Structural Conventions for the EE (DP IB Extended Essay): Revision Note

What conventions should students follow for the EE?

General formatting and presentation

• The essay must be written in a formal academic style appropriate to the chosen subject

• Students should use font size 12 and 1.5 line spacing to improve readability for on-screen marking

• Page numbering is a mandatory requirement and should begin on the first page following the contents page

• Your school will specify the required submission format (often PDF)

• A consistent font and line spacing must be maintained throughout the entire document

• Students must ensure their work is anonymous—no names of the student, supervisor or school should appear anywhere in the file

• The file size must be kept under 10 MB, which may require optimising embedded images

The title page requirements

• The title page—the first page of the essay—must contain specific information for formal assessment

• It must clearly display the Research Question (RQ)—the focused question that directs the inquiry

• The page must include the student code, the chosen DP subject and the final word count

• If the student has chosen the interdisciplinary pathway—a research route combining two subjects—the title page must state both subjects and the chosen framework

• The word count stated must reflect the introduction, body and conclusion while excluding the bibliography or reference list

Use of headings

• Headings and subheadings should be used as "signposts" to guide the reader through the investigation

• The body of the essay—the main section containing the analysis—should be organised into logical subsections using these headings

Diagrams, tables and labelled figures

• All diagrams, tables, images and charts must be appropriately numbered and labelled with captions

• Structural conventions—the rules for presenting an academic paper—require that students actively refer to these visuals within the text

• If a graphic is not referred to or explained in the text, it does not support the argument and should not be included

• While tables and diagrams are excluded from the word count, students must not use them to conceal analysis or bypass word limits

Other structural considerations

• Appendices should only contain supplementary material, such as raw data or interview transcripts, as examiners are not required to read them

• Any information essential to the analysis—the process of exploring "why" and "how"—must be included in the main body rather than in an appendix

• Footnotes should primarily be used for referencing; if they contain substantive information or analysis, they will be included in the word count