Harry Potter EE's?

[thechorusgirl]

Hi! I'm new here, and I just had a couple of EE questions, but I'm just in the process of picking a topic.

What do you all think of Harry Potter EE's? I would very much like to write one, mainly on the character of Voldemort (probably a comparison, though I haven't picked a villain -- I've thought of the White Witch, Dracula, Iago, and some others), and I just wanted to know your thoughts. I know that by several people it is not even considered literature, but I do consider a novel, and (especially later) an adult novel.

Have any of you written HP EE's?

[ivy12003]

Hi! I'm new here, and I just had a couple of EE questions, but I'm just in the process of picking a topic.

What do you all think of Harry Potter EE's? I would very much like to write one, mainly on the character of Voldemort (probably a comparison, though I haven't picked a villain -- I've thought of the White Witch, Dracula, Iago, and some others), and I just wanted to know your thoughts. I know that by several people it is not even considered literature, but I do consider a novel, and (especially later) an adult novel.

Have any of you written HP EE's?

I've never written a Harry Potter EE, but I think that most examiners tend to discourage Harry Potter because it is debatable as to how "literary" the topic is and a lot of students do it and tend not to score very well. Anyway, if I were going to do it on Harry Potter, I would choose a topic that is very original; something that almost no one would think of to prevent clashing topics with anyone. If you're going to do Voldemort, I would focus on a very specific aspect of him. But, IMO it may be better to go for a classic since you can't really go wrong there.

[IBStuck]

actually HMS did her EE on harry Potter, so you should ask her about it. so it isn't unheared of to write an EE on harry potter, but i would think it would be difficult to do. you need to make sure you are looking at as a piece of literature, and not at the story line.

[thechorusgirl]

I've never written a Harry Potter EE, but I think that most examiners tend to discourage Harry Potter because it is debatable as to how "literary" the topic is and a lot of students do it and tend not to score very well. Anyway, if I were going to do it on Harry Potter, I would choose a topic that is very original; something that almost no one would think of to prevent clashing topics with anyone. If you're going to do Voldemort, I would focus on a very specific aspect of him. But, IMO it may be better to go for a classic since you can't really go wrong there.

That was my main concern, about if it would be considered literature. I was going to compare the character to a "classic" villain, but focus more on Voldemort and the series.

If I don't do it in English, I might still use Harry Potter for Sociology/Anthropology and see how it affected different religions throughout the world.

[goldenarcher]

I agree with IBStuck and Ivy12003. A Harry Potter EE could be really interesting it depends on what you do with it. There was a book (I think) that was about the philosophy of Harry Potter - connections to Aristotle and Socrates etc - and how that shaped HP. Something like that might work. I don't think that you need to avoid the story for an EE it just has to be about more than just that story. If you can make in engaging and thoughtful then it could work for you. For example, I have a friend who was considering doing her EE on LOTR and how many of the battles in the books reflect WWI battles and how Tolkien's involvement in the war shaped the story - I don't remember if she went anywhere with it though. But you should keep in mind that a lot of stuff has been written using Harry Potter and IB usually doesn't like repeats, they want originality. Here's a link to one of those books, look at the list of related books. Maybe too much has already been done but maybe you'll get some ideas. Whatever you decide to do, good luck! : )

[IBStuck]

HMS's old EE should eb on here somewhere if you want to look at it. you would prolly have to buy a VIP mebership to see it.

[~Lc~]

it is considered litrerature =)

my teacher's main concern with me doing this was that it was such a popular topic that it would've lacked originality.. but otherwise I see no reason why you shouldn't pick it for an EE =)

[Ruan Chun Xian]

Put it this way, Philosopher's Stone is currently on the booklist for one of my university's literature courses.

That said, I did HP. I got 28/36.

[eblake]

Hi! I'm new here, and I just had a couple of EE questions, but I'm just in the process of picking a topic.

What do you all think of Harry Potter EE's? I would very much like to write one, mainly on the character of Voldemort (probably a comparison, though I haven't picked a villain -- I've thought of the White Witch, Dracula, Iago, and some others), and I just wanted to know your thoughts. I know that by several people it is not even considered literature, but I do consider a novel, and (especially later) an adult novel.

Have any of you written HP EE's?

I have a friend in Austin, Texas with that exact topic.. I thought it was ridiculously fringe but I guess not. I still don't think it's a good idea. If it's the character of the villain or the wizard or even just the idea of magic that interests you, I suggest you investigate it primarily in another text and make references to HP in passing.. I feel like writing an EE on HP can be amazing, but is more likely to flop. As well, I don't think the IBO would score it highly even if it were amazing just because there isn't enough scholarship on the subject.

Furthermore.. I don't think the IBO seriously wanted us to just write about something we're interested in and explore it. I think their primary goal is to familiarize us with the academic writing process, i.e. with documentation of scholarship. The development of a coherent argument and 'personal engagement' can apply to an HP essay, but those are only two components.

All in all, I think it's a bad idea.

If it makes you feel any better.. I'm only saying this because I chose to do my EE on something that was kind of fringe for its discipline. As a result I feel pretty awful about it. But then again, I don't know my predicted grade yet.

[thechorusgirl]

I've talked to my IB coordinator as well as the extended essay coordinator at my school, and for the most part, they are all for this idea. They're even pleased. I also think that's because many people aren't doing English...

Anyways, my EE coodinator said that a good idea would be to compare the character of Voldemort in Harry Potter as a modern character is modern literature to a more classic villian (Dracula? Iago? help?). I liked this idea, but I wasn't quite sure about it.

I guess I'll see what happens. I've still got plenty of time to change my subject.

[Vvi]

I think it sounds okay then, especially if you do Dracula. And what matters is that you're interested in the subject.

For the actual EE, talk about the different genres the books fit into. Since HP is modern children's literature and Dracula is part of vampire fiction, there are obvious differences. However, you mentioned HP also developing into adult literature. This should provide for a good contrast and compare essay, although you don't have to mention it in the title explicitly.

Your title could be something like "How do Stoker and Rowling develop Dracula and Voldemort into classic villains?" which would explore character development throughout the books. Or "To what extent are Dracula and Voldemort classic villains according to literary conventions?".