IB Extended Essay Rubric: All 5 Criteria Explained (Current and 2027 Versions)

Quick answer: The IB extended essay rubric has five criteria, A to E. Until the November 2026 exam session, the essay is marked out of 34: Focus and method (6), Knowledge and understanding (6), Critical thinking (12), Presentation (4) and Engagement (6). From the May 2027 session, a new rubric marks the essay out of 30: Framework for the essay (6), Knowledge and understanding (6), Analysis and line of argument (6), Discussion and evaluation (8) and Reflection (4). The mark becomes a letter grade from A to E, and that grade combines with Theory of Knowledge (TOK) to give up to 3 bonus points.

Most pages that rank for the IB extended essay rubric are school library guides or short summaries. Some still list only the old criteria. Some list the new ones but leave out the mark bands. This guide covers both versions, side by side, with the mark bands, the grade boundaries, and what examiners look for in each criterion. It is based on the IB's Extended essay guide for first assessment 2027, the current guide, and the IB's "Using the assessment criteria" support material. Educifly's IB tutors have coached extended essays since 2018, so we also add where students lose marks and how to check your own draft before you submit.

If you are still choosing a topic, start with our list of IB extended essay topics. This page is about how the finished essay is marked.

What is the IB extended essay rubric?

The IB extended essay rubric is the set of five assessment criteria that IB examiners use to mark every extended essay, in every subject, out of a fixed total.

The extended essay (EE) is one of the three core parts of the IB Diploma Programme (DP), along with TOK and CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service). It is a 4,000-word piece of independent research on a topic the student chooses. The IB says it should take about 40 hours of student work, with three to five hours of supervisor support.

The essay is not marked by the school. It is sent to an IB examiner, who reads it against the rubric. The rubric is the same for every subject, from Biology to Visual Arts. What changes is how each criterion is interpreted for that subject. A "method" in Chemistry means an experiment. A "method" in English means a way of reading a text.

Two things matter for parents right now:

• The rubric is changing. The IB published a new Extended essay guide for first assessment in May 2027. Students who started the DP in August or September 2025 are the first group marked on it.

• The old rubric is still live. Students sitting exams in May 2026 or November 2026 are marked on the current 34-mark rubric.

So the right question is not "what is the rubric?" It is "which rubric applies to my child?" We answer that below.

The current IB extended essay rubric (until November 2026)

The current extended essay rubric has five criteria worth 34 marks in total, and Criterion C, Critical thinking, is worth 12 of them.

This rubric has been in use since the May 2018 session. Here is the full breakdown.

Criteria A to D are marked from the essay itself. Criterion E is marked from a separate form called the RPPF, the Reflections on Planning and Progress Form. On it, the student writes three short reflections, 500 words in total, at three points in the process.

The single biggest fact about this rubric: Criterion C is worth more than a third of all marks. An essay that describes instead of argues can lose 6 to 8 marks on this one criterion. That is often the gap between an A and a C.

The new IB extended essay rubric (from May 2027)

The new extended essay rubric has five criteria worth 30 marks in total, and Criterion D, Discussion and evaluation, is now the biggest at 8 marks.

The IB's Extended essay guide for first assessment 2027 sets out these five criteria, each with named "strands". A strand is a sub-skill the examiner checks inside the criterion.

Criterion E is now marked from a single reflective statement of no more than 500 words. It is written after the final reflection session, the viva voce, and goes on a form called the RPF (Reflection and Progress Form). The three reflection sessions with the supervisor still happen. The difference is that the student writes one statement at the end, not three along the way.

Old vs new extended essay rubric: what changed?

The 2027 rubric drops the separate Presentation criterion, splits the old Critical thinking criterion into two, and cuts the reflection marks from 6 to 4.

Here is the direct comparison.

Four changes matter most.

1. Presentation is no longer a separate criterion. Under the old rubric, a tidy title page, contents page, page numbers and consistent citations earned up to 4 marks on their own. Under the new rubric, structure sits inside Criterion A. Layout still matters, but it no longer earns marks by itself.

