IB Extended Essay examples: what high-scoring EEs do differently

The Extended Essay is one of the most intimidating pieces of work in the IB Diploma Programme. At 4,000 words, it is longer than anything most 16 and 17-year-olds have written, and the open format (choose your own topic, design your own research question, argue your own thesis) leaves many students stuck. The best way to get started is to study strong IB extended essay examples and understand why they worked, not just what they said.

This guide walks through what examiners actually reward, gives you concrete example research questions by subject, shows the most common mistakes that drag scores down, and explains what separates a C-grade EE from an A.

What makes a high-scoring IB Extended Essay?

From May 2027 the IB marks Extended Essays out of 30 on five criteria: Framework for the essay (Criterion A), Knowledge and understanding (B), Analysis and line of argument (C), Discussion and evaluation (D) and Reflection (E). Discussion and evaluation carries the most marks, 8 of 30. Through November 2026 the essay is marked out of 34 on the older criteria, where an A has been 27 or more in recent sessions and Critical thinking carries 12 marks.

Examiners are not looking for a Wikipedia-style overview of a topic. They want to see a student take a narrow, specific question and subject it to sustained, disciplined analysis. The difference between a mediocre essay and an excellent one almost always comes down to three things:

Specificity of the research question. Vague questions produce vague answers. A question like "How does social media affect mental health?" cannot be answered in 4,000 words. A question like "To what extent did Instagram's algorithmic feed, introduced in 2016, correlate with self-reported anxiety scores among UK adolescent girls aged 14-17?" is narrow enough to actually investigate.
A genuine argument. High-scoring EEs take a position and defend it with evidence. They do not merely present information from both sides and conclude "it is complicated."
Engagement with counter-evidence. A sophisticated essay acknowledges evidence that challenges its thesis, explains why it does not overturn the argument, and emerges stronger for it.

IB Extended Essay examples by subject

Economics Extended Essay examples

Economics EEs are popular because students feel comfortable with theory, but they are frequently penalised for being too theoretical and not empirical enough. Strong Economics EEs apply specific microeconomic or macroeconomic concepts to a real, local, measurable situation. For November 2026, the guide asks for topics no more than approximately five years old, so the first and third questions suit May 2027 or later only.

"To what extent did the introduction of the sugar tax in the UK (2018) reduce consumption of high-sugar soft drinks among 10-16-year-olds?" This works because it picks a specific policy, a specific country, a specific demographic, and a specific measurable outcome.
"How effective has price-cap regulation been in limiting profit margins for energy retailers in Germany following the 2021-2022 energy crisis?" Strong because it uses a defined time window, a defined mechanism, and quantifiable profitability data.
"To what extent does monopsony power explain wage stagnation among supermarket shelf-stackers in regional Australia, 2015-2023?" Strong because it applies a specific market structure theory to a concrete labour market with accessible wage data.

History Extended Essay examples

Very recent events make risky History EE topics. For November 2026 the Extended Essay guide says essays on events of the past 10 years are not acceptable, as current affairs rather than history; the guide for May 2027 onward sets no fixed cut-off, but recent events rarely have a body of historical writing to engage with. The strongest essays work with historiographical debate.

"To what extent was Stalin's collectivisation policy driven by ideological commitment to Marxism rather than pragmatic economic necessity, 1929-1933?"
"How significant was the role of Japanese-American internment in shaping domestic opposition to civil liberties restrictions in post-war America?"
"To what extent did the Berlin Airlift (1948-1949) represent a turning point in Western Cold War strategy, rather than a continuation of pre-existing policy?"

Biology Extended Essay examples

Many strong Biology EEs are built on a self-designed experiment or other primary data, though a well-chosen published dataset can also work.

"How does the concentration of caffeine in growth medium affect the germination rate and early root elongation of Vigna radiata (mung bean) seeds?"
"To what extent does the gut microbiome composition of patients with Crohn's disease differ from that of healthy controls?"
"What is the relationship between ambient light intensity and the rate of photosynthesis in Elodea canadensis measured by oxygen bubble production?"

English Extended Essay examples

English EEs require close textual analysis focused on literary technique and its effect on meaning.

"How does Kazuo Ishiguro use unreliable first-person narration in Never Let Me Go to explore complicity in systemic injustice?"
"In what ways does the figurative language of confinement in Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar construct the novel's critique of 1950s American femininity?"
"How does Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's use of code-switching in Americanah function as a marker of cultural identity negotiation?"

Psychology Extended Essay examples

"To what extent does the evidence from twin studies support a genetic basis for schizophrenia over environmental explanations?"
"How reliable is eyewitness testimony as legal evidence, in light of psychological research on memory reconstruction?"

