Whose side are we on? Unreliable narrators and reader sympathy
A narrator who bends the truth can still win us over. How does the voice do it?
English A: Literature
Text analysis
Extended Essay · 2027
IB Extended Essay topics: 112 ideas by subject
Here is a list of 112 original Extended Essay ideas, in 7 groups. Each one has a title, a one-line hook, the subject, the main approach and a few flags. Our IB teachers at Photon Academy wrote them for students who are choosing a topic.
- 112 ideas
- 20 subjects
- 10 interdisciplinary
- 104 need no lab
Choosing the topic is the hardest part of the Extended Essay. This list is short on purpose: enough directions to pick from, not a finished question. The research question has to be yours.
The Extended Essay is a research essay of up to 4,000 words, marked by external examiners. It takes about 40 hours, far more than an IA, so the idea has to be something you can read about, test and argue for over several months. You can write in one subject or combine two.
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How to use this list of IB Extended Essay topics
- Pick a subject you enjoy. Use the filters to see ideas for one subject, or for two subjects together. Our Extended Essay guide explains what a good topic looks like.
- Check the evidence. Each idea shows its approach. Ask whether you can get the data, texts or equipment, and whether the work fits in the time. 94 ideas need no data of your own.
- Make it your own. Change the case, the place, the period or the text, then shape a question that you could still defend later. Do not copy a topic as it stands: 5 ideas are classics and need a clear twist.
Extended Essay ideas at a glance
Most ideas work from published data, texts or studies, so you do not need a lab. The chart at the top shows the subject groups. This one shows the approach.
Showing 112 of 112 ideas
English A Extended Essay topics
Close reading of novels, poems, plays and everyday texts such as headlines, speeches and slogans.
A city in verse: how do poets make streets feel alive?
Streets, trains and neon turn up in poems. What are they doing there?
English A: Literature
Text analysis
Lost in translation? Comparing two English versions of one poem
Two translators, one poem, two different feelings. Where does the difference come from?
English A: Literature
Text analysis
Reading between the stage directions: how do they steer a play?
A playwright's notes about silence, light and movement can say as much as the lines.
English A: Literature
Text analysis
Newspeak and beyond: language as control in dystopian fiction
Invented words and banned words are a way of ruling. How do novels show it?
English A: Literature
Text analysis
Told out of order: how structure shapes memory in a novel
Jumps in time can make a reader feel what a character remembers or forgets.
English A: Literature
Text analysis
One event, four headlines: how do news outlets frame the same story?
The same facts, different words. What does the choice of verb and noun do?
English A: Language and Literature
Text analysis
Short and loud: how do climate protest slogans persuade?
Slogans are a few words long. How do they work on a crowd and on a camera?
English A: Language and Literature
Text analysis
Words in a crisis: how do leaders speak to a frightened public?
A speech given in a crisis has to calm, explain and persuade at once.
English A: Language and Literature
Text analysis
Press start: how does video-game dialogue build a character?
Players choose what to say. How do writers make a voice feel real?
English A: Language and Literature
Text analysis
Language acquisition Extended Essay topics
Chinese, Spanish and French as living languages: idioms, mixing languages, translation and borrowing.
Four-character wisdom: how are chengyu used in modern commentary?
Old idioms keep turning up in today's opinion pieces. What work do they do?
Chinese
Text analysis
Mandarin and English in one sentence: why do speakers mix?
Online posts mix languages freely. Is there a pattern in when and why?
Chinese
Text analysis
Funny in one language, flat in another: translating jokes in subtitles
Jokes depend on sound and culture. What happens to them in subtitles?
Spanish
Text analysis
Franglais on the billboard: why do ads borrow English?
French adverts use English words. Fashion, or something deeper?
French
Case study
Individuals and societies Extended Essay topics
History, economics, business, psychology, geography, global politics and computer science: real cases, open data and published studies.
Rubber and a colony: how did one crop shape an economy?
A single export tied faraway factories to the Malay peninsula.
History
Archival
Reporting a merger: how did newspapers cover Singapore's joining Malaysia?
Four years, two headlines, different sides. What do the papers show?
History
Archival
Selling aid: how did posters make the case for post-war recovery?
Posters tried to win hearts as well as budgets.
History
Archival
Roads of silk: how far did Tang trade reach?
Goods and ideas moved between empires. How much do we really know?
History
Literature review
On the air: how did Cold War radio try to change minds?
Broadcasting across borders was a weapon of its own.
History
Case study
Votes for women in print: how did newspapers shape the campaign?
The press helped and hindered the cause.
