What NOT to do on your EXTENDED ESSAY | my EE mistakes and advice!

The Extended Essay is dreaded by many IB students and I am certainly no exception. I had a pretty bad experience writing my EE (even to the point where I considered dropping out of IB!), but I persevered through those essay struggles. In this video, I share my tips and advice about EE topic selection, organization, research, writing and editing so you can avoid the mistakes I made!

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Hi! My name is Lilia. On Ivy Lilia, I post weekly and enjoy sharing about my experiences with college applications / admissions, the Ivy League, the International Baccalaureate programme, Cornell University / The Hotel School, and more!

[cleohlee]

1. Don't pick a topic out of your wheelhouse
- NO interdisciplinary research question!
- You don't have to reinvent the wheel--just a bit of nuance, but there should be research available.

2. Don't start before you know exactly what you'll write
-Need a short, concise table of contents!
-Ensure you know how exactly you'll answer your research question; take the rq as guidance for your essay.
-You need to know how each of your paragraphs contributes to your overall argument.

3. Don't start too early and don't start editing far after you started writing.
-The day after you wrote out your first draft, take to someone else and walk them through your arguments without looking at that essay.
-Don't put your first draft on the backburner--there's a chance you don't know what you meant.

4. Don't overlook the importance of good grammar.
-bad grammar doesn't equal a bad argument.
-you'll feel better about your paper with good writing. you might be frustrated with the writing itself rather than the content.

5. Don't overthink the EE!
-It's just a stepping stone in getting your diploma.
-Practice, yes, but it won't make or break you.

[elenas]

Lol I'm writing my EE now and having someone else say "your first draft doesn't have to be perfect" makes the realization actually settle in. Love the video and thanks for the advice :)

[aleksanderpyka]

Whining time! I am writing an EE in psychology and turned in my draft in December. One week later my teacher told me that it was absolutely excellent and only minor changes needed to be made. I was over the moon. Cue a psychology class two weeks ago - my supervisor has just come back from a conference and said that she has bad news for all eight people who wrote a psych EE. She revealed that she did not know the subject specific criteria and only read them at the conference and therefore our essays were all shit. She advised that I write my essay again, completely from scratch. The deadline is two days from now and I’m still not finished even though I devote every bit of my time to writing. I really want to cry.

[heartoftarde]

you just described exactly where I am with my EE! I am way over word limit, started writing much too early (without an outline), and am still trying to fit my question to my essay! It sucks because I spent so much energy on it when I could have just gone for a straightforward question from the beginning :(

[clairechan]

Thank you so much😭I'm so frustrated about my future and I've been crying for so many nights, seeing someone that has gone through all of this and in a better place made me feel so much better

[Bxkatoowavy]

my final draft is due tomorrow and I haven't even finished my first draft :(

[berenice]

This was super super super helpful! I'm currently having to complete my EE in less than 3 weeks and this video really helped me stress less about it :)

[faradaycool]

Thank you for being so honest and not being snob, unlike most IB YT advice

[j.p.caruso]

Excellent advice! I hope ALL who watch this take your suggestions to heart. It will save them tremendous grief.

[savedaccount]

I'm in the final editing process and I really loved this!

[alyr]

ahh I've just started my EE - this has helped so much!!

[yukolin]

Thank you for being so nice and comforting, I'm entering grade 10 and transferring to a ib international school ( even though I studied in a Chinese school for 10 years) . I was really frustrated with my future in high School because I thing my English isn't good and I'm scared of ib . But your video really comfort me a lot. TY:)

[nightcorelover]

You're so underrated! You're awesome

[novoti]

I am going to write my Extended Essay. The truth is that I do not overthink about it, but it is impossible do not worry a little bit...

I want to congratulate you for the video :-) It was funny and interesting.

[diegoavila]

Lilia, I will begin doing IB here in Switzerland for the next two years.

My subjects:
-Physics SL
-English A (Lit&Perf) SL
-French B SL
-Math AI HL
-History HL
-Geography HL

I just expect to get this.

I do care about all that, and I actually think it is good to get out of the comfort zone.
I possibly do my EE on History.

[niki]

can you plz make a video about how you managed your time preparing for SAT and doing IB

[nataszam]

I'm so happy I watched this now and not a day later. Thank you for this video :)

[caroamatt]

im a pre-IB student and im just freaking out but you transmit such a peaceful vibe im not that afraid anymore lol<3

[May-btdw]

Thank you so much for your tips!! I am a huge mess in this whole IB thing :c but you helped me

[engels_diary]

i am 14 years old in my first IB year. This 3 first months of school have been hell for me. Tmr i have to give my EE topic and i haven't thought of it yet.
I hate the amount of pressure i am feeling at this age.