“It’s not the EE, it’s your reaction to the EE!”

When asked, “Is the EE harder than you thought?” senior Stella Lee replied, “Hell yeah.”

Some of you may have heard of the Extended Essay, and many might even know that there is a good deal of mystery, excitement, and especially fear surrounding the issue. For most seniors, it is still a mystery because some of their EE’s are still incomplete or even untouched, even although the task was introduced a year ago. Some Grade 12 students are still in denial, able to openly discuss their avoidance tactics. When talking about this topic, Senior Yan Li replied, “I reject this interview”.

To answer your basic questions, the Extended Essay is an independent, self-directed, research essay required by the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP). Some of the requirements include:

1. Length of 3000 to 4000 words;
2. Topic related to one of the student’s IB subjects;
3. Sources cited in MLA format with accompanying in-text citations;
4. Students working regularly with an EE supervisor.

Many high school students already know the basics about the Extended Essay from listening to some of their siblings’ or upperclassmen friends’ anecdotes. Interviewing future EE writers, I noticed that there were many different opinions ranging from “I’ve got this” to “I don’t know what I’m going to do.” Even the freshmen seem to have gathered information about the EE; however, some of them don’t seem to be frightened of the future, such as optimistic student Sohum Sanjay Thadani who explains, “It’s two years away so I have a lot of time to prepare for it.”

For the juniors, however, it’s not so far in the future. The students’ levels of confidence are mixed and they’re all anxious about starting the Extended Essay. Well prepared grade 11 student Tiffany Chan already has a general idea for her EE subject and topic. Others may be facing some uncertainty, such as junior In Hwa Mo who states,  “I don’t know how I’m going to work on this. I don’t know what subject I’m going to choose.” The most important part of completing the EE, though, is your motivation and time management skills. Even with a subject and topic, you won’t be able to write an Extended Essay without these traits.

There have been some protests and objections against the Extended Essay being part of the IB diploma curriculum; some students deem it an unnecessary addition to the already existing program. I’m sorry to disappoint those of you hoping that the EE will magically disappear from the curriculum before your time because the Extended Essay is here to stay. The teachers still think that the EE is an important experience and component of the IB curriculum. IB History teacher Mr. Parker states, “Do I think the EE is an essential part of the IB curriculum? I don’t know… but it’s a good experience, especially in preparation for university.” Also, the EE allows students to have more freedom in researching and writing, which is a great way to figure out what they could study in college.

To the future Extended Essay prey, the seniors and the current EE slaves want to offer some advice. One of the non-procrastinators, Sammi Xu, has already handed in her draft and advises you to “finish everything during the summer and not to pick econ. Too much research! People are mean and they don’t fill out your surveys.” Stella Lee advises, on the other hand, “Don’t do your EE during the summer, especially if you didn’t get your topic approved.” To answer questions about choosing EE subjects, there is a consensus among everyone saying that math is the hardest and only the brave choose it. Art is the less risky route, but beware: science and economics require a lot of research and data collection, therefore you will be spending more time and effort on the EE than the rest of students. If done right, history, English and modern language will be the simplest to complete.

Last but not least, Ms. Martin-Bauer is the IB coordinator, and something to keep in mind is that you don’t want to get on her bad side even though it’s relatively easy not to cross that border. You just need to do three things: do your IB tasks on time, always be honest about your situation and NEVER run or hide from her—because she WILL find you.

And remember, kids, “It’s not the EE, it’s your reaction to the EE!”