Fail your IB Extended essay? What to do?

Many students in the IB program have one big fear: what happens if they fail the IB extended essay? Will they get a second chance to pass? Is there any way they can redeem themselves? If you’re in the same boat and worry about what you’ll do if you fail your extended essay, then this guide can help you.
The extended essay is one of the very crucial parts of your IB diploma. To pass the diploma, you need to pass the extended essay, as well as the TOK. However, passing the extended essay is not as hard as it seems. If you choose a topic that interests you, do the relevant research and then write the essay based on that, you aren’t likely to fail.
Why do IB students fail the extended essay? It is only. Those who don’t put in the due effort that they should fail the extended essay. However, with a little research and the right IB EE subject, you should be able to do a decent job.
But what do you do if you fail the extended essay? Continue reading to find out!
How Many Points Do You Need to Pass?
You need between 14 and 20 points to pass your extended essay. In terms of the EE grading scale, this is equivalent to a C. if you score between 27 and 34, then that puts you in the highest grading points. But if you score anything between a 0 and 6, that means that you didn’t put in the best effort in your work.
To understand the grading more, here are the five sections you need to know about to score better. We have explained each part in detail in this article. Enjoy reading after you have finished with this one.
Focus and Method
This section is worth six points, and it mainly focuses on how well you analyze the topic, how you explore the research question, and what the methodology is like. Examiners look at this criterion to understand how much effort you have put into the research and whether or not you have focused on the points that are worth focusing on.
Knowledge and Understanding
This is the section where examiners focus on how well you analyze your essay and what concepts you use for further analysis. The idea is to make sure that you explore the extended essay well and that you demonstrate a clearer understanding of things. It is again worth six points.
Critical Thinking
This section is worth a great chunk of your marks: twelve, to be precise. Examiners analyze how you have put your critical thinking skills to use to analyze the essay well. It explores the perspective you have taken and what you have thought about as the best approach to take things forward.
Presentation
This section is worth four marks, and it mainly focuses on how well you have written, focusing on the formatting guidelines as per academic writing. It also looks how at how effectively you communicate and how well you put things in writing.
Engagement
This part is worth six points. It looks at how engaged you were in the entire process and how you chose to explore the research question further. All the criteria above this one apply to the extended essay itself, but this one applies only to the 500-word reflection that you have to do after you finish writing the extended essay.
Can You Redo the Extended Essay if You Fail?
You should first make the right effort to ensure that you don’t fail the extended essay. But if you do fail it, then you can redo it as well. You can retake the extended essay by registering with the same or a different subject.
If you want to redo your extended essay, then you must bear in mind when you want to join college or university and when you want to reach a certain level.
Why Do IB Students Fail the Extended Essay?
Students fail their extended essay if they didn’t submit it at all, or if they failed to fulfill the needed requirements. Another reason they might fail is if there is plagiarized content in the work they submit. Sometimes, students who wait till the last minute to submit their extended essay might find themselves in a rush to do so, which is why they end up picking up chunks of information from places. This plagiarized content is the root of the issue.
That was one of the reasons we decided to collect a branch of expert IB tutors who can help with writing any type of extended essay. So keep in mind if you are searching for assistance, you can call for our extended essay writing service.
Sometimes, when students don’t have the right guidance that they ideally should, they fail the extended essay. Sometimes, they also add in more words that the maximum limit, selecting the wrong IB subjects combination, which leads to a huge deduction of marks, due to which they might fail.
However, as mentioned earlier, you only fail your extended essay if you don’t put in a certain amount of effort. You need to earn at least 24 points to pass, and that shouldn’t be very hard to do, if you do your best.
How Good Does an Extended Essay Have to Be?
An extended essay needs to be good enough in the eyes of the examiner if you wish to earn a good grade on it. For that, you need to make sure to stick to the IB guidelines and also need to be sure that you work hard for it. If you follow certain basic requirements for the extended essay, then you are likely to pass it. It is only if you are really careless that there are chances you fail.
Final Thoughts
So if you are an IB student and want to do well on your extended essay, then you must know fully what the requirements are, and what the grading scale is like. You must make sure that you choose an IB EE topic that is relevant and one that you enjoy working on.
Do thorough research, and you are sure to get what you want. The idea is to make sure that you do a good job and that you are able to score well on it.
Good luck with writing your extended essay! Should you need any sort of assistance, you know whom to call 😉


Vasy Kafidoff
Vasy Kafidoff is the co-founder of the Writing Metier. Being in the education field for a very long time, his experience speaks volumes about his knowledge in the area. He aims to make more people aware of new learning possibilities for children.
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