History
Archival
Remembering a war: how do museum displays tell the Japanese Occupation?
Displays choose what to show. What story do they build?
History
Case study
After the plague: did wages really rise?
When many workers died, those who survived could ask for more. How far does the record agree?
History
Literature review
Taxing sugar: did a soft-drink levy change what companies sell?
A tax on sugary drinks can push firms to change recipes. Did it?
Economics
DatabaseClassic, needs a twist
Pearls and prices: how sensitive are bubble tea buyers to price?
A price rise on a favourite drink. Do people still queue?
Economics
SurveyPrimary data
One of the first carbon taxes: how well did it cut emissions?
Sweden put a price on carbon in the early 1990s. What changed?
Economics
Case study
Cooling the market: did new housing rules slow resale prices?
Governments change rules to cool property prices. How well does it work?
Economics
Database
Burgers and exchange rates: how well does purchasing power parity hold?
A burger priced in many countries tests a big idea in economics.
Economics
DatabaseClassic, needs a twist
Subsidising electric cars: what happened in Norway?
Tax breaks made electric cars cheap. What did that cost and achieve?
Economics
Case study
Same show, different price: how do streaming firms discriminate?
Subscriptions differ by country and plan. Why?
Economics
Case study
Money sent home: do remittances help development?
Workers abroad send billions home. Who benefits?
Economics
Literature review
Words that move markets: how do rate announcements shift currencies?
A few lines from a central bank can change an exchange rate.
Economics
Database
A higher floor for pay: what happens to jobs?
A minimum wage rise can help workers or cost jobs. Which?
Economics
Case studyClassic, needs a twist
Points for loyalty: do retail apps keep customers?
Many shops run a rewards app. Does it work?
Business Management
Case study
Fair beans? What do ethical sourcing claims achieve?
Labels promise better lives for farmers. Do they deliver?
Business Management
Case study
Passing the baton: how do family firms survive a handover?
Many firms fail when the founder leaves.
Business Management
Case study
Paying for news: can a subscription model sustain a newspaper?
Readers expect free news. Does a paywall work?
Business Management
Case study
When a product is recalled: how do firms handle the crisis?
A faulty product turns trust into risk overnight.
Business Management
Case study
Riding for tips: what motivates delivery riders?
Gig work offers flexibility but not job security.
Business Management
Literature review
Watching and not helping: does the bystander effect move online?
A famous idea about crowds meets the comment section.
Psychology
Literature review
Tempo and focus: does background music help or harm attention?
Students study with headphones. What does the research say?
Psychology
Literature review
Two languages, one brain: is there an advantage?
Researchers disagree on whether bilinguals have better control.
Psychology
Literature review
Remembering differently: does culture shape how we recall events?
Do people from different cultures remember in different ways?
Psychology
Literature review
Hot streets: how much warmer is a city centre than its parks?
Walk from a park to a busy street with a thermometer and you can feel the answer. Can you measure it?
Geography
FieldworkPrimary data
Trees against waves: how well do mangroves protect a coast?
Coastal forests are said to protect shores. What does the evidence say?
Geography
Literature review
Counting the lunch crowd: what predicts footfall at a food centre?
Busy and quiet stalls sit side by side. What explains it?
Geography
FieldworkPrimary data
Too many visitors? Where is the limit for a popular site?
A beautiful place can be loved to death.
Geography
Case study
Reading the tide gauge: how fast is the sea rising here?
A hundred years of tide records hide a trend under daily ups and downs.
Geography
Database
Painted lanes: do cyclists actually use them?
A new bike lane opens. Does it change how people travel?
Geography
FieldworkPrimary data
Do sanctions work? A look at one case
Governments use sanctions often. What do they actually achieve?
Global Politics
Case study
Everyone must agree: how does consensus shape a regional group?
A bloc decides by consensus. Is that strength or paralysis?
Global Politics
Case study
Pop culture as policy: does soft power from music and TV work?
Governments fund culture abroad. Does it change attitudes?
Global Politics
Case study
False news and elections: do new laws reduce it?
Several countries have passed laws against online falsehoods.
Global Politics
Case study
Faster on paper, slower on the machine? Sorting and the cache
Two sorting methods that are equal in theory can differ in practice.
Computer Science
ExperimentPrimary data
Squeezing data: which lossless method wins on which file?
Zip, PNG and friends all promise smaller files, but not equally.
Computer Science
ExperimentPrimary data
Echo chambers by code: how do recommender rules shape what we see?
A simple simulated platform can show feedback loops.
Computer Science
Modelling
Fastest route: how well do pathfinding algorithms handle real maps?
