Reflections are one of the most misunderstood parts of the Extended Essay. Most students treat them as a summary of what they did, and lose marks for it. IB is looking at something else: your thinking and your decisions.
What reflections actually assess
By the time you write reflections you have usually finished your research and presented your work, so reflections are not there to repeat that. They are where you show engagement: how you thought, what you decided, and how your understanding grew. Criterion E rewards intellectual growth, not a tidy recap.
The "zoom out" method
The most useful thing you can do is zoom out and imagine explaining your project to someone who knows nothing about it. They would have questions. Why did you become interested in this? Why does the answer matter? Why did you choose these methods or sources over others? What assumptions did you make? How does what you found compare to what others have found? Did anything surprise you? What were the limitations? What would you do differently with more time? Answer those honestly and you are basically writing your reflections.
Honesty beats perfectionism
IB does not want perfectionism, it wants academic honesty. If you struggled with a method, found a flaw in your approach, changed direction halfway through, or realised an assumption was weaker than you thought, say so. A student who reflects honestly on real challenges scores much higher on engagement than one who pretends everything worked from day one.
The strongest reflections show real intellectual development. A good test: if someone read only your three reflections, they should be able to follow how your thinking changed across the whole process. Before you write them, read the Engagement criterion in the official EE guide. IB is surprisingly clear about what it wants and most students overcomplicate it.
Key Takeaways
- Reflections show your thinking and decisions, not a summary of what you did
- Zoom out: why you cared, why these methods, what surprised you, what you would change
- Be honest about struggles and changes of direction, engagement rewards it
- If someone read only your reflections, they should see how your thinking grew
- Read the Engagement criterion in the EE guide, IB tells you what it wants
Free guide
Want the full three-reflection structure and what each one should cover? Our RPPF guide walks through all six Criterion E marks.