2. Analysis and evaluation now share 14 of 30 marks. The old Critical thinking criterion mixed analysis, discussion and evaluation into one 12-mark block. The new rubric separates them. Criterion C (6 marks) checks whether you analyse evidence and keep a clear line of argument. Criterion D (8 marks) checks whether you discuss what your findings mean and evaluate the strengths and limits of your research. Together they are almost half the total.

3. Reflection is worth less, and it is one statement. The old Engagement criterion was 6 marks from three reflections. The new Reflection criterion is 4 marks from one statement. The IB's guide says the two strands are "evaluative" and "growth": how the EE changed you as a learner, and how you will use those skills later.

4. World Studies becomes the Interdisciplinary pathway. Students can combine two DP subjects under one of five frameworks: Power, equality, justice; Culture, identity, expression; Movement, time, space; Evidence, measurement, innovation; and Sustainability, development, change. The framework is not marked. It is a way of registering and organising the essay. Two subjects, Environmental Systems and Societies and Literature and Performance, cannot be used in this pathway because they are already cross-disciplinary.

Which extended essay rubric applies to my child?

The rubric depends on the exam session, not on when the essay is written. Sessions up to November 2026 use the 34-mark rubric. Sessions from May 2027 use the 30-mark rubric.

If your child started the DP in autumn 2025, they are in the first cohort on the new rubric. Their school should have shared the new guide and the new RPF form. If the school is still using the old criteria sheet, ask. We have seen supervisors hand out the 34-mark rubric to students who will be marked out of 30.

Criterion A: Focus and method (6 marks) / Framework for the essay (6 marks)

Criterion A asks one question in both rubrics: has the student set up a clear, focused research question and a sensible way of answering it?

Under the current rubric, Criterion A is called Focus and method. It checks three things: the topic is explained, the research question is clear and focused, and the methodology (the sources and approach) fits the question.

Under the 2027 rubric, it is called Framework for the essay. The three strands are the research question, the research methods and the structure. The structure strand is what absorbed the old Presentation criterion.

What earns the top band (5–6 marks):

• The research question is a real question, stated as a question, and it is specific. "How did the Treaty of Versailles affect Germany?" is too wide. "To what extent did the reparations clauses of the Treaty of Versailles cause the German hyperinflation of 1923?" is focused.

• The question invites analysis, not description. The IB's own guide recommends wording such as "to what extent", "how significant" and "how successful".

• The essay explains why the method fits the question and the subject. A Biology EE explains the experiment well enough for someone else to repeat it. A History EE explains why these sources were chosen.

• The question stays in view. Examiners notice when the introduction asks one thing and the body answers another.

Where students lose marks: a double-barrelled question (two questions in one), a question with an obvious answer, a topic with too few good sources, or a method that is named in the introduction and then never used.

Criterion B: Knowledge and understanding (6 marks in both rubrics)

Criterion B asks whether the essay shows real subject knowledge, using the right terminology and the right concepts.

This criterion barely changed. Both rubrics give it 6 marks. The 2027 version names three strands: knowledge, understanding of terminology, and understanding of concepts.

What earns the top band (5–6 marks):

• Sources are relevant, good quality and used well. The IB's guide warns against "over-extensive quoting". Knowledge should show in the student's own writing.

• Subject terminology is used accurately and consistently. The guide's example: a Biology essay that uses "cells", "cytoplasm" and "lipid" correctly shows it belongs in the subject.

• Concepts are used, not just named. An Economics EE that uses "elasticity" to explain a result, rather than just define it, is showing understanding.

• For an interdisciplinary essay, the essay shows knowledge of both subjects and brings them together.

Where students lose marks: long quotations doing the work the student should do, wrong or loose use of technical terms, and a reference list full of sources that never appear in the text.

Criterion C: Critical thinking (12 marks) / Analysis and line of argument (6 marks)

Criterion C is where the essay proves it is an argument, not a report, and it is the criterion where the two rubrics differ most.

