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 entirely: your thinking and your decision-making process.
What reflections actually assess
By the time you're writing reflections, you've usually already done your research and presented your work. So reflections aren't there to repeat that. They're where you demonstrate 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 unfamiliar with it. They'd have questions: Why did you become interested in this question? Why does the answer matter? Why did you choose these methods or sources instead of 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're essentially writing your reflections.
Honesty beats perfectionism
IB does not want perfectionism — it wants academic honesty. If you genuinely 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 far higher on engagement than one who presents everything as flawless from day one.
The strongest reflections show genuine intellectual development. A good test: if someone read only your three reflections, they should be able to understand how your thinking evolved across the entire EE process. And before you write them, read the Engagement criterion in the official EE guide — IB is surprisingly explicit 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: answer why you cared, why these methods, what surprised you, what you'd 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.