Is it possible for the theme of your AI project to align with your Extended Essay?
The International Baccalaureate (IB) program offers two unique assessments that play a significant role in the students' learning journey: the Internal Assessment (IA) and the Extended Essay (EE). While both assessments aim to challenge and engage students, they differ in their goals, methods, and topic selection.
The Internal Assessment (IA)
The IA is a project that showcases students' skills in a specific subject, often involving experiments, investigations, or analytical essays. It is designed to assess students' ability to apply subject-specific skills through focused, often practical or analytical investigations within the curriculum. The IA typically has a length of 6 to 12 pages or about 2,000 words and contributes to the final grade for the subject. Teachers provide guidance and feedback, and the assessment is assessed by teachers and external IB moderators.
The IA topic is constrained within the subject curriculum and tends to be narrowly focused, such as analyzing one article in Economics or conducting an experiment in a science course. Choosing separate topics for the IA and EE allows for the showcasing of a wider range of skills and knowledge.
The Extended Essay (EE)
The EE is an independent research project that allows exploration of a topic within an IB subject. It encourages independent, in-depth research on a topic of the student’s own choice, fostering personal inquiry, research skills, and critical thinking beyond classroom constraints. The EE is longer, with a maximum length of 4,000 words, and is assessed externally by IB examiners and contributes significantly to the core IB diploma score.
The EE involves a self-directed extended essay that requires formulation of a precise research question, critical analysis, synthesis of various sources, and adherence to formal academic research methodologies, including consistent citation and reflection on the research process. The EE topic allows students to select any topic of personal interest within one of the six IB subject areas, enabling exploration of a much broader or more specialized question, with freedom to design their own research question and methodology.
Support for the IB Journey
Navigating the IA and EE can be challenging, but with the right support, students can excel. RevisionDojo offers a platform that helps students refine their ideas, get feedback, and manage their time effectively, leading to success in the IA and EE. RevisionDojo provides guidance on refining topics to ensure they are neither too broad nor too narrow for both the IA and EE. It also offers tools and tips for planning research and writing timelines, feedback on initial ideas and outlines, and resources tailored to help with framing research questions, picking methodologies, and structuring work for various subjects.
Examples of Topics
An Extended Essay (EE) in the same subject could explore how phototropism impacts agricultural practices, while the Internal Assessment (IA) in Biology might involve testing how light affects plant growth. These examples illustrate the breadth of topics that can be explored through these assessments.
In summary, the IA is a subject-specific, shorter assessment emphasizing application and understanding of syllabus material often through structured, supervised tasks, while the EE is an independent, extended research project promoting critical thinking, depth of study, and university-style research skills on a student-chosen topic. Both contribute differently but importantly to the IB diploma requirements.
Education and self-development are emphasized extensively in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program through learning opportunities provided by the Internal Assessment (IA) and Extended Essay (EE). The IA, a project demonstrating skills in a specific subject, promotes learning through focused practical or analytical investigations within the curriculum. On the other hand, the EE encourages personal growth and independent learning by fostering critical thinking, research skills, and inquiry into a topic of the student's own choice.
