IBDP Core • Extended Essay • Written by the PrepSeven Editorial Team, reviewed by certified IB Examiners
Best IB Extended Essay Topics and Research Questions (By Subject)
Staring at a blank document with nothing but ‘Extended Essay Topic: ___________’ written at the top is one of the most universal experiences of the IB Diploma. The problem is rarely a lack of intelligence or effort — it’s that most students haven’t yet been shown what a genuinely good EE topic actually looks like versus one that sounds impressive but collapses the moment you try to write a real research question around it. This guide, compiled by PrepSeven’s team of certified and former IB examiners, gives you a structured way to think about topic selection, followed by a detailed bank of sample topics and research questions across every major subject group — Sciences, Humanities, Languages, the Arts, and interdisciplinary World Studies essays.
Every example below is a starting template, not something to copy directly. IB examiners see the same handful of overused questions every session (a Psychology EE on ‘social media and self-esteem,’ a Biology EE on ‘the effect of temperature on enzyme activity’ lifted straight from a textbook practical), and essays built on unoriginal, generic questions tend to plateau in the middle markbands even when well written. Use these as a springboard to build something that reflects your own curiosity and, ideally, your own access to specific sources, data, or a local context.
What Actually Makes an EE Topic ‘Good’?
Before the subject-by-subject list, it’s worth being precise about what separates a strong topic from a weak one, because the criteria are the same regardless of subject.
- Specificity: A good topic is narrow enough that you could plausibly cover it in real depth in 4,000 words. ‘The French Revolution’ is a subject; ‘the role of bread price inflation in triggering the October 1789 Women’s March on Versailles’ is a topic.
- Answerability: You should be able to imagine, even roughly, what your answer might be and what evidence would support or challenge it. If you can’t picture any possible argument, the question is too abstract.
- Access to sources or data: Before committing, confirm you can actually get hold of the primary texts, experimental materials, historical archives, interview subjects, or datasets your topic requires.
- Room for analysis, not just description: Topics that only require you to narrate ‘what happened’ or ‘how something works’ cap out quickly under Criterion C (Critical Thinking). Look for topics that invite comparison, evaluation, or argument.
- Personal engagement: Examiners can tell — often within the first paragraph — whether a student is genuinely invested in a topic or picked it because it ‘sounded EE-appropriate.’ Personal interest shows up as sharper, more specific research questions.
How to Turn a Broad Interest Into a Precise Research Question
Most students start with a broad area of interest — ‘I like psychology,’ ‘I’m interested in climate policy,’ ‘I want to write about a novel I loved’ — and need a repeatable process to narrow it down. Try this three-step funnel:
- Pick a broad theme: something you’d happily read about for fun, e.g. consumer behaviour, colonial history, renewable energy, a specific author.
- Narrow by population, place, time, or text: attach a specific boundary — a country, a decade, a demographic, a single novel or dataset — until the theme becomes a defined case study.
- Attach a command phrase: ‘to what extent,’ ‘how effectively,’ ‘in what ways,’ or ‘to what extent is X a result of Y’ — this turns a topic into an answerable question with a clear analytical task.
IB Extended Essay Topics: Sciences
Biology
- To what extent does salinity concentration affect the rate of osmosis in potato tissue samples?
- How does urbanisation affect the biodiversity of pollinator species in [your city]’s green spaces?
- To what extent does substrate concentration affect the rate of enzymatic browning in apple tissue under controlled pH conditions?
- How effective is a specific plant extract as a natural antimicrobial agent against E. coli in vitro?
Chemistry
- To what extent does the concentration of a specific catalyst affect the rate of decomposition of hydrogen peroxide?
- How does the type of solvent affect the extraction efficiency of a specific natural pigment (e.g. anthocyanins from red cabbage)?
- To what extent does water hardness in different local water sources affect soap lathering efficiency?
Physics
- How does the length of a pendulum affect its period of oscillation under varying amplitude conditions?
- To what extent does the angle of incidence affect the efficiency of a small-scale solar panel?
- How does the material composition of a projectile affect its terminal velocity in a fluid medium?
Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS)
- To what extent has urban expansion in [your city] affected local surface water quality between [year] and [year]?
- How effective are constructed wetlands as a wastewater treatment method compared to conventional treatment plants?
Computer Science
- To what extent does the choice of sorting algorithm affect runtime efficiency for large, partially-sorted datasets?
- How effective is a specific machine learning model at predicting [a defined, narrow outcome] compared to a baseline statistical method?
IB Extended Essay Topics: Humanities and Social Sciences
History
- To what extent was economic hardship the primary cause of the [specific uprising/revolution] of [year]?
- How significant was the role of propaganda in shaping public opinion during [a specific conflict or campaign]?
- To what extent did [a specific colonial policy] shape post-independence economic structures in [country]?
Economics
- To what extent has [a specific government subsidy] achieved its intended policy objective in [country/sector]?
- How effective has [a specific minimum wage policy] been in reducing income inequality in [region]?
- To what extent do information asymmetries explain price volatility in [a specific local agricultural market]?
Psychology
- To what extent does sleep deprivation affect working memory performance in adolescents, based on existing experimental literature?
