CAJCS Extended Essay Guide: CRITERIA D-FORMAL PRESENTATION

 It is important that students understand the distinction between the terms topic, title and research question.

• The topic of the extended essay is the subject, issue or theme that you are investigating within a specific DP subject or world studies area of study. The topic, which develops during the initial thinking about the EE, should later be reflected in the wording of the title.
• The title of the EE is a clear, summative statement that specifically focuses the topic being researched. It appears on the title page. A title should:
  • be short, descriptive and succinct
  • not be phrased as a question
  • use key words that connect with the topic and the DP subject or world studies area of study
  • attract the interest of the reader.
• The research question derives from the title and is expressed as a question that is intended to be answered through researching and writing the EE. It appears on the title page and could also be visible as a header throughout the essay. It should:
  • be clear and focused
  • provide a path through which you can undertake achievable research
  • use key words that connect with the topic, the title, and the DP subject or world studies area of study
  • support the development of an argument.

Candidates must declare their word count on the TITLE page of the EE.                                       As you need to upload an 
electronic version of your EE, it becomes very easy for the examiner to determine where the essay has reached 4,000 words (the word limit). 

Word Count:

The upper limit is 4,000 words for all ExtendedEssays.

The following font is required: the use of 12-point, readable font (Times New Roman / Arial)

AVOID:

Page numbers should be placed at the bottom right corner.

Your research paper ends with a list of all the sources cited in the text of the paper. This is called a Works Cited list.

Here are eight quick rules for this list:

• Start a new page for your Works Cited list (e.g., if your paper is 4 pages long, start your Works Cited list on page 5
• Centre the title, Works Cited, at the top of the page and do not bold or underline it. Look for the alignment option in Word.
• Double-space the list.
• Start the first line of each citation at the left margin; each subsequent line should be indented (also known as a "hanging indent").
• Put your list in alphabetical order. Alphabetize the list by the first word in the citation. In most cases, the first word will be the author’s last name. Where the author is unknown, alphabetize by the first word in the title, ignoring the words a, an, the.
• For each author, give the last name followed by a comma and the first name followed by a period.
• Italicize the titles of full works: books, audiovisual material,websites.
• Do not italicize titles of parts of works, such as: articles from newspapers, magazines, or journals / essays, poems, short stories or chapter titles from a book / chapters or sections of an Internet document. Instead, use quotation marks.

Open a new Microsoft Word document

Select: Paragraph
Select: Special -  Hanging   0.5"
Indentation: Left: 0"
Indentation: Right: 0"
Spacing: Before: 0pt
Spacing: After: 0pt
Line Spacing: Double

Do not add extra space between citations.

FOR MAC

1. Select the paragraph where you want to add a hanging indent.

2. Go to Format > Paragraph. 

   

3. Under Special, select Hanging. 

   

   You can adjust the depth of the indent using the By field.

4. Select OK. 

It is acceptable to include tables to show data and/or information related to the research question. Tables must never be used in an attempt to exceed the 4,000-word limit as this will get detected. 

GRAPHS

Level     Descriptor 

0 The work does not reach a standard outlined by the descriptors below.

1–2 Presentation is acceptable.

• The structure of the essay is generally appropriate in terms of the expected conventions for the topic, argument and subject in which the essay is registered.

• Some layout considerations may be missing or applied incorrectly.

• Weaknesses in the structure and/or layout do not significantly impact the reading, understanding or evaluation of the extended essay.

3–4 Presentation is good.

• The structure of the essay clearly is appropriate in terms of the expected conventions for the topic, the argument and subject in which the essay is registered.

• Layout considerations are present and applied correctly.

• The structure and layout support the reading, understanding and evaluation of the extended essay.

The IB is very clear when it says the Title Page (Cover Page) should have the following key information:

At CAJCS we also like to include. 

Do not include.   

EXAMPLE OF A TITLE PAGE

“A contents page must be provided at the beginning of the extended essay and all pages should be numbered. Please note that an index page is not required and if included will be treated as if it is not present.” From the IB Extended Essay Guide.

EXAMPLE OF TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS EXAMPLE - SCIENCE EE

DID YOU KNOW?

All major word processing software for example Google Docs, Microsoft Word or Apple Pages have a function that will help you make a Table of Contents. The table is generated and updated automatically which saves you an incredible amount of time and effort. If you’re not sure how to do this, here are some useful links to YouTube 

As part of the Presentation criteria, it is mandatory to double space your essay. This allows examiners to insert annotations when marking it while also making for a smoother reading experience. If you are using MS Word (PC), the spacing option appears here:

• Margins: 1-inch for top/bottom/right/left throughout your paper.

All images used in an Extended Essay should appear as near as possible to where you first reference them in the text. The images should contain a fully referenced caption as seen below: 

Fig. 1: Vinci, Leonardo Da. Mono Lisa. Musee du Louvre.

Lo Gioconda.Paris, 1503-1506. Oil Painting

COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHY UNDER THE IMAGE. IN THIS CASE NO NEED FOR LIST OF FIGURES

IMAGE WITH CAPTIONS AND COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHY IN THE LIST OF FIGURES

Works Consulted:  is the term used for the list of sources used in the preparation of a research project.  It is used to list background reading, summarized sources, or any sources used for informational purposes but not paraphrased or quoted.  It is used to document those sources referred to, but not cited in your Essay.

Works Cited:  is the term for the list of sources actually documented (paraphrased or quoted) in your project, generally through parenthetical citation. All of the parenthetical references in the Essay should lead the reader to this list of sources.

Should I use one or both?

• A student might prepare only a Works Consulted page if he or she did not quote or paraphrase at all in the project.

• A student might prepare only a Works Cited page if he or she paraphrased or quoted from and therefore cited all sources used. 

• A student might prepare both Works Consulted and Works Cited pages if, in addition to the sources cited in the project or paper, he or she also consulted other sources that were not paraphrased or quoted. 

Preparing the Works Cited and Works Consulted Pages:

·Head a new sheet of paper “Works Cited” or “Works Consulted”  (Do not use quotation marks around your title.) 

·Alphabetize your sources by author, or first entry, which may be an association or a title, if no author is noted. This should be easy if you have collected source cards. 

·Place the “Works Cited” page(s) immediately after the last page of the text. 

·If your paper includes both Works Cited and Works Consulted, the Works Consulted page should follow the Works Cited page.