Four Easy Steps to Navigate "The Middle"

Happy New Year!

I hope this finds you well and on target with any New Year resolutions you may have. :-)

My resolution is more sleep. So far so good.

Since many of us may be launching into the main phase of the Extended Essay process with our Year 1s, I thought I’d share a simple method to strengthen the most difficult part of the process for us to manage as Supervisors and Coordinators.

It’s what we call “The Middle”.

The Middle is the phase where the students need the most guidance from their subject area experts—their Supervisors.

The Middle is also where the Extended Essay process is most likely to drop off in importance for most students (and Supervisors).

So, whether you’re a new or seasoned Supervisor or a first-time or experienced Coordinator, here’s a simple process that is adaptable to fit your school’s unique context, schedule and needs.

This process is built based on what Kurt and I have shared with thousands of teachers over the years in our IB Core Workshops.

Understand the Phases of the Process

If you think about it, the Extended Essay journey has three distinct phases:

• The Beginning: Students select their subject, narrow down their topic, and develop a preliminary research question. This is all about setting a solid foundation. This is mostly run by the IB and Extended Essay Coordinators.
• The Middle: The heart of the process. Most of the research and planning happen here. It’s also where many students start to drift without the right structure in place. This is where Supervisors must play a primary role for students.
• The Final: Drafting, revising, and finalizing the essay. It’s all about bringing the work together. Again, this is mostly run by the IB and Extended Essay Coordinators (and the student’s discipline to produce a final version of the Essay).

The Four Step Plan focuses on The Middle phase—the critical stretch where students often need the most guidance. A structured plan ensures they stay organized, productive, and confident.

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Design the Four Steps

Think of each step as a milestone that brings students closer to completing their essay. Here’s a sample framework:

• Step 1: Confirm Topic, Focus, and Methodology
  • Students finalize their subject, research question, and approach. They also submit an annotated bibliography with at least six credible sources. Here's my template for this first step.​
  • Outcome: A clear research roadmap and defined methodology.
• Step 2: Refine Research and Develop Initial Arguments
  • Students gather additional sources and outline their key arguments.
  • Outcome: A preliminary essay outline and deeper understanding of their research.
• Step 3: Write and Submit a Key Section
  • Students draft and submit one major section, such as the introduction or methodology.
  • Outcome: Early feedback that guides the rest of the writing process.
• Step 4: Prepare the Full Draft
  • Students consolidate their research, address our feedback, and begin to draft the remaining sections of the essay.
  • Outcome: A complete first draft is ready to be written.

Each step builds on the last, creating momentum that keeps students moving toward the finish line. Here’s a ridiculously simple Four Step Plan Template that we use in our workshops. If it works for you, use it freely.

But of course, a Four-Step Plan for an Economics Extended Essay is going to be distinct from one for an IB Theatre Essay, and so on. Here's where the expertise of the Supervisor is critical for the ultimate success of the student.

Adapt the Plan to Your School Context

Obviously, your school has its own timeline, resources, and challenges.

For example, you might prefer a three-step plan or need to spread the process out over a longer time frame. Here are a few things to consider:

• Your School Calendar: Be mindful of other major IB deadlines and assignments when setting your steps. Especially those Internal Assessments.
• Tailor to Each Subject: The Four Step Plan should be flexible enough to adapt to the specific needs of different subjects, like Physics, Literature, or Visual Arts.
• Align with Available Resources: Make sure students have the tools, time, and support they need to meet each step’s requirements.

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Empower Supervisors

If you’re implementing this for your IB Faculty or specific Subject Area, it’s crucial to get buy-in from Supervisors. We have Subject Group teachers work together to create subject-specific plans with consistent expectations for the four steps.

This was a huge step for us, bringing cohesion, coherence, and collaboration to the Extended Essay process.

And if you’re working alone as a Supervisor, this plan ensures you can keep your students on track without letting the essay go to sleep amidst other responsibilities. And if you think about it, you needn’t get anyone’s approval to create a four step process to help your advisee succeed in this muddy and murky time in the middle of the Extended Essay process. That’s just good practice.

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Take Aways…

The Four Step Plan isn’t just a tool for Supervisors and Coordinators, too. It’s so helpful for students too.

Around the four steps, create regular check-ins and structured deadlines to make it easier to monitor progress and intervene when needed. Those could be monthly meetings to review progress, and therefore, the ability to set up clear follow-up procedures for students who miss a step to prevent them from falling further behind.

Remember, by the end of Step 4, students should be ready to write the full draft of their essay.

And of course, a well-structured Four Step Plan provides students with the direction they need to tackle the Extended Essay process in manageable chunks.

So, whether you’re an individual Supervisor, an Extended Essay Coordinator, or an IB Coordinator designing a system for the whole school, this simple framework can help create a smoother, more successful process for everyone involved.

I hope you found this helpful and we’ll see you next week.

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Whenever you are ready, here are three ways I can help:

​IB Core Professional Development - Reach out and let me know how we can help work together to build a more robust and well-structured IB Programme at your school. We’ve worked with thousands of teachers and IB Coordinators from hundreds of schools around the world. We'd love to collaborate with you.

​IB Economics On-Demand Teacher Workshops - Join me for my on-demand teacher workshops that cover all aspects of the IB Economics curriculum including the Internal Assessment, Extended Essay, Understanding IB Assessments, and content-based courses on Teaching Macroeconomics, Market Power, and The Global Economy.

​IB Economics Teacher Collaboration Program - A one-on-one teacher collaboration program where we can share new ideas on lesson plans, new writing strategies for students, and perspectives on teaching the IB Economics curriculum.

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