Frