Extended Essay checklist

A finished draft can still have an unanswered research question, a conclusion stronger than its evidence, or a reflection form that has been left until the last minute. Work through the checks below with your own essay open. For each one, find the passage that supports your answer; if you cannot point to it, you have found something to revisit.

This is an IBLens self-check, not an official IB marking instrument. Confirm your school deadline and exam session with your supervisor. The assessment criteria change from May 2027, so use the rubric for your session rather than an older handout.

1. Check that the question and answer still match

  • Put your research question beside your conclusion. Does the conclusion answer that question, with the same scope and terms?
  • Read the opening and closing sentence of each main section. Can you explain how the section moves your answer forward?
  • Identify background that you needed while researching but that the reader does not need to follow the argument.

If your question changed during the investigation, check the title page, introduction and conclusion together. Correcting one heading will not fix a draft that still follows two different questions.

2. Separate evidence from what you claim it shows

Choose a paragraph that matters to your conclusion. Mark the evidence, your interpretation of it, and the link to the research question. A paragraph full of quotations or results can be well researched while leaving the interpretation to the examiner.

  • Can the reader tell which claims come from a source and which are your own reasoning?
  • Have you explained why your evidence supports this particular conclusion?
  • Where the evidence supports more than one reading, have you considered the alternative that matters most?

3. Make evaluation affect the answer

Find the limitation with the greatest effect on your findings. Explain what it changes: the confidence of your answer, the cases it applies to, or the conclusion you can reasonably draw. A list of weaknesses followed by an unchanged, absolute conclusion leaves the evaluation disconnected from the argument.

For May 2027 onwards, discussion and evaluation has its own criterion. The criteria guide explains the weighting; use this pass through the draft to check the reasoning, not to guess an extra mark for each limitation you mention.

4. Recheck the count, references and submitted file

  • Check the 4,000-word limit using the IB counting rules, including quotations and explanatory footnotes. The word count guide separates these from references and other excluded material.
  • Match in-text citations to the reference list. Check the original source for an important claim rather than trusting an earlier note.
  • Open the file you will actually submit. Check that headings, page numbers, tables, equations and images survived the export and remain readable.
  • Ask your coordinator which forms and files your school needs and when. The school submission process is not replaced by an online checker.

5. Check your own reflections separately

The essay cannot stand in for its reflection form. For May 2027 onwards, check your reflective statement against the RPF guidance. Use your actual decisions and learning, not a model reflection copied from another student or generated for you. Earlier sessions use the RPPF.

Turn the checklist into a short revision plan

Choose the unresolved issue that most affects your answer. Fix it, then reread the sections that depend on it. Leave cosmetic edits until the reasoning and evidence hold together. If you use IBLens with your supervisor's agreement, the free first half of the report can help you inspect the draft; the full report adds the remaining feedback and a ranked fix list, with up to 20 re-checks of the same work over 30 days. It does not write the changes for you or guarantee the examiner's mark.

Sources and related reading

The requirements above refer to the IB's Extended essay guide, first assessment 2027 and curriculum update. The checking sequence and revision questions are IBLens guidance. For the permitted feedback channels, see getting feedback before submission.

Ready to get specific feedback on your essay?

Paste your IA, TOK work or Extended Essay, once your teacher or EE supervisor has agreed to outside feedback, and see how it reads against the published criteria in a minute or two. The first half of the report is free: the range your total falls in, the overall comment and the first half of the criteria. The full report, with the estimated mark and the fix list, is $5.

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