Navigation apps solve a hard problem in milliseconds.
Computer Science
ExperimentPrimary data
Guessing games: how do password rules change guessing times?
Rules about symbols and length are supposed to help. Do they?
Computer Science
ModellingPrimary data
What a full Extended Essay idea card includes
Every idea above is a starting point. When you study with us, each idea comes as a full card, and we help you make it your own. Here is the layout, with placeholder text. The locked parts are blurred on purpose.
Your idea's title goes here
One line that says what the essay is about.
Subject
Research question Locked
Approach and sources Locked
What to analyse Locked
How to make it yours Locked
Pitfalls Locked
Full cards are shared with Photon Academy students in lessons, together with help to turn an idea into a question that is yours. We give feedback and ask questions. We never write or rewrite your essay.
Sciences Extended Essay topics
Physics, chemistry, biology and sport science: public datasets, models and a few school experiments.
Two ways to measure the expansion rate: why do they disagree?
The universe's expansion rate comes out different when measured from nearby supernovae and from the early cosmic microwave background.
Physics
DatabaseMore Physics ideas
Listening to a black-hole merger: can you recover the masses?
The first gravitational wave rose in pitch as two black holes spiralled in. Its chirp encodes the masses.
Physics
DatabaseMore Physics ideas
Numerical orbits: which integrator can you trust for 1,000 years?
Simple methods quietly gain or lose energy as a planet orbits. Measure how fast, and which methods avoid it.
Physics
ModellingMore Physics ideas
Do bigger stars really shine as M^3.5? Test it with binary stars.
Eclipsing binaries give the most accurate stellar masses and radii. Use them to test how luminosity scales with mass.
Physics
DatabaseMore Physics ideas
Can a liquid-drop formula predict how tightly nuclei bind?
A drop-of-liquid model of the nucleus predicts binding energies with five terms. Fit them to real nuclei.
Physics
DatabaseMore Physics ideas
Quantum tunnelling: how does the leak depend on barrier width?
Particles pass through barriers that classical physics forbids. A simulation shows exactly how the chance falls with thickness.
Physics
ModellingMore Physics ideas
Sand patterns on a plate: what sets the mode frequencies?
Sand on a vibrating plate gathers along lines of no motion. Each pattern has its own frequency.
Physics
ExperimentNeeds a school labPrimary dataMore Physics ideas
Two linked pendulums: how does energy pass between them?
Link two pendulums by a spring and one swing slowly passes to the other and back.
Physics
ExperimentNeeds a school labPrimary dataMore Physics ideas
How much would doubling CO2 warm the Earth? Estimate it from data.
A simple one-box energy model and 70 years of temperature and CO2 records can estimate climate sensitivity.
Physics
DatabaseMore Physics ideas
Double pendulum: how fast do nearly identical swings drift apart?
A double pendulum is deterministic but chaotic. Measure how quickly tiny differences grow.
Physics
ExperimentNeeds a school labPrimary dataMore Physics ideas
How good is good enough? Benchmarking levels of theory
A faster method is only useful if it is right; test several against measured values.
Chemistry
ModellingMore Chemistry ideas
Two ways to make ibuprofen: which is greener, by the numbers?
A famous pair of industrial routes with the same product and very different waste.
Chemistry
DatabaseMore Chemistry ideas
When does a school colorimeter stop telling the truth?
Beer-Lambert is an idealisation; characterise how and why your instrument departs from it.
Chemistry
ExperimentNeeds a school labPrimary dataMore Chemistry ideas
Which isotherm describes dye on charcoal: adsorption models compared
Adsorption is where surface chemistry gets quantitative; test two models against your own data.
Chemistry
ExperimentNeeds a school labPrimary dataMore Chemistry ideas
What stops steel rusting in acid: comparing inhibitors quantitatively
Pickling acid eats steel; a small additive can slow that dramatically. How well, and why?
Chemistry
ExperimentNeeds a school labPrimary dataMore Chemistry ideas
How does vitamin C vanish: order, activation energy, oxygen
A vitamin dissolved in a drink goes through chemistry that can be followed and modelled.
Chemistry
ExperimentClassic, needs a twistNeeds a school labPrimary dataMore Chemistry ideas
Does a concentration cell follow the Nernst temperature term?
The temperature term in the Nernst equation is easy to forget; test it directly.
Chemistry
ExperimentNeeds a school labPrimary dataMore Chemistry ideas
Antibiotic resistance over time: what do surveillance data show?
Resistance rates change country by country and year by year. What is the link with antibiotic use?
