17 Does the conclusion address new questions that have emerged?

18 Are the introduction and conclusion titled?