On September 1, 2022, Silicon Valley International School's (INTL) DP2 class had their Extended Essay Final Intensive Writing Day. The Extended Essay (EE) is a part of the Diploma Programme Core. The 4000-word essay that students produce is their first introduction to College-level research and writing. 

Throughout a journey which lasts for six-months, students identify a research question, conduct primary and secondary research into their chosen topic and write both a draft and final version of their essay. 

Students are assigned a subject-specific supervisor who oversees their process and provides guidance along the way. Students are also required to reflect on their planning and progress at three critical junctures. The final reflection session with the supervisor is a viva-voce which is an opportunity for students to defend their research thesis orally. 

This year, students are completing Extended Essays in a wide variety of subjects: English Language and Literature, History, Information Technology in a Global Society (ITGS), Physics, and World Studies: Health and Development. World Studies Extended Essays are interdisciplinary and are focused on one of six themes. This year our student is writing an essay combining Psychology and Biology. 

Our students are answering the following self-formulated questions in their EE: 

English Language and Literature

• How and why do the creators of Coraline subvert the tropes within classical story telling?
• How do the use of appeals to pathos to support their agendas differ between two US Republican Presidential candidates of the 21st century in their first debate for their second term? 

History

• To what extent was the outcome of the Trial of Bordeaux of 1953 justified for the Malgré-Nous involved?
• To what extent did the Indian annexation of Goa from the Portuguese in 1961 change the longstanding colonial socio-cultural climate of Goa?
• To what extent did the September 11th, 2001 attacks impact US domestic and foreign policies up to the end of the Bush Administration in 2009?
• To what extent was gender the most significant cultural cause for the Salem Witch Trials of 1692?

ITGS

• To what extent should online communities moderate their content and interactions between users? 

Physics

• How do the discrepancies between the predicted and observed orbital velocities, as functions of radius for the rotation of galaxy NGC 3198, provide evidence for the existence of dark matter?

World Studies

• To what extent does psychiatric stress exacerbate and cause skin diseases as compared to other factors of causation?

Throughout the EE Intensive Writing Day, the schedule was dedicated to reviewing draft feedback and writing up final conclusions. Students dedicated themselves to the task with vigor and by the end of the day had been very productive. All of the preparation will come to fruition on the final submission day, September 16th.

Learn more about INTL's Diploma Programme by contacting admissions today!