- How does in-group/out-group bias manifest differently across [two specific, defined cultural contexts]?
Geography
- To what extent has coastal erosion in [a specific location] been accelerated by human infrastructure development between [years]?
- How effective have slum-upgrading policies been in improving quality of life in [a specific settlement]?
Global Politics
- To what extent has [a specific international organisation] been effective in resolving [a defined regional conflict]?
- How significant has digital diplomacy become in shaping [a specific bilateral relationship] since [year]?
Business Management
- To what extent did [a specific company’s] pricing strategy contribute to its market share growth between [years]?
- How effective was [a specific company’s] change management strategy during its transition to [a defined new model]?
IB Extended Essay Topics: Language and Literature
English / Language A Literature
- How does [author] use unreliable narration to construct themes of memory and guilt in [novel]?
- To what extent do [two poets from different eras] treat the theme of exile differently in their respective works?
- How does the depiction of motherhood in [novel] challenge or reinforce the societal expectations of its period?
Language Acquisition (French, Spanish, and Other Language B)
- How does [a specific author] use dialect or regional idiom to construct cultural identity in [text]?
- To what extent does [a specific film director]’s use of visual symbolism reinforce the political themes of [film]?
IB Extended Essay Topics: The Arts
- To what extent did [a specific artistic movement] respond to the political climate of [a defined period and location]?
- How does [a specific composer/musician]’s use of [a specific technique] evolve across their [defined body of work]?
- To what extent does [a specific film]’s use of cinematography construct its central themes of isolation and identity?
Interdisciplinary and World Studies EE Topics
The World Studies category lets you examine a globally significant issue through the combined lens of two DP subjects — for example, Biology and Global Politics, or Economics and Environmental Systems. These essays require a genuinely integrated analysis, not two separate mini-essays stitched together.
- To what extent has microfinance (Economics) contributed to gender empowerment (Global Politics) among women entrepreneurs in [a specific region]?
- How effective has reforestation policy (ESS) been as a tool of rural economic development (Economics) in [a specific area]?
- To what extent do vaccine hesitancy patterns (Psychology) intersect with misinformation spread on social media (Global Politics) in [a specific population]?
Topics to Approach With Caution
Some topic categories aren’t necessarily forbidden, but they carry real risk and deserve extra thought before you commit:
- Overly personal or emotionally sensitive topics: a topic drawn from a personal trauma can produce a powerful essay, but it can also make the analytical distance examiners expect difficult to maintain. Discuss this carefully with your supervisor first.
- Topics with no accessible data: an ambitious question about a niche historical event with no available primary sources will stall your research regardless of how interesting it sounds.
- Topics that are really just ‘current events summaries’: examiners want analysis and argument, not a well-organised news report.
- Topics requiring specialist lab equipment your school doesn’t have: confirm feasibility with your science department before finalising a science EE.
How PrepSeven Helps You Find and Refine Your Topic
Choosing a topic in isolation is hard — it’s easy to either play it too safe or pick something so ambitious it becomes unmanageable. PrepSeven’s tutors, all certified or former IB examiners, run structured topic consultations where we pressure-test your idea against exactly the criteria examiners use: is it specific enough, is it answerable, and can you actually access what you’d need to research it properly.
- One-on-one brainstorming sessions tailored to your subject and interests
- Feasibility checks on sources, data access, and school resources before you commit
- Help converting a broad interest into a precise, IB-ready research question
- Ongoing supervision as your research develops and your question may need refining
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How do I know if my EE topic has been ‘approved’ by my school?
Most schools require you to submit a topic and draft research question to your supervisor and EE coordinator for formal sign-off before you begin substantial research. This confirms the topic fits an approved DP subject and that a suitable supervisor is available.
Q2. Can I change my Extended Essay topic after I’ve started researching?
Yes, though the earlier you make the change the better. Many students refine or narrow their research question significantly after initial reading — this is a normal part of the process, not a failure. A wholesale topic change late in the process is riskier given time constraints.
Q3. Is an interdisciplinary World Studies EE harder to score well on?
Not inherently, but it requires genuine integration between your two chosen subjects rather than two separate analyses placed side by side. Examiners specifically look for a research question and argument that could not be fully answered through either subject alone.
Q4. Can two students in the same school write about the same broad topic?
Yes, but each student’s research question, sources, and argument must be entirely their own and independently developed — collaboration on the actual essay content is not permitted under IB’s academic honesty policy.
Q5. Should I choose a topic in my strongest subject or my most interesting one?
Ideally both, but if you have to choose, genuine interest usually wins — engagement (Criterion E) and the depth of analysis in Criterion C are both easier to achieve when you’re intrinsically curious about the material.
Q6. How specific does my research question need to be before I start writing?
It should be specific enough that a knowledgeable outsider could tell you roughly what kind of evidence you’d need to answer it. If your supervisor still isn’t sure what your essay is actually arguing after reading your question, it needs to be narrowed further.
Q7. Are science EEs that use secondary data instead of original experiments acceptable?
Yes, provided the analysis is genuinely your own. Many strong ESS, Biology, and Psychology EEs are built on published datasets or existing experimental literature, analysed with a fresh, well-justified research question.