EE: Second Reflection (interim)

As part of your engagement mark (Criterion E), you will be required to fulfil 3 reflection sessions with your supervisor. Your reflection will be recorded in the Reflections on Planning and Progress Form (RPPF) and submitted along with your extended essay proper.

In this article we look into what is expected in the second (interim) reflection session and how you can best prepare for it:

What is expected in the Interim session?

In this session you must demonstrate to your supervisor the progress you have made in your research. You must also be able to discuss any challenges you have encountered, offer your own potential solutions and seek advice as necessary.


During this session your supervisor might discuss

• your understanding of the academic writing requirements, including referencing formats

• whether an appropriate range of sources has been accessed and how you are critically evaluating the origin of those sources

• what you now have to do in order to produce the full draft of your essay

By the end of the interim reflection you should both feel satisfied that there is

• a clear and refined research question 
• a viable argument on which to base the essay 
• a sufficient range of appropriate sources 
• a clear vision for the final steps in the writing process. 

How shall I prepare for this session?

By the time you meet with your supervisor, you should have

• refined your topic into a focused and appropriate research question

• significantly deepened your research and recorded pertinent evidence, information or data in the Researcher’s reflection space

• reviewed and consolidated the methodologies you are using

• formulated arguments based on the evidence that you have collected

• added to the working bibliography for your research.

Extended Essays in Cat. 3 (Eng A)

In theory, students of English A can do an EE in any category. However, if you are studying English A: literature, you may not be well placed to study a category 3 EE. If, on the other hand, you are studying language and literature at Standard Level you may find the demands of a category 3 essay challenging. 

For categories 1 and 2—focus on literature, click here.

Category 3—focus on language

A category 3 EE emphasizes the production and reception of texts in social, historical and/or cultural contexts. You should give focused and critical attention to the text or texts you are dealing with and your analysis must include a wider discussion of the contexts in which the text(s) are produced and understood.

In addition, examiners encourage you to:

• adopt an analytical, critical position
• show awareness of potentially conflicting viewpoints on the text(s) and their meaning in a wider social context.
• adopt an approach that is balanced, coherently argued, and illustrated by relevant supporting examples.

Note:

Essays that attempt to interpret the text(s) without considering the original audience and context are unlikely to offer a fully successful discussion. Essays that simply offer a general overview of a topic are not appropriate.

Your text or texts must have been originally produced in the language of your essay.

What counts as "text" for category 3?

The widest range of oral, written and visual materials present in society:

• single and multiple images with or without written text
• literary written texts and text extracts
• media texts, eg advertising campaigns; films, radio and television programmes and their scripts
• electronic texts that share aspects of a number of media texts, eg video-sharing websites, web pages, SMS messages, blogs, wikis and tweets
• oral texts, eg readings, speeches, broadcasts and transcripts of recorded conversation.

Please do keep in mind that any narrative and/or descriptive material included in your essay should be directly relevant to the critical analysis. A summary of your reading is not sufficient.

You can, where relevant to the topic, compare and contrast different languages and cultures. However, the essay’s main focus should be the language and culture(s) of the language in which you are writing.

Examples of topics and research questions—category 3

The examples are just for guidance. Apart from examples 1 and 7, each specifies a particular language so that the research question is precise. However, they may also work in another language and context.

Language in a cultural context

Students can explore how language develops in specific cultural contexts, how it impacts on the world, and the ways in which language shapes both individual and group identity.

Topic:  Gender

Research question: How has the portrayal of men in male grooming products changed from the 1980s to date?

Approach: A careful analysis of the contexts and the devices employed in at least two specific advertising campaigns in the target language culture, with some comparative element to the discussion.

Topic:  Language and communities

Research question: How do the Spanish press present controversies that happen during the Real Madrid and Barcelona derbies?

Approach: A careful analysis of the emotive language used to describe the controversial moments from the Barcelona and Madrid press (El País, El Periódico de Catalunya, Marca, As, El Mundo) focusing on a particular season. There will be an evaluation of the social and political stances taken by the different newspapers and an analysis of bias.

