Biology is the science that deals with living organisms and life processes. A biology EE should incorporate biological theory and emphasize the essential nature of this subject. The topic must allow an approach that relates specifically to biology. Where a topic can be approached from different viewpoints, the treatment of the material must be clearly biological.
Examples of Topics
Treatment of the Topic
Students should explain early in the essay how they arrived at their research questionandnarrowed it down, by briefly outlining aspects they are not considering in the essay. Students should be encouraged to formulateone or more hypotheses based on the research question. A single well-formulated question may give rise to a small number of precise hypotheses.
Examples of Topics, RQs, & Approaches
Primary Research
Essays in biology may be based on data collected by the student through:
experimentation
survey
microscopic observations
biological drawing
fieldwork
or some other appropriate biological approach.
Essays that involve practical work carried out in the laboratory, or fieldwork, should include a clear and concise description of the experimental procedure. Students taking an experimental approach must also consult secondary sources.
Secondary Research
Alternatively, students can base their essays on data or information obtained from literature. Ideally they can use the data and manipulate or analyse it in an original way. Essays that simply restate facts or data taken directly from the sources are of little value. Whichever approach is chosen, the student must ensure that they have access to sufficient data or information to research the topic effectively. Students should attempt to specify how the research approach and methodology were decided, and show any approaches that were considered and rejected.
Writing the Essay
Generating and presenting data should not be an end in itself; analysis using appropriate scientific techniques is essential. Body of the Essay: argument or evaluation based on the data or information presented.
Well structured + obvious logical progression
Consider using numbered and headed paragraphs to impose a clear structure
Evaluation shows the understanding the results and their significance in the context of wider academic reading on the topic
Point out the significance of any graphs, tables or diagrams
Provide explanation of anomalies/unexpected outcomes and explore alternative explanations for findings
If necessary, propose modifications to hypotheses presented earlier in the essay and suggest a research approach for testing these
Students must be encouraged to undertake a critical evaluation of the work they have done. In their analysis, they should describe and explain the limitations imposed on the research by factors such as:
the suitability and reliability of the sources accessed
accuracy and precision of measuring equipment
sample size
validity and reliability of statistics
They should also consider biological limitations such as:
those arising from the problem of repeatability and control when using living material
the difficulties of generalizing from research based on a single type of organism or environment
Note: All information on this webpage has been copied or adapted from the IB Extended Essay Guide (2018) and is used for educational purposes only.