Current rubric: Critical thinking, 12 marks. This one criterion covers research, analysis, discussion and evaluation. The four mark bands are 1–3, 4–6, 7–9 and 10–12. To reach 10–12, the essay must analyse evidence effectively, build a reasoned argument, and evaluate the research critically. An essay that is "largely descriptive" is capped in the lower bands however good the writing is.

2027 rubric: Analysis and line of argument, 6 marks. Discussion and evaluation move to Criterion D. Criterion C now has two strands:

• Analysis. Breaking the topic down and drawing findings from the research. Every point of analysis needs evidence behind it.

• Line of argument. The IB's guide calls this "a reasoned thread that runs through your essay". The reader should always know where the argument came from and where it is going.

What earns the top band in either version:

• Each paragraph makes a claim, gives evidence, and explains why the evidence matters.

• The argument moves forward. Section endings link to the next section.

• Data and quotations are interpreted, not just presented.

• Signposting is explicit: "This suggests...", "However, the second source shows...", "Taken together, these findings...".

Where students lose marks: background history that runs for pages, a "findings" section that lists results with no interpretation, and a conclusion that appears from nowhere because nothing led up to it.

Criterion D: Presentation (4 marks) / Discussion and evaluation (8 marks)

Criterion D changes completely between the two rubrics: it goes from the smallest criterion, about layout, to the largest, about judgement.

Current rubric: Presentation, 4 marks. Two bands, 1–2 and 3–4. The essay needs a title page, a contents page, page numbers, an introduction, a body, a conclusion and a reference list. Tables and graphs need titles and labels. Citations follow one consistent style. Footnotes are only for references, not extra text. This is the easiest 4 marks in the rubric to secure, and the easiest to throw away by rushing the final formatting.

2027 rubric: Discussion and evaluation, 8 marks. Two strands:

• Discussion. The IB's guide asks for "a considered and balanced review of the significance of your research findings that includes a range of factors or perspectives". Conclusions must follow from the evidence.

• Evaluation. Weighing the strengths and limitations of the research materials, and being aware of the positions and views of the writers behind them.

What earns the top band under the 2027 rubric:

• The conclusion answers the research question directly, using the evidence in the essay.

• The essay says what the findings mean in the wider subject, not only what they are.

• Limitations are named and their effect is explained. "The sample was 30 students from one school, so the result may not hold elsewhere" is evaluation. "There were some limitations" is not.

• Alternative interpretations are considered and dealt with.

• Further research is suggested and follows logically from the findings.

Where students lose marks: treating evaluation as a two-line afterthought, listing limitations without saying why they matter, and running over 4,000 words so the discussion gets cut. Examiners stop reading at the word limit.

Criterion E: Engagement (6 marks) / Reflection (4 marks)

Criterion E is the only criterion marked from a form rather than the essay, and it rewards honest thinking about decisions, not a diary of what happened.

Current rubric: Engagement, 6 marks. Marked from the RPPF. The student writes three reflections, 500 words in total: one after the first supervisor meeting, one at the interim meeting, and one after the viva voce. Examiners look for evidence of decision-making, intellectual initiative, and how the student responded to problems.

2027 rubric: Reflection, 4 marks. Marked from a single reflective statement of up to 500 words on the RPF, written after the viva voce. Two strands:

• Evaluative. The value of the EE experience for the student as a learner, with explicit examples of skills transferred to other contexts.

• Growth. How changes in perspective affected decisions, and how the experience will shape future study, work or life.

What earns the top band in either version:

• Specific decisions and their reasons. "I dropped my second case study because the archive was closed, and narrowed the question to one city" beats "I faced some challenges".

• Evidence of change. What the student believed at the start, and what they believe now.

• Skills named and transferred. "I now plan my Chemistry IA the same way: sources first, then the question."

Where students lose marks: a timeline ("First I chose a topic, then I found sources, then I wrote"), emotion without analysis ("It was stressful but rewarding"), and a statement written in a rush the night before the deadline.

