Any advice on my EE?

[Megan D]

Hello guys! I'm in my first year and my teacher has already got us started on the EE

I've recently got very interested in Greek Mythology and I was hoping to do something along those lines.

I also love the Percy Jackson series, and I was thinking of addressing the different themes in it.

Does this seem like a good idea? Am I going in the right direction? And how specific should I be?

Help would be very much appreciated.

[Nabz]

Hello guys! I'm in my first year and my teacher has already got us started on the EE

I've recently got very interested in Greek Mythology and I was hoping to do something along those lines.

I also love the Percy Jackson series, and I was thinking of addressing the different themes in it.

Does this seem like a good idea? Am I going in the right direction? And how specific should I be?

Help would be very much appreciated.

It is good that you've started your EE, we also started working on it around the same time.

Have you chosen your supervisor yet? You can only do or at least you should do your EE under the subjects which are offered/taught at your school and under the subject which may help you in IB. It is very necessary that you select your topic according to this which will not only help you get good grades in your EE but also in that specific subject.

[Megan D]

Not yet @shad0wboss, my school is the epitome of unorganized. I'm hoping they assign us our co-ordinators once everyone has submitted the EE forms (me included) I do know the risks of doing something outside a subject I'm studying in; which is why I'm leaning towards English Lit. I'm not sure how much my co-ordinator would be able to help me since I'm sure she hasn't read the PJO series, but I'm really keen on doing that.

My seniors are running around like headless chickens as they STILL haven't finished their EE. I definitely do not want to end up like that, so I'm getting a head start.

[freezy19]

Hello guys! I'm in my first year and my teacher has already got us started on the EE

I've recently got very interested in Greek Mythology and I was hoping to do something along those lines.

I also love the Percy Jackson series, and I was thinking of addressing the different themes in it.

Does this seem like a good idea? Am I going in the right direction? And how specific should I be?

Help would be very much appreciated.

It is good that you've started your EE, we also started working on it around the same time.

Have you chosen your supervisor yet? You can only do or at least you should do your EE under the subjects which are offered/taught at your school and under the subject which may help you in IB. It is very necessary that you select your topic according to this which will not only help you get good grades in your EE but also in that specific subject.

gonna have to disagree with you there. You can do your EE on any subject area in the IB guideline for it... There were plenty of people in my EE class that were writing on subjects that they either weren't taking explicitly, or were just interested in.

So, I'd say the better idea is to pick something that interests you, and that you can get yourself to write 4k words about. Then make sure you find a good mentor, as that helps a lot. There are IB criteria for all different subject areas, so as long as you find one that is relevant/interesting to you, you should be ok.

Here's the list of subject areas, to help you out:

English

History

Politics

Psychology

Geography

WorId Religions

Dance

Biology

Mathematics

Music

Visual Arts

Environmental Systems

Film

Design Technology

Theater Arts

Business & Management

Economics

Chemistry

Philosophy

Human Rights

Social and Cultural Anthropology

[khimberleigh]

Although you can do your EE in any of the subjects Freezy listed I personally advise against doing it in a subject you don't do because for example, a History essay is written completely differently to and English essay and if you haven't studied history in the IB and have never learnt about historiography etc. it would be very difficult to get a good mark.

If you want to look at the themes I would do an English essay. It's not a major issue if your supervisor hasn't read the series as long as they can help you on the structure of the essay. My supervisor didn't know a lot about my topic but he has helped me with setting it out, whether I need more quotes/stats etc.

I think it seems like a good idea especially since you are interested in the topic. If you decide to do themes, I would focus on just one because it's better to deeply explore one idea than do a brief analysis of lots of ideas.

Good luck!

[Nabz]

i didn't phrase that properly. I think something that isn't offered at school would be harder to do + won't be that helpful in your IB curriculum no matter how much you love it. This is because, your supervisor probably won't have a clue what your topic is based on etc and won't be of much help to you + it will serve you no purpose of learning in the subjects you're taking.

Thus it is better to do something where you can get some useful help from your supervisor in marking the drafts etc and something that will help you. Of course you shouldn't do something which you really hate but something that might be of your interest.

[Megan D]

Thankyou so much for your feedback. Another question : If I analyze a whole series (main and sequel) would that be too broad...? Like only ONE theme throughout about 9 books. Or should I just stick to 5?

[Nabz]

Thankyou so much for your feedback. Another question : If I analyze a whole series (main and sequel) would that be too broad...? Like only ONE theme throughout about 9 books. Or should I just stick to 5?

sure you can use the whole series as that'll give you a range of examples to choose from. Course you should stick to your research question

[Sandwich]

Thankyou so much for your feedback. Another question : If I analyze a whole series (main and sequel) would that be too broad...? Like only ONE theme throughout about 9 books. Or should I just stick to 5?

The main thing is that you have 4,000 words in which to COMPLETELY deal with whatever question you've set yourself. If you haven't dealt with everything because you gave yourself too broad a question/too much to do, then you'll lose marks. If you set yourself a question which isn't broad enough so you write a short and uninteresting essay, you'll lose marks. So really, it depends on the contents. If you analysed a whole series 100% without leaving anything out and making every single relevant point, then by all means go for the whole series. If you think that you could fill 4,000 words just by looking at the first book... only do the first book.

Remember that for analysis they want close, insightful analysis not broad and sweeping narrative. You've got to gather together all of the stuff you want to talk about and then decide for yourself how much you've got to write about and how to manage it. It'll help you work out where to put the boundaries of your question in terms of how many texts to use.

[The Rainbow Connection]

I've actually read the series, it's quite fun and I recon if you pick a really interesting topic it could work well. However, as the above users have mentioned, it's important that you focus on a particular subject and well not a combination. If you are looking into motifs and particular aspects of the novel, I'd say it be best to do it in English.

