TravisBell

ExemplarReflection

InordertobetterunderstandtherequirementsandwritingprocessesoftheExtendedEssay,I
choseanexampleexploringthesynthesisofvanillylalcohol.Theessayitselfreceivedaperfectscore
fromitsexaminer.Assuch,ItwasaprioritytoderiveasmuchinformationasIcould.
Firstly,theessayisstructuredinamannerthatfirstlyexplainstheprinciplesandterminology
surroundingtheinvestigation,explainstheprocessofinvestigating,derivesaresultandthenaccountsfor
anysystematicorrandomerrorsthroughouttheprocess.Thisstructureallowsforthestudenttoexplore
theinvestigativeprocessinanorderedandintuitivemanner,beginningwiththehypothesisandfollowing
thestepsofthescientificmethodtoverifyresults.
Secondly,thestudentincorporatesinitialresearchfromLecherasthefoundationforpersonal
explorationofthetopic.Ratherthanusingpreviousinformationasevidence,itisusedasastartingpoint
withwhichthestudentsopinionisinformed.Thestudentbeginstheinvestigationwithbackground
informationsurroundingthechemicalprocessandreactionmechanismofvanillin,whichservesthe
purposeofinformingtheaudienceonthemechanicsofthisreactionandhowtheinvestigationwill
hypotheticallyaltertheoutcome.Bydoingso,thestudentexceedstheexpectationsoftheExtendedEssay
byconductingathoroughandcreativeexplorationofchemicalnature.
Third,thestudentbeginstheinvestigativeprocessbyalteringLechersmethodologythefurther
exploretherelationshipbetweenyieldandstoichiometricratioofvanillintoNaBH
.Theprocedureis
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thenoutlinedaccordingtoIBExtendedEssayguidelinesforChemistry.Fromthis,Idiscoveredthatthe
expectationsofIBarereflectedintheScientificMethodandproblemsolvingprocess.Later,thestudent
acquiresdataaftermodifyingtheprocesstobetterreflectdemonstrableresults.Datasetsaresetout
graphicallyandareanalyzedaccordingtothemethodologysetoutinitially.Fromthis,IlearnedthatIBis
lookingforconsistencyandclaritythroughouttheargumentativeprocess.Itisalsoexpectedthatchanges
inprocessesaredocumentedwelltoreflectaccurateresults.
Fourth,thestudentundertakessupplementaryinvestigationstoascertaininitialresultswitha
meltingpointtestandUVspectrometry.Thisfurtherstrengthenstheargumentbyconfirmingresults
gatheredinthefirstexperiments.
Fifth,thestudentconcludesbyreflectingontheprinciplessetoutintheresearchquestionand
providesanalysisofsystematicerrorandcitationreliability.Ilearnedthatstudentsareexpectedto
maintainaclearandconcisefocusontheresearchquestionthroughouttheprocessthatthisessay
receivedexcellentmarksbecauseofthisfocusonGreenChemistryprinciples.
Finally,thestudentdocumentschemicalsafetyhandlinginstructionsandliteraturemethodology
forchemicalprocessesandresultsintheappendices.
ByreadingthisExtendedEssaysample,IhavelearnedthatIBexpectsthatstudentsmaintaina
narrow,researchbasedfocusfollowingthescientificmethodforthisareaofstudy.Itisexpectedthat
studentsaccountforallprinciplesimpactinggatheredevidenceandrelatethistoliteraturediscoveredin
theresearchprocess.Theresearchquestionisparamountforaproperessay,asitisthefoundingprinciple
onwhichtheargumentisbased.Finally,IBexpectsthatstudentswritingaChemistryExtendedEssay
willremarkonsystematicorrandomerrorandprovideinformationonpossiblesystematicor
methodologicimprovementsintheinvestigativeprocess.