Physics Extended Essay examples

"How does the angle of incidence of a laser beam on a diffraction grating affect the spacing of interference fringes?"
"What drag coefficient does the relationship between the mass and the terminal velocity of a falling paper cone imply?"

What kills an Extended Essay score

The "big topic" trap

One of the most common reasons for a low score is a research question that is too broad. "What caused the First World War?" is a subject for a book, not a 4,000-word essay. The problem shows from the first page, and a question that cannot be answered in the space holds down Criterion A and everything that depends on it.

Description masquerading as analysis

Many students describe what sources say without evaluating why it matters. Discussion and evaluation accounts for 8 of the 30 marks from May 2027, as critical thinking did for 12 of 34 before it. In History, engage with historiography. In Biology, discuss limitations of your method. In Economics, apply theory to real data.

A weak conclusion

The conclusion must directly and explicitly answer the research question. It should not introduce new evidence or vaguely state "the issue is complex." A strong conclusion names the answer, acknowledges the strongest counter-argument, and identifies what further research would be needed.

Weak sources

Relying on Wikipedia or student essay banks as main sources tells the examiner the student did not engage seriously with academic literature. In the sciences, peer-reviewed journals are the standard to aim for; in the humanities, scholarly books and academic journals.

Why full Extended Essay examples are hard to find, and what to use instead

Complete, high-scoring Extended Essays are rarely published in full, and for good reason: the work belongs to the student who wrote it, and the marked examples the IB annotates go to teachers in support material rather than onto the open web. What does circulate online usually lacks the two things that would help you: the mark it received and the comments explaining that mark. A PDF with no score attached cannot tell you why it scored what it did.

So what most people want from an example is the answer to this: what separates a top-band Extended Essay from an average one? The difference lies in specific things each criterion rewards:

Criterion	What an average one does	What a top-band one does
A: Framework for the essay	The research question restates the topic and could fill a book; scope and method are never stated.	The question is narrow enough to answer in 4,000 words, the method fits it, and every section visibly serves it.
B: Knowledge and understanding	Sources are summarised one after another in the order they were read.	Subject terminology is used precisely, and sources are positioned against each other rather than listed.
C: Analysis and line of argument	Evidence is described and a claim follows, leaving the reader to assume the link.	Each finding is analysed and tied to the question, building one coherent argument.
D: Discussion and evaluation	Findings are restated in the conclusion, and the essay never says where its own sources or method fall short.	The significance of the findings is discussed with evidence and competing readings, and the essay evaluates its own strengths and limitations.
E: Reflection	The reflective statement describes the timeline: chose a topic, found sources, wrote it up.	The statement evaluates, with specific examples, what the research changed in the student as a learner.

If you sit your exams in November 2026, your EE is marked out of 34 on the older criteria (Focus and method, Knowledge and understanding, Critical thinking, Presentation, Engagement), and many older example essays and mark schemes describe that rubric. The table above uses the criteria for May 2027 onward.

See a full marked report

If you want to see what marking against published descriptors looks like on a whole piece of work, we publish three complete IBLens reports on the same TOK-style title at three quality levels, with the commentary explaining each band placement: Sample IBLens Reports. They are our own demonstration essays, so we can show them in full.

The faster route: check your own draft

Reading someone else's work tells you what good looks like in general. It cannot tell you what is missing from yours. IBLens marks your draft against these criteria. Without an account you get a free range for your total and, for most drafts, your weakest criterion with its feedback and the top risks. An AI check is outside help on the EE, so ask your supervisor before you use it.

Check my Extended Essay against the criteria →

Before you submit: get feedback on your draft

One of the hardest parts of the EE process is getting objective feedback. Your supervisor may be encouraging but not specific. By the time you have spent months on a topic, it is almost impossible to read your own essay with fresh eyes.

Check with your supervisor first: the EE guide says students are not allowed to receive assistance with any aspect of the research, writing or proofreading of the essay beyond that which is permitted through their supervisor. If they agree, IBLens reads your Extended Essay draft against the criteria for your session and gives you feedback on each criterion before you hand it in: where the argument loses coherence, where the sources need strengthening, and whether the conclusion actually answers the research question.

Final checklist before submitting

Does your research question appear word-for-word in your introduction and conclusion?
Is every paragraph contributing to your argument, or are some just providing background?
Have you engaged with at least one significant counter-argument?
Are all sources academic-quality and correctly cited?
Is your word count no more than 4,000, counted the way the guide counts it?
Does your conclusion explicitly answer the research question?
Have you written your RPF (or, for November 2026, your RPPF) as reflection that evaluates what you learned rather than describing the process?

The Extended Essay rewards students who treat it as an intellectual exercise. Choose a question you are curious about, narrow it until it feels almost too specific, and build an argument you are willing to defend.