Extended Essay: Plain-Language Rubric and Planning Checklist

Extended Essay: Plain-Language Rubric and Planning Checklist

This guide restates the EE assessment criteria in plain language and provides a stage-by-stage planning checklist for the whole project. It covers both the current 34-mark scheme (to November 2026) and the new 30-mark scheme (first assessment May 2027).

Unofficial restatement. The wording below is an original, plain-language summary to help you plan — it is not the official rubric. Grade boundaries are set per session, so any mark ranges are approximate. Always check your subject's specific EE requirements.


Part 1 — The criteria in plain language

Current scheme (34 marks, to Nov 2026)

Criterion Marks In plain language: the examiner is asking...
A — Focus and method 6 Is there a clear, focused research question, a well-d