Extended Essay Research Question: How to Write a Good One
By Michael Thompson · Education Specialist; 10 years teaching the IB at Bromsgrove School · Published 4 October 2026
Your extended essay research question is the hinge on which the whole 4,000-word project turns - get it wrong and even strong research struggles to earn marks. The revised extended essay, launched in February 2025 and first assessed in May 2027, is marked on a new 30-mark scale across five criteria, with Discussion and evaluation now carrying the most weight at 8 marks. That shift matters because a vague or unarguable question makes it almost impossible to sustain the kind of critical discussion examiners are looking for. This guide walks you through the IB's own research process, shows you what well-formed questions look like across subjects, and gives you a short checklist to test your draft before you commit.
Key Takeaways
- New 30-mark scale from May 2027: The revised extended essay is assessed out of 30 marks across five criteria (A-E), with Discussion and evaluation worth the most at 8 marks.
- Two research pathways: You choose either a subject-focused pathway (one DP subject) or an interdisciplinary pathway integrating two DP subjects - the old World Studies EE has been absorbed into the interdisciplinary pathway.
- The research question drives Criterion A: Criterion A asks whether your research question, methods, and structural conventions provide an effective framework - so a poorly scoped question directly costs you marks on the most foundational criterion.
- Narrow before you write: The IB's own research process starts with a broad topic, moves through preparatory reading, and lists forming a well-focused research question after that - skipping the reading phase tends to produce questions that are too wide or unresearchable.
- No grade boundaries yet: The IB will set grade boundaries for the 30-mark scale after the May 2027 session, with results published 6 July 2027 - any boundary figures circulating now are estimates, not official.
- The RPF replaces the RPPF: Students submit a single 500-word reflective statement on the new Reflection and Progress Form (RPF), completed after the viva voce interview with their supervisor.
In This Article
- What the extended essay research question actually does
- The IB's research process: how your question fits in
- What makes a research question work: scope, focus, and argument
- Extended essay research question examples across subjects
- Subject-focused vs interdisciplinary research questions: key differences
- Checklist: test your draft research question before you commit
- Common mistakes and how to avoid them
- What to do this week
1. What the extended essay research question actually does
Your extended essay research question is not a title or a topic label. It is the structural frame the entire 4,000-word essay is built around, and the IB's assessment criteria treat it that way explicitly.
Criterion A, Framework for the essay, carries 6 marks and its guiding question asks directly: "Do the research question, research methods and structural conventions followed provide an effective framework for the essay?" If the question is vague, over-broad, or simply descriptive, the answer to that guiding question is no, and the essay is likely to lose marks on Criterion A, however strong the argument that follows.
The counter-intuitive part is where the real weight sits. Criterion D, Discussion and evaluation, is worth 8 marks, making it the single most heavily weighted criterion out of 30 marks total. Its guiding question asks whether the student discusses the findings and evaluates the essay, so a question that can be answered with a list of facts or a short definition leaves you very little to discuss. You need a question whose answer depends on evidence you gather and analyse.
The IB extended essay also offers two defined research pathways: subject-focused, where the work sits within a single DP subject, and interdisciplinary, where the student integrates the lenses of two DP subjects. The pathway you choose shapes the kind of research question that is appropriate, and later sections cover how those two question types differ in practice.
One further point worth noting early: the EE combines with Theory of Knowledge for a maximum of 3 combined diploma points, so the quality of your research question has consequences beyond the essay grade alone.
2. The IB's research process: how your question fits in
The IB sets out the research process as eight steps. The IB Extended Essay subject brief lists them in this order, while noting that the order may unfold differently for different students:
- Choose a broad topic, then refine it
- Decide the pathway (subject-focused or interdisciplinary)
- Choose the approved DP subject or subjects
- Carry out preparatory reading
- Form a well-focused research question
- Plan the research and writing
- Plan a structure
- Carry out the research
Even with that flexibility, the position of the research question is telling. It appears at step five, after preparatory reading, not before it. Fixing on a question first and reading around it afterwards tends to produce questions that are either too broad to answer in 4,000 words or framed in ways that do not fit the subject's methods and conventions.
