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IB Extended Essay: Primary Text Research - Class of 2021: Overview

Overview

IB Extended Essay: Primary Text Research

Class of 2021

Resources for Extended Essays in the following Categories: Dance, Film, Language and Literature, Literature and Performance, Music, Theatre Arts, Visual Arts, Philosophy, and World Religions. Essays within these subject areas involve student analysis and interpretation of a work of art or language (the "text") in combination with either a critic's perspective or contextual research to support the student analysis. 

Directions

Primary Text Research & Analysis 

  • Read the poem "A Far Cry from Africa" (you will be prompted to make a copy). What do you need to know? 
  • Open the Areas of Inquiry Doc (you will be prompted to make a copy). 
  • As we discuss each category, consider how these potential legs of research relate to the areas of inquiry in Walcott's poem. 
  • So what? How would any of these areas of inquiry be useful for an extended essay? 

​Connection to Research Legs - Secondary Sources

  • Following our large group discussion, reflect on your own topic and brainstorm potential connections.
    • How do the areas of inquiry relate to your primary text(s)?  
    • What questions do you need to ask about your own work(s)? 
  • Please Note: These areas of inquiry (the legs of secondary research) will be used most appropriately in the introduction and conclusion of your essay. They offer contextual perspective, necessary to understand your argument about your primary text. Warning! If you focus the entire extended essay on the legs, you are no longer writing a primary text extended essay. 

Subject Specific Primary & Secondary Sources:

  1. Open the PDF (linked at the bottom of this column) and take notes on your subject guidance.
  2. Find the subject(s) you are considering for the EE. 
  3. Read the "subject-specific source lists" and the "types of sources". Guidance for each subject will appear two times in this document; be sure to read both sections. 
  4. What are the primary sources for your subject? And the secondary? What is the treatment of primary and secondary source material in your subject?
  5. Create some notes for yourself: What did you learn by reading this document? Where might you begin your research? 
  6. Open the Blackboard course and read the EE Scoring Document, listed under Subject Guidance Document for your topic.  

Next steps:

Research - Using the resources in this guide, research and find the following items: 

1. Search for and find at least ONE academic article - either a critic's perspective OR contextual research - in a database.

2. Complete at least TWO items on this list:

  • Locate a book on my topic in the Robinson Library catalog;
  • Locate a college-level scholarly book on my topic from the database: Academic eBook collection (EBSCO);
  • Locate an overview or reference article / definition relevant to my topic;  
  • Locate an additional academic, critical article.

3. Complete at least ONE item on this list:

  • Locate the citation for a database article and add it to NoodleTools (or a note sheet in Google);
  • Email yourself an article or download one to your Google Drive;
  • Try an advanced search in a database (use the “and” function to search for two keywords at once);
  • Revise your search strategy; use different keywords in two databases and compare results.

4. Please be prepared to discuss and share.

 

Share - Share your best sources on the chart paper (areas of inquiry) then complete a gallery walk; note the successes of your peers and take pictures of their findings for future reference.