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Math EE too straightforward?


travisferrarus

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Hello guys!

I am in IB2, and am doing my Extended Essay in Mathematics. 

When I perused the various exemplary EEs on the web, I found that many of them were innovative solutions to Olympiad problems, or stuff like the Collatz conjecture and Alhazen's Billiard Problem.

My Essay, however, is about a fairly straightforward optimisation. It is about a serious social problem, and I really love the topic.

Should I bother continuing knowing that it is pretty straightforward and involves no real mathematical breakthrough as such? Can such an Extended Essay still get high grades? 
Hoping for some quick replies seeing as my first draft is due tomorrow.
Cheers!

 
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"Break through" is not appropriate to describe the EE. The EE is not really about new math, just like it's really not about new scientific discovery in Group 4, or fresh essays from Group 1/History. EE is about the research process and presentation of such; do you know how to find sources? Can you explain your arguments clearly? Can you develop upon others' ideas? As long as the EE is at least at IB (HL, preferably) level and it's clear that you understand everything you've written, you will be fine. 

My EE was on how matrices describe slide rules. It's a very very ancient math idea (my reference come from a 1930s math textbook) but I explained it well and did personal exploration/experimentaion on such. 

Think of it this way; knowledge and understanding of the topic studied is only 4 marks. 4 marks! Out of a total of 36.  There's no point to really make sure you study a really advanced topic you are not interested in. Even if you were to write something that is Fields Medal-worthy, then you still would get only max 4 marks for that criterion, there are 32 other marks to worry about other than difficulty of topic. 

Message me if you need further explanation. 

Edited by kw0573
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