Extended Essay Viva Voce: What Happens and How to Prepare

By Michael Thompson · Education Specialist; 10 years teaching the IB at Bromsgrove School · Published 4 October 2026 · Updated 6 October 2026

The extended essay viva voce is a 20 to 30-minute interview with your supervisor and the last of your three formal reflection sessions. It serves three formal purposes: checking academic integrity, reflecting on successes and difficulties, and considering what you have learned. Under the revised EE model - which applies to every student sitting the May 2027 session or later - it also feeds directly into a single 500-word reflective statement recorded on the Reflection and Progress Form (RPF). Understanding what the viva is for, and preparing honestly for the questions it raises, is the most direct way to approach Criterion E: Reflection.

Key Takeaways

In This Article

  1. What is the extended essay viva voce?
  2. How the 2027 EE model changed the viva voce and reflection
  3. What happens in the viva voce, step by step
  4. Viva voce questions to prepare for
  5. How the viva voce feeds into Criterion E: Reflection
  6. How to prepare for the viva voce
  7. What to do next

1. What is the extended essay viva voce?

The extended essay viva voce is the final of three mandatory formal reflection sessions between a student and their supervisor. It lasts 20 to 30 minutes and takes place after the essay itself is complete. The International Baccalaureate sets out three stated purposes for it: checking academic integrity, reflecting on successes and difficulties, and thinking about what the student has learned from the research process. Per the IB Diploma Programme Subject Brief for the Extended Essay (first assessment 2027), reflective thinking from all three sessions is captured in a single 500-word reflective statement, written at the end of the EE process on the Reflection and Progress Form (RPF).

One thing worth knowing early: the viva voce is not a separately assessed element. There is no mark attached to the conversation itself. What it does is give the supervisor grounds for an authenticity judgement, and it gives you the material to write the reflective statement that feeds directly into Criterion E, Reflection, worth 4 of the 30 available marks.

The RPF also records your attendance at each of the three formal sessions, so skipping the viva is not an option, even if your essay is already submitted and polished.

2. How the 2027 EE model changed the viva voce and reflection

The new EE guide launched in February 2025 and applies to every student sitting May 2027 or later. If you are in that cohort, everything below is your current reality.

> Note for November 2026 candidates. November 2026 is the last session marked on the previous 34-mark model, which used the Reflections on Planning and Progress Form (RPPF) with three separate written reflections. The content in this article describes the 2027 model only.

The biggest structural change is to the reflection form itself. Under the previous model, students completed three written reflections across the research process, each recorded separately on the RPPF. Under the 2027 model, all of that is replaced by a single 500-word reflective statement, written after the viva voce and recorded on the new Reflection and Progress Form (RPF). The RPF also logs attendance at each of the three mandatory formal reflection sessions. So the viva voce now has a more direct function: it is the conversation that feeds directly into that one written statement, rather than being preceded by two earlier written reflections that already counted toward marks.

The counter-intuitive consequence is that your reflection opportunity is more concentrated. You still have three conversations with your supervisor, but only one piece of assessed writing, rather than three written reflections spread across months.

The 2027 assessment model uses five criteria totalling 30 marks:

CriterionFocusMarks
A - Framework for the essayResearch question, research methods, structural conventions6
B - Knowledge and understandingSubject-specific knowledge and concepts6
C - Analysis and line of argumentAnalysis of the information and a sustained argument6
D - Discussion and evaluationDiscussing the findings and evaluating the essay8
E - ReflectionLearner growth through the EE experience4

Discussion and evaluation (Criterion D) is now the most heavily weighted criterion at 8 marks. Criterion E: Reflection carries 4 marks, down from the 6 marks that Engagement attracted before, but the reduction in marks does not reduce the stakes of the viva voce: the 500-word RPF statement, which flows directly from that conversation, is the only evidence an examiner sees of your reflective thinking.

The EE still combines with Theory of Knowledge for a maximum of 3 diploma points, unchanged from the previous model.

3. What happens in the viva voce, step by step

The viva voce is the third and final mandatory reflection session, and it normally takes place once your essay is finished, because the conversation depends on the finished work being in front of both of you.

Once you are in the room, the session runs for 20 to 30 minutes, the length the IB's Extended essay guide sets for first assessment in 2027. Your supervisor has two jobs during that time: confirming that the work is genuinely yours, and prompting you to reflect on what went well, what was difficult, and what you actually learned across the whole research process. They are not testing your subject knowledge or awarding a mark for how confidently you speak.

That last point matters more than it looks. Your verbal answers are not directly graded. What the session does is give you the raw material for the 500-word reflective statement you write afterwards. That statement is recorded on the Reflection and Progress Form (RPF), which also logs your attendance at all three formal reflection sessions. A non-trivial quirk: the RPF replaces the previous RPPF model, and under the current framework the 500-word reflective statement is a single piece of writing rather than three separate entries.

The reflective statement sits entirely outside the 4,000-word essay count, so you are not trading essay words for reflection words. They are recorded separately on the RPF.

4. Viva voce questions to prepare for

The three stated purposes of the viva voce, as set out in the IB EE subject brief, are checking academic integrity, reflecting on successes and difficulties, and considering what has been learned. The questions your supervisor asks will follow those purposes closely. The examples below are written for this guide to illustrate what questions aligned to each purpose look like. They are not an official IB list.

