- Which EE Guide Applies to You?
- The Correct Order of an Extended Essay
- What Goes on the EE Title Page
- EE Formatting Rules: Font, Spacing and Page Numbers
- What Counts Towards the 4,000 Words
- What to Put in Your EE Introduction
- Structuring the Body
- Writing Your EE Conclusion
- A Simple EE Outline You Can Adapt
- How Examiners Mark Structure
- Common Structure and Formatting Mistakes
Quick Answer
Put your Extended Essay in this order: title page, contents page, introduction, body, conclusion, then a reference list or bibliography. Appendices are optional and examiners do not have to read them. From May 2027, use 12-point font, 1.5 line spacing and page numbers starting after the contents page (the 2018 guide, used until November 2026, asked for double spacing). Every essay has a 4,000-word limit.
What You'll Learn
- Required order: title page, contents page, introduction, body, conclusion, reference list or bibliography
- Essays assessed up to November 2026 follow the 2018 guide; essays assessed from May 2027 follow the new guide
- New guide: 12-point font, 1.5 line spacing, page numbers from the page after the contents page, file under 10 MB
- Your name, your supervisor's name and your school's name must not appear in the essay
- Anything the examiner needs for your argument belongs in the body, not in footnotes or appendices
- Structure is now marked inside Criterion A (Framework for the essay), not in a separate Presentation criterion
Which EE Guide Applies to You?
The IB has replaced the Extended Essay guide that was introduced for first assessment in 2018. The new guide was published in February 2025, taught from August 2025 and applies to essays assessed from May 2027. Essays submitted for the May 2026 and November 2026 sessions followed the 2018 guide. The six required parts and the 4,000-word limit are the same in both, but the title page, line spacing, page numbering and the way structure is marked have changed. If you are retaking or resubmitting, ask your EE coordinator which version applies to you.
- 2018 guide (sessions up to and including November 2026): 12-point readable font, double spacing, every page numbered, a title page with the essay title, research question, subject and word count, and structure and layout marked under Criterion D, Presentation (4 marks).
- New guide (May 2027 onwards): 12-point font, 1.5 line spacing, page numbers starting after the contents page, a title page with your student code, research question, subject or subjects and word count, and structure marked within Criterion A, Framework for the essay.
- Both guides: the same six required parts in the same order, a 4,000-word limit, an anonymous essay, and a reflection form submitted alongside it (the RPPF under the 2018 guide, the RPF under the new guide).
The Correct Order of an Extended Essay
Both guides require the same six parts, and examiners expect to find them in this order. The order you write them in can be different: many students draft the body first and finish the introduction last. Appendices are allowed but are not a required part, and examiners are not required to read them, so they normally sit at the very end and hold only supporting material such as a blank questionnaire or raw data.
- 1Title page: the details listed in the next section, and nothing that identifies you or your school.
- 2Contents page: your section headings with page numbers. An index is not needed.
- 3Introduction: your topic and why it matters, your research question, the scope of the essay, the sources or methods you used, and an outline of your line of argument.
- 4Body: your research findings, analysis, discussion and evaluation, organised under headings that suit your subject.
- 5Conclusion: a final, summative answer to your research question, with limitations and unresolved questions.
- 6Reference list or bibliography: every source you cite, in one consistent referencing style.
Pro Tip
An acknowledgements or dedication page is allowed, but it is optional, does not count towards the word count, earns no marks and must not name anyone who would make you or your school identifiable.
What Goes on the EE Title Page
The title page is the examiner's first check that your essay is anonymous and focused. The two guides ask for slightly different information, so follow the version for your session. In both, word your research question on the title page exactly as it appears in your introduction: a question that shifts between the title page, introduction and conclusion suggests an essay that has lost focus.
- New guide (May 2027 onwards): your student code, your research question, the DP subject the essay relates to (or, for an interdisciplinary essay, the two DP subjects and the interdisciplinary framework it connects with), and the word count.
- If you used footnotes for anything other than referencing, the new guide says the word count on the title page must include them, with an explicit statement that the stated word count includes explanatory footnotes.