Biology
DatabaseMore Biology ideas
Why are there more species near the equator?
Species richness rises toward the tropics. Test the pattern with open data, and test an explanation.
Biology
DatabaseClassic, needs a twistMore Biology ideas
Does a warmer spring bring flowers earlier?
Plants open their buds when the weather lets them. How closely do records of first flowering follow temperature?
Biology
DatabaseMore Biology ideas
Are species moving? Range shifts from open records
Observations of a species at different latitudes across decades can show whether it has moved.
Biology
DatabaseMore Biology ideas
Do abundant proteins use favourite codons?
Many codons code for the same amino acid but are not used equally. Does the choice track how much protein a cell makes?
Biology
DatabaseMore Biology ideas
How hot is too hot for a reef? Bleaching and sea temperature
Corals bleach when the sea stays warm. Find out how long and how hot it must be.
Biology
DatabaseMore Biology ideas
Does phosphorus predict algae? Long lake series
Decades of lake records show phosphorus and chlorophyll side by side. How closely do they move together?
Biology
DatabaseMore Biology ideas
Can a simple model fit a real outbreak?
Real epidemics have waves, delays and changing behaviour. See how far a simple model can follow a real curve.
Biology
ModellingMore Biology ideas
Winning the ball back: does pressing high pay off?
Teams press in different ways. Do the numbers say it works?
Sports, exercise and health science
Database
Warming up: what does the evidence say about injury and performance?
Everyone warms up. How much do we know about why?
Sports, exercise and health science
Literature review
Mathematics Extended Essay topics
Models, proofs and numerical experiments that go a step past the classroom.
The fastest slide: straight line, circle or cycloid?
Not a straight line, not a circle. A calculus puzzle with a surprising winner.
Mathematics
ModellingMore Maths ideas
Chaos: does a butterfly change the weather?
Tiny changes grow fast. How fast, and can you measure it?
Mathematics
ModellingMore Maths ideas
How search engines rank pages: PageRank
A matrix and a loop are behind the way search engines once ranked pages.
Mathematics
ModellingMore Maths ideas
Pricing an option: from coin flips to Black-Scholes
A tree of up and down moves can price a financial option.
Mathematics
ModellingMore Maths ideas
Matching students to places: the Gale-Shapley algorithm
A simple procedure can pair applicants and places so no one wants to swap.
Mathematics
ModellingMore Maths ideas
Map projections: how do they distort the world?
Every flat map lies a little. How much, and where?
Mathematics
ModellingMore Maths ideas
When should you stop looking? The 37% rule
There is a best moment to stop searching and just choose.
Mathematics
ModellingMore Maths ideas
Fourier series: what is in a musical note?
Different instruments playing the same note sound different. Fourier shows why.
Mathematics
DatabasePrimary dataMore Maths ideas
The cheapest network: spanning trees and Steiner points
Adding a point where no town exists can shorten a network.
Mathematics
ModellingMore Maths ideas
Epidemics: does a top-down model match a real outbreak?
A smooth curve and a crowd of simulated people can tell different stories.
Mathematics
ModellingMore Maths ideas
Arts Extended Essay topics
Visual arts, music and film: analysis of works, styles and the choices behind them.
Colour in propaganda: how do posters use palettes to persuade?
Red, black and gold on a wall. Was it chosen on purpose?
Visual Arts
Text analysis
Walls that talk: how does street art change a heritage district?
Murals bring visitors, but also change how a place looks and feels.
Visual Arts
Case studyPrimary data
Waves across the sea: how did woodblock prints shape European art?
Japanese prints changed painters' ideas of space and colour.
Visual Arts
Literature review
One scale, many places: why does the pentatonic scale appear everywhere?
Five notes turn up in folk music across the world.
Music
Literature review
Borrowed beats: when does a sample become something new?
Hip hop builds on other recordings. Where is the line between copying and creating?
Music
Text analysis
Themes that return: how do leitmotifs work in film scores?
A short tune can stand for a person, a place or an idea.
Music
Text analysis
Teal and orange? How does colour grading signal genre?
Horror feels green, romance feels warm. Is it a rule or a habit?
Film
Text analysis
Silence and screams: how does sound build tension in horror?
Sound often does more than the picture.
Film
Text analysis
Interdisciplinary Extended Essay topics
Each idea names two subjects. Both must be needed to answer the question.
Singing over the traffic: how do birds adapt to urban noise?
Cities are loud. Do birds sing differently?
Physics + Biology
Database
The price of water: can pricing ease scarcity?
Water is cheap where it is scarce and costly where it is plentiful. Why?