Preparatory reading is what makes a question precise. You read to find out where the debate actually sits, what evidence exists, and what your subject's methodology can credibly handle. Only then can you write a question that is genuinely answerable within the constraints of the essay.
Pathway choice comes even earlier, at step two. The IB update for the 2027 framework confirms two distinct pathways:
- Subject-focused: the question is anchored in one DP subject's methods, conventions, and body of knowledge.
- Interdisciplinary: the question integrates the lenses of two DP subjects, requiring the student to draw on both subjects' approaches in a coherent way.
These are not interchangeable styles. A subject-focused biology question uses biological methodology throughout; an interdisciplinary question must genuinely require both subjects to answer it, not just mention a second subject in passing. The former World Studies EE has been absorbed into the interdisciplinary pathway under the new framework.
One further change worth noting for language students: categories have been removed from language A and language B essays under the updated framework. If you are writing a literature or language essay, your research question is no longer shaped by a fixed category label.
The practical takeaway: confirm your pathway before you start reading, because subject-focused and interdisciplinary essays involve different expectations from the outset. Then read, and only then draft your question.
3. What makes a research question work: scope, focus, and argument
Three things separate a strong extended essay research question from one that collapses under its own weight: scope, focus, and the capacity to generate an argument.
It helps to think in layers:
- Topic - the broad area you find interesting. Example written for this guide: the physiology of endurance running.
- Focus question - narrower, but still descriptive. Example written for this guide: How does altitude affect endurance performance?
- Research question - specific, arguable, and answerable through evidence and analysis within 4,000 words. Example written for this guide: To what extent does training at high altitude improve VO2 max in competitive distance runners compared with sea-level training?
The jump from a focus question to a research question is where most students stall. A focus question describes a relationship; a research question asks you to weigh evidence and reach a defended position.
Watch out for questions whose answer is a definition, a list, or an obvious fact. If your response would be a short encyclopaedia entry rather than an essay, the question cannot generate the discussion and evaluation that Criterion D, Discussion and evaluation, rewards, and at 8 of the 30 available marks it is the most heavily weighted of the five assessment criteria.
Feasibility matters as much as phrasing. A question requiring lab equipment your school does not own, archival sources in an inaccessible language, or ethically problematic data collection from vulnerable participants will fail before you write a word, regardless of how precise it looks on paper.
One non-obvious trade-off worth knowing: a very narrow question is easier to answer within 4,000 words but risks being too thin to sustain analysis. Aim for a question where the evidence could plausibly point more than one way before you settle on an answer.
4. Extended essay research question examples across subjects
The IB Extended Essay subject brief publishes five official example research questions, each from a different subject. These are the only questions in this section that come from the IB directly. Any other examples written in this guide are labelled as illustrations and are not official IB material or real student work.
The five official IB examples
| Subject | Research question |
|---|---|
| Language A | 'How effectively does Oscar Wilde both present and critique social expectations in The Importance of Being Earnest?' |
| Economics | 'Does current economic research into minimum wage invalidate the neoclassical argument that increasing the minimum wage will lead to increased levels of unemployment?' |
| Psychology | 'Is mindfulness or cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) the more effective means of coping with stress?' |
| Chemistry | 'What is the effect of manganese oxide versus copper (II) oxide in the catalysation of hydrogen peroxide at 21°C?' |
| Visual arts | 'To what extent do the skull series of compositions by the artist Joni Brenner embody the cyclical nature of life and death?' |
What they share
Despite covering five different disciplines, the five official research questions share the same structural logic:
- A precise, named focus. Oscar Wilde, not "a Victorian playwright." Joni Brenner, not "an artist." Manganese oxide versus copper (II) oxide, not "different catalysts." Vague scope is ruled out before the question is even written.
- An analytical or evaluative framing. "How effectively," "to what extent," and "is X or Y the more effective" all require argument and judgement, not description. "Does X invalidate Y" demands that the writer weigh competing bodies of evidence. The Chemistry question's "What is the effect of" works differently: the analysis comes from the experimental data.
- A built-in method signal. The chemistry question implies a controlled experiment. The economics question implies a literature review of empirical research. The psychology question implies a comparative analysis of two therapeutic frameworks. The question tells you how to answer it.
