Extended Essay Sample Questions

Group 1 ( Studies in Language and Literature ):

How is the subject of death treated in selected poems by Emily Bronte
and Emily Dickinson?
What is the literary function of the dialogue between language and
nature in David Maloufs An Imaginary Life?
In what different ways do Shaw and Anouilh present Joan of Arc in their
plays?
How far does the use of rhetoric in Barack Obamas speeches increase
their effectiveness?
How does the use of startling visual imagery in public health campaign
(on smoking for example) function, and what does it reveal about
existing cultural ideas of the body and health?
Group 2 ( Language Acquisition ):
To what extent have differences between formal and informal usage
disappeared from the language used in the Rio de la Plata region?
What is the nature of MC Solaars rap critique of modern French
society?
Group 3 ( Individuals and Societies ):
Economics: Will the recent policy of cutting bakery prices lead to
increased revenue for the Safeway supermarket in Ryde, Sydney?
Economics: Has the Kenyan central banks policy of interest rate cuts
led to a rise in new car sales in Nairobi?
History: To what extent were Hitlers educational aims fulfilled in the
Uhland Gymnasium, 1937-1939?
History: How and why have explanations of the Cuban Missile Crisis
changed since 1962?
Human Rights: How could the UN intervention in the Rwandan
genocide be justified?
Human Rights: To what extent can the limited political rights of
women in Saudi Arabia be justified?
Politics: Which social and political values should a modern British
Conservative party seek to conserve?
Politics: Is it politically possible for the US government to win the war
on drugs?
Group 4 ( Experimental Sciences ):
Biology: Are commercially available antibacterial cleaning agents
effective in controlling the growth of E. coli on nutrient agar under
laboratory conditions?

Biology: Can a program of training at high altitude have an impact on

the fitness of an athlete?
ESS: To what extent does the length of time after an exotic plant has
been introduced to an area, and the latitude from which it originates,
affect the diversity of herbivores found feeding on it?
ESS: From major inputs and outputs of the school canteen, what
overall estimate of its environmental impact can be made in terms of
an ecological footprint?
Chemistry: Does the time it takes to brew a cup of tea using a specific
commercial brand of tea leaves significantly alter the amount of
caffeine that is dissolved in the drink?
Chemistry: Do strawberry jellies in different countries contain the
same red dyes?
Physics: Do wine bottles of different shapes behave as Helmholtz
resonators?
Physics: Is the efficiency of electromagnetic damping of a moving
glider a function of the initial kinetic energy of the glider?

Group 5 ( Mathematics and Computer Science ):

Mathematics: How many square numgers are also triangular
numbers, where are they, and what other problems lead to Pells
equation?
Mathematics: What was the role of mathematics, and geometry in
particular, in navigation when we relied on the stars?
Information Technology in a Global Society: To what extent is it
likely that natural language interfaces will replace the keyboard in the
production of office documents?
Information Technology in Global Society: Does the addition of elearning systems improve the performance of students in
mathematics?
Group 6 ( The Arts ):
Visual Arts: Picasso: individual genius or cultural thief?
Visual Arts: What is the impact of transcultural experience on the art
of Gu Xiong?
World Studies
An interdisciplinary essay on an issue of global importance
An essay that draws on theories, findings and methods from 2 or more
IBD subjects and then integrates them to produce a coherent and
insightful analysis of the issue
Example Topics: global food crisis, climate change, terrorism, energy
security, migration, global health

o What do members of 3 religions (Hindu, Muslim and Christian) in

my city believe or know about the causes, transmission and
cures of HIV-Aides, and how do religious beliefs inform these
views?
o How and why have two Japanese graffiti artists used American
hip hop art for the purposes of self-expression and community
organization in their country?
o What is the impact of non-native aquatic plants on marine and
inland environments?
o How does baby formula affect the health of infants, and why is it
such a popular alternative to mothers milk in the Philippines and
Canada?