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Are you in the process of writing your extended essay? Remember to plan it efficiently to fit within the word limit. Your work cannot exceed 4,000 words! There is no page limit. Keep reading to find out Clastify's recommendations on how to allocate these words to best meet the assessment criteria. We draw from our extensive experience with helping IB students achieve the best marks for their coursework.
EE word count
The exact word allocation for extended essays will vary between the subjects since they require a different structure. However what is common for every EE is the division between the introduction, the main body, and the conclusion.
Introduction
The introduction with background information should take up to around 600 words. This should be sufficient to describe the topic and aim of your essay, as well as state the research question, and hypothesis and explain the approach to conducting the study. In this part you will also define the key concepts relating to the investigation.
Here you can find a good example.
Main body
The main body is the most important of these 3 sections as it contributes to the greatest number of points. Therefore it should be the longest. We recommend using around 3,000 words. As it was already mentioned, the structure of the main body will depend on the subject, for instance:
In Group 4 subjects (such as Chemistry, Biology, and Physics) it will consist of variables, equipment, results, and analysis - see here.
In the case of History, these 3,000 words should be divided between the sources and their analysis - check out this EE.
Whereas the main body of the Economics essay will include the methodology (for primary and secondary data) and the analysis - as shown in this exemplar.
Conclusion
Use the remaining 400 words for the final conclusion and evaluation but remember that a high-scoring EE will contain elements of evaluation and mini-conclusions throughout the entire extended essay. Here, you will state the answer to the research question and highlight the key findings of your investigation. You are also expected to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your work, as well as propose ways for improvement and extension.
See this exemplar to get a glimpse of the matter.
Be careful, make sure to deduct the following because they are not included in the word count.:
Acknowledgments
Contents page
Diagrams
Labels — of five words or fewer
Headings on diagrams — of 10 words or fewer
Tables of statistical data
Equations, formulae, and calculations
Citations (which, if used, must be in the body of the commentary)
References (which, if used, must be in the footnotes/endnotes)
Bibliography
Appendices
We are hoping that you found this guide useful! We recommend such word allocation, however, you can adjust it to your preferences keeping in mind the number of points awarded for each EE section.
If you are looking for inspiration while writing your Extended Essay don't hesitate to check out the variety of free EE examplars available on Clastify. We also encourage you to visit our blog for more tips and recommendations regarding the IB coursework. Good luck!
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