Choosing the sequel or the main series does depend on your topic question and the amount of information you are able to gather - you may find that choosing even the main series provides you with a bounty of information and decide to focus on just the first book. Be careful because if you do choose to do the spin-off as well, you may find yourself being lost at choosing which quotes to use. As Sandwich mentioned above, you need to be able to have a detailed analysis that covers everything. However, if you are confident in the whole series, by all means do what you believe is right. (:

[Clau.LP]

Like everyone said, you do have to have a research question which covers some kind of motif or theme in the book, it has to be specific engouh, but not too broad. So you don't necessarily have to do all the books (unless you reaaaally want to). But since it's the same series I guess it's ok. But a comparison between two books is harder than one so... And you can do it on any subject area you want, but it's better if you find a good supervisor and if you're addressing greek themes in it then it probably fits more in english. But the best you can do is look at the extended essay guidelines for both english and greek and find out which one is more suitable. I think for greek and all they'd expect you to look at greek language or greek lit, and percy jackson is a modern thing so it falls under the title of english i guess

I think the guidelines say the more specific the subject the better. I'm plannnig on doing a bio EE and they grade only the bio content, not the chemistry or wtv else there is.

What you could do is choose a greek play or sth in translation and compare it..(as long as you have a work originally written in english its fine)?? I haven't read the percy jackson series so i wouldnt know if its do-able though

[Elrondel]

If you do the Percy Jackson series, you may want to compare and contrast with another example of Greek Mythology in modern day young adults' series. I might suggest the Cronus Chronicles by Anne Urdu; I've read all of them and they're VERY different from Percy Jackson; however, it may be an interesting compare and contrast. Shouldn't take more than a week to read all of them.

[Tyrex17]

Although you can do your EE in any of the subjects Freezy listed I personally advise against doing it in a subject you don't do because for example, a History essay is written completely differently to and English essay and if you haven't studied history in the IB and have never learnt about historiography etc. it would be very difficult to get a good mark.

If you want to look at the themes I would do an English essay. It's not a major issue if your supervisor hasn't read the series as long as they can help you on the structure of the essay. My supervisor didn't know a lot about my topic but he has helped me with setting it out, whether I need more quotes/stats etc.

I think it seems like a good idea especially since you are interested in the topic. If you decide to do themes, I would focus on just one because it's better to deeply explore one idea than do a brief analysis of lots of ideas.

Good luck!

I gotta agree with khimberleigh. I did my extended essay in psych, but I've never taken the IB psychology class, or any other psychology class for that matter. It was doable, but it would've been much easier had I taken the class.

[Megan D]

If you do the Percy Jackson series, you may want to compare and contrast with another example of Greek Mythology in modern day young adults' series. I might suggest the Cronus Chronicles by Anne Urdu; I've read all of them and they're VERY different from Percy Jackson; however, it may be an interesting compare and contrast. Shouldn't take more than a week to read all of them.

Oh that is interesting actually, thanks for the suggestion. I'll give it a read soon!

[Arrowhead]

You could always focus on a particular kind of motif. I've personally always found the recreation fo Ancient Greece in modern day Manhattan to be the most impressive facet of the series. Maybe commenting of the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of the modern day utilisations of Ancient Greek ideas and concepts.

[Megan D]

You could always focus on a particular kind of motif. I've personally always found the recreation fo Ancient Greece in modern day Manhattan to be the most impressive facet of the series. Maybe commenting of the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of the modern day utilisations of Ancient Greek ideas and concepts.

That's what I was actually thinking of, incorporating mythology into modern life , the uses and importance and all that, but then would it still fall into the "English" subject? :/

[Arrowhead]

You could always focus on a particular kind of motif. I've personally always found the recreation fo Ancient Greece in modern day Manhattan to be the most impressive facet of the series. Maybe commenting of the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of the modern day utilisations of Ancient Greek ideas and concepts.

That's what I was actually thinking of, incorporating mythology into modern life , the uses and importance and all that, but then would it still fall into the "English" subject? :/

Of course it would, so long as it remained a literary comparison. Perhaps focusing the tone of the essay on prospective anachronisms? Or a recurring theme of modernisation and its effect on storytelling/narration/setting? You could play around with it in a bunch of ways.

[Megan D]

You could always focus on a particular kind of motif. I've personally always found the recreation fo Ancient Greece in modern day Manhattan to be the most impressive facet of the series. Maybe commenting of the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of the modern day utilisations of Ancient Greek ideas and concepts.

That's what I was actually thinking of, incorporating mythology into modern life , the uses and importance and all that, but then would it still fall into the "English" subject? :/

Of course it would, so long as it remained a literary comparison. Perhaps focusing the tone of the essay on prospective anachronisms? Or a recurring theme of modernisation and its effect on storytelling/narration/setting? You could play around with it in a bunch of ways.

Yes, I'm sure I can. Thankyou.

[TykeDragon]

Another interesting idea, is writing an English Extended Essay comparing the presentation of Ancient Greek Mythology in two works of fiction. If you enjoy Percy Jackson so much (by the way, I loved the series too ) then maybe you enjoy other similar books. Obviously this would only work if you know another book based on Greek Mythology that you enjoy, but if you had two of these books that you loved then you could do an Extended Essay comparing references to Greek Mythology in those books. The English-style quote analysis and text comparison that you would have to do for that would almost certainly put it into the English category as well. I've heard that it's not a good idea to mix subject areas (don't quote me on that though) so doing it from this perspective could really prevent that.

I mean, a close friend of mine did his English EE about references to war or religion or something in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Consider Phlebas, or something, because that's his thing So that's a suggestion if you have the necessary books and interest for that angle!