Economics + Geography
Case study
Bottles reborn: is recycling plastic worth the money?
Recycling needs chemistry and a market. Does it pay?
Chemistry + Economics
Case study
Can you afford a home? Modelling affordability
Prices, wages and loans combine in a calculation with real stakes.
Mathematics + Economics
Modelling
Closing borders: did travel limits slow the spread of disease?
Governments closed borders in epidemics. What does biology say, and what does politics say?
Biology + Global Politics
Literature review
Scrolling by design: do recommendation algorithms hold our attention?
Feeds learn what holds us. What does psychology say about why it works?
Computer Science + Psychology
Literature review
Riding the monsoon: how did winds shape port cities?
Sailing seasons decided where trade towns grew.
History + Geography
Case study
Fuel from water: can green hydrogen make business sense?
Hydrogen from water and electricity is clean but costly.
Business Management + Chemistry
Case study
Selling sunshine: how do solar tariffs and panel physics interact?
Panel efficiency sets the output and tariffs set the pay.
Physics + Economics
Modelling
Does reading make us kinder? Fiction and empathy
A popular claim: reading fiction builds empathy. How well does it stand up?
English A: Literature + Psychology
Literature review
From topic to research question
An idea is not yet a question. Here are three invented examples of the step from a weak start to a stronger one. They are not on the list above, and they are not for copying: your question has to come from your own reading.
Plastic in the sea
Weak: How does plastic pollution affect the ocean?
It is a topic, not a question. It has no place, no period and no way to tell a good answer from a bad one.
Stronger: To what extent have single-use bag charges reduced the litter counted on beaches in one country since 2010?
One policy, one place, one measure, and an open answer.
Pendulums
Weak: A study of how pendulums swing
It names a topic and promises a report. Nothing is being tested.
Stronger: How far does a pendulum's period depart from the small-angle formula as the starting angle grows?
One variable, one prediction to test against, and a way to judge the gap.
Weather in a novel
Weak: Is the weather important in this novel?
A yes or no question. The answer is obvious and the essay would only list examples.
Stronger: To what extent does weather imagery in one novel follow the changing mood of its narrator?
One text, one device, and a claim that a reader could argue against.
More patterns, with what each fix is doing, are in our Extended Essay guide.
Help with your Extended Essay
Get help to pick a topic and make it yours
Our students get Extended Essay support in lessons: the full idea card, help to turn an idea into a research question, planning, and feedback on the draft. We give feedback and ask questions. We never write or rewrite your essay.
Free trial lesson · small groups · 5 Tank Road or online
What you get in lessons
- Full idea cards: for every idea on this page, with an example approach, the kinds of sources to look for, what to analyse and the traps to avoid.
- Question help: we ask the questions that help you narrow an idea into a research question that is yours.
- Draft feedback: comments against the five Extended Essay criteria, never a rewrite.
Extended Essay topics: frequently asked questions
How do I choose an Extended Essay topic?
Start with a subject you enjoy and a kind of evidence you can get: a dataset, a set of texts, a case or a simple experiment. Then narrow to one question with limits on place, period and source. Pick the idea that you could still defend in a conversation with your supervisor after months of work.
Can I use an IA topic for my Extended Essay?
You can be inspired by one, but you cannot reuse the same piece of work for both the IA and the Extended Essay. The IB counts that as duplication. The essay needs its own question, a wider reading base and a longer argument, so treat an IA idea as a starting direction only. The Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology cards link to our IA ideas pages.
What is an interdisciplinary Extended Essay?
It is an essay that answers one question using two DP subjects together. Each subject must add something the other cannot, so the two halves must not simply sit side by side. The ideas marked with two subjects on this page show the kind of question that needs both.
Which subjects can I write an Extended Essay in?
Most DP subjects can be used. This page has ideas for 20 subjects, including Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Economics, English, Business Management, Computer Science and Chinese. Check your school's list and your supervisor's advice for your exact subject.
How narrow should my research question be?
Narrow enough to answer well in 4,000 words: one place, one period, one text, one model or one comparison. If you could write a book on it, it is too wide. A good test is whether you can say in one sentence what evidence would change your answer.
Do I need a school lab?
No. Only 8 of the 112 ideas on this page need a school lab, and 94 use no primary data at all: they work from published data, texts or studies. Use the "No lab needed" filter to hide the lab ideas.
IB and International Baccalaureate are trademarks of the International Baccalaureate Organization. Photon Academy is not affiliated with or endorsed by the IB. The ideas on this page are our own and are not taken from IB materials.
Mr Ejaz Ahmad and his team
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