The three reflection sessions are compulsory in both rubrics. Missing the viva voce can mean no marks on Criterion E.

How extended essay marks become a grade from A to E

The total mark out of 34 (or 30 from 2027) is converted to a letter grade from A to E using grade boundaries set by the IB.

For the current 34-mark rubric, the boundaries used in recent sessions are:

The IB sets boundaries each session, so they can shift by a mark. The table above matches what schools have published for the May 2018 to May 2025 sessions.

For the new 30-mark rubric, the IB has not yet published grade boundaries. They will be set at the first assessment in May 2027, using the grade descriptors in the new guide. Schools predicting EE grades for that cohort are told to use the descriptors, not a mark total.

One rule has not changed: an E grade in the extended essay means no diploma, however good the other results. The IB's guide states that a student must reach at least a D to be awarded the diploma.

How the EE grade turns into diploma points

The extended essay grade and the TOK grade are combined in a matrix to give 0 to 3 bonus points on top of the 42 subject points.

An A in the EE plus an A in TOK gives 3 points. A and B in either order gives 3. B and B gives 2. A C in both gives 1. An E in either fails the diploma. The full grid, with every combination, is in our guide to the TOK–EE points matrix.

Why this matters: the difference between a B and a C in the EE can be one diploma point. For a student on the edge of a university offer at 38 or 40 points, that one point is real. The rubric is how you earn it.

Where extended essays lose marks: what examiners see most

Most extended essays lose marks in the same five places, and four of them are fixable before submission.

Educifly's IB tutors read dozens of EE drafts a year. The same problems come up in every subject.

The 4,000-word rule deserves a plain warning. The limit does not include the title page, contents page, tables, footnotes used for references, or the bibliography. It does include the introduction, body, conclusion and any words inside diagrams meant to add content. If the conclusion sits past word 4,000, the examiner does not read it, and Criterion D (2027) or Criterion C (current) collapses.

A self-marking checklist before you submit

Before submitting, mark your own extended essay against every criterion as an examiner would, and fix the lowest-scoring one first.

Work through this list with the draft open. Use the 2027 headings if your exams are in May 2027 or later.

Criterion A: Framework / Focus and method

• Is the research question written as a question, in the introduction, word for word as it appears on the title page?

• Could a stranger say what the essay is about from the question alone?

• Is the method explained and justified in the introduction?

• Does every section relate to the question?

Criterion B: Knowledge and understanding

• Are at least five subject-specific terms used correctly?

• Is every source in the bibliography cited in the text?

• Is any quotation longer than three lines? If so, can it be paraphrased?

Criterion C: Analysis and line of argument / Critical thinking

• Does each body paragraph end with a sentence that says why the evidence matters?

• Can you draw the argument as an arrow from the introduction to the conclusion?

• Is there a paragraph that could be deleted without weakening the argument? Delete it.

Criterion D: Discussion and evaluation / Presentation

• Does the conclusion answer the research question in its first sentence?

• Are at least two limitations named, each with its effect on the findings?

• Is there one alternative interpretation the essay considers and answers?

• (Current rubric) Title page, contents page, page numbers, labelled figures, one citation style?

Criterion E: Reflection / Engagement

• Does the statement name at least two decisions and the reasons for them?

• Does it name a skill and where it will be used next?

• Is it under 500 words?

If two or more answers in a criterion are "no", that criterion is likely sitting in the middle band. That is where a tutor can help most. Educifly's extended essay help is coaching, not writing: a tutor works through the criteria with the student, question by question, and the student does the writing. Reading marked IB extended essay examples alongside the rubric is the fastest way to see what a 5–6 band looks like in your subject.

How the rubric works in different subjects

The five criteria are the same in every subject, but each subject has its own conventions for what "method", "analysis" and "evaluation" look like.

The IB's guide includes subject-specific guidance for every EE subject. A few examples of how the same criterion reads differently:

Two practical points. First, writing in a subject the student does not study in the DP is risky on Criterion B. The terminology and concepts will not be second nature. The IB "strongly recommends" writing in a subject the student is taking. Second, an interdisciplinary essay (2027) or World Studies essay (current) must show knowledge of both subjects. One subject doing all the work will cost marks on Criterion B.

