IB Psychology SL Extended Essay Example

You communicate the topic clearly and keep the investigation grounded in a meaningful psychological debate.

Your research question is explicit, focused, and consistently carried through the essay.

You use a broad range of relevant studies and show some informed selection across different research designs.

The opening establishes a clear rationale for the investigation and connects the topic to a wider real-world context.

Your literature review method is not set out explicitly, so the reader cannot see how sources were chosen or compared.

The research question would be stronger if it distinguished more carefully between association and causation.

A few source details and references need closer verification and consistency.

You show a good grasp of birth-order theory, the Big Five model, and the main research-design issues involved in the topic.

You use psychological terminology mostly accurately and with a good degree of confidence.

You generally apply studies in a relevant way to the question rather than using them as isolated facts.

Your understanding is coherent enough to support a sustained argument about why the evidence does or does not support birth-order effects.

Some terminology is used imprecisely, especially when discussing validity, reliability, and power.

A few claims move too quickly from evidence of association to causal language.

There are inconsistencies in source use and citation detail that reduce the overall precision of the knowledge presented.