Extended Essay: Writing an EE Introduction

The most important thing you need to know about writing your introduction is that it should be written LAST. Although that sounds counterintuitive, that it is the best way to do it. Simply put, there is just no way to know everything that should go into your introduction until you have completed your research.

Once you have written the bulk of your paper including your reasoned argument and conclusion, you will then have all the info you need to complete your introduction.

Here are the basic components of what needs to be included in your EE introduction:

1. Academic Context: You need to show how your question fits into existing knowledge about your topic.
2. Outline of your argument: Go through your reasoned argument chronologically – in the order it appears in your paper.
3. Scope: How have you approached your RQ? What types of sources were used – did you use any unconventional methods?
4. Worthiness: why is your RQ worthy of investigation?

From the EE Guide:

The introduction should tell the reader what to expect in the essay. The introduction should make clear to the reader the focus of the essay, the scope of the research, in particular an indication of the sources to be used, and an insight into the line of argument to be taken.

While students should have a sense of the direction and key focus of their essay, it is sometimes advisable to finalize the introduction once the body of the essay is complete.

I strongly urge you to read Chapter 5 of the Oxford EE Guide as it gives much more detail about writing your introduction along with examples.

***Remember to state your Research Question clearly in the introduction and remember to do your introduction LAST!

Academic Writing Tips

Formal vs. Informal Writing A chart giving the differences between informal and formal essays in seven areas (author's viewpoint; subject/content (sources of evidence); tone; structure; location of the research question; vocabulary; and purpose. Also included are examples comparing informal and formal writing for essays in English, biology, and psychology.

How to Avoid Colloquial (Informal) Writing While it may be acceptable in friendly e-mails and chat rooms, excessive colloquialism is a major pitfall that lowers the quality of formal written text.
Here are some steps/tips that you can follow to help improve your overall writing.

Elements of Academic Context

• Evidence that you’ve carefully considered the subject.
• A clear, appropriately qualified thesis
• A response to what others have said
• Good reasons supported by evidence
• Acknowledgement of multiple perspectives
• Carefully documented sources
• A confidant, authoritative stance
• An indication of why your topic matters
• Careful attention to correctness

From Scotch College

Writing the Introduction

An introduction for an Extended Essay requires students to include the following aspects:

Aside from giving the essay a structural outline that any reader can follow, these aspects also help ensure that expectations for Criterion A (Focus and Method) are met.

Context: Explicitly stating your research question and providing some context that situated your question within existing knowledge is the key to a strong introduction. This does not mean providing detailed background information but rather indicating to an examiner what existing theories, critical approaches , methods or factors have already been suggested or exist to answer your research question.

Outline of the argument: Including the research question in your introduction is a quick way of ensuring you've made clear what you will be focusing on. In addition to this, it allows you to specify which aspects, factors or key features you will be investigating that will help you answer your overall question. Doing this in the order they appear in the main body is advised.

Scope: It is vital that you indicate in your introduction how you've gone about answering your research question. This means indicating to the examiner what source material has been used, or scientific methodologies followed or critical interpretations challenged and so on.

Stating that your essay utilised websites, books and journals is not as good as indicating exactly which authors, theories or methods have been used.

Worthiness: Finally, it is important, to indicate why your research question is worthy of investigation. Using the phrase "this research question is worthy of investigation because. " forces you to consider worthiness by default.

Exemplar of Introduction

• Context Muawiya's accession to the caliphate is a hotly debated topic among historians with some, such as Kennedy, arguing that he owes his elevation to the weakness of opposition as reflected in the figure of Caliph Ali, while others, such as Shaban, arguing that his success owes itself in large measure to the tangible economic benefits that support Muawiya provided the Arab tribes.
• Outline of argument . this essay seeks to challenge the orthodox interpretation offered by Kennedy and instead argue that Muawiya's success owes much to the changing socio-economic dynamic among Arab tribesmen within the newly formed Islamic Empire.
• Scope . the essay will also simultaneously explore what other factors, including the governorship of Syria, the conflict of Byzantium, the dwindling role of the Ansar, and the role the Kharijites played in helping Muawiya take over the Caliphate while relying on the works of principal historians such as Kennedy, Shaban, Armstrong and Hawting.
• Worthiness of the investigation . this research question is worthy of investigation because Muawiya's rise to the caliphate marks a significant turning point in the development of the Islamic Empire during the seventh century and beyond. It established the tradition of dynastic and monarchic succession that would become commonplace in the ensuring centuries. the role played by Caliph Ali in supplanting the Rashidun model with a dynastic model is of critical significance to this early medieval period as it created the conditions for the schism between Sunni and Shi'a practices.

Introduction – Roughly 800 words

• Must include the RQ in bold – preferably in the first paragraph
• Context: What key aspects can you discuss to ensure you’ve provided some academic context underpinning your research question?
• For locally based investigations ensure you clearly identify and locate the local context
• Outline of argument: What features, aspects, factors, theories and so forth will your essay utilize in order to arrive at a conclusion?
• Give an overview of methodology and scope – how do you plan to answer the question? What authors, scientists, case studies, theories and so on have been consulted to answer your research question?
• What is the significance of your research? Why is this topic worthy of consideration?