What is IB Extended Essay RPPF?

The extended essay is one of the mandatory requirements of the IB. Another document that also needs to be submitted with the extended essay is RPPF or the reflections on planning and progress form. Many students find this extremely confusing. Students can find themselves thinking in all directions when asked to ‘reflect.’ It seems like they are told to do something that is completely out of scope.
The best part about a reflection form is that it allows students to think in a certain direction, which is again very important to help them go through what was required of them and what they have done by far.
Like with IB TOK essay PPF, to some students, EE RPPF seems very challenging because it requires thorough research to be done. Like with TK PPD, it also requires students to be fully vigilant with what they are going, delving into the details of everything that is required from that end.
In this guide, you will find out more about IB extended essay RPP form and how you can work your way through it.
What is an Extended essay planning form
The RPPF is a form in which students are required to write three reflections. This is a total of 500 words that they have to write, in which they have to slowly work their way through writing what they have understood here. The main idea is to write about what they found out in this and what they thought of the whole process. Another idea here is for the examiner to gauge the direction in which the student is thinking.
The whole extended essay aims to teach students how to research and write an analysis. This can only be done well when they slowly analyze and understand things in the best way possible. In this form, they are required to share their responses about what they think, and that is the most important when it comes to an understanding the student’s thought process behind what they are doing.
In this form, students are expected to be able to show their intellectual and personal growth. They are expected to talk about how actively they are engaged in the whole process and what they have learnt through it. they are expected to show how they have grown as learners and what skills they have learned here. These skills include critical thinking skills, decision making skills, general research skills, referencing skills and time management skills as well.
On the whole, it gauges the students’ way of doing things in the best way possible. The idea is to understand how well the student is working their way through things.
To guide you even more, here is some further information to help you.
First Reflection
This section needs to be around 140 to 170 words in total. In this reflection, you need to talk about how you came to choosing your topic. The first part of the extended essay is to choose a topic that you think you can work on. You need to take the examiner through the whole process so that they understand what went behind all of that. Then you also have to give reasons for what you did and why. After that, you have to give more information about the possible sources and methods that you used.
Furthermore, you also have to talk about what you expect to learn or achieve from this topic. Sharing ideas about how you think you should explore the topic further is also one of the most important things here. This helps the examiner understand the kind of road map that you had in your mind after you selected this topic. You can also touch upon any challenges that you faced throughout. Anything else that you can talk about that highlights how engaged you were through the whole process would also be idea to add here.
Interim Reflection
This is the section that you should complete after the first reflection is done. This can also be around 150 words in total. Here, you touch upon the research that you have already done. You also need to touch upon what you have already learned here and why that is important.
Apart from that, you also talk about some new things that you have discovered through this process. If you have slightly tweaked your research question also here, then you should also mention that in the best way possible.
You can also touch upon the progress in the timeline and how well you are doing on this by far. Then you also touch upon any arguments that you think are very important here. If there are any challenges that you have faced here, then you also talk about those. If there is anything that you feel will help you show how engaged you are through the process, then you can also highlight that here.
Final Reflection
This is the last part of the reflection that you have to work on. This can again be of around 150 words. Here, you have to talk about the personal relevance that this topic has to you. When you do that, it helps you learn so much about the topic, and also helps the examiner learn more about who you are and how this has helped you further.
It shows the examiner how you can grow as a learner and how working on this topic has further allowed you to do just that. If there is anything else that you think can add value to this section, then you can add that as well.
Remember that the idea is to show the examiner how involved you are in the whole process. So you must make sure that you do that. This is most integral to help you get done with things in the best way.
FAQ’s about EE RPPF
Here are a few of the common questions that many people ask about this.
Is the EE RPPS marked?
While this is not marked, you have to make sure that you do your best here to show the full engagement that you have here as a student. This is crucial to help the examiner understand the approach you had right when you started.
How do I submit my EE RPPF?
You need to submit this form along with the extended essay on the portal. This is an imperative part so you must make sure that you do it diligently. Online, you will find several IB RPPF examples to help you through this. So make sure that you go through most things thoroughly to understand this well.
What is extended essay RPPF word limit?
The word limit for the reflections on planning and progress form (RPPF) is typically around 400-500 words. Some schools say that it has a strict word limit of 500 words, and supervisors will not even check your RPPF in case you are above the limit. However, it’s always best to check with your school or supervisor for their specific guidelines, as they may vary.
If you can show how you worked your way through things correctly, then you will definitely be able to do a good job on this.
Example of EE RPPF
Below, you will find an example of how to fill an extended essay RPPF:
Ready to work on your reflections on planning and progress form?
Many students find this part extremely difficult even after they have the right know how of how to do it. We at the Writing Metier are here to help you with the IB RPPF.
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Vasy Kafidoff
Vasyl Kafidoff co-founded WritingMetier and currently serves as its CEO. He has a keen interest in the intersection of education and technology and is passionate about promoting new and innovative ways of learning. In addition to his professional pursuits, he also enjoys playing drums in his free time.
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