One non-obvious point worth noticing: none of the five asks the student to describe. Even the Chemistry question, which opens with "What is the effect", is answered by an experiment with carefully selected variables, and the psychology question, which might look like a simple comparison, forces the student to take a defensible position on relative effectiveness, not just list features of each therapy.
The same principles apply across other subjects
Biology extended essay research questions, physics extended essay research questions, and history questions all follow this pattern: a specific phenomenon or text, a framing word that demands analysis or evaluation, and a scope that fits the method available to a school-age student. A biology question on enzyme activity names the enzyme, the variable, and the substrate. A physics question on wave behaviour names the medium and the measurement. A history question on a political event names the event, the actors, and the interpretive claim being tested. The subject changes; the logic does not.
5. Subject-focused vs interdisciplinary research questions: key differences
Per the IB EE subject brief, students now choose between two clearly defined pathways: subject-focused (one DP subject) or interdisciplinary (integrating two DP subjects). The structural difference matters more than it first appears.
A subject-focused question is anchored entirely in one subject's conventions. A Chemistry EE uses experimental scientific method, reproducible procedures, and defensible quantitative analysis. A History EE evaluates source reliability, historical interpretations, and conflicting accounts. The question must sit squarely within what that discipline does, not just what it studies.
An interdisciplinary question must show how both subjects contribute meaningfully to answering it. Mentioning a second subject in passing does not qualify. The IB describes the pathway as integrating the lenses of two DP subjects, not bolting one on. This is the counter-intuitive trap: a question that looks interdisciplinary but only uses one subject's methods will struggle to show that integration.
The former World Studies EE has been absorbed into the interdisciplinary pathway. Crucially, the new interdisciplinary route does not require a contemporary global significance focus, which was a defining feature of World Studies.
Illustration (written for the guide): Suppose your broad topic is light pollution and wildlife behaviour.
- Subject-focused (Biology): "To what extent does artificial light at night disrupt the nocturnal foraging patterns of Pipistrellus pipistrellus in semi-urban habitats?"
- Interdisciplinary (Biology and Geography): "How do urban development patterns and artificial light at night interact to affect bat activity corridors across a semi-urban landscape?"
The interdisciplinary version requires both ecological field methods and geographical spatial analysis. Neither subject alone answers it fully. That is the test worth applying to any draft extended essay research question before committing to a pathway.
6. Checklist: test your draft research question before you commit
Run your draft through these six tests before you agree it with your supervisor.
- Is it a genuine question? It ends with a question mark and cannot be answered by restating it as a fact or a title. In these examples written for this guide, "The effect of temperature on enzyme activity" is a topic, while "To what extent does temperature affect the rate of catalase activity in potato tissue at pH 7?" is a question.
- Is the scope containable within 4,000 words? The IB subject brief confirms that 4,000 words covers introduction, body, conclusion, and any quotations. If answering your question properly would need three separate experiments or five case studies, narrow it.
- Does it require analysis or argument rather than a factual lookup? A question fails this test if its answer is a definition, a list, or an obvious fact. The answer must genuinely depend on the evidence you gather.
- Is it grounded in the methods of your chosen DP subject(s)? A psychology question should be answerable through psychological methods; a chemistry question through reproducible experimental design. Misalignment here creates problems at the Framework criterion.
- Is the evidence actually accessible? Lab equipment, published data, primary texts, interview subjects. If a key source is behind a paywall you cannot reach, or requires equipment your school does not have, the question fails feasibility.
- Could a reasonable person disagree with the answer? If everyone would reach the same conclusion without reading your essay, there is no argument to make.
One non-obvious point: evaluation should run throughout the essay, not just appear in the final paragraph. Hachette Learning's guide to EE evaluation advises integrating it across the introduction, body and conclusion, and notes that evaluation now has more prominence as Criterion D: Discussion and evaluation. A question that only invites a verdict at the end will not generate the sustained critical engagement the criterion rewards. Ask yourself whether each section of your planned essay will require you to weigh evidence, not just report it.