- 2018 guide (up to November 2026): the title of the essay, the research question, the subject the essay is registered in (for a language essay, also its category; for a World Studies essay, the theme and the two subjects) and the word count.
- Never include your name, your supervisor's name or your school's name. The new guide applies this to the whole file, not just the title page and headers.
Watch Out
Unlike the 2018 guide, the new guide's title page list does not include a separate essay title. If your school's template still has one, check with your EE coordinator rather than guessing.
EE Formatting Rules: Font, Spacing and Page Numbers
These rules exist to make on-screen marking easy, and a clean, consistent layout supports the structure strand of the criteria. The guides do not name a font: any clear, readable typeface such as Arial or Times New Roman is fine. Margins are not specified either, so use your word processor's standard settings unless your school says otherwise. Our Extended Essay support can explain how the criteria reward a clear structure, but checking your finished essay is for you and your supervisor, not a tutor.
- Font size: 12 point in both guides.
- Line spacing: 1.5 under the new guide (May 2027 onwards); double spacing under the 2018 guide (up to November 2026).
- Page numbers: mandatory. The new guide says to start numbering on the first page after the contents page; the 2018 guide asked for all pages to be numbered.
- Anonymity: no student, supervisor or school name anywhere in the file under the new guide; no candidate or school name on the title page or page headers under the 2018 guide.
- File size: under 10 MB under the new guide. Compress large images. The RPF is uploaded separately and does not count towards this limit.
- Figures and tables: label every one clearly and refer to it in your text, for example 'see figure 1'. Maps need the required elements, such as a scale and a key.
- Headings: use them to signpost your argument, but not so many that the essay feels fragmented.
Pro Tip
Set up your template before you write: font, spacing, heading styles, an automatic contents page and page numbers. It saves an evening of reformatting at the deadline.
What Counts Towards the 4,000 Words
The upper limit is 4,000 words for every Extended Essay, whatever the subject or pathway. Examiners are instructed not to read or assess anything beyond the limit, so an essay that runs over loses credit across all the criteria, not just one. If you write in Chinese, the limit is 4,800 characters (about 1.2 characters per word); in Japanese it is 8,000 characters (about 2 characters per word).
- Counted: the introduction, the main body, the conclusion, quotations, and any footnotes or endnotes that are not references.
- Not counted: the contents page, maps, charts, diagrams, annotated illustrations, tables, equations, formulas and calculations.
- Not counted: citations and references, whether parenthetical, numbered, footnotes or endnotes, and the bibliography or reference list.
- Not counted: the reflection form (the RPPF under the 2018 guide, the RPF under the new guide). The new guide also lists headers as not counted.
- Not counted and not assessed: an acknowledgements or dedication page.
Watch Out
Do not try to hide words in footnotes, tables or appendices. Both guides say an essay that puts important material in footnotes to evade the limit is compromised across the criteria, the 2018 guide warned that tables must not be used to get round the limit, and examiners do not have to read appendices at all.
What to Put in Your EE Introduction
Your introduction tells the examiner what to expect. The new guide describes it as presenting your topic, giving background, saying what you will focus on and stating your research question. Keep it tight, so that most of your 4,000 words go on analysis.
- Context: the background a non-specialist examiner needs, and no more.
- Purpose and significance: why the question is worth asking, in your subject and beyond.
- The research question, worded exactly as on the title page.
- Scope: what you will and will not cover, such as the period, texts, data set or case study.
- Methods and sources: how you investigated the question and why that approach suits the subject. If you ran an experiment or did fieldwork, describe the method fully enough for someone to repeat it.
- A signpost of your line of argument: the main stages the essay will move through.
Pro Tip
Draft a working introduction early so you stay focused, then rewrite it once the body is finished. Both guides note that it is often worth revisiting the introduction once the body is complete.
Structuring the Body
The body is where most marks are earned. It should read as a reasoned argument, not a sequence of notes: each section takes one step towards answering the research question, and the evidence in it is analysed, discussed and evaluated rather than just reported. Use headings and subheadings where they help, and follow your subject's structural conventions, which the new guide describes as rules that should be followed.
