IB Extended Essay new criteria 2027: what changed and how to check your draft

If you sit your exams in May 2027 or later, your Extended Essay is assessed under new criteria and marked out of 30, not 34. Most guides online still describe the old rubric. This page sets out exactly what changed, what examiners now reward most, and what to check in your draft before you hand it to your supervisor.

Who is assessed under the new criteria

Exams in May 2027 or later: your EE is marked out of 30 with the new criteria below. For most students who began the DP in August or September 2025, this is you, including the draft you are writing right now.
Sessions through November 2026: the current 34-mark criteria (Focus and method, Knowledge and understanding, Critical thinking, Presentation, Engagement) still apply.
Not sure which session you are in? Your exam year decides it, and your IB coordinator can confirm.

The new EE criteria at a glance (marked out of 30)

Criterion	Marks	What it assesses
A: Framework for the essay	6	Research question, research methods and structure: do they give the essay an effective framework?
B: Knowledge and understanding	6	Comprehensive, relevant research materials used to establish knowledge of the subject matter, relevant terminology used accurately and consistently, and relevant concepts explained and used effectively.
C: Analysis and line of argument	6	Analysis of the research, with findings relevant to the research question, and a coherent line of argument.
D: Discussion and evaluation	8	The heaviest criterion: a balanced discussion of the significance of the findings, supported by evidence, and an evaluation of how effective the essay is, with its strengths and limitations.
E: Reflection	4	Evaluative reflection, with specific examples, on how the EE learning experience affected you as a learner: growth and transfer of learning.

What changed from the 34-mark rubric

Current criteria (through Nov 2026)	New criteria (May 2027)
A: Focus and method (6)	A: Framework for the essay (6), which now also carries the structural expectations that used to sit under Presentation
B: Knowledge and understanding (6)	B: Knowledge and understanding (6)
C: Critical thinking (12)	Split into C: Analysis and line of argument (6) and D: Discussion and evaluation (8), with research materials now assessed under B: Knowledge and understanding
D: Presentation (4)	Removed as a separate criterion
E: Engagement (6)	E: Reflection (4)
Total: 34	Total: 30

The 2027 guide replaces the world studies essay with an interdisciplinary pathway alongside the classic subject-focused EE, but the headline change for most students is the rubric above.

What this means for your draft

Discussion and evaluation is now the single heaviest criterion. Eight of 30 marks, more than a quarter of the total, depend on two things: a balanced discussion of what your findings mean, backed by evidence, and an evaluation of how well the essay itself worked, with its strengths and limitations. Under the old rubric both sat inside a broad Critical thinking criterion; now they have a criterion of their own. An essay that reports its findings and stops, or never says where its own method falls short, now pays for it.
Structure counts inside Criterion A. There is no separate Presentation criterion to lose marks on, but a confusing structure now weakens your Framework score instead. The essay must read as one designed investigation: question, scope, method and section plan working together.
Reflection is worth less, and it asks for something different. Four marks instead of six, around 13% of the total. The criterion rewards evaluating how the EE affected you as a learner, with specific examples of growth and of learning you can carry elsewhere. A description of the process is the lowest level.

How to check your draft against the new criteria

Framework: Can a reader state your research question, scope and method after the first two pages? Does every section visibly serve the question?
Knowledge and understanding: Is subject terminology used correctly and consistently? Would a subject teacher wince anywhere?
Analysis and line of argument: Does each body section move the argument forward, or does the essay read as a sequence of summaries?
Discussion and evaluation: Do you discuss what your findings mean, in a balanced way and with evidence? Do you evaluate the essay itself: what its method and sources did well, and where they fall short?
Reflection: Does your statement evaluate what the EE changed in you as a learner, with specific examples, rather than describe what you did?

Check your draft with IBLens

An AI check is outside help on your EE, so ask your supervisor before you use IBLens, and tell them if you do. If they agree, IBLens grades Extended Essays against both rubrics. In the grader, keep "Exam session" on Exams in May 2027 or later, the default, and your draft is scored out of 30 against the new criteria A to E above, criterion by criterion. Switch it to Exams in November 2026, or work submitted in May 2026 for the 34-mark rubric. The first preview is free (a range of totals and, for most drafts, your weakest criterion with its feedback and the top risks), and a full report costs $9.99, with no subscription. For May 2027, you can also paste your RPF so that Criterion E is marked on it.

Check your EE draft against the 2027 criteria →

Frequently asked questions

Is my Extended Essay marked out of 30 or 34?

It depends on your exam session. Sessions through November 2026 are marked out of 34 with the current criteria. From the May 2027 session onwards the EE is marked out of 30 with the new criteria (Framework 6, Knowledge and understanding 6, Analysis and line of argument 6, Discussion and evaluation 8, Reflection 4).

Which criterion is worth the most under the new rubric?

Criterion D, Discussion and evaluation, at 8 marks: the single heaviest criterion in the new rubric. Under the old rubric the heaviest was Critical thinking at 12 marks, which the new rubric splits into two separate criteria.

I am in the May 2027 cohort but my school still shares the old rubric. Which should I use?

Draft against the criteria you will actually be assessed with: the 30-mark May 2027 rubric. Many handouts and websites have not caught up yet. If in doubt, confirm your session with your IB coordinator, then check your draft against the new criteria.

Does IBLens support the new 2027 criteria?

Yes. IBLens is session-aware: choose "Exams in May 2027 or later" in the grader and your EE is graded out of 30 against Framework, Knowledge and understanding, Analysis and line of argument, Discussion and evaluation, and Reflection. The May 2027 rubrics for Psychology and Computer Science Internal Assessments are supported the same way. As with any outside help on the EE, ask your supervisor first.