Topic: Language and communities (nation/region, subcultures)

Research question:  How are second and third generation Turkish young people portrayed in the German media?

Approach: A careful analysis of and comparison between three different media forms from a variety of viewpoints. There will be a focus on the nature of the language used to portray second and third generation Turkish youth (15–25 years old).

Language and mass communication

Students can consider the way language is used in the media, and may address how the production and reception of texts is influenced by the medium in which they are written.

Topic:  Language and presentation of speeches

Research question:  To what extent does Cristina Fernández de Kirchner use rhetorical devices to criticize international vulture funds?

Approach:  A careful analysis of the contexts and the rhetorical devices used by Fernández de Kirchner in a select handful of speeches in which she criticizes international vulture funds, with some comparative element to the discussion.

Topic:  The use of persuasive language in motivational speeches

Research question:   By what means do Steve Jobs and Martin Luther King seek to inspire their particular audiences?

Approach:   A careful analysis of the contexts and the rhetorical and emotive devices employed in Steve Jobs’ Stanford University graduation commencement ceremony speech (2005) and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” discourse (1963), with some comparative element to the discussion.

Topic: News coverage

Research question:   How do different newspapers vary in their reporting methods of racist incidents in English league football?

Approach:   A careful analysis of the emotive language used to describe specific incidents of racism in football as reported in daily newspapers (eg The Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mirror and a sports publication) and an evaluation of how far the stance taken on this issue is representative of each newspaper’s social, political and class bias.

Topic:  Textual bias

Research question:   How do different newspapers vary the way they convey their political views in their editorials?

Approach:   A careful analysis of the contexts and the language (choice of key words, rhetorical devices) used by two leading newspapers Asahi and Yomiuri issued on the 3rd of May, The Institutional Day (Japanese national holiday to commemorate their peaceful post-war Constitutional Law) for the past five years, with comparative elements to the discussion.

 More topics 

Topic: language and computer-mediated communication
Research question: How do readers recognize inauthenticity in email phishing spam?


Topic: language, age, and computer-mediated communication
Research question: How and why do different generations use language differently in email correspondence?


Topic: language, gaming, and computer-mediated communication
Research question: In Minecraft, which features of language are determined by the activity, and which by the fact that the game is played on-line?


Topic: media, language, ideology, and power
Research question: How are environmental issues represented in The Straits Times and New Internationalist (magazine)?

Topic: language, media, and persuasion
Research question: What rhetorical and stylistic strategies do estate agents use to persuade their readers in Singapore and the USA?

Topic: language, newspapers, culture and society
Research question: How similar and different was the reporting of school shootings in Dunblane, Scotland, in 1996, and Columbine High School in the USA in 1999?

Need help with formulating an appropriate research topic? Contact us.

EE: First Reflection Session

As part of your engagement mark (Criterion E), you will be required to fulfil 3 reflection sessions with your supervisor. Your reflection will be recorded in the Reflections on Planning and Progress Form (RPPF) and submitted along with your extended essay proper. Engagement is worth 6 points in total or 17% of your final EE mark.

What is expected in the first session? 

This initial reflection session will be a dialogue between you and your supervisor based on your initial explorations. It is a good idea to send your supervisor an outline of your research proposal before the meeting so that he or she has the chance to review your work. This will ensure that the reflection session is focused and productive.

Topics of discussion that will arise during this session include:

• a review of the requirements and assessment criteria for the subject

• a review of ethical and legal implications, if applicable

• a dialogue about possible approaches and any potential problems that might arise

• a discussion of strategies for developing your ideas for the essay and expanding the research so that the essay starts to take form

• probing and challenging questions that will help focus your thinking; this should lead to the development of a working research question

• an outline of the next steps that you should undertake in order to refine your question; this should take the form of a research and writing timeline.

How shall I prepare for this session?

1. Think about subjects and areas of particular personal interest and do some initial background reading into a subject and topic of your choice.

2. Using this as a starting point, explore a variety of possible research topics.

3. Read the subject-specific section of the Extended essay guide, paying particular attention to the nature of the subject and the treatment of the topic.

