Extended Essay Rubric and Criteria: What Teachers Should Check

Teachers search for the Extended Essay rubric because they need feedback that matches the criteria without turning supervision into rewriting. The safest workflow is to check the official guide for the student's session, then translate the criteria into student-facing revision comments.

IB's DP Extended Essay updates page says the new EE launched in February 2025, with first assessment in May 2027, and lists updated criteria for that model. Always confirm which guide applies to the student before using a rubric checklist.

Rubric areas to check

• Framework: Does the research question, method, and structure provide a usable frame for the essay?
• Knowledge and understanding: Does the student show subject understanding rather than general interest?
• Analysis and line of argument: Does the essay build an argument from evidence?
• Discussion and evaluation: Does the student evaluate findings, methods, or limitations?
• Reflection: Does the student explain learning and research decisions?

Teacher feedback checklist

1. Underline the exact research question and check whether every major section helps answer it.
2. Mark evidence as background, evidence, analysis, or evaluation.
3. Identify one place where the student should evaluate a source, method, or conclusion.
4. Write one criterion-level comment and one concrete next step.

Reusable rubric-aligned comments

• "The research question is promising, but the method needs to show how the question will be answered."
• "This paragraph presents evidence; add analysis explaining what it proves."
• "Add evaluation of the limitation and its effect on the conclusion."
• "In the reflection, explain the research decision you made and why it changed the essay."

Next steps

Draft criterion-level feedback in the Extended Essay Grader, then compare it with your school's official rubric before sharing.