- Sciences: background theory, a method detailed enough to be repeated, results in a standard format with headings, units and numbering, analysis (with uncertainties in sample calculations), then conclusion and evaluation linked to the method. The new guide requires SI units.
- English and other language A essays: an introduction that names your texts and focus, body paragraphs that build an argument with evidence from primary and secondary sources, and a conclusion that answers the question in the light of your close reading.
- Economics, history and other individuals and societies subjects: sections built around stages of the argument, with clearly labelled diagrams, maps and graphs that you refer to in the text.
- Mathematics: explain the background, present the data or problem, then develop the mathematics step by step, explaining what each technique is for with an illustrative example.
- Interdisciplinary essays (new guide): show how the two subjects work together on the question, and apply the structural conventions of either subject where relevant.
Watch Out
Information that is important to your line of argument must not be put in appendices, footnotes or endnotes. Examiners are not required to read them.
Writing Your EE Conclusion
Your conclusion states what the essay has achieved. You can draw smaller conclusions throughout the body, but there must be a final, summative conclusion that relates directly to the research question. It should synthesise your findings rather than simply summarise them, and it must not introduce new ideas or evidence.
- Answer the research question in its own terms, for example 'to a large extent, because...', and say why.
- Draw together the key findings that support your answer and show how they connect.
- State the limitations of your sources, data or method and how they affect your confidence in the answer.
- Note unresolved questions or further research your findings point to.
- Make clear why the answer matters in the wider context of the subject.
Pro Tip
Read your introduction and conclusion one after the other. If the conclusion answers a slightly different question from the one you set, fix the question, the conclusion or both.
A Simple EE Outline You Can Adapt
This outline is illustrative, not an IB template. It suits an essay in a humanities or social science subject; adjust the headings to your subject's conventions. The word ranges are rough suggestions to keep analysis at the centre of the essay, not IB rules.
- 1Title page and contents page (not counted).
- 2Introduction: context, significance, research question, scope, methods and sources, outline of the argument (roughly 300 to 400 words).
- 3Section 1: the key concepts, theory or background your argument depends on (roughly 400 to 600 words).
- 4Sections 2 to 4: one stage of the argument each, with evidence, analysis and evaluation of sources (roughly 2,000 to 2,500 words in total).
- 5Counter-arguments or alternative interpretations weighed against your evidence, if they are not already built into the sections above (roughly 300 to 500 words).
- 6Conclusion: summative answer, limitations, unresolved questions (roughly 300 to 400 words).
- 7Reference list or bibliography, then any appendices (not counted).
How Examiners Mark Structure
Under the 2018 guide, structure and layout had their own criterion: Criterion D, Presentation, worth 4 of the 34 marks. The new guide removes that criterion. Structure is now one of three strands in Criterion A, Framework for the essay (6 of 30 marks), alongside the research question and research methods. At the top band, the structural conventions you use effectively support communication of your research. Structure also feeds Criterion C, Analysis and line of argument, because a clear line of argument depends on signposted links between your research question, findings and conclusions.
- 2018 guide (34 marks): A Focus and method (6), B Knowledge and understanding (6), C Critical thinking (12), D Presentation (4), E Engagement (6).
- New guide (30 marks): A Framework for the essay (6), B Knowledge and understanding (6), C Analysis and line of argument (6), D Discussion and evaluation (8), E Reflection (4).
Common Structure and Formatting Mistakes
These problems are easy to avoid and frustrating to lose marks on. Check for each one before you hand in your final version, because you cannot change the essay after that.
- Your name, school or supervisor anywhere in the file, including page headers and acknowledgements.
- A research question worded differently on the title page, in the introduction and in the conclusion.
- Adding an abstract. It is not one of the required parts and is not on the list of content excluded from the word count.
- Moving analysis into footnotes, appendices or tables to get under 4,000 words.
- Figures or tables without labels, or that the text never refers to.
- A contents page whose headings and page numbers no longer match the final version.
- Line spacing or title page details copied from an older template for the wrong guide.