IB Psychology SL Extended Essay Example

The student introduces the investigation clearly and keeps the topic anchored to procrastination, executive functioning, and the prefrontal cortex.

The student's research question is explicit and stays linked to the main line of discussion throughout the report.

The student uses a range of relevant studies and shows purposeful selection when building the argument.

The student shows a clear awareness that different concepts such as structure, function, and connectivity need to be distinguished.

The research question is still a little too broad and implies a stronger causal claim than the evidence can support.

The methodology is not clearly explained, especially how sources were chosen, compared, and evaluated.

Some important concepts are blended together, which reduces precision in the investigation.

A few contextual sources are less academically robust than the core studies, which weakens methodological control.

The student shows good foundational understanding of procrastination, executive functions, and the role of the prefrontal cortex.

The student uses subject-specific terminology frequently and often in a way that helps explain the research.

The student demonstrates awareness of important methodological and conceptual issues such as self-report bias, confounding variables, and limits of cross-sectional evidence.

The student usually connects studies back to the topic rather than leaving them as isolated summaries.

Some terminology is used imprecisely, especially when structural and functional ideas are treated as interchangeable.

A few claims go beyond what the studies can directly show, particularly when correlational findings are interpreted too strongly.

Some study descriptions blur the difference between behavioural measures and direct neural evidence.

At times the writing uses technical language accurately but not always consistently or with full conceptual control.