EE+in+Science

Welcome to the Science Extended Essay Wiki. In this section you will find some general guidelines, sample essays and subject specific help. One of the biggest problems you will encounter is coming up with the initial question, your peers and teachers will have lots of ideas, you may also have a personal interest or may just find a newspaper of magazine article of particular interest. **You may also use the discussion link on this page to ask for help and give responses and ideas to others.**
 * Science Extended Essay **

**Four subjects are available:**
 * Biology
 * Chemistry
 * Physics
 * Environmental systems and societies

Number of students undertaking EE in Science: 2009 - 2010 - 6 students 2010 - 2011 - 8 students 2011 - 2012 - 6 students


 * General Help - [|Helpful framework.pdf] **

Your EE in a Group 4 subject should look like a very long lab report or submission to a scientific journal. It is highly recommended that your investigation be data-based. A relatively simple experiment could give you a higher end result than a more complex literature-based essay, where you would be using data collected by persons other than yourself. Keep in mind, though, that experiments with commonly-known results are unacceptable for an extended essay investigation.

If you choose to do a literature-based essay, you will be required to present and discuss data and put it into a new context or interpretation. It is not sufficient to do a summary essay based on what you have read – there **must** be analysis and interpretation that is yours and yours alone.

Regarding choice of topic, please ensure that your topic fits specifically within Biology, Chemistry or Physics. Many students start out with topics that are in-between subject areas (such as Biochemistry or Medicine) and are often inappropriate for an EE in Science. Check the current EE guide for subject-specific guidance.

The following headings should be used to organize your essay:

· Introduction – this should be the last section of your essay that gets written. It must include the following sub-headings:

i. Research Question should very early in the introduction. Your extended essay mentor can help you design a good research question. ii. Hypothesis and Explanation of Hypothesis which detail both your prediction about the outcome of your experiment and an explanation, based on theory (citations are a must here), which supports your hypothesis. iii. Variables, which should be identified as follows: Dependent, Independent, Controlled, Confounding variables

In addition, your introduction must include relevant background information. Keep in mind that the examiners are IB teachers from your chosen subject area, so it is not necessary to be overly simplistic here.

· Materials and Methods – this should be written in paragraph form. If you feel the need to include the minute details of your experiment (i.e. if you refer to specific steps in your error analysis, for example) it may be included as an appendix. This section is written in past tense, since you have already completed your experiment when you are writing your essay.

· Data Collection – includes your observations in words, tables and graphs. Relevant qualitative observations Summary data tables (again, raw data could be included in an appendix if necessary) which include some descriptive statistics such as means and standard deviations. Graphs are often a good way to show trends in your data, and are most useful included within the body of your essay.

· Analysis of Data – includes calculations such as rate of reaction, and analytical statistics. Check out Merlin, an add-in for MS-Excel which not only expands the range of graphs you can make, but can tell you what type of statistical test you should do for the type of data you collected, and has built-in functions that will do the statistical test for you. It is available at http://www.heckgrammar.kirklees.sch.uk/index.php?p=10310. (FREE!)

· Discussion – this is where you discuss whether or not your experiment has answered your research question. Error analysis, extensions to the investigation and unanswered questions are also included in this section.

· Conclusion – in one to two paragraphs, conclude your essay with what was learned during the investigation. It should refer back directly to the research question, and whether or not the hypothesis was correct. Sources of error may be reiterated here (briefly).

· Appendices – if necessary, this is where you include the details of your experimental protocol and raw data. This is only necessary if you specifically refer to them in your essay (i.e. in the discussion). Keep in mind that examiners are not required to look at your appendices, so if you really need them to see something (like a graph) it is probably best to include it within the body of your essay.

· Works Cited – this is not a “Bibliography” of all the books, journals and websites you consulted while writing your EE. Only list those works you specifically cited in your essay.

When writing, keep in mind your audience. Academic writing such as an extended essay requires more formal English than a letter, email, or creative piece. Avoid colloquialisms and contractions and don't add words just to increase your word count.
 * General Guidance **