Are you ready for these viva voce questions?

Here are some examples of what might be asked at your viva voce. Before the meeting it is advised you think about
these questions and themes. Be proactive and engaged in the process by being able to elaborate on your thoughts.

Focus:
● Celebration of the completion of the essay
● Outcome of the process
● What skills have been learnt? In terms of research and process

1. To what extent were your initial ideas about writing the Extended Essay realized in your final version?

2. Were your original plans/ideas realistic and appropriate?

3. What do you think your successes were in this process?

4. What were the most rewarding aspects of the entire process?

5. How will this experience prepare you for future work of this nature (in college or employment?)

Source: IB Teacher Support Material

A. What conclusions did you arrive at during the research and writing of your EE?

B. What would you consider to be the most (and least) rewarding aspect of your research and writing process?

C. What figures or illustrations did you include? Why did you choose those?

D. What source contradicted the general ideas of your research? In what way specifically did the source
contradict them? Did you include it? Why? Why not?

E. Which of your sources did you find to be the most helpful? Why?

F. Select a few sections from the work and ask the student questions pertaining to their meaning, why they
were used and their relevance (for example, why did you select this source to support your points or what
do you think X was getting at when he said “Y”?

G. What have you learned about your topic from researching and writing about it?

H. What challenges did you encounter when researching and writing the EE? How did you go about
overcoming them?

I. What unanswered question are you left with?

Works Cited
 J. How successful do you believe you’ve been with regards to the answering your RQ?

K. Is there anything that contributed to the EE that is not immediately evident in the essay itself? (such as
museum visits and email exchanges with participants, scientists and authors?

Source: Lekanides, Kosta. Extended Essay: Course Companion, Oxford: OUP, 2016. Print.

I. If you were to do this research again, what would you do differently and why?

II. Were there any surprises in your learning journey? What did you learn from this?

III. What does success mean to you in the process of producing your EE?

IV. To what extent do you think you have been successful in this process?

V. Were the strategies you used for your research question the most appropriate for achieving success?

VI. If you used alternative research methodologies and/or subject-specific theories, would this have led to a
different outcome?

VII. Are there any new or unanswered questions that emerged as a result of your research?

VIII. What advice would you give to next year’s students who have yet to write their EE?

Source: Hoang, Paul & Taylor, Chris. Extended Essay: Skills for Success, London: Hodder Education, 2017. Print.

Works Cited