How to structure the BM Extended Essay?
Page-1
Title page (Not included in your word count.)
The title page should include only the following information:
Include: Your EE title.
Include: Your EE RQ (Clear and focused)
Word count:
Session:
Page-2
Table of Contents (Not included in your word count.)
All parts of your EE, with page numbers of course
Page-2 Onwards
Introduction (Approx 250 words)
Introduction of the company, why chosen the company what will you explore. What is your aim
through this EE. Provide some context for your question. Tell us the situation that the question
comes from. Tell us your research question again and explain to us why it is important to
answer. Explain why this research is interesting and valuable to your audience.
Methodology (Approx. 350 words) (Criterion B)
Methodology Recommend your methodology have two major sections.
Part-1
Explain the sources used. Ensure to put the limitations. Describe each of your major sources of
primary and secondary research. Mention why they will be helpful and also a weakness or a
limitation for each source. For example, how there may have been room for bias or a limited
scope to your research. Or perhaps there are other reasons why other data you used could be
unreliable or invalid. Remember to mention that the majority of your research for the EE
should come from secondary sources. Some helpful sources of secondary research are:
company annual reports, news articles, magazine articles, business textbooks, and encyclopedias
Part-2
Explain the tools used and how will they help. Ensure to put the limitations. Mention any
changes made to your tools as you progressed with your EE. There should be at least one. How
these tools will help in the analysis.
Discussion and analysis (2800 words) (Criterion C)
This is the section were you will be using the business tools and do analysis, discussion where
you’ll be sharing your research, analysis, discussion and evaluation.
This is part which needs to be impressive. As this is where you can really impress the examiner
put tools and theories which are not part of your syllabus. This will show your interest and
passion for the BM as a subject. This also helps in getting the better score. Since, this shows
indepth knowledge and interest in your subject. Review several related theories and concepts,
more extensively than the course does. Make sure this section is analytical, rather than
descriptive. Be very careful to make sure that all of your theories in this section are really
helping you answer your RQ. This will also help you to pull the marks for critical thinking –
Criterion C- 12 Marks. Every single paragraph of the body needs to relate (in a very obvious
way) to the research question. ANALYSE using the tool and then write a MINI Conclusion
Should have at least 4-5 tools, the last tool should be finance tool as this provides the evidence
for the research and analysis done.
Conclusion (Approx. 600 words)
Recollect all the mini conclusions and emphasize as summary what you have discovered from
the tools, make some insights. Ensure are answering your RQ don’t deviate from it. Include
several evaluative insights (i.e. pros and cons, short-term vs long-term effects, possible
stakeholder conflicts). Don’t include any new data in your conclusion. Mention some
weaknesses and limitations of your research. There needs to be at least two. Show you have
really reflected on your work. You could discuss possible inaccuracies in your work and the
reasons for those. This is similar to how you as you write in your reflections for EE.
Discuss other information would it be very valuable to have, but which you couldn't access. Or
could you could explain some other “unresolved questions”, which you weren’t able to answer
for whatever reason.
Have an unanswered question in the conclusion, due to lack of information you are unable to
know it. Explain at least one thing that you would have done differently if you were to do it
again. Don’t include a recommendations section in your EE, like you do in the HL Business
IA.)
Bibliography (Not included in your word count)
Aim for around 3-4 pages of sources. Bibliography is actually the summary of the all the
references put as footnotes.
Appendices (Not included in your word count.)
Often this is around 3 or 4 pages) The EE guide us that “appendices are not an essential part of
the extended essay and examiners will not read them, or use any information contained within
them, in the assessment of the essay. Transcripts from your interviews, Questionnaire results,
details of the calculations you did for your financial tools.
Assessment Criterion
