This is a complete guide to the IB World Extended Essay.
In this post, you’ll learn what World Study Extended Essay is, the right disciplinary approach to take, example topics, as well as how to write the essay. Our goal in this guide is to equip you with the knowledge necessary to get full marks in your World Study Extended Essay.
What is IB World Study Extended Essay?
The IB World History Extended Essay requires you to conduct a detailed investigation into an issue of global significance. The essay must be 4,000 words long and meet all the IB Extended Essay requirements.
World Study Extended Essay requires you to focus on one or two contexts, and you have to examine with great depth.
Since the interdisciplinary investigation addresses complex issues such as migration, global health crisis, global financial crisis, and infringement on human rights, you need to bring together aspects of a number of disciplines to address your topic.
Instructions given by the IB Program requires that you use two subjects in your WSEE investigation. Given the flexibility of the subject, you don’t have to address the topic in full complexity. Instead, aim to demonstrate knowledge that’s new to you.
A comprehensive World Study Extended Essay should be:
- Integrative: It should bring together forms of communication, concepts, and methods from two or more subjects.
- Purposeful: Your World Study Essay should either connect different disciplines to solve real world problems or help to address more complex issues in a new way.
- Grounded: The Extended Essay should demonstrate a clear rooting in disciplinary knowledge and understanding.
The Right Approach to World Study Extended Essay
Pick a theme from the six global themes in World Study Extended Essay and then find a topic that fits a general research area.
Select two of the most suitable disciplines, such as Biology and Economics. You will need these to explore your research topic.
Develop possible research questions and identify possible sources of relevant data. Your goal here is to determine if there are enough sources that allow you to explore the research your research question.
IB Extended Essay Example Topics
The following are some examples of potential topics that you can cover in your World Study Extended Essay:
- Worldwide financial crisis
- Global health concerns
- Disaster rehabilitation and relief
- Energy migration
- Infringement on human right
- Terrorism
- Disadvantaged groups
- Civil unrest and protest
Global Themes in Word Study Extended Essay
There are six global themes in World Study Extended Essay.
- Conflict, peace, and security
- Culture, language, and identity
- Environmental and/or economic sustainability
- Equality and inequality
- Health and development
- Science, technology and society
How to Write a World Study Extended Essay
Before you start writing a World Study Extended Essay, make sure the topic you intend to investigate and the arguments you’ll present are of global significance. Issues such as energy security, cultural exchange, racism, malnutrition, and globalization are some of the most interesting topics linked to the six global themes in WSEE.
Step 1: Choose a Topic and Develop Your Research Question
The topic you choose to explore should be an issue you are passionate about in the context of World Study Extended Essay.
It can also be about an interesting subject you’ve read lately or a topic you’re willing to investigate extensively.
Research the topic. Look through a variety of sources to find as many ideas and scope for your research as possible. Share your ideas with your EE supervisor, and don’t hesitate to ask them for advice.
Using the topic you’ve selected, develop a relevant research question for your investigation. Don’t worry if you don’t get the best research question right away. Look at your topic, write as many draft research questions as possible, and then pick one that makes the most sense.
Regardless of how many times you tweak your research question, it must reflect the contexts of what you’ll be investigating. So it helps to make sure your RQ is not only specific but also straight to the point.
Step 2: Choose 2 IB Subjects
Depending on the topic you choose to explore in your interdisciplinary investigation, your supervisor expects you to choose two IB subjects with a close correlation.
Say you choose to explore an issue on maternal malnutrition. In such a case, Biology and Economics would be the most suitable subjects to choose. Biology is a good fit because it’s a subject that allows you to explore nutrition and its impact on the development of the fetus. Economics, on the other hand, allows you to examine whether the lack of enough funding contributes to maternal malnutrition.
Look at the topic and the research question you selected in the first step and use them to select the most appropriate IB subjects. The subject you choose must be in the IB curriculum. Again, you can pick a topic from SL (Standard Level) or HL (Higher Level) in IB.
If you feel confused about what subjects would be suitable for your topic, don’t hesitate to consult your supervisor.
Step 3: Research the Topic
This is an important step in your World Study Extended Essay investigation. Because you’ll use the internet for your research, get information from reliable and trustworthy sources such as government websites, university repositories, research articles, and academic journals.
Look for relevant books from the local libraries for additional information. Many of these books have references in the bibliographies of many college and university papers, so they can be useful for your Extended Essay.
If your school allows, you can ask your supervisor to look into the sources you have selected and advice you whether they would be suitable for your interdisciplinary investigation.
Step 4: Write Your World Study Extended Essay
Writing your World Study Extended Essay shouldn’t be hard if you have done your research well.
Just like other types of Extended Essays, your WSEE should have an introduction, a body section, and a conclusion.
In the introduction, explain you chose to investigate the topic and state why you have a strong conviction that it’s the best topic to explore. State your research question, mention the scope of the essay in relation to the two subjects (picked in step 2), and explain how the subjects will help you answer the research question.
Follow this with an abstract. The word limit is 300, so you don’t have the space to include irrelevant information in the document. The information you include should be clear, concise, and direct to the point.
Write the body section of the essay well. Here, provide as much relevant information as possible to answer your research question. Write a strong conclusion, which should tie everything you have written in the body section.