4. Undertake further background reading and begin gathering information around your area of interest. This exploration should give rise to a variety of topics and questions that you can consider for further research. At this stage it is important to consider the availability of reliable and valid sources for your topic. All of this should be recorded in your Researcher’s reflection space (RRS).

5. Begin developing a research proposal which might include a MindMap® of ideas, an annotated article or preliminary bibliography.

Additionally, you should already be thinking in terms of the following questions:

• Is my topic appropriate for the subject I am considering? 

• Why am I interested in this area and why is it important? 

• What possible questions have emerged from my initial reading? 

• Are there any ethical issues that I need to consider? 

• What possible methods or approaches might be used for research in this area and why?

Great Ideas for EE Categories 1 & 2 (Eng A)

Before looking at potential topics, it is worth knowing the parameters for an English A extended essay, so that you have a clear idea of the appropriate focus and scope for this essay.  We outline these briefly, here, before delving into viable topics.

A good research question in this subject will be one

• in which you are able to convey some personal critical judgement about literature.

• that is finally shaped after examining some available critical comment on the writer and the work(s)

• that is sharply focused and possible to treat in no more than 4000 words.

Studies in language and literature EEs are divided into three categories:

Category 1 Studies of one or more literary works originally written in the language in which the essay is presented.

Category 2 Studies of a literary work or works originally written in the language of the essay compared with one or more literary works originally written in another language. (The work originally written in another language may be studied in translation.)

Category 3 Studies in language based on one or more texts originally produced in the language in which the essay is presented.

This article focuses on categories 1 and 2, literary essays. For essays in language (Cat.3), click here.

Treatment of topics in literature

You should always consider how your chosen text(s) work as literature, dealing with aspects such as the effects they achieve, the devices they use and the way they are written.

You may choose as your topic a philosophical, political or social issue arising from a work of literature.  However, the major focus of your essay should be the literary treatment of the issue. You must not treat the literary work(s) simply as documentary evidence in a discussion of the particular issue. In addition, you should not use the essay solely as a vehicle for your own thoughts on the issue.  You must focus first on an analysis of the presentation of the author’s ideas. Then you can present your personal views on the way the author has treated the subject.

When using literary criticism aim for a compromise between building on the wisdom of experienced critics and introducing new personal elements. An essay that simply repeats the views of established literary critics will not receive a high mark.

Essays that interpret literary works in terms of the writer’s life tend to produce reductive readings based on second-hand information. Such essays receive low marks and the IB therefore advises students to avoid biographical topics. 

Examples of topics - Cat. 1

Topic An exploration of evil as a motivating force in drama

Research question How effectively does Christopher Marlowe present his view of evil in Dr Faustus?

Approach A detailed study of the play to include selected quotations to support the argument, with reference to secondary source material if appropriate.

Topic The treatment of prejudice in novels

Research question How far are the approaches to prejudice and discrimination different in To Kill a Mockingbird and The Kite Runner?

Approach The identification of types of prejudice (religious, racial, caste, gender, as appropriate) in the novels and the selection of detailed incidents and/or character studies for close analysis. Some background research into 1950s America and Afghanistan between 1970 and the mid-1990s may be helpful in establishing a context for the argument and a comparative element to the discussion.

Examples of topics - Cat. 2

Topic The portrayal of childhood in novels

Research question In what ways, and to what purposes, do Nabokov’s Speak, Memory and Proust’s Swann’s Way evoke memories of childhood?

Approach A close analysis of both works, with reference to secondary source material if appropriate, and some comparative element to the discussion

Topic The presentation of guilt in novels

Research question How important is the narrative structure to the way guilt is addressed by Bernhard Schlink in The Reader and Tim O’Brien in The Things They Carried?

Approach A close analysis of both works, with reference to secondary source material if appropriate, and some comparative element to the discussion.

Important aims ...

• the research question must be specific and sharply focused and stated clearly in the introduction of the essay. It should be formulated as a question, not a statement or proposition for discussion. 

