Maths EE criteria · 4 marks

Criterion E: Reflection in a maths EE

Provisional The criteria, marks and reflection details on this page are from the new IB Extended essay guide (first assessment May 2027) as we understand it, and are being checked against the published guide. Treat them as provisional until this note goes.

This criterion is assessed on your reflective statement, not the essay: how your thinking, methods and skills developed during the research, drawing on the reflection sessions with your supervisor.

What examiners look for in a maths EE

  • Reflection on how your thinking changed during the research, not a summary of the essay.
  • Specific moments: a method that failed, a source that changed your direction, a result that surprised you.
  • What you learned about yourself as a learner and researcher, and what you would do differently.
  • Links to what you discussed in your reflection sessions with your supervisor.

Common pitfalls

  • Describing what you did instead of what you learned from doing it.
  • Generic statements ("I learned time management") with no example.
  • Writing the statement from memory at the end, with no notes from the sessions.
  • Going over the word limit for the statement.

How to reach the top band

  1. Keep a dated research log from the first week: decisions, dead ends and why you changed course.
  2. Prepare for each reflection session by noting one difficulty and one change in your thinking.
  3. In the statement, pick two or three turning points and explain what each changed.
  4. Write in your own voice: it is about you as a learner.

Check your own draft

  • I have dated notes from each reflection session with my supervisor.
  • My reflection describes how my thinking or methods changed, with specific examples.
  • I explain what I learned about myself as a learner, not just about the topic.
  • My reflective statement is within the word limit and written in my own words.

Answer these for every criterion in the free EE self-check, and keep your reflection-session notes in the EE planner.

Frequently asked questions

What should a maths EE reflective statement include?

Specific turning points in your research (a failed approach, a surprising result, a change of question), what each taught you, and how you would work differently next time. It is about you as a learner, not a summary of the essay.

How do the reflection sessions work?

You meet your supervisor for formal reflection sessions during the EE (three, in the data we hold, to be confirmed against the guide). Prepare for each one, keep notes, and use them when you write your reflective statement.

IB Math Revision is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by the IB. Criterion descriptions are our own summaries; for the official wording see the IB's Extended essay guide (your EE coordinator has it).