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Extended Essay

A guide to ASW's research tools and supports to help you with the Extended Essay.

Reflection

Reflection Requirements

  • Three formal reflection sessions with your supervisor (first, interim, viva voce)
  • A 500-word reflective statement that is written at the end of the extended essay process.
  • Keep an ongoing record of your reflective thinking to support you in the writing of the final reflective statement.

Using your Researcher's Reflection Space (RRS)

It will be helpful to record...

  • personal reflections of the process of researching and writing your extended essay
  • your responses to artifacts such as photos, newspaper clippings, social media feeds, blogs
  • reactions to discussions that occurred in your classes or elsewhere
  • your brainstorming of ideas
  • your record of emerging questions.

Three Formal reflection sessions

  • Attend three reflection sessions with your supervisor (mandatory and recorded on the RPF)
  • Each session should last 20 to 30 minutes.
  • You need to be well prepared for the sessions, where your supervisor will prompt you with questions
  • The sessions will focus on progress made and help you set clear objectives for moving forward. You may therefore find it useful to share excerpts from your RRS in the session.

Why Three Reflection Sessions?

  • The first reflection session is a dialogue between you and your supervisor based on your initial explorations.
  • The interim reflection session is a continuation of the dialogue, where you demonstrate the progress you have made in your research. You discuss any challenges you have encountered, offer potential solutions and seek advice as necessary.
  • The final reflection session, or viva voce, is a discussion celebrating the completion of the essay and reflecting on what you have learned from the process. It is an opportunity to discuss holistic evidence of your learning, and the authenticity of your work. This session is also known as the "viva voce".

Writing the Reflective Statement

  • Your 500-word reflective statement is written at the end of the extended essay process and included on your RPF (Reflection Progress Form)
  • Keeping a thoughtful, regular record of your reflective thinking along the way is essential to putting together a satisfying, effective reflective statement to accompany your essay.

Resources to help write the reflective statement

  • My record of the viva voce
  • My record of the other reflection sessions with my supervisor
  • My completed extended essay
  • My RRS or any other record of my reflective thinking
  • Informal feedback from my supervisor and others

Ideas to include in your reflective statement

  • The main ideas discussed in the viva voce
  • Learning skills I developed that I could use elsewhere as a learner
  • Insights I gained from researching and writing the extended essay
  • Changes in my perspective on the topic
  • The impact of the choices I made during the extended essay process
  • Experiences and insights that could shape my future thinking

How the Reflection is Scored  see full details at the Assessment Tab

Examiners look for the following in the reflective statement.

  • Reflection on the extended essay learning experience is consistently evaluative and includes specific examples.
  • Reflection consistently shows evidence of the student’s growth and transfer of learning.

Evidence may include any of the following.

  • Experiences and insights that could shape future thinking.
  • Explicit examples of how skills learned could be used in other current contexts and in the future.
  • How changes in perspective impacted decision-making.

Preparing for your Reflection Sessions

Other Questions to Focus on...

  • Your ideas regarding the topic in general
  • The research question you have in mind
  • Initial background reading or research you may have conducted
  • Possible approaches
  • Initial thoughts about the answer to your research question

Guiding Questions:

  • What exactly do you want to find out?
  • What resources do you plan to use?
  • What problems do you anticipate?
  • To what extent does your topic fit within the subject EE criteria?
  • What sources have you found and what do you still need to find?
  • Have you collected sufficient data? (if applicable)
  • Why are you interested in research this?
  • Do you have sufficient knowledge in the subject area to fulfill the EE requirements?
  • Are there any ethical issues to consider before beginning this research?

The Second Reflection session usually falls somewhere in the middle to latter half of your EE process

  • Discuss how the research question has become more refined
  • Comment on any challenges you have encountered & what solutions you have attempted
  • Discuss how your thinking on your topic has evolved

Guiding Questions:

  • Where was I? Where I am now? Where am I going?

  • What sources do you find helpful?

  • How have you evaluated your sources?

  • Have you adopted a structure for writing based on what the IB requires?

  • What do you need to do next?

The Third Reflection can be written before the Viva Voce meeting to help you prepare for the conversation.

  • Offer your final reflections on the process
  • Discuss any achievements realized or challenges overcome
  • Discuss elements that allowed you to complete the task that may not be readily apparent in the essay itself.
  • Discuss any relevant ATL's (Approaches to Learning) that you have developed through the process & be ready to provide good examples.

Guiding Questions

  • What did you discover that surprised you?

  • Is writing the EE mainly about process or product AND why?

  • What would you have done differently and why?

  • What advice would you give to a student just beginning this process?

  • What have been the high and low points of the research and writing processes?

  • What would you have done differently?

  • What is the most important thing that you learned?

  • What was your greatest challenge and how did you overcome it?

  • What would you change if you did another EE?

  • What was the most valuable experience that you took away from the process?

  • What was your greatest challenge and what did you do to overcome it?

  • What IB learner profile attribute would you say helped you through the process (communicator, risk-taker, etc.)?

  • Would you like to continue reading on this topic?

  • What questions did this process raise?

  • What conclusions have you drawn about the topic?

Examples from the OLD GUIDE - to get an idea of what deep reflection looks like

Also see these examples with examiner comments

Writing Tips for your Reflection

Writing Tips:

  • Use strong active verbs (eliminate "to be"....am, is, was)
  • Personal interest
  • Research Planning
  • Concrete details/examples (brief)
  • Use words such as: choice, decision, progress, engaged 

Sentence starters:

  • "I decided to...."
  • "I gained insight when...because of...regarding...."
  • "I adjusted my approach when/because/due to/....in order to..."
  • "Based on ---, I decided to ---"
  • "I made progress when...."

Questions to Ask Yourself

Avoid using only description and keep descriptions brief. Use the prompts to spark your thinking.

See reflections with Examiner comments from the OLD GUIDE to get an idea of the level of thinking you want to attain.

Descriptive Ideas (limited reflection)

  • What did I do?
  • How did I undertake my research?
  • What were the problems I faced?
  • Did my approach or strategies change throughout the process?
  • What have been the high and the low points of the research and writing process?

Analytical Ideas (good reflection)

  • To what extent was my research successful?
  • If I changed approach or strategies during the process, why did I do this?
  • What did I learn from the experience in terms of my understanding of the subject area and/or skills needed?
  • How has my understanding of the topic and process developed?

Evaluative Ideas (excellent reflection)

  • If I did this again, what would I do differently?
  • If I did this again, would I change the theories applied, or my methodology?
  • Would there be a different outcome?
  • What can I conclude?
  • Were the strategies I used most appropriate for achieving my outcomes?
  • What questions emerged as a result of my research? Would these questions influence my approach if I did this all over again?