The+Extended+Essay+–+Overview

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One interesting option for WFS IB History students is to write an Extended Essay in history. This gives students another chance, on top of the Historical Investigation, to apply all the principal historical skills. Students again select and formulate their own research question, and then proceed to answer it in a structured paper of no more than 4,000 words. Students are encouraged to start working on this project about a year before it is due, which allows most of them a chance to produce their best work. This is a student's best opportunity to produce a research work of unimpeachable quality, and to demonstrate their personal mastery of the most demanding historical skills.======

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Within the IB program the Extended Essay serves to fulfill one of the cross-disciplinary, central requirements for the IB Diploma, together with TOK and CAS. It is assessed by outside IB examiners, and it score is combined with the student's TOK score to determine the award of up to three IB Diploma points. However, although the Extended Essay does not contribute specifically to a student's IB History score, WFS History Department rules require that anyone taking on an Extended Essay in History be a history student as a junior. This is to ensure that all candidates receive the training in historical thinking and writing required for successful work. The Extended Essay must be started in the fall of the junior year and completed in the fall of the senior year of the two-year IB program of studies.======

===Comparison with the Historical Investigation===


 * Similarities:**
 * Both the HI and the EE in History ask students to choose an interesting question which they research thoroughly and answer coherently through critical evaluation of evidence.


 * Differences:**
 * The HI is only 2,000 words long; the EE is 4,000 words.
 * The EE requires a much heavier emphasis on the use of primary source material than the HI.
 * The HI is structured into specific sections; the EE is structured more flexibly.
 * The HI rubric grades each section separately; the EE rubric grades each criterion across the essay as a whole.

Guidelines for preparing an Extended Essay
This section includes a step-by-step process, guidelines, and evaluation rubrics for carrying out an Extended Essay. Students should note that the standards applied are very similar to those for the Historical Investigation, making that section of this wiki also very relevant.

Sample Student Work
This section includes exemplary assessed Extended Essays in history written by actual students and teachers.