The hardest part of the IB Extended Essay usually isn’t the writing, it’s picking a topic narrow enough to research in 4,000 words. Below are 150+ Extended Essay topics organized by IB subject group, along with what the EE actually requires, how it’s graded, and how to turn any of these Extended Essay topics into a research question your supervisor will approve and support.
What Is the IB Extended Essay?
The Extended Essay (EE) is a compulsory, independently researched paper of up to 4,000 words that every IB Diploma candidate completes with guidance from a supervisor at their school. Students choose their own Extended Essay topics, usually tied to one of their six Diploma Programme subjects, and either work within a single discipline or take an interdisciplinary approach that draws information from two. The process is meant to mirror university-level research: form a question, gather evidence, and build a critical analysis rather than summarize what’s already known. According to the International Baccalaureate’s Extended Essay overview, the essay represents roughly 40 hours of student work over the course of the Diploma Programme.
How the Extended Essay Is Assessed
Every Extended Essay, whether subject-focused or interdisciplinary, is marked externally by IB-appointed examiners on a 0 to 34 scale against a shared set of assessment criteria. Those criteria evaluate how clearly the topic and research question are framed, how appropriate the methodology is for the subject, and how much genuine critical thinking the analysis shows, and how well the student sustains a focused argument from introduction to conclusion rather than drifting into general description. The EE grade combines with the Theory of Knowledge grade to contribute up to 3 additional points toward the total IB Diploma score, and a student generally needs at least a D on the essay to be eligible for the Diploma. Full detail on how each criterion is weighted — and every claim in your essay needs a properly formatted citation; see our guide on how to cite an article in an essay if you’re unsure of the format — is available in the IB’s official assessment criteria guide.
The Reflection Process
Choosing a topic is only the start. Across the research process, students complete three mandatory reflection sessions with their supervisor, culminating in a final concluding interview known as the viva voce. These reflections are recorded on a form that becomes part of the submitted essay and gives examiners insight into how the student’s thinking evolved, not just the final product. Treat the reflections as a working log rather than a formality: noting where a source contradicted your assumption, or why you dropped an angle, is exactly the kind of engagement the IB’s guidance on the extended essay says examiners are looking for.
How to Choose a Strong Extended Essay Topic
A topic works as an Extended Essay subject when it can be narrowed into a single, answerable research question with real academic weight, not just a broad area of interest. Before committing to anything on the list below — or browsing our full essay topics and ideas hub for other assignments — check it against a few practical tests:
- Is it narrow enough? “Climate change” is a subject. “How did the 2018-2023 drought affect wheat yield variability in [a chosen region]” is a research question.
- Can you get the evidence? A great question about inaccessible archives, unpublished data, or a population you can’t survey will stall by week three.
- Does the subject group fit the method? A history EE argues from primary and secondary sources; a science EE usually needs original data collection or a defensible experimental design. Pick a question your discipline’s methodology can actually answer.
- Are you arguing something? If the essay could be answered by a Wikipedia paragraph, it’s not a research question yet. Look for a genuine point of debate, ambiguity, or gap in the existing literature.
Apply those four checks to every topic idea below before taking it to your supervisor. Most of these will need narrowing to a given place, time period, population, or dataset to work as an actual EE. If you’re still building foundational writing skills, our guide to how to write an essay covers structure basics that carry over directly to the EE.
Extended Essay Topics by IB Subject Group
The lists below are grouped the way the IB itself organizes Diploma Programme subjects, so you can jump to whichever group your EE will sit in. Several groups lean on social analysis, so look for topics where a measurable impact or influence can actually be traced, not just asserted.
Group 1: Studies in Language and Literature — English Literature
Strong literature EEs argue a specific interpretive claim, not a general theme summary.
- How does an unreliable narrator shape reader trust in two novels from different literary periods?
- How is grief represented through structure, not just imagery, in a chosen poet’s later collection?
- How does a defined author’s use of dialect function as a marker of class or identity in one novel?
- How does the framing of a female protagonist shift between a 19th-century novel and a contemporary retelling of it?
- How does non-linear narrative structure affect the reader’s understanding of memory in a chosen novel?
- How does satire operate differently in a chosen novel versus a chosen play from the same era?
Group 2: Language Acquisition
These work best when you can compare real usage data, not just describe grammar rules.
- How does code-switching function as an identity marker among bilingual speakers in a specific community?
- How do idioms in a target language resist direct translation, and what does that reveal about cultural values?
- How does age of acquisition affect accent retention in adult second-language speakers?
- How does a target-language advertising campaign use wordplay that would fail to translate directly?
- How does gendered grammar in a target language shape native speakers’ description of neutral objects?
- How does a selected regional dialect of a target language differ from its standardized form in vocabulary and syntax?
Group 3: Individuals and Societies — Economics
Pick a market or policy you can actually find data on before committing to the question.
