Your Computer Science Extended Essay
A 4,000-word research paper that answers one focused computing question with evidence. Each step has a short explanation, things to try, and a checklist; there are four tools too.
The journey at a glance
From topic to reflective statement Animation
Click any stop: Bit walks there and tells you what happens. The purple tags are your meetings with your supervisor.
You hand in two things
Does it count towards the 4,000 words? Self-check drill
Decide for each part of an essay, then check.
Where the 30 marks are
| Criterion | Marks | The examiner asks… | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| A · Framework for the essay | 6 | Do your RQ, methods and structure give the essay a good framework? | RQ, method section, overall structure |
| B · Knowledge and understanding | 6 | Do you know and understand the CS you are using? | Background/theory, sources, terminology |
| C · Analysis and line of argument | 6 | Do you analyse your results and build a clear argument? | Results and analysis |
| D · Discussion and evaluation | 8 | Do you discuss what the findings mean and evaluate your essay? | Throughout, especially discussion and conclusion |
| E · Reflection | 4 | How did the EE change you as a learner? | Only the 500-word statement on the RPF |
A framework, B knowledge, C argument, D discussion and evaluation, E reflection. Doubt earns the most: D is worth 8.
A–D are judged on the essay as a whole. Your EE grade (A–E) combines with your TOK grade for up to 3 diploma points; grade boundaries for the new criteria will be set after the first exams in May 2027.
Your EE is not your IA
IA thinking: “I will build a chatbot / an app / a game and explain how I made it.”
A product, a build log or a tutorial is not an EE, however good the code.
EE thinking: “I will find out how far one technique beats another, under which conditions, and why.”
You may write code, but only to answer the question. The code goes in an appendix.
You cannot reuse data or outputs from your IA in your EE (or the other way round).
EE or IA? Self-check drill
Which one is each of these about?
Rules in brief
- Your own work. AI may help you find sources, generate a dataset or help with testing, but it must not write or structure your essay, and any use must be acknowledged. An AI-written reflection can stop your supervisor authenticating the whole EE.
- Three reflection sessions with your supervisor are compulsory (the last is the viva voce). Miss them and the RPF is incomplete, so the essay can't be submitted.
- One full draft gets written feedback from your supervisor (questions and prompts, not edits). The next version you hand them is your final one: after that it can't change.
- Supervision time is about 3–5 hours in total, so come to every meeting prepared.
- Ethics: use datasets you are allowed to use, keep personal data out, and only run security experiments on systems you own.