Azzura

MA Security Conflict and Justice​ Student

How my International Baccalaureate extended essay helped my transition to University

Moving from studying the IB to a university degree was an incredibly daunting prospect. Having chosen to study History and Politics for my undergraduate degree, I knew that the next three years were going to be filled with essays and long research projects, often to tight deadlines. My three years at university were exactly that, many long days – and occasionally nights – in the library, scouring the internet for the best sources and revising essay drafts for weeks at a time.  All whilst managing the exciting challenge of living away from home for the first time. What I hadn’t anticipated is how well prepared I was for the challenges of university after completing the IB extended essay. The skills that I learned whilst undertaking the diploma  became the foundation for everything I needed to help me through those long days in the library.  

I remember back to my first EE lesson, discussing referencing. The process seemed long, tiresome and most importantly, really complicated. Hearing the words plagiarism uttered for the first time was incredibly daunting, but it was something I knew I had to avoid if I wanted to score well in my EE. However, learning the basics of referencing throughout my EE was one of the most valuable lessons I took with me to university. Every submission at university is filled with references – every fact, every scholar, every statistic has to be correctly referenced, and learning how to do that became an intrinsic part of my work. Something that seemed - and I hate to say it – boring at the time, turned out be to a skill that has now become second nature in the research process.  

The independence required to complete an EE is the skill that I found essential to my university studies. From picking a topic, to guiding the research process alone, the EE really forced me to be an independent researcher. While my supervisor was essential in helping me to navigate the project, I learned to go to my supervisor with ideas, rather than needing direction – a relationship that I have used throughout both my undergraduate and master’s degree. Having the freedom to pick my own topic, one that really interests me, felt like a challenge at school but little did I know how essential that skill would be throughout the following five years.  

Maybe at 18-years old I didn’t realise what a profound impact that completing the extended essay would have, but five years later – and a lot of other essays submitted on the way – I can see where my journey as a researcher began. Referencing and working independently are both skills that I have used throughout my time at university, and whether I realised it at the time, all came from the lessons I learned many years ago in school.