- To what extent did a minimum wage increase in one city affect youth unemployment?
- How elastic is demand for a chosen good in a specific market following a targeted tax change?
- To what extent has a given subsidy program achieved its stated policy goal in a defined country?
- How has a selected trade agreement affected a specific domestic industry’s output over a defined period?
- To what extent does income inequality in one city correlate with access to a chosen public service?
- How did a given central bank policy affect inflation expectations in a defined period?
Group 3: Individuals and Societies — History
Primary sources make the difference here; confirm access before finalizing the question.
- To what extent was economic hardship, rather than ideology, the driving factor behind a specific political movement’s rise?
- How did propaganda in a defined state shape public perception during a defined wartime period?
- To what extent did a selected leader’s decisions, rather than broader circumstance, determine the outcome of one event?
- How did a specific resistance movement’s tactics evolve in response to occupying-power policy?
- To what extent did colonial-era policy in a chosen region shape post-independence political structures?
- How did a given technological development change military strategy in a defined conflict?
Group 3: Individuals and Societies — Psychology
IB psychology EEs analyze published studies rather than running new experiments on people.
- To what extent does sleep deprivation affect working memory performance in adolescents, based on published experimental studies?
- How does social media use correlate with self-reported body image concerns in a defined age group, according to existing research?
- To what extent do cultural display rules affect the accuracy of emotion recognition across two studied populations?
- How does exposure to a specific parenting style correlate with reported risk-taking behavior in adolescence?
- To what extent does bystander behavior in emergencies differ between individualist and collectivist cultures, based on existing studies?
- How does confirmation bias affect decision-making in a selected real-world context studied in the literature?
Group 3: Individuals & Societies — Geography
- To what extent has urban heat island intensity changed in a chosen city over the past two decades?
- How does coastal erosion rate vary between two beaches with different levels of human development?
- To what extent does access to green space correlate with reported wellbeing across neighborhoods in a chosen city?
- How has land use change affected flood risk in a chosen river catchment?
- To what extent does a chosen city’s public transport network reduce commuting-related emissions?
- How does water scarcity shape environmental and agricultural practice in a chosen semi-arid region?
Group 3: Individuals & Societies — Business Management
Choose a company with public financial or marketing data you can actually reference.
- To what extent did a chosen company’s pricing strategy change affect its market share over a defined period?
- How effective was a chosen company’s response to a specific supply chain disruption?
- To what extent does employee satisfaction correlate with productivity at a chosen, accessible organization?
- How did a chosen company’s rebranding effort influence measurable consumer perception?
- To what extent did a chosen small business’s marketing channel shift affect its customer acquisition?
- How does a chosen company’s approach to corporate social responsibility affect its brand reputation?
Group 4: Sciences — Biology
Confirm your school’s lab access and safety approval before locking in a wet-lab topic.
- How does water salinity affect germination rate in one locally available seed species?
- To what extent does a chosen antimicrobial plant extract inhibit growth of a specific bacterial culture?
- How does substrate temperature affect enzyme activity in a given accessible biological sample?
- To what extent does light wavelength affect photosynthetic rate in a defined aquatic plant?
- How does soil pH affect root growth in a selected locally grown crop?
- To what extent does caffeine concentration affect heart rate in a specific invertebrate model organism?
Group 4: Sciences — Chemistry
Simple, repeatable setups usually produce cleaner data than ambitious multi-step reactions.
- How does concentration of one acid affect the rate of a chosen measurable reaction?
- To what extent does a given natural indicator perform compared to a synthetic one across a pH range?
- How does temperature affect the rate of vitamin C degradation in a specific fruit juice?
- To what extent does electrode material affect the efficiency of a simple electrolysis setup?
- How does concentration of a defined salt affect the boiling point elevation of water, measured experimentally?
- To what extent does a selected household antioxidant slow oxidation in a measurable food sample?
Group 5: Mathematics
A strong maths EE explains and applies a technique, it doesn’t just summarize a theorem.
- How accurately can one mathematical model predict traffic flow at a real, locally observed intersection?
- To what extent can game theory explain outcomes in a specific real-world negotiation scenario?
- How well does a chosen statistical model predict outcomes in a locally accessible sports dataset?
- To what extent can graph theory optimize a real, locally relevant routing problem?
- How does a given encryption algorithm’s security scale with key length, demonstrated mathematically?
- To what extent can a logistic growth model describe a defined real population dataset?
Group 6: The Arts — Visual Arts
Pair each analysis with specific visual evidence, not general impressions of the work.
- How does a specific artist’s use of negative space change across two distinct periods of their career?
- To what extent does a selected street artist’s work function as political commentary in its original context?
- How does color theory function differently in two artists’ treatment of the same subject matter?
- To what extent has one traditional art form been reinterpreted by a contemporary artist, and to what effect?