Finally, check what your school requires on top of the IB's framework. Internal proposal deadlines, minimum source targets, and supervisor sign-off forms are not universal IB rules, but they are binding where your school sets them. Your supervisor is the person to ask.
7. Common mistakes and how to avoid them
Five patterns cause most research question problems, and they appear regardless of subject.
Writing a question that covers too much. A question like "How did industrialisation affect European society?" (an example written for this guide) cannot be argued in 4,000 words. The IB subject brief describes the EE as a piece of independent research on a focused topic, and that needs a specific claim to test, not a survey of a century. If your question could be the title of a textbook chapter, it needs narrowing.
Writing a question with only one defensible answer. A question asking for a known date, a standard definition, or a measurement already published in a datasheet leaves no space for Discussion and evaluation, the criterion worth 8 marks out of 30. The answer has to depend on the evidence you gather and analyse.
Mismatching the question to the subject's method. A Chemistry EE built around a sociological argument, or a Language A EE that lists texts without a clear analytical angle, signals that the question and the methodology are pulling in different directions. The subject brief's guiding question for Framework asks directly whether the research question and research methods form an effective framework together.
Confusing the research question with the essay title. The research question is an interrogative that drives the inquiry. A title, where used separately, may be phrased as a statement or a noun phrase. They serve different functions and can differ in wording.
Committing before doing preparatory reading. The IB's own research process places preparatory reading before forming the research question. Settling on a question first means you may not discover the more arguable angle that a closer look at the sources reveals.
8. What to do this week
Your draft research question is only useful once your supervisor has seen it. A supervisor cannot approve a topic they have not reviewed, and the IB sets no date for your research question, so your school's internal proposal deadline is the one that counts, and it will probably arrive sooner than you expect.
This week, book your first formal reflection session with your supervisor and bring a shortlist of two or three draft questions. Keep them short: one sentence each, written out in full. That forces you to test whether each question is actually arguable or still a topic in disguise.
Before the meeting, run each question against the six-point check from section 6: genuine question, scope, analysis, subject methods, accessible evidence, and room for disagreement. Cross out any question that fails on evidence - those gaps rarely close once the research is under way.
Book the session before the end of this week.
FAQ
How long should an extended essay research question be?
The IB subject brief does not specify a word count for the research question itself, but each of the five official examples is a single sentence - long enough to define scope and method, short enough to stay focused.
Can I change my extended essay research question after I start?
Yes - the subject brief says the reflection sessions are a chance to re-examine your ideas and decide whether changes are needed, so refining your question as the research develops is normal. Agree any change with your supervisor and keep to your school's internal deadlines.
Do extended essay research questions need to be phrased as a question?
Yes - the IB uses the term 'research question' and all five official examples in the subject brief are genuine interrogatives; a statement or essay title is not an acceptable substitute.
How does the research question affect my extended essay mark?
The research question directly shapes Criterion A (Framework for the essay, 6 marks), which asks whether it provides an effective framework, and it determines whether you can generate the analytical discussion required by Criterion D (Discussion and evaluation, 8 marks) - the most heavily weighted criterion.
What is the difference between a subject-focused and an interdisciplinary extended essay research question?
A subject-focused question is rooted in the methods and conventions of one DP subject, while an interdisciplinary question integrates the lenses of two DP subjects - the new interdisciplinary pathway absorbed the former World Studies EE and no longer requires a 'contemporary global significance' focus.
Are there official extended essay research question examples from the IB?
Yes - the IB Diploma Programme subject brief for the extended essay (first assessment 2027) provides five official examples spanning Language A, Economics, Psychology, Chemistry, and Visual Arts.
References
- DP extended essay updates - International Baccalaureate - https://www.ibo.org/university-admission/latest-curriculum-updates/dp-extended-essay-updates/
- Diploma Programme Subject Brief: Extended essay, first assessment 2027 (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2024) - https://www.ibo.org/globalassets/new-structure/university-admission/pdfs/ee_subjectbrief_en.pdf
- The IB Extended Essay: Extended Essay Tips - Hachette Learning - https://www.hachettelearning.com/blog/the-ib-extended-essay-extended-essay-tips