EXAMPLE TOPICS, RESEARCH QUESTIONS & APPROACHES
Note: The following are examples that may help you start to think about your own essay.
However, they should not be interpreted as indicating that a high grade would necessarily be achieved in choosing this particular topic, research question, and approach.
Performance in your extended essay is dependent on how effectively your essay combines all three of these in relation to the assessment criteria.
Topic: A critique of social expectations in Victorian drama
Research question: How effectively does Wilde both present and critique social expectations in The Importance of Being Earnest?
Outline of approach: Identify various social expectations in the play, for example, of marriage, manners, religion, duty, gender. Through a close reading of the play and attention to language, investigate how effectively Wilde presents and critiques them. Some background research into Victorian society will provide social context, but the focus should be on the play, using relevant quotations to support the interpretation. Secondary scholarly sources should be consulted to support the argument, but they should be considered critically.
Topic: Human and artificial relationships in Klara and the Sun
Research question: To what extent and to what effect can Artificial Friends emulate humans to build relationships in Klara and the Sun?
Outline of approach: Through close reading, identify the different ways in which Artificial Friends attempt to emulate the human characters around them and build relationships. Through attention to characterization and language, investigate what these relationships show about the possibilities and limitations of technology and humanity. Does Ishiguro privilege one over the other? If so, to what effect? Does he consider them equal? If so, to what effect? Secondary scholarly sources should be consulted to support the argument, but they should be considered critically.
Topic: The role of satire in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Candide
Research question: How and to what effect is satire used in the travels of the main characters in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Candide?
Outline of approach: Investigate how each author creates satire and where it is used in each novel. Do they use satire similarly or differently, for similar or different purposes? What effect is created? Is satire an effective way to communicate the authors’ messages? Secondary scholarly sources should be consulted to support the argument, but they should be considered critically.
Topic: The function of ghosts in American novels
Research question: What is the function and effect of the different approaches to ghosts in Beloved by Toni Morrison and The Turn of the Screw by Henry James?
Outline of approach: Through close reading and contextual research, investigate how Toni Morrison and Henry James use ghosts differently in these two American novels. What kind of ghosts do the authors create and how do these ghosts haunt the characters in each novel? Some background research into the history of slavery, and excited anticipation of the turn of the century (19th to 20th) in the context of “modernism”, should provide the context and the comparative element of the discussion. Secondary scholarly sources should be consulted to support the argument, but they should be viewed critically.
Topic: The effect of sexism in vintage advertisements
Research question: How, and to what effect, do Van Heusen menswear ads (1949–1951) use sexism to promote their clothes?
Outline of approach: Select some Van Heusen print advertisements from the years indicated and investigate how they engage sexism through language and image. Analyse the stylistic features to determine how men, women and clothing are portrayed. What is the effect? How do language and image work together to produce this effect? Sources on rhetoric and visual language should be consulted to support the argument.
Topic: The use of rhetorical techniques in motivational speeches
Research question: How effectively do Steve Jobs and Michelle Obama use rhetorical techniques to inspire their particular audiences?
Outline of approach: Through a careful analysis of the rhetorical and emotive devices in Steve Jobs’s commencement speech at Stanford University (2005) and Michelle Obama’s commencement speech at Tuskegee University (2015), investigate how the speakers make and support their arguments. Some research into the context of the speeches (their settings, people discussed within the speeches) will help illuminate how the speakers use both content and devices to motivate their audiences. Compare and contrast how they use both similar and different strategies. Sources on rhetoric should be consulted to support the argument.
Note: The following are examples that may help you start to think about your own essay.
However, they should not be interpreted as indicating that a high grade would necessarily be achieved in choosing this particular topic, research question, and approach.
Performance in your extended essay is dependent on how effectively your essay combines all three of these in relation to the assessment criteria.
Topic: A critique of social expectations in Victorian drama
Research question: How effectively does Wilde both present and critique social expectations in The Importance of Being Earnest?
Outline of approach: Identify various social expectations in the play, for example, of marriage, manners, religion, duty, gender. Through a close reading of the play and attention to language, investigate how effectively Wilde presents and critiques them. Some background research into Victorian society will provide social context, but the focus should be on the play, using relevant quotations to support the interpretation. Secondary scholarly sources should be consulted to support the argument, but they should be considered critically.
Topic: Human and artificial relationships in Klara and the Sun
Research question: To what extent and to what effect can Artificial Friends emulate humans to build relationships in Klara and the Sun?
Outline of approach: Through close reading, identify the different ways in which Artificial Friends attempt to emulate the human characters around them and build relationships. Through attention to characterization and language, investigate what these relationships show about the possibilities and limitations of technology and humanity. Does Ishiguro privilege one over the other? If so, to what effect? Does he consider them equal? If so, to what effect? Secondary scholarly sources should be consulted to support the argument, but they should be considered critically.
Topic: The role of satire in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Candide
Research question: How and to what effect is satire used in the travels of the main characters in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Candide?
Outline of approach: Investigate how each author creates satire and where it is used in each novel. Do they use satire similarly or differently, for similar or different purposes? What effect is created? Is satire an effective way to communicate the authors’ messages? Secondary scholarly sources should be consulted to support the argument, but they should be considered critically.
Topic: The function of ghosts in American novels
Research question: What is the function and effect of the different approaches to ghosts in Beloved by Toni Morrison and The Turn of the Screw by Henry James?
Outline of approach: Through close reading and contextual research, investigate how Toni Morrison and Henry James use ghosts differently in these two American novels. What kind of ghosts do the authors create and how do these ghosts haunt the characters in each novel? Some background research into the history of slavery, and excited anticipation of the turn of the century (19th to 20th) in the context of “modernism”, should provide the context and the comparative element of the discussion. Secondary scholarly sources should be consulted to support the argument, but they should be viewed critically.
Topic: The effect of sexism in vintage advertisements
Research question: How, and to what effect, do Van Heusen menswear ads (1949–1951) use sexism to promote their clothes?
Outline of approach: Select some Van Heusen print advertisements from the years indicated and investigate how they engage sexism through language and image. Analyse the stylistic features to determine how men, women and clothing are portrayed. What is the effect? How do language and image work together to produce this effect? Sources on rhetoric and visual language should be consulted to support the argument.
Topic: The use of rhetorical techniques in motivational speeches
Research question: How effectively do Steve Jobs and Michelle Obama use rhetorical techniques to inspire their particular audiences?
Outline of approach: Through a careful analysis of the rhetorical and emotive devices in Steve Jobs’s commencement speech at Stanford University (2005) and Michelle Obama’s commencement speech at Tuskegee University (2015), investigate how the speakers make and support their arguments. Some research into the context of the speeches (their settings, people discussed within the speeches) will help illuminate how the speakers use both content and devices to motivate their audiences. Compare and contrast how they use both similar and different strategies. Sources on rhetoric should be consulted to support the argument.