Choosing & Refining Your Extended Essay Research Question
The Extended Essay (EE) is a 4,000-word independent research essay scored on five criteria (A: Focus and Method, B: Knowledge and Understanding, C: Critical Thinking, D: Presentation, E: Engagement). The first—and most important—step is formulating a research question (RQ) that is focused, original, and genuinely arguable. A good RQ is specific enough to be answered within 4,000 words, requires genuine analysis (not just description), and is tied to IB Subject-Specific Guidelines. Compare: weak RQ: 'What caused World War One?'—too broad, thousands of essays exist. Strong RQ: 'To what extent did the Anglo-German naval rivalry of 1898–1914 make war in Europe inevitable?' This is specific (Anglo-German, 1898–1914), arguable (to what extent), and focused. The RQ must appear verbatim in your introduction. Your supervisor will approve the RQ—meet with them early and often. IB examiners score Criterion A partly on whether your methodology (how you gathered and selected sources, what your analytical approach is) is clearly stated in the introduction. State explicitly: 'This essay will analyse primary sources X and Y alongside secondary historiography Z to argue that...'