minimum word count

[thefencingguy]

Could someone give me a hand and tell me what the minimum word count is for and Extended Essay? I'm having some troubles writing the 4000 word limit.

Thanks

[battlescarves]

Technically speaking the Extended Essay has a word *limit* of 4000. Your word count will depend on the subject you're writing in. I know that math and science EEs are usually quite short, but when writing in subjects like History and Englsh people usually have trouble cutting down to 4000 rather than getting there. I'd say if you're not writing it in science or math 3500 should be the absolute minimum, but you should aim to go above 3800 in my opinion. If your subject *is* math or science then I have no idea, sorry

[ctrls]

If your subject *is* math or science then I have no idea, sorry

I've heard there's been successful maths EE's which only had ~2500 words, since formulas and such aren't part of the word count. The IB doesn't really care how much you write with those subjects, so I wouldn't worry about the word count with such subjects.

[thefencingguy]

It is about The United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

[battlescarves]

It is about The United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

I'm assuming that falls under History, in which case I *highly* recommend your word count is above 3500, preferably above 3700.

[Rigel]

The absolute minimum should be 3800-3900. Most of the EEs I've seen that scored A or B generally had more than 3800 words.

[dniviE]

Neh, the EE has a word limit and not a word floor for a reason: successful EEs can be quite short! However, how short your EE will be depends a lot on the topic. For most EEs you would want to aim for 3500-4000 words to fully explain everything enough in-depth.

There are, of course, cases in which students have written EEs that are way less than the word count (say 2000 words) and still succeeded with good grades. Some years ago there was a case in my school in which that happened, but the guy wrote in IB Art so maybe it is a special case...? What you have to remember, is that it might work for the very few that are able to do it but for the majority it does not work. Try to fill out the word limit as best as you can and make sure that you explain everything sufficiently in-depth.

EDIT: on a second thought, I am not even sure if the case I mentioned that happened in my school is an urban myth or something. Bottom line: explain your topic sufficiently in-depth and attempt to have at least more than 3500 words!

Edited December 19, 2013 by dniviE