The Secret to Supervisor Success...

November 7, 2025

As we move into supervising this new Extended Essay from the IB, one idea keeps coming back to me. 

Feeling empowered and confident only comes with clarity.  

But clarity on what?  Because there is so much new in this new guidance from the IB.

For most Supervisors, Extended Essay and IB Coordinators around the world, there is already an understanding of the two new Pathways. We know that students can now write an Interdisciplinary Extended Essay, which combines two Diploma Programme subject areas, or a Subject-Focused Extended Essay, which stays within a single discipline. 

This shift from the IB is significant, and it is, for many, the most visible change in the new guidance. 

But the real clarity for Supervisors on how to continue being the kind of Supervisor you want to be goes much deeper.

To be an effective Supervisor in this new cycle, we need to understand how four specific elements of the IB’s new guidance connect to one another. When we can see how they fit together, the entire process makes sense. 

Without that clarity, it becomes much more difficult to manage the supervision process with confidence and purpose.

The first is clarity around The Mark Scheme.

This is where it all starts. The Mark Scheme is the audience for the paper. If you make the audience happy, you get a good grade. The Extended Essay is now out of 30 marks and includes a new criterion called “line of argument,” which I think is one of the best changes the IB made. It highlights the importance of coherence, flow, and strong academic writing. Understanding how the five criteria fit together forms the foundation for everything we do as Supervisors. The Mark Scheme shows us what success looks like, it clarifies what examiners are looking for, and it becomes our reference point for every part of the assessment process. The Mark Scheme is the essential first step to being an effective Supervisor.  And that, I think, is kinda obvious.

The second is clarity around The Generic Guidance for the Extended Essay.

This document may be the most valuable section of the new Subject Guide. It is exceptional. It explains step-by-step how the Mark Scheme should be interpreted and applied across all Extended Essays, both Subject-Focused and Interdisciplinary. It links the abstract criteria to practical expectations and concrete explanations of what an essay must do to meet the Mark Scheme. Every Supervisor must know it well. It is required reading. 

When you understand the Generic Guidance, you can help students build structure, argument, reflection, analysis, discussion, and evaluation into their essays. The Generic Guidance deepens our understanding of what the Mark Scheme asks of students.  It is the most important document for you to know.

The third element we must have clarity on is The Subject-Specific Guidance.

This is one of the biggest foundational shifts in the new IB guide. Instead of providing separate guidance for each IB course, the IB now organizes this section by Subject Group.  There are eight in total.  And a better name for them would be "Subject-Group-Specific Guidance.  

That means every essay in the Individuals and Societies group, for example, follows the same guidance, whether it is in History, Economics, Business Management, or Psychology. The same is true for the Arts, the Sciences, and every other Subject Group. The Subject-Specific Guidance now functions as an assignment sheet for each Subject Group rather than for individual courses. It tells students exactly what the IB expects in terms of research, argumentation, and analysis based on the subject group, not the course. Which leads to the fourth element.

The fourth element we must have clarity on is our role as the content expert.

In this new model, our subject expertise matters more than ever. The Mark Scheme, the Generic Guidance, and the Subject-Specific Guidance give us the guidance, a framework. But it is the Supervisor’s understanding of the discipline that brings that framework to life. Whether you supervise in Mathematics, Physics, Biology, Theatre, or Economics, your depth of knowledge helps students translate the general expectations into meaningful, subject-specific work. You are the bridge between the IB’s general guidance and the reality of what an excellent Extended Essay looks like in your course.  Because that specificity is no longer in the Subject-Specific Guidance.  And that's a big shift...and this is vitally important for you to know.


To be a successful Supervisor in this next iteration of the Extended Essay, we must have clarity across all four of these elements. When we do, confidence will come because we will know what the IB expects, we will understand how the documents fit together, and we will be able to guide students with assurance. 

Or to flip it around...

Supervisors cannot be successful without understanding how these four elements work together.

So, as you begin this next cycle, take time to dig into these four elements. Read the Mark Scheme carefully, study the Generic Guidance, and explore the new Subject-Specific Guidance for your group. Reflect on how your content expertise shapes student success. When you do, you’ll know you’re doing everything possible to empower your students to write the Extended Essay they’re capable of.

This has been the focus of all the work I’m doing with my colleague, Kurt Supplee, through our Supervisor Trainings and custom workshops. In every session, these four elements are at the center of the conversation. One of those trainings takes place tomorrow, November 8, and over the next two months we’ll be leading six custom sessions with IB schools around the world. What we’re seeing is that when Supervisors understand the Mark Scheme, the Generic Guidance, the Subject-Specific Guidance, and their own role as content experts, the process becomes clearer, more consistent, and far more empowering for teachers.

I hope you have a long and relaxing weekend!

See you next week.




Opportunities to Empower IB Teachers and Students... 

Book a Custom Training for Your IB Faculty - If your school would like a tailored training on the updated Extended Essay guidelines, we’d love to help—onsite at your campus or live online—just send me an email at [email protected] and we’ll work together to make it happen. 

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Brad Cartwright

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