Business management Extended Essay structure: sections, criteria and word count

At a glance

The structure, section by section

1. Title page

Required by the IB · Criterion: A (structure) · Outside the word count

Your personal code, the research question, the subject and the word count, plus a statement when explanatory footnotes are counted.

1. Enter your IB personal code.
2. Leave out your name, your supervisor's name, your session number and your school.
3. Paste the research question exactly as it stands in the introduction.
4. Name your subject: Business management.
5. Insert the word count from the counter.
6. Add the footnote statement if you used explanatory notes.

2. Contents page

Required by the IB · Criterion: A (structure) · Outside the word count

Headings with page numbers.

1. Generate it from your headings.
2. Start page numbers on the page after it.
3. Regenerate it after your last edit.

3. Introduction

Required by the IB · Criterion: A

The organization or industry context, the research question, the secondary-research base and the tools chosen.

1. Set out the organization and the issue.
2. State the research question.
3. Name your main sources and tools and why they fit.
4. Check that the organization differs from the one in your Business management IA, and that your research approach differs too.

4. Literature and source review

Required by the IB (Required as content; a separate heading is Convention) · Criterion: A (methods), B

Secondary sources reviewed first, as a thorough literature review.

1. Summarise what published sources say about the issue.
2. Note each source's perspective and possible bias.
3. Relate the review to your question.

5. Method and sources

Rewarded by a criterion (Criterion A rewards methods that fit the subject, and visuals that are labelled and referenced) · Criterion: A

Which company data, reports, interviews or surveys were used and why; primary research only where it adds value.

1. List each source type.
2. Justify each against the question, and add primary research only where it adds value.
3. Describe any interview or survey design and its sample.

6. Analysis with tools and theories

Rewarded by a criterion · Criterion: C

Tools, theories and techniques applied to the evidence in every body section.

1. Apply each tool to specific evidence.
2. Choose tools that suit the question; they need not come from the IB toolkit.
3. Tie each result to the research question.
4. Build the argument section by section.

7. Discussion and evaluation

Rewarded by a criterion (Criterion D rewards evaluation that is woven through the body) · Criterion: D

Bias and limits of the sources, the assumptions of the tools and stakeholder perspectives.

1. Question each source where you use it.
2. State each tool's assumptions and limits.
3. Weigh the views of different stakeholders.

8. Conclusion

Required by the IB · Criterion: C, D

An explicit, evidence-backed answer, with the questions left open.

1. Answer the research question.
2. Check every claim was argued earlier.
3. Name what remains unresolved.

9. References or bibliography

Required by the IB (Also an academic integrity rule: every source must be acknowledged) · Criterion: A (structure) · Outside the word count

Every source in 1 style.

1. Use 1 style throughout.
2. List every source you cited, including company reports, data and AI output.
3. Add URLs and access dates for online sources.
4. Check that each in-text citation has an entry.

10. Appendices

Common practice (Optional, and examiners need not read appendices; the signed external mentor form is the one required item) · Outside the word count · Only when it applies

Supporting extracts, interview and survey instruments, and the mentor form; nothing the argument depends on.

1. Add only material the essay can stand without.
2. Refer to each appendix from the body.
3. Insert the signed mentor form if you had a mentor.

11. Reflection sessions log

Required by the IB (The 3 sessions are mandatory and are recorded on the RPF, which is uploaded separately from the essay) · Outside the word count · Submitted separately

The 3 formal reflection sessions, each with its month, your DP year (1 or 2) and your supervisor's initials.

1. After the first reflection session, log its month and your DP year.
2. Log the interim session the same way.
3. Log the viva voce as the third session; it runs 20 to 30 minutes, after your supervisor has read the final version.
4. Ask your supervisor to initial each row; the form carries initials only.
5. If you are retaking, record the current year as DP year 2.
6. Leave informal check-ins off the log.
7. Check that all 3 rows are complete before your supervisor initials and dates the form.

