IB Psychology SL Extended Essay Example

You communicated a clear and relevant psychology topic throughout the essay.

Your research question was stated clearly and gave the investigation a definite direction.

You included a reasonable range of study types and showed awareness that different designs serve different purposes.

Your topic scope was still a little broad in places, especially where depression, depressive symptoms, and causal development were not always separated clearly.

Your methodology would be stronger if you explained how sources were selected and why particular studies were prioritised.

Your handling of evidence would benefit from a sharper distinction between correlation, prediction, and causation.

You used a strong amount of relevant psychological vocabulary accurately in many places.

You showed good awareness of key ideas such as mediation, bias, validity, and regulation strategies.

You applied several studies with enough detail to show that you understood their main findings and psychological context.

Some causal language went beyond what the evidence could support, especially when discussing correlational studies.

A few concepts were used in a speculative or imprecise way, which weakened accuracy.

You would benefit from distinguishing more consistently between clinical depression and depressive symptoms.