IB Extended Essay

Hello,
This is my first time doing this so I don't know if this is right, but it's about Extended Essay in the IB -

I'm writing mine in English A1 HL and I was wondering if I HAVE to write a comparative essay?
Can't it just be come kind of depth-analysis on one book and its themes (for example)?
And can't I just concentrate on one book instead of two?

The reason for these questions is because my English teacher seems to have been telling me to do comparative (so I thought that was the only option) but then I checked out some EEs on the internet and well...Found quite a lot of essays about only one book.

So yes, thank you in advance!

Reply 1

arrowhead

You can do it on one book, quite easily. But you will realise that when essayists focus on one book, they concentrate on comparing two differing aspects/characters/plots/emotions/narrators within the same book. A friend of mine wrote her English EE on Pride and Prejudice and she focussed on comparing all the Bennett sisters in her essay and "the defining quality" that Austen bestowed upon them. There was still a running comparison, but the comparison was limited to that one book.

Tbh, that comparative aspect is imperative to any good English EE because the clarity and flow of your argument is paramount to getting a good grade and ticking off all the important check boxes. It just becomes easier with certain literary devices to compare two books, but with others you can just as easily focus on one. Most successful essays I've read, however, tend to focus on two works, but that could easily be chalked up to the fact that most candidates prefer to compare two works. At the same time, the 50 Best English A1 EEs has an essay on Feminism in The Lord of the Rings and the imagery of the outdoors in Emma, both topics focussed on one book, or at least, one series.

Reply 2

smj.hong

Thank you so much for your reply :smile:

It has been ever so helpful -
Now that I've made sure I think I will be concentrating on one book instead of two; two books were a little too tough for me...