Whatever the subject, a subject-specialist tutor who knows the EE rubric can spot a middle-band essay early. Educifly's IB tutors are matched one to one by subject, and EE coaching is available as an add-on to regular lessons. If you want to see how that works, book a free trial class.

Frequently asked questions about the IB extended essay rubric

How many marks is the IB extended essay out of?

The extended essay is marked out of 34 under the current rubric, used up to the November 2026 session. From the May 2027 session it is marked out of 30. In both cases the mark is converted to a letter grade from A to E.

What are the five extended essay criteria?

Under the current rubric: A Focus and method (6), B Knowledge and understanding (6), C Critical thinking (12), D Presentation (4), E Engagement (6). Under the 2027 rubric: A Framework for the essay (6), B Knowledge and understanding (6), C Analysis and line of argument (6), D Discussion and evaluation (8), E Reflection (4).

What is changing in the extended essay rubric in 2027?

Five things. The total drops from 34 to 30 marks. Presentation is no longer a separate criterion. Critical thinking (12 marks) is split into Analysis and line of argument (6) and Discussion and evaluation (8). Reflection drops from 6 marks to 4 and is written as one 500-word statement instead of three. And World Studies is replaced by an Interdisciplinary pathway with five frameworks.

Which students are marked on the new 2027 rubric?

Students whose final exams are in May 2027 or later. That is everyone who started the two-year Diploma Programme in August or September 2025, or later. Students with exams in May 2026 or November 2026 are marked on the current 34-mark rubric.

What score do you need for an A in the extended essay?

Under the current rubric, an A has needed 27 marks out of 34 in recent sessions. The other boundaries are B 21–26, C 14–20, D 7–13 and E 0–6. The IB sets boundaries each session, so they can move by a mark. Boundaries for the new 30-mark rubric have not been published yet.

Can you fail the IB Diploma because of the extended essay?

Yes. An E grade in the extended essay means the diploma is not awarded, whatever the subject results. A student must score at least a D. An E in TOK has the same effect.

How many diploma points does the extended essay give?

The extended essay does not give points on its own. Its grade is combined with the TOK grade in a matrix that gives 0 to 3 bonus points. Two A grades give 3 points. An A and a B give 3. Two B grades give 2. Two C grades give 1. Any E gives no points and fails the diploma.

Is Criterion E marked from the essay or the reflection form?

From the form. Under the current rubric, Criterion E (Engagement) is marked from the three reflections on the RPPF, 500 words in total. Under the 2027 rubric, Criterion E (Reflection) is marked from one reflective statement of up to 500 words on the RPF, written after the viva voce.

Does the word limit include the bibliography and title page?

No. The 4,000-word limit covers the introduction, body, conclusion and any quotations. It does not include the title page, contents page, tables, charts, reference footnotes, the bibliography or appendices. Examiners stop reading at 4,000 words, so anything after that point, including the conclusion, is not marked.

Which criterion is worth the most marks?

Under the current rubric, Criterion C, Critical thinking, at 12 of 34 marks. Under the 2027 rubric, Criterion D, Discussion and evaluation, at 8 of 30 marks. In both versions, analysis and evaluation together decide the grade more than any other skill.

Is the extended essay rubric the same for every subject?

Yes. The five criteria and their marks are identical for every EE subject. What differs is the subject-specific guidance on how each criterion applies. "Method" in Physics means an experiment; in History it means the choice and use of sources. The IB's guide has a section for each subject.

Do I need a tutor for the extended essay?

Most students do not, if their school supervisor gives good feedback and they start early. A tutor helps in three cases: the supervisor is not a specialist in the subject, the draft is stuck in the middle band on Criterion C or D, or the student has never written a 4,000-word argument before. The tutor's job is to coach against the rubric, not to write the essay. Any essay written by someone else is academic misconduct and can cost the diploma.