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Extended Essay: AI Use in the Extended Essay

IB Statement

AI offers enhanced learning experiences

Rather than shying away from artificial intelligence (AI), the IB is excited by the opportunities that these tools bring to education to enhance learning experiences and provide additional support to our students. AI tools are designed in a way that they can be used to encourage students to think critically and creatively, by engaging students in thought-provoking discussions and challenging them to think beyond the usual perspectives.

AI in learning and teaching

Students will need to be taught to understand the bias inherent in the content that an AI tool produces and to critically review it—an important skill to learn in an IB education. Students should also be taught that AI-generated work included in a piece of assessment must be credited in the body of the text and appropriately referenced in the bibliography.

And not only do we think that these tools are beneficial for students, they also hold the potential to lighten the workload of our dedicated educators and schools. By leveraging these AI tools, educators can free up valuable time to spend more quality moments with their students.

What is “prompt engineering”?

One very important skill that can be taught through AI tools has been termed “prompt engineering”, or the process of choosing the correct prompts so that AI tools will produce the content the user wants. Prompt engineering supports effective questioning, understanding, and vetting the information these tools produce, and then refining the answers to make them accurate and reflective of what the user wants to express. It is a form of assisted inquiry. The practice of recording prompt histories also helps teachers with in-class assessment and students to learn how to better use AI tools.

AI Do's and Don'ts

Here’s a list of Dos and Don’ts when using AI for the IB Extended Essay (EE), aligned with the IBO’s guidelines on academic integrity and AI tools:

✅ Dos

  1. Use AI as a Research Aid:

    • Use AI to brainstorm ideas, generate research questions, or identify key concepts.
    • Ask AI to help clarify complex topics or summarize general background information.

  2. Critically Evaluate AI-generated Content:

    • Always cross-check AI-generated information with credible academic sources.
    • Verify facts, statistics, and data with reliable, peer-reviewed materials.

  3. Maintain Academic Integrity:

    • Clearly acknowledge any use of AI tools in the “References” or “Acknowledgments” section of the EE.
    • Explain how AI supported your process (e.g., idea generation, feedback on structure).

  4. Use AI for Language Support (if needed):

    • AI can help with grammar, clarity, and style improvements but only in small sections to check. You cannot put the whole EE through a grammar checker.
    • Ensure changes reflect your own voice and understanding.

  5. Consult Your Supervisor:

    • Discuss with your supervisor how you plan to use AI.
    • Follow any additional school-specific guidelines on AI use.

❌ Don’ts

  1. Don’t Rely on AI for Content Creation:

    • Never submit AI-generated text as part of your EE.
    • The EE must be entirely your own original analysis and writing.

  2. Don’t Use AI as a Primary Source:

    • AI cannot be cited as a source of factual information or data.
    • It lacks verifiable authorship and credibility for academic referencing.

  3. Avoid AI for Data Fabrication:

    • Do not use AI to create fake data, references, or experimental results.
    • This is considered academic misconduct under IB rules.

  4. Don’t Skip the Critical Thinking Process:

    • AI should not replace your analytical thinking, evaluation of sources, or development of arguments.
    • The EE is designed to showcase your ability to engage deeply with a topic.

  5. Don’t Assume AI is Always Accurate:

    • AI may produce biased, outdated, or incorrect information.
    • Blind trust in AI-generated content can undermine the academic quality of your EE.

MLA Citation:
ChatGPT. "Dos and Don’ts When Using AI for the IB Extended Essay." OpenAI, 2 Feb. 2025, chat.openai.com.

Latest AI tools for Research

Get used to citing properly!!

Building blocks

  • Author: Do not treat the AI as an author; MLA is reserving that for human authors. Omit the author section of the citation.
  • Title of source: Describe what was generated by the AI tool. If you have not included information about the prompt in the text of your essay, you need to do that here.
  • Title of container: The name of the AI tool. 
  • Version: Name the version of the AI tool as specifically as possible. 
  • Date: Include the date the content was generated. 
  • Location: Give the URL for the tool. If possible, give the URL for the specific content. (Note: the style guide post is slightly out of date; you can now send someone a URL of your ChatGPT conversation. This is the URL you should use in your citation.)

Format

"Prompt text" prompt. AI tool, version of tool, company that made the tool, date text was generated. URL. 

Examples

  • In-text citation: ("Describe the symbolism")
  • Bibliography: “Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, https://chat.openai.com/share/dccb3610-1db9-4eed-88b1-cdb06f67982a.

Check out the MLA Style Guide for more information.

Source: University of Maryland libguide.

IBO guidelines on using AI

For more detail you MUST go to the following document - Evaluating 13 scenarios. - IBO

Note on Using AI and Grammar

Using software to improve language and grammar

"There are software programs available to help authors improve the quality of the language they use, from simple spell checkers to complex tools that rewrite sentences. IB assessments usually do not evaluate the quality of language or spelling so there is limited benefit in using such tools.

• The exception is in language acquisition, where marks are awarded for sentence structure. In these subjects the use of such tools is not permitted.

• The IB awards bilingual diplomas, and universities and schools look at the language subjects that are taken in for proof of being able to work in that language. Therefore students are not permitted to write essays in one language and then translate them to be submitted to the IB in another language. For subject other than language acquisition, the use of spell checkers and bilingual dictionaries is acceptable.

• The IB will always consider the use of software to support access and inclusion requirements for students. Please refer to the Access and inclusion policy for more details.

• The IB allows students to use basic tools to support their spelling and grammar when this is not what is being assessed.

From Appendix 6 of IBO Academic Honesty policy

AI further thoughts and questions