Psychology 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: Psychology.
5. Insert the word count from the counter.
6. Add the footnote statement if you used explanatory notes.

2. Acknowledgements or dedication

Common practice (Optional, uncounted and unassessed) · Outside the word count · Only when it applies

Thanks or a dedication with no identifying names.

1. Decide whether you need it.
2. Remove any name that identifies you, your supervisor or your school.
3. Keep it to a few lines.

3. 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.

4. Introduction

Required by the IB · Criterion: A

The research question, why it matters, and the key terms defined and operationalised.

1. Define the key concept in measurable terms.
2. State the question.
3. Explain why it matters.
4. Say that the essay reviews peer-reviewed research, since collecting primary data is not permitted.

5. Brief theoretical background

Common practice (The guide warns against letting theory dominate the essay) · Criterion: B

Only the theory needed to read the studies.

1. Keep it short.
2. Link each theory to the studies that follow.

6. Argument by claim

Required by the IB (Required as the body; this form organises it by claim) · Criterion: C, D

Studies that support and studies that challenge each claim.

1. Organise the body by claim.
2. Present studies on both sides of each claim.
3. Use the same definition of the concept throughout.
4. Compare published findings and link them to theory.
5. Label, acknowledge and refer to any table or figure.

7. Evaluation of the evidence

Rewarded by a criterion · Criterion: D

Each study's method and the weight of the evidence as a whole, woven into the argument.

1. Evaluate each study's method.
2. Weigh the evidence as a whole.
3. Weave these judgments into the argument as you go.

8. Conclusion

Required by the IB · Criterion: D

The answer, with limitations and unresolved questions.

1. Answer the question.
2. State the limitations.
3. Name the questions left open.

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 used, in 1 standard style chosen by the school.

1. Use 1 style throughout.
2. List every source you cited, including images, 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 material only: raw data, full texts and the mentor form.

1. Include only material the argument 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

• Tables comparing studies Table, occasional
  Label, acknowledge and refer to each in the text. Frequencies are estimates; no exemplar counts exist.
• Figures reproduced from published studies Image, occasional
  Acknowledge the source and refer to the figure in the text. Graphs of your own data have no place here, since primary data are barred.

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

Citations

No style is prescribed. APA author-date citation with a reference list is the usual teacher recommendation for Psychology.

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

Pitfalls

• Collecting your own data in any form, such as an experiment, survey or observation.
• Describing studies without evaluating them, or arguing only 1 side.
• Leaving a concept undefined or using it inconsistently, or writing a long theory background.
• 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)
• Extended essay guide, First assessment 2027 (IB, published Feb 2025, updated May and Aug 2025)
• Psychology guide, First assessment 2027 (IB, published Feb 2025, updated May 2025)
• Psychology: Subject-specific guidance (Extended essay guide, first assessment 2018)

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 →