12. RPF reflective statement

Required by the IB (A mandated form, uploaded separately from the essay and marked under criterion E) · Criterion: E · Outside the word count · Submitted separately

Up to 500 words, written after the viva voce, evaluating how the EE shaped you as a learner and which skills you will carry forward.

1. Keep dated notes after each session, ideally in a researcher's reflection space.
2. Reread them after the viva.
3. Evaluate specific decisions and turning points, and keep any account of the process brief.
4. Show how you grew and where you will use the skills.
5. Write every word yourself; an AI-written reflection counts as fabrication.
6. Write in the essay's language and stop at 500 words.

What counts toward the limit

Counted: the introduction, body and conclusion, including quotations and explanatory footnotes or endnotes. Left out: the title page, acknowledgements, contents, page headers, maps, charts, diagrams, annotated illustrations, tables, equations, calculations, citations, reference notes, the bibliography, appendices, the RPF statement and a footnote that gives a quotation's original-language text. The guide does not mention section headings, captions or table titles, so the counter leaves them out as well.

The limit: 4,000 words, plus a 500-word RPF statement. Examiners stop reading at the limit. RPF statement: up to 500 words, counted apart from the rest.

Graphs and visuals

• Tool grids and diagrams (Ansoff, BCG, force field, decision tree, position map, stakeholder analysis, STEEPLE, SWOT) Drawn, common
  Tools need not come from the IB toolkit. Label each one and refer to it in the text.
• Financial statement tables Table, common
  Company data is often available because businesses must publish it. Number each table and refer to it in the text.
• Ratio calculations Math, common
  Show each calculation and tie the result to the question; calculations sit outside the 4,000 words.
• Financial trend charts Plotted, common
  An estimate, based on teacher guidance. Too many graphs or tables weakens the essay.
• Break-even charts Plotted, occasional
  Label both axes and refer to the chart in the text.
• Survey charts Plotted, occasional
  Describe the sample next to the chart.
• Organization charts Drawn, occasional
  Label each unit and refer to the chart in the text.
• Maps Map, rare
  Give a scale and key. These visuals sit outside the 4,000 words; the basis is teacher guidance and estimates, with no exemplar counts.

The frequencies are our estimates, from what the IB guide expects and what teachers advise. We did not count them in marked work.

Citations

The IB sets no style. Use 1 style consistently, with at least the author, date, title and pages or URL, plus access dates for online sources. Some study guides suggest Harvard for humanities essays.

The workspace keeps your sources and writes the bibliography in Harvard to start with. You can switch to APA 7th, MLA 9th, Chicago author-date or Chicago notes (footnotes) at any point.

Pitfalls

• Building the essay mainly on questionnaires or interviews, so that it reads like an IA, or choosing a generic topic.
• Describing the business with no conclusion backed by evidence.
• Leaving source bias undiscussed, or referencing weakly.
• Studying the same organization as your IA.
• Writing past 4,000 words, or past 500 in the RPF statement: examiners read no further.

The workspace is free with an account, and it never writes or rewrites your text. What we will and will not do with your coursework →

Sources

• Extended essay guide, first assessment 2027 (IB; published Feb 2025, updated May, Aug, Nov 2025)
• IB, Extended essay guide, first assessment 2027 (published Feb 2025; updated May, Aug, Nov 2025)
• IB, Extended essay guide, first assessment 2027 (published Feb 2025; updated May, Aug, Nov 2025), hosted at chmsib.com
• IB, Business management guide, first assessment 2024 (published Feb 2022; updated May 2022), hosted by UWC East Africa
• IB, Extended essay guide, first assessment 2018 (published Feb 2016, updated May 2019), including subject-specific guidance

The IB documents behind this page, checked 29 October 2026. The linked ones are on ibo.org; the others are IB documents we read in copies hosted elsewhere, so we name them without a link. Everything above is in our own words: the official wording is in your subject guide, which your coordinator can give you. LimeAdmissions is independent of the International Baccalaureate Organization, which has not endorsed this page. Every coursework structure →