Guide to EE Reflection

Raha Alum-created website for the EE:

Subject Overview | Extended Essay Guide (10salmalimam.wixsite.com)

The DIEP method to reflection

A useful reflection tool for you to try, taken from The University of Melbourne youtube channel (6:30 min) [useful
examples provided in the video)

Here are some ideas as sentence-starters for you to write your EE reflections.

Instructions Sentence starters

Describe what happened I found a source on……

After visiting NYU....
- maybe a single incident or I decided to research on the history of….

D
- or a highlight After reading/watching...
- key aspects From the interview....
-processes that have been undertaken (research, reading After watching the clip/play..
etc) Initially researching the topic, I came to the
-discrete occurrences that you observe during the EE realization that l.....
process

Interpret the events Based on the guidance from my

supervisor…….
- consider what the experience might mean? After conducting experiments….
- how did it make you feel? The two surveys gave contradictory results,
- how does it relate to other things you’ve learnt so…..
- what new insights and you gained? It could be inferred...
-pause and process what you have written, flow- This illustrates...

I organization-removing assumptions, are you

communicating clearly?
Perhaps_____ could be interpreted/ viewed
as_______
Evidence suggests....
What were the historical events that influence
the outcome.......
In examining the evidence I understand
why....
I feel confident that my conclusions are well
founded.

Evaluate the effectiveness I have improved my skills in …….

E - how beneficial or useful the experience has been

-incorporate ATL skills
I believed I would be able
to…….but/and……..
I learned how to...
-reflect on the depth of your research, choice of This helped me further improve my ATL of
academic sources, making choices of the research research skill as...
content you want to include This has taught me...
 I can apply what I learned here to....
In retrospect, having.. done, read, considered.
I feel confident now that I can ...

Plan for the future For future candidates, I recommend that….

This time next month, I want to be able to
- write an outline achieve X,Y, Z....
- how might the experience impact your thinking or If I started over…..
behaviour for the future After reviewing....I think I need to....

P -structured timeline
-SMART goals
Based on feedback from my advisor..
This evidence leads me to believe that I need
to...
Next time it would be best if I... instead
I used to think that.. But now I think __
because
Next time, I will avoid....

Questions for EE reflections

Reflection 1
o Do you have access to appropriate sources?
o Are your chosen research methods appropriate for the subject you have chosen to complete it in?
o Are there any ethical issues you need to consider before pursuing this area of research?
o Is there sufficient focus to your research area?
o What have you learned about your subject area so far?
o What questions are emerging? Are these similar or different to your initial questions?
o Given the initial reading you have undertaken on the subject, is your research question appropriate for the
subject you are submitting your EE in?
o Is your research question manageable within the word limit of the EE?
o Will your research question allow you to think critically about the topic you are researching? If it suggests a
descriptive response, how might you need to change it to allow for more critical thinking?
o Are there any challenges that you need to overcome in order to achieve your desired outcomes?
o Which ATL skills do you feel strong in? Which skills do you think you will or need to improve while writing
the EE?

Reflection 2
o How has your understanding of your topic evolved/developed during your research process?
o What strategies did you implement for the most appropriate way to achieve your outcomes?
o Have you discovered any sources which changed the direction of your extended essay? How did this affect
your progress?
o Did you need to change your research question? What caused this? How did you handle the change?
o Are you happy with the data/evidence you have collected so far? Do you feel they address your research
question sufficiently?
o Are there any questions you hadn’t anticipated? How have they affected your progress?
o What was your strategy to cope with moments when you felt overwhelmed or frustrated?
o Do you have a clear idea of your next steps?
o If you did your research again, would you change the theories applied or your methodological approach?
Why and how?

Reflection 3
o How did the EE allow you to grow academically? (with reference to your RQ)
o What were the best parts of the experience for you?
o Did you struggle with meeting the word count limit? How did you deal with it?
o Were there any disappointments along the way?
o What was the most important/surprising/significant thing you learned during your EE research?
o What was the most difficult aspect of the EE?
o What did you learn about you as a learner?
o What ATL skills did you develop during the EE?
o What would you recommend yourself if you were to start over?