Your topic:
DO NOT FORGET to read the specific guidelines for the subject area in which you are interested. Read through several sample essays if you want to have a feel for what has been successful.
A well-crafted and succinct research question is essential to a successful extended essay. If too broad, it will be difficult to answer effectively in your essay, and if too narrow will limit the research available and thus your writing as well. As you consider topics within your subject, keep in mind that you need to find a specific question to answer.
Too Broad:
Good Questions:
Time to begin researching your topic broadly. You may already have a question in mind to write your essay about, but you have to survey the broad literature first to see what is available, how much you already know about the topic, and you might, in the process, discover new, intriquing ideas about it.
Beginning resources include:
KEEP A RECORD OF WHAT RESOURCES YOU EXAMINE! It is a common trap among high school students to think that they will later go back to find something that was interesting but have no record of where to find it, or waste time revisiting sources, especially electronically. See the page on note-taking and organization for more details.
KEEP A LIST OF PERTINENT TERMS, CONCEPTS, AND KEYWORDS THAT APPEAR IN YOUR RESEARCH. These will help you formulate your question and determine search terms for your research. This is also the beginning of your acquisition of the vocabulary of a field in which you have some interest.
As you begin your research, note the questions that occur to you. You may do some preliminary investigation into several potential areas before you find the one you will choose. Check to see if there is enough information to pursue a specific area, or if you might need to shift your queries somewhat to consider other elements.
Once you have determined your topic question, you can begin to refine your actual research question. Start by asking basic general questions to establish certain facts: the Who, What, When questions. Sketch those out loosely. Then begin to ask more probing questions that break the topic down into components, or look for commonalities or differences, or for a problem that needs solving. Don’t confuse having a topic with having a problem to solve. Questions will help you determine what the focus of your work is.