TLA EXTENDED ESSAY

Research and write an essay describing and evaluating a recognised leadership model, system or theory.

OUTLINE
Title page
Abstract
Contents page
Introduction
Body (development/methods)
Conclusion
Bibliography

TITLE
The title should provide a clear indication of the focus of the essay.
Do not use pictures or WordArt.
 The Power of … in Leadership
 The Impact of … in Leadership

ABSTRACT
150- 300 words.
The abstract is NOT an introduction.
It is an overview of the entire essay.
Write this LAST.
Abstract should state the following:
◦ Research question being investigated
◦ The scope of the investigation
◦ The conclusion/s of the essay
It must be placed on its own sheet of paper immediately after the title page.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Place AFTER the abstract.
All pages must be numbered.
Body of essay must have subheadings that are reflected in the Table of Contents.

LENGTH OF EXTENDED ESSAY

The minimum word count is 1500 words.
The limit includes introduction, main body and conclusion.

Not included in the word limit…

The abstract
The table of contents
Maps, charts, diagrams, annotated illustrations and tables
Equations, formulas and calculations
The bibliography

INTRODUCTION
A vital component of the essay
The research question or purpose of the essay should be clearly identified
The thesis or argument should be clearly stated
Do not make it too long

MAIN BODY
The longest and most important section of the essay.
It should be divided into sections using subheadings.
E.g.
How has <topic> changed leadership?
John Smith
The Impact of his Leadership
Should more Leaders use this Strategy?

CONCLUSION
It should sum up the major points of your essay (without repeating every point).
It should not add any new information to your argument.
It should not ask questions.
Application to solve future leadership problems / issues

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Put your references in alphabetical order.
They must be accurate.
All research must be documented.
Failure to include proper bibliographies and citations will be viewed as plagiarism.
Write down ALL of the places you have taken ideas from.
Start creating your bibliography from the beginning of your essay.
Over reliance on limited sources will lose marks.

PLAGIARISM
The direct or indirect use of the words of another person MUST be sourced (paraphrasing doesn’t mean no
citation).

Research
Think back to IGCSE English…
Point
Evidence
Explanation

AVOID
Taking someone else’s ideas and reporting on them. If I want to read what they have to say, I’ll read their
essay!
Listing too many pieces of evidence without commenting on what you learn from them.
If you explore a certain individual’s leadership style, don’t let this turn into a biography.

Find the best evidence!

Don’t just pick the first piece of evidence which ‘kind of’ links to your idea.
You need to look at lots of different sources before picking the best quotes/ research/ data/ facts.

DO NOT USE WIKIPEDIA.

Avoid quoting tabloids / blogs when commenting on a political leader.
Don’t rely too much on internet websites!

You need to research distinguished writers and researchers.

Go to libraries and find books on leadership theories
JSTOR
Google Books
Type into google ‘journal article <topic> leadership’

Include counter-argument evidence.

Ensure that you use alternative evidence to disagree with this so that your argument doesn’t become
confused!
Research by … shows that… However, this was disproved by …

Stevenson (2003, p. 116) argues that …

…concerns about individual viewer responses (Stevenson, 2003, p. 118) …

Miss McCullough’s Essay Rules

 FONT
Do not go above size 12!
Do not use fonts which are hard to read or make your essay look silly.
 Do not use contractions.
 Number your pages.
 Do NOT use one or two sentences as a paragraph.
A paragraph should have a minimum of three sentences.
 Use connectives.
 Do not use the first or second person—I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, ours; you, your, yours.
Instead of ‘I think’ you should say this: ‘The evidence in the essay shows….’, or ‘There is clear support
for this point of view because……..’
 DO NOT hedge.
Words like "maybe," "perhaps," and "might" do not keep you from being wrong; they merely alert the
reader to the fact that you are worried about it.
 Avoid rhetorical questions.
 These incredible results prove…
This really means that you can’t believe them.
 Use a thesaurus. Avoid repeating vocabulary or using basic vocabulary.
 Proofread out loud or find a good proof reader.
 Cut, cut, cut! Avoid waffle!

What has gone wrong in the past:

 Lack of research on theory of leadership/ types of leadership
 Acknowledge the author even with figures, tables, graphs
 Examples of various leaders in particular industries and their leadership styles
 Include citations

References
Citing references in the text
References are made within the body of your essay to the full details of the work in the reference
list/bibliography in the following manner:

Stevenson (2003, p. 116) argues that …

…concerns about individual viewer responses (Stevenson, 2003, p. 118) …

Whoever is reading your essay can now turn to the reference list/bibliography and look for an
entry by Stevenson written in 2003.

Book

Author surname, Initials. (year when book was published). Title of book (Edition if later than first e.g.
3rd ed.). Place of publication: Publisher.

Gardner, H. (1973). The arts and human development. New York: Wiley.

Moore, M. H., Estrich, S., McGillis, D., & Spelman, W. (1984). Dangerous offenders: the elusive
target of justice. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Journal article

Author surname, Initials. (year when article was published). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume
number – if there is one (Issue number), start and end page numbers of article.

Popper, S. E., & McCloskey, K. (1993). Individual differences and subgroups within populations:
the shopping bag approach. Aviation Space and Environmental Medicine, 64(1), 74–77.

Newspaper article

Young, H. (1996, July 25). Battle of snakes and ladders. The Guardian, p. 15.

Electronic sources:
Author, Initials. (year when site was produced or when document was published). Title.
Retrieved month day, year, from internet address.

Alexander, J., & Tate, M. A. (2001). Evaluating web resources. Retrieved August 21, 2001, from
Widener University, Wolfgram Memorial Library website:
http://www2.widener.edu/Wolfgram-Memorial-Library/webevaluation/webeval.htm