One non-obvious point worth knowing: your supervisor has read your essay in full and has attended every reflection session with you. Answers that sound rehearsed or that drift into generalities will stand out immediately. Concrete and process-specific is always more convincing than polished and vague.

Integrity questions

These confirm the work is genuinely yours and that you understand what you produced.

Successes and difficulties questions

These invite honest reflection on the research process itself.

Learning questions

These are about what the process changed in you as a researcher.

For each of these, aim for answers grounded in your actual process: a specific source that surprised you, a method that failed and what you tried instead, a moment when your argument shifted. Those specifics are what your supervisor is listening for, and they are exactly what the 500-word reflective statement will need to capture afterwards.

5. How the viva voce feeds into Criterion E: Reflection

Criterion E: Reflection is worth 4 marks under the 2027 model, making it the lightest of the five criteria by mark allocation. The guiding question the examiner works from is: "Does the student evaluate the effect of the extended essay learning experience on them as a learner?" per the IB Diploma Programme Subject Brief (first assessment 2027).

The practical point most students miss: the examiner never reads a transcript of the viva. The conversation itself is not assessed. What gets marked is the 500-word reflective statement you write after the viva, recorded on the Reflection and Progress Form (RPF) and submitted as part of the final assessment package. The viva is the preparation for that statement, not a performance in its own right.

That distinction changes how you should use the 20 to 30 minutes with your supervisor. Think of the questions they raise as prompts. If your supervisor asks what you would do differently, or where your thinking shifted, those are precisely the threads worth pulling in the statement. Use the conversation to think aloud and surface the insights you might otherwise leave unwritten.

A strong reflective statement focuses on learner growth and skills development: what you can now do, think, or question that you could not before. It does not summarise the essay's argument or restate the research question. The Hachette Learning summary of the 2027 changes notes that the new Criterion E specifically targets skills transfer as a dimension of reflection, which means a statement centred on "what I found out" will fall short of what the criterion is looking for.

6. How to prepare for the viva voce

The single most useful thing you can do before the session is re-read your finished essay. This sounds obvious, but students who skip it often find themselves unable to explain why they structured an argument a particular way or why they chose one source over another. Your supervisor will ask exactly those kinds of questions, so being able to point to specific decisions in the text matters.

After re-reading, go through any process notes you kept during research. These might be a research journal, annotated drafts, or even emails with your supervisor. Look specifically for:

If you did not keep detailed notes, go back through your drafts, your supervisor's feedback and what you discussed in your first two reflection sessions; that gives you a starting point for reconstructing the research journey.

Once you have done both, think through two or three moments where your thinking genuinely changed. Prepare to explain one challenge you handled and one thing you would approach differently if you started again. Keep answers specific rather than polished: the integrity check at the heart of the viva voce is designed to confirm the work is yours, and authentic, detailed answers do that far more convincingly than rehearsed ones.

One non-obvious trade-off worth knowing: the thinking you do in preparation here directly feeds the 500-word reflective statement you write on the RPF afterwards. A student who arrives at the session having already identified real moments of intellectual development will write a stronger reflective statement than one who tries to reconstruct it cold. Preparing for the viva is, in effect, preparing the reflection.

7. What to do next

The most useful thing you can do this week is simple: contact your supervisor and confirm the date of your viva voce. Do not assume it will be scheduled automatically. Many students discover the session is closer than expected, or that their school has set an internal deadline for the RPF that falls within days of the interview itself.

When you message your supervisor, ask one specific question alongside the date: when does your school need your reflective statement on the RPF? The RPF records attendance and holds your 500-word reflective statement, and knowing that deadline before you sit down means you are not scrambling when the conversation ends.

Confirm your viva voce date with your supervisor this week, and ask when your reflective statement is due.

FAQ

What is the extended essay viva voce?

The extended essay viva voce is a 20 to 30-minute interview between the student and their supervisor, held after the essay is complete, serving as the final of three mandatory formal reflection sessions; it checks academic integrity, invites reflection on successes and difficulties, and prompts the student to consider what they have learned.

How does the extended essay viva voce work?

The supervisor asks questions aligned to the viva's three stated purposes; the student's verbal responses inform a 500-word reflective statement they write afterwards on the Reflection and Progress Form (RPF), which is what the examiner assesses under Criterion E: Reflection.

Is the extended essay viva voce assessed?

The viva conversation itself is not directly marked; it feeds into Criterion E: Reflection (4 marks), which is assessed through the 500-word reflective statement the student writes after the session and records on the RPF.

What questions are asked in the extended essay viva voce?

The supervisor's questions follow the three stated purposes of the viva - academic integrity, successes and difficulties, and what has been learned - so expect questions about how you developed your research, what challenged you, and how the process changed your thinking.

When does the extended essay viva voce take place?

The viva voce takes place after the student has submitted their completed extended essay; it is the third and final mandatory formal reflection session in the supervision process.

How do I prepare for the extended essay viva voce?

Re-read your finished essay before the session, review any process notes you kept during research, and prepare to speak honestly about specific turning points, challenges, and what you would do differently - these same reflections will form the basis of your 500-word reflective statement.

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