The International Baccalaureate (IB) was founded in 1968 and it offers education programs to pupils or students between the ages 3 to 19 years old. It’s basically an educational foundation that has a worldwide outreach.

More than 4650 schools worldwide taught international Baccalaureate programs, in 2017 alone. This basically means that roughly 1.4 million IB students in 152 countries studied the course. It gets better, 1700 students in all the schools that participated are located in the US alone. 

The Diploma Program aimed at students between the ages of 16 and 19 years old is one of four tracks available and is a very important part of the International Baccalaureate Program (IB). An average of 150,000 students worldwide took the IB Diploma Program exam in 2016. 

Moreover, one of the mandatory requirements for the IB Diploma is to write an extended essay and this contributes significantly to your total score. So, if you’re an International Baccalaureate student preparing to write an extended essay, then this article is for you. 

We will provide you with possible topics to consider. These topics will also help you understand what’s required for your IB exams. Let’s take a deeper dive into how to ace your exams, shall we?

What’s an IB Extended Essay?

Simply put, in an Extended Essay, you have a chance to research and gain practical writing skills. It is a 4,000-word paper that requires you to conduct in-depth research in academic writing. 

And here’s the fun part in the IB program, you get to conduct research and write a topic that interests you, (btw, this part is a requirement).

I know it sounds easy, but it isn’t. Think of it this way, the IB Extended Essay is an opportunity for you to gain practical research, and writing skills, which btw, is a crucial part when you get to college. 

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• To identify credible sources,
• To develop a well-supported argument,
• To formulate a research question with a limited research scope, and
• To communicate ideas to an audience

Here’s the thing though, the IB Extended Essay is an independent, self-directed project. But worry not, you get to choose a mentor (a teacher at your school) to guide you through the process. 

As part of the process, you are required to meet up with your mentor thrice. Finally, your mentor performs an interview in a reflection section called a viva voce. During this section, your mentor checks for plagiarism, or any form of malpractice. 

She/he will also ask you to reflect on the difficulties and challenges, then prompts you to discuss what you learned, through the research, and writing process. Once done, your mentor generates a report based on your performance that will be considered in your final grade. Your mentor will then generate a report that will play a significant role in your final grade.

IB Extended Essay Topics

In this essay, you must come up with a topic – the International Baccalaureate does not provide students with prompts. However, your essay should fit with one of the six areas provided.

Here’s the list to choose from:

• A language and literature
• Individuals and societies
• A language acquisition
• Sciences,
• Mathematics, and
• Arts

Here is a deeper breakdown into the topics you can choose to write about. The “individuals and societies” category includes social science topics such as:

• Economics, 
• History,
• Philosophy and 
• World religions

If you decide to lean towards the “Science” then you can choose classic subjects such as:

• Biology
• Physics,
• Chemistry

Or closely related topics ie:

• Health science or environmental systems, etc.

Now, if you’re the kind of student who prefers “World Studies”, then you’re in luck because the IB also offers that. This subject allows you focus your writing on global issues ie

• Global health
• Climate change
• Cultural exchange
• Migration

10 Biology Extended Essay Topics

1. Escherichia Coli as One of the Most Widespread Food-Borne Pathogen
2. What Is Systems Biology and how it contributes to the study Of Obesity?
3. Discuss synthetic biology in terms of translational research
4. Bioremediation of Waste Water by using Microorganisms
5. Coronaviruses Characteristics: structure, naming, how it multiplies, its implications and how to control it. 
6. Does the increase of the concentration of Vermiculite in the Substrate Increase seedling survival and growth in Phaseolus Vulgaris Seeds?
7. Does Resurrection Biology serve as both Ethical and a sustainable Concept?
8. What role does Biotechnology play in the current Pandemic Of Covid-19?
9. Meat Vs Plant-Based Diet: What’s the healthiest diet for Strength-based Athletes?
10. Plant phenolics and Terpenoids as Antibacterial agents

8 Psychology Extended Essay Topics

1. How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps in day to day life
2. What’s the Correlation between the study Of Mental Health, Resilience and Happiness?
3. What’s the connection between Morality and Functionality of a Human Being?
4. Self-Esteem and Self-Satisfaction as Tools to be Happy
5. Attention Processing and The Impact of Stroop Effect
6. How Paradigm Shift to Governance ensures Gender Equality
7. How to Minimize Biases and Increase Objective Decision Making
8. How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the best way to get rid of Child Depression

10 History Extended Essay Topics

1. An argument discussing why the Philippines got separated from Spain in 1898
2. Analyze the War between the American and Philippine as depicted in Mark Twain’s article
3. What are the differences between Northern and Southern American Colonies in the 1600s?
4. The Reasons behind the deaths of many Colonists in early Jamestown
5. The Effects of Hurricane Katrina and how it has left New Orleans sinking slowly
6. What positive events happened During the Revolution?
7. The American Civil War’: What’s the role of Abraham Lincoln in Civil War Essays?
8. Jay Gould: One of The Robber Barons and Captains of Industry
9. What’s the context and influence of Concordant Proclamation of the Thirteen Colonies of the USA?
10. Conduct Comparative Research on the Three Sections of The Thirteen Colonies: The New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies

How to Choose a Good IB Extended Essay Topic

As a general rule, all IB students must take six subjects, one from each subject group. The only difference is, subjects from the sixth group (which is art) aren’t mandatory and you can substitute that with a subject from any of the five other groups. 

Typically, IB extended essay topics are chosen by students, except the subject you choose must fall into a course that belongs to any of the six categories below:

• • Group 1: Language and literature – this includes your native language, Literature and Performance, (interdisciplinary) and Language and Literature. 
  • Group 2: Language acquisition – now this includes an additional language (which either deepens existing knowledge, or starting one from scratch)
  • Group 3: Individuals and societies – this section includes humanities and social science courses i.e., Geography, Economics, History, Information technology, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Business Management, Global Politics, World Religions (interdisciplinary), and finally, Environmental Systems and Societies. 
  • Group 4: Experimental sciences – these include Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Technology, Design, Sport, Computer Science, Environmental Systems (interdisciplinary), Exercise and Health Science, Societies and Nature of Science (interdisciplinary)
  • Group 5:  Mathematics – Mathematical Studies, Mathematics, an Further Mathematics
  • Group 6: Arts – Dance, Theatre, Music, Visual Arts, Foreign Languages, and Fim.

The upside to writing an IB extended essay is, you work on it for a longer period of time (usually months) and that’s why it’s advisable to choose a topic that really interests, and motivates you. Ofcourse, there are some challenges that may arise such as unfamiliar fields, but that shouldn’t scare you.  

Make sure to choose a topic that isn’t so wide. The reason for this is because your essay is only 4000 words long, and your topic should fit well within this range. Start by brainstorming, focus on something you like, a topic that captivates, and motivates you. Furthermore, if you feel overwhelmed, or confused, try browsing through the internet for a list of potential themes or aspirations. 

Bottom Line

And that sums it up for today. We have listed the best IB extended essay topic ideas for you to choose from, and hope they make your academic journey a success. If you need any form of academic help, feel free to contact Peachy Essay Writing Services.