The Best Extended Essays (Grade A Exemplars & Winning Strategy Guide)

What Makes an Extended Essay "Grade A"?

Before diving into exemplars, it is essential to understand the five assessment criteria that IB examiners use to evaluate every extended essay:

A Grade A essay (score 28–34) excels across all five criteria. The highest-scoring essays stand out because they demonstrate original thinking within a tightly scoped research question.

Best Extended Essay Examples: Humanities & Languages

History

Top History EEs analyze primary sources from a specific time and place, evaluating competing historiographical interpretations. The best examples narrow the scope to a local event or a single policy decision rather than sweeping decades of geopolitics.

• Example RQ: "To what extent did propaganda posters influence civilian enlistment rates in Manchester between 1914 and 1916?"
• Why it scores A: Tight geographic and temporal scope, primary source analysis (archived posters, enlistment records), clear methodology (comparative content analysis), and evaluation of source limitations.

English Literature (Group 1)

Grade A literature EEs go beyond plot summary to explore how literary techniques create meaning. They compare texts, examine authorial intent, or apply a critical lens (feminist, postcolonial, psychoanalytic).

• Example RQ: "How does Kazuo Ishiguro use unreliable narration in The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go to explore the theme of self-deception?"
• Why it scores A: Comparative structure, close textual analysis with embedded quotations, engagement with published literary criticism, and a thesis that develops through the essay rather than being merely restated.

Psychology

The strongest Psychology EEs design a focused experiment or conduct systematic analysis of published studies on a narrow behavioral phenomenon.

• Example RQ: "To what extent does color temperature of classroom lighting affect short-term memory recall in adolescents aged 16–18?"
• Why it scores A: Controlled experimental design, ethical considerations addressed, statistical analysis of results, and critical discussion of confounding variables.

Best Extended Essay Examples: STEM Subjects

Physics

Top Physics EEs collect original experimental data and analyze it with appropriate mathematical models. Examiners reward essays that acknowledge measurement uncertainty and discuss how results compare to theoretical predictions.

• Example RQ: "How does the coefficient of restitution of a squash ball vary with temperature between 20°C and 80°C?"
• Why it scores A: Original lab data with repeated trials, error propagation calculations, graphical analysis with line of best fit, and comparison to published material properties.

Mathematics

Grade A Math EEs typically explore a theorem, model, or application beyond the syllabus. They demand rigorous proof or modeling, and often feature fewer words (2,500–3,200) because formulas and derivations do not count toward the word limit.

• Example RQ: "How can Markov chains model the long-term probability distribution of weather patterns in Singapore?"
• Why it scores A: Clear mathematical formulation, original data collection, computational verification, and discussion of model assumptions and limitations.

Chemistry

The best Chemistry EEs feature well-controlled experiments with quantitative analysis (titrations, spectrophotometry, calorimetry) rather than purely qualitative observations.

• Example RQ: "How does the concentration of citric acid in commercially available orange juices compare to freshly squeezed juice, determined by acid–base titration?"
• Why it scores A: Systematic experimental procedure, repeated trials, percentage uncertainty calculations, and evaluation of commercial labeling accuracy.

Best Extended Essay Examples: Social Sciences

Economics

Top Economics EEs apply microeconomic or macroeconomic theory to a real-world market or policy, using primary or secondary data to test a hypothesis.

• Example RQ: "To what extent has the introduction of a sugar tax in Mexico (2014) reduced per-capita consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages?"
• Why it scores A: Uses real government data, applies price elasticity of demand theory, includes diagrams, and evaluates alternative explanations for consumption changes.

Business Management

Grade A Business EEs apply theoretical frameworks (SWOT, Porter's Five Forces, Ansoff Matrix) to a specific company decision, supported by primary research (interviews, surveys).

• Example RQ: "To what extent has Patagonia's corporate social responsibility strategy contributed to brand loyalty among millennials in the US market?"
• Why it scores A: Primary survey data, application of stakeholder theory, quantitative and qualitative analysis, and acknowledgment of sample limitations.

The Grade A Blueprint: 7 Steps to a Top-Scoring EE

• 1. Choose a subject you excel in — Your EE subject does not need to match your HL courses or university major. Pick the subject where you consistently score highest.
• 2. Narrow your research question ruthlessly — Replace broad topics with specific, arguable questions. Add constraints: time period, geographic scope, specific variable, or case study.
• 3. Plan your methodology before writing — Define how you will gather and analyze evidence. Examiners reward essays that explicitly state their method in the introduction.
• 4. Build your argument in layers — Each body paragraph should present evidence, analyze it, evaluate its limitations, and connect it back to your research question.
• 5. Engage with counterarguments — Criterion C (Critical Thinking) specifically rewards evaluation of alternative perspectives. Dedicate at least one section to opposing views.
• 6. Write your RPPF reflections with depth — Criterion E is 6 free marks. Show intellectual growth, challenges overcome, and methodological pivots across your three reflection sessions.
• 7. Submit a near-final draft for supervisor feedback — You only get one round of official written feedback. Make it count by submitting a polished, complete draft rather than a rough outline.

Common Mistakes That Drop Essays from A to C

• Research question too broad: "How does climate change affect the world?" is impossible to answer in 4,000 words. Narrow the scope.
• Descriptive rather than analytical: Summarizing what happened is not analysis. Always ask "why?" and "so what?" after presenting evidence.
• Ignoring word count strategy: Essays under 3,200 words in humanities almost always lack sufficient depth. Essays over 4,000 words lose their conclusion entirely since examiners stop reading.
• Neglecting the RPPF: Students who write superficial reflections ("I enjoyed researching this topic") lose up to 6 marks that would have been easy to earn.
• Poor source evaluation: Using only internet sources without assessing reliability, bias, or publication context signals weak research methodology.

How to Expand Your EE with Academic Depth

If your essay sits at 2,800 words and needs more substance, do not pad it with filler. Instead, add genuine analytical depth:

• Unpack implications: After every piece of evidence, explain its broader significance to your research question.
• Add a limitations paragraph: Discuss what your methodology cannot capture and how this affects your conclusions.
• Engage secondary scholarship: Cite and respond to published academic work that addresses your topic from a different angle.
• Use the arxvi Essay Extender: Paste your draft and let the AI expand your arguments by elaborating key points, adding analytical transitions, and strengthening academic phrasing — without introducing filler or changing your thesis.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)