- How does composition guide viewer attention differently in two paintings addressing similar themes?
- To what extent does a chosen artist’s material choice (medium, scale, texture) shape the viewer’s emotional response?
Group 4: Sciences — Physics
- How does pendulum length affect period at small versus large amplitudes, measured experimentally?
- To what extent does surface material affect the coefficient of friction in a simple measurable setup?
- How does distance from a sound source affect measured intensity, and does it match the inverse-square prediction?
- To what extent does projectile launch angle affect horizontal range in a controlled, measurable trial?
- How does coil turn count affect the strength of a simple electromagnet, measured experimentally?
- To what extent does water depth affect wave speed in a chosen, measurable wave tank setup?
How Long Does Writing an Extended Essay Take?
The IB estimates the Extended Essay at roughly 40 hours of student work, but that time is spread through most of the Diploma Programme, not crammed into one break. A realistic pace looks like this:
| Stage | What Happens | Typical Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Topic exploration | Test 2-3 candidate topics against the four checks above; pick one | DP Year 1, term 2-3 |
| First reflection session | Discuss the research question and initial sources with your supervisor | Early research phase |
| Research and drafting | Gather sources or data, write a full first draft | Summer between DP years |
| Second reflection session | Review progress, address gaps your supervisor flags | DP Year 2, term 1 |
| Revision | Cut to the 4,000-word limit, tighten the argument | DP Year 2, term 1-2 |
| Viva voce | Final concluding interview and reflection sign-off | Shortly before submission |
Starting the topic search early is what actually saves time later. Students who lock in a topic during Year 1 spend the summer collecting evidence instead of still hunting for a workable research question.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing a Topic
Weak: “The effects of social media on teenagers.” Too broad for 4,000 words, no defined population, method, or comparison point.
Stronger: “To what extent does daily Instagram use correlate with self-reported body image concerns among 16-18 year-old students at [a specific school or defined sample]?” Narrow population, measurable variable, clear method.
Beyond scope, the recurring academic mistakes examiners flag are: picking a topic before checking whether the evidence actually exists, choosing a discipline you’re not officially studying at the required level without confirming it’s allowed, and writing a descriptive report instead of building an argument. If you can’t state your research question’s answer as a debatable claim in one sentence, the topic needs more work before you start writing. For general strategies that also sharpen an EE draft, see our tips on getting better at essay writing.
Research Question Formulas You Can Adapt
If nothing on the subject lists above fits exactly, these sentence patterns work across most subject groups. Swap in your own place, dataset, or comparison:
- Extent: “To what extent does [variable] affect [outcome] in [population/place/time period]?”
- Comparison: “How does [subject A]’s treatment of [theme] differ from [subject B]’s treatment of the same theme?”
- Change over time: “How did [phenomenon] change in [place] between [year] and [year], and why?”
- Causal: “To what extent was [factor], rather than [alternative factor], responsible for [outcome]?”
Run whichever formula you land on back through the four tests above before treating it as final.
More Essay Topic Guides
Debate-ready prompts organized by theme and difficulty.
Ideas for literary, rhetorical, and data-driven analysis papers.
Paired subjects for side-by-side essay comparisons.
Personal and creative storytelling prompts.
Prompts built around a clear cause-to-consequence chain.
More resources for opening any essay with a strong hook, plus other topic-idea guides.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should an Extended Essay be?
The IB caps the Extended Essay at 4,000 words, not including the abstract, references, or appendices. Essays that exceed the limit are penalized during assessment, so treat 4,000 as a hard ceiling rather than a target.
Can I write my Extended Essay in a subject I don’t officially study?
In most cases the subject must be one offered at your school, and for most groups you don’t need to be taking it at Higher Level. Confirm with your EE coordinator before committing, since school-level policy varies.
Do I need to collect my own data for a science Extended Essay?
Not necessarily. Many strong science EEs analyze existing published datasets rather than running new experiments, especially when lab access or safety constraints make original data collection impractical. What matters is that the methodology is appropriate and clearly justified.
How is the Extended Essay different from an internal assessment?
Internal assessments are subject-specific coursework graded by your teacher against that subject’s criteria. The Extended Essay is a single, standalone research paper graded externally by IB examiners against its own dedicated criteria, and it counts toward the Diploma core rather than an individual subject grade.
What happens if I don’t submit an Extended Essay?
The Extended Essay is compulsory for the full IB Diploma. Without a submitted, graded EE, a candidate cannot be awarded the Diploma, though course candidates taking individual IB subjects outside the full Diploma are not required to complete one.
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Terry is a Chicago-based writer and editor who creates practical, student-friendly guides on essay writing, research, and citation styles (APA, MLA, and Chicago). He’s spent 15+ years editing educational content and building clear examples that help readers apply rules without guessing. When he’s not revising drafts, he’s usually turning messy notes into clean outlines and hunting down the one detail everyone skips.