• Avoid overly broad topics that cannot be dealt with adequately within the scope of the word limit. Similarly, too obvious a topic is unlikely to score highly in terms of criterion C.

• The introduction should state briefly why you have chosen that particular research question and what it has to offer. It should also indicate clearly how it relates to existing knowledge on that topic.

• The focus of your literary discussion should involve analysis of the text(s) in the light of the research question. You may also include the views of critics to support your arguments and points and include a critical perspective on our secondary source material.

• For categories 1 and 2 essays, appropriate sources include the i) literary text or texts that form the focus of the investigation and, ii) where appropriate, secondary sources such as published criticism on those texts.

• Avoid unduly limiting yourself by choosing texts that are not capable of sustaining a detailed in-depth literary analysis, eg some types of children’s literature or teenage fiction.

• For Category 2 essays include a brief rationale for the pairing of the texts chosen, indicating what might be gained from the comparative study being undertaken. Avoid taking an approach where the texts are dealt with in two separate discussions.

Need help discovering or formulating a research topic? Contact us.

EE Criterion C: Critical Thinking (12 marks)

This criterion assesses the extent to which critical-thinking skills have been used to analyse and evaluate the research undertaken. (IBO, 2016:)

• For all three categories of studies in language and literature essays, the analysis and argument should focus on the research question and support a personal interpretation.

• Students should aim for a detailed and critical consideration that develops their own argument rather than simply adopting the views of critics. Second-hand interpretations or viewpoints that are derived solely from secondary sources, or purely descriptive essays, will not score highly.

• The essays must focus on the analysis of the research material presented. Personal views should not simply be stated but need to be supported by reasoned argument.

• The conclusion should present a considered evaluation of the topic in the light of the discussion as well as findings or results from the research (as appropriate).

• Students are also encouraged to take a critical perspective on secondary sources: in particular, if students make use of internet-based sources, they should do so critically and circumspectly in full awareness of their potential unreliability.

• For categories 1 and 2 literature essays, a straightforward description of a literary text through plot summary or narration of the action does not usually advance an argument and should generally be avoided.

• This also applies to category 3 language essays that give only straightforward descriptive or narrative accounts of a text or texts that lack critical analysis.

EE Criterion E: Engagement (6 marks)

This criterion is applied by the examiner at the end of the assessment of the essay, after considering the student’s Reflections on planning and progress Form (RPPF). It assesses the overall impression the examiner has with regard to the student’s engagement with the research process and their subject area. (IBO 2016:126)

Students are expected to provide reflections on the decision-making and planning process undertaken in completing the essay. Students must demonstrate how they arrived at a topic as well as the methods and approach used. This criterion assesses the extent to which a student has evidenced the rationale for decisions made throughout the planning process and the skills and understandings developed. 

For example, students may reflect on: 

• the approach and strategies chosen, and their relative success 

• the Approaches to learning skills they have acquired and how they have developed as a learner 

• how their conceptual understandings have developed or changed as a result of their research 

• setbacks faced in their research and how they overcame these 

• questions that emerged as a result of their researchwhat they would do differently if they were to undertake the research again. 



Effective reflection highlights the journey the student has engaged in through the EE process. In order to demonstrate that engagement, students must show evidence of critical and reflective thinking that goes beyond simply describing the procedures that have been followed. Reflections must provide the examiner with an insight into student thinking, creativity and originality within the research process.  The student voice must be clearly present and demonstrate the learning that has taken place.

EE Criterion D: Presentation (4 marks)

“Criterion D assesses the extent to which the presentation follows the standard format expected for academic writing and the extent to which this aids effective communication”. (IBO 2016:105).

• Essays in studies in language and literature would normally be presented as a continuous body of text, although some category 3 topics may benefit from a section and sub-section structure to their essays, with appropriate informative headings.

• The use of charts, images and tables may also be appropriate for category 3 essays. They should only be used if they are directly relevant to the research question, contribute towards the understanding of the argument and are of a good graphic quality.

