EE: Reflections

Sample 1st Reflection: Psychology

I first showed an interest in this topic when in a TOK lesson we discussed some aspects of history. The teacher spoke to us about what drove a lot of the Nazis to commit despicable acts against the Jewish people and others despite them previously having no such experience. An example given was Adolf Eichmann, a very prominent Nazi responsible for the death of millions who stated that he was just following orders during his trial. After this lesson, I wanted to look deeper into how social influences impact human behaviour. Eventually, I was able to find studies based on Milgram’s shock experiment. I decided to narrow my research question down to how obedience impacts people’s ability to cause physical or psychological harm to others as there seemed to be some debate on the topic.

The Second Reflection session usually falls somewhere in the middle to latter half of your EE process

• Discuss how the research question has become more refined
• Comment on any challenges you have encountered & what solutions you have attempted
• Discuss how your thinking on your topic has evolved
• Roughly 150 words in length

Guiding Questions:

• Looking back at your initial reflection, how would you assess your start to the research process for this question? Did you plan appropriately? What would you do differently if you were to start all over again?
• At this stage in your process, what could be improved in your research and writing method? What specific steps should you take to show improvement?
• How is your background in the subject you are researching, TOK or CAS informing the writing of your paper?
• Has anything surprised you so far in your research? How has this affected your approach to the paper?
• Where was I? Where I am now? Where am I going?
• What sources do you find helpful?
• How have you evaluated your sources?
• Have you adopted a structure for writing based on what the IB requires?
• What do you need to do next?

Sample of 2nd Reflection: English A- Literature

My biggest struggle writing my first draft was organizing and building a clear structure without getting lost in the amount of analysis and research I looked into. I realized my early draft’s broad statements analyzing characters and events contained little supporting evidence into the text itself. It included lengthy sections evaluating the novel as part of the aestheticism movement without building my argument and without a clear answer to my research question. After talking to my supervisor, we decided I need to first define “beauty" and evaluate the “paradox” of beauty and why it exists. My supervisor suggested analyzing what each character reveals about beauty, restructuring my existing arguments to answer the research question. I’m still grappling with Dorian’s ambiguous morality, what Wilde tries to say in his portrayal of him, and my own perspective independent of my research, but I now have a clear path to work on as I answer these questions.

The Third Reflection can be written before the Viva Voce meeting to help you prepare for the conversation.

• Offer your final reflections on the process
• Discuss any achievements realized or challenges overcome
• Discuss elements that allowed you to complete the task that may not be readily apparent in the essay itself.
• Discuss any relevant ATL's (Approaches to Learning) that you have developed through the process & be ready to provide good examples.
• Roughly 200 words in length

Guiding Questions

• How did what you learned about your question change your way of thinking?
• What was the most significant problem for you in carrying out the research and writing your paper? How were you able to resolve this problem?
• What did you learn about yourself in the process of writing this paper?
• If you were going to evaluate yourself on your planning and decision-making with regard to the extended essay, what would you say?
• Is writing the EE mainly about process or product AND why?
• What would you have done differently and why?
• What have been the high and low points of the research and writing processes?
• What was the most valuable experience that you took away from the process?
• What IB learner profile attribute would you say helped you through the process (communicator, risk-taker, etc.)?
• Would you like to continue reading on this topic?
• What questions did this process raise?
• What conclusions have you drawn about the topic?

Sample 3rd Reflection: World Studies

Through months of research and extended thinking about my research question, I learned a lot about how the global politics world works together with economics. Although I knew there was a relationship between both, I hadn’t realized it exists in every government policy and action. I realized this because both economic and political concepts impact each other. In this, the most significant challenge I faced was going back and editing my paper. I wrote 5200 words in my first draft and had to focus solely on what was analytical rather than merely descriptive in order to bring the word count below 4000. I managed my time well and realized that by choosing a topic I am passionate about, it made me more inclined to spend hours doing work. Through the process of researching and writing, I learned that if I plan my time well and make a schedule, I can complete anything I set my mind to. In terms of planning, I realized how important it is to have a plan and closely follow that plan in order to complete anything on time. Overall, I gained an understanding not only in economics and politics but also about how to conduct good research and apply that research to a paper.