A step-by-step writing frame for the IB Extended Essay, built for the new criteria (first assessment May 2027). Plan the framework — subject, question, methods, structure — then write the essay section by section, each paired with the criterion it earns, worked examples, and the traps that cost marks.
The planning sections are free — unlock every remaining section of this tool for a one-time £9.99, or get the 🎒 Diploma Pass — every subject for a one-time £24.99. No subscription.
📄 Official IB subject brief (ibo.org ↗) — your teacher or IB coordinator can share the full subject guide.
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This is roughly how your exported DOCX / PDF will read. Check the register is formal and academic throughout, and that you are inside the 4,000-word limit.
The Extended Essay is a 4,000-word independent research essay in a registered Diploma subject — and from first assessment in May 2027 it is marked against a new set of criteria. This examiner-written writing frame walks you through the whole process. You start with the framework that Criterion A assesses: choosing the subject and route, narrowing an area to a focused topic, writing a research question that is arguable and answerable in 4,000 words, designing research methods appropriate to your subject, and outlining the essay as steps of an argument with a word budget. Then you write the essay section by section — the introduction, the subject knowledge and scholarship, the analytical core, the line of argument tested against its strongest counter-positions, the balanced discussion of findings, the evaluation of your own methods and sources, and a conclusion that answers your question verbatim — finishing with the 500-word Reflective Statement and viva voce preparation. Every section pairs a place to write with the relevant criterion, worked weak-vs-strong examples, and the traps that cost marks. It is free to start and exports to DOCX and PDF.
From May 2027 the EE is assessed out of 30 marks across five criteria: A — Framework for the essay (6 marks: the research question, research methods and the structural conventions of the subject); B — Knowledge and understanding (6 marks: accurate subject knowledge and precise use of concepts and terminology); C — Analysis and line of argument (6 marks: material genuinely analysed, and one coherent argument from question to answer); D — Discussion and evaluation (8 marks, the heaviest criterion: balanced discussion of the findings and honest evaluation of the essay's own strengths and limitations); and E — Reflection (4 marks, awarded on the Reflective Statement). There is no longer a separate Presentation criterion, but clear formal presentation still serves criteria A and C.
The old three-reflection RPPF is gone. In its place, after your final viva voce with your supervisor, you write a single Reflective Statement of up to 500 words evaluating what the EE experience did to you as a learner — where your thinking changed, what you would do differently, and which capabilities you will carry forward. It is marked under Criterion E, and the strongest statements anchor every claim to a specific moment in the research rather than narrating a timeline.
The planning sections — the entire Criterion A framework — are free to use. Sign in to save your work to your account and pick it up on any device. When you are ready to write, unlocking the remaining sections is a one-time £9.99. Every section, worked example and trap is written by experienced IB examiners, so the guidance reflects what actually earns marks.
Out of 30 marks across five criteria: A Framework for the essay (6), B Knowledge and understanding (6), C Analysis and line of argument (6), D Discussion and evaluation (8) and E Reflection (4, on the 500-word Reflective Statement written after the viva voce). The separate Presentation criterion is gone, and the RPPF is replaced by the single Reflective Statement.
A single, focused, arguable question — usually "To what extent…?" or "How effectively…?" — appropriate to the registered subject and answerable within 4,000 words from sources you can obtain. Articulate it consistently: the question in the introduction must be exactly the question the conclusion answers.
4,000 words maximum, and the limit is hard — examiners stop reading there. Citations and the bibliography are not counted. The Reflective Statement is a separate 500-word piece written after the viva voce, evaluating the EE's effect on you as a learner; it carries Criterion E's 4 marks.
The planning sections are free — the full Criterion A framework. Unlocking the writing sections is a one-time £9.99. Your essay exports to DOCX (Word) or PDF straight from the browser, and signing in saves your work across devices.