• Any material that is not original must be carefully acknowledged, with specific attention paid to the acknowledgment and referencing of quotes and ideas. This acknowledgment and referencing is applicable to audio-visual material, text, graphs and data published in print and electronic sources. If the referencing does not meet the minimum standard as indicated in the guide (name of author, date of publication, title of source and page numbers, as applicable), and is not consistently applied, the work will be considered as a case of possible academic misconduct.

• A bibliography is essential and has to be presented in a standard format. Title page, table of contents, page numbers, etc must contribute to the quality of presentation.

• The essay must not exceed 4,000 words of narrative. Graphs, diagrams or other illustrative material are not included in the word count. Students should be aware that examiners will not read beyond the 4,000-word limit, nor assess any material presented thereafter.

EE Criterion A: Focus and Method (6pts)

“Criterion A focuses on the topic, the research question and the methodology. It assesses the explanation of the focus of the research (this includes the topic and the research question), how the research will be undertaken, and how the focus is maintained throughout the essay” (IBO, 2016:101).

• Ensure your research question (RQ) is specific, sharply focused and stated clearly in the introduction of the essay. It should be formulated as a question, not a statement or proposition for discussion. Its purpose should be made clear to the reader and be related to the knowledge and understanding in context.

• Avoid an overly broad topic that cannot be dealt with adequately within the scope of the word limit. Similarly, a too-obvious a topic is unlikely to score highly in terms of criterion C.

• State briefly in your introduction why you have chosen that particular research question and what it has to offer. Your intro should also indicate clearly how your RQ relates to existing knowledge on that topic.

• Be sure in your planning and discussion focus to include analysis of your work(s) in the light of your research question. You may also include a critical perspective on secondary source material so that the views of critics are used to support your own arguments. The sources used must provide sufficient material to develop and support an argument and a conclusion relevant to the research question

• For categories 1 and 2 essays, appropriate sources include the literary text or texts that form the focus of the investigation and, where appropriate, secondary sources such as published criticism on those texts.  In both these categories, be aware that you may be limiting yourself by choosing texts that are not capable of sustaining a detailed in-depth literary analysis, e.g. some types of children’s literature or teenage fiction.  

• Category 2 essays should include a brief rationale for the pairing of the texts chosen, indicating what might be gained from the comparative study being undertaken. Avoid taking an approach where such texts are dealt with in two separate discussions.  

• Category 3 language essays based on a primary text or texts from the range indicated in the subject guide should also use secondary sources to provide a framework for a critical analysis of how language, culture and context shape meaning. 

• 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 language A essays that are based on inappropriate texts. 

EE Criterion B: Knowledge & Understanding (6pts)

"Criterion B assesses the extent to which the research relates to the subject area/discipline used to explore the research question, or in the case of the world studies extended essay, the issue addressed and the two disciplinary perspectives applied, and additionally the way in which this knowledge and understanding is demonstrated through the use of appropriate terminology and concepts.” (IBO 2016:102)

• For all three categories of essay, supporting source materials should be chosen appropriately and used effectively and purposefully to demonstrate an understanding of the wider issues involved.

• Clarity and precision of communication in a studies in language and literature essay includes the correct use of language. Students should be able to convey their ideas fluently and articulately. They should also be able to use subject-specific terminology appropriate to the discipline and apply it to their chosen topic with discernment.

• For categories 1 and 2 literature essays, the context should be established succinctly and should not be an excuse for padding out an essay with a lengthy account of the historical or biographical context of a literary text: the quality of the student’s understanding of the primary text is the main concern. The use of secondary source materials is helpful in terms of establishing a wider framework for the discussion; however,s this should not replace the student’s personal engagement with the primary text(s).

• For category 3 language essays, the introduction of the essay should focus on the chosen topic and how it relates to existing knowledge of that subject and/or why it is of special interest to the target language and/or culture. The text(s) should be explored and understood through a critical consideration of their specific cultural and/or linguistic background. The student’s personal experience or personal opinion should only be included if relevant to a discussion of, for example, the target audience for the text, and not as unsupported assertion.