Now it’s time to find a topic for your Extended Essay
Choose a subject that fascinates you, something in which you have a personal stake, so you can stay motivated throughout the EE process. You should be able to explain and identify your interests and why they are important to you.
Your research topic must fall into one of the six approved DP subject groups as follows or the World Studies option:
- Group 1: Studies in Language and Literature
- Group 2: Language Acquisition
- Group 3: Individuals and Societies
- Group 4: Sciences
- Group 5: Mathematics
- Group 6: The Arts
World studies allow students to carry out an in-depth interdisciplinary study of an issue of contemporary global significance, using two IB disciplines.
Feeling clueless about what to write about or where to start? Here are some tips to kick-start your research:
1. Make a schedule for your 'Topic Choosing Time.':
You won't locate your ideal topic until you devote significant time to thinking about it, despite all of your other assignments, CAS, and other obligations. That involves setting aside time for you that is solely dedicated to this.
Three-hour-long meetings spread out over three weeks may not seem like much, but they could be all you need to figure out what you want to write about. And you may spend three hours longer than you would have if you hadn't prepared ahead of time.
It's important to note that you should give yourself time between sessions to let your subconscious work on it on its own (time and sleep are both excellent for this!).
Don’t worry if you are not sure of the subject selection! List out your interest area and what you want to research. Afterwards, try to figure out how best you can fit it into the subject.
2. Choose a topic that is neither too general nor too specific:
If you're having trouble coming up with a topic that's neither too wide nor too limited, try brainstorming a comparison-based topic. When you go over the sample essays below, you'll see that many of them employ comparisons to make their major points.
The key to selecting a comparative topic is that the comparison must be noteworthy. To demonstrate the transformation in British theatre, I contrasted two plays, but you might compare how different regional dialects affect people's career prospects or how different temperatures affect lightning bug mating patterns. The reason is that analogies not only assist you to narrow down your topic but also aid in the development of your argument.
However, comparisons aren't the only method to obtain an ‘A’ on your EE. If you choose a non-comparison-based topic after brainstorming and are still unsure if it is too wide or limited, spend around 30 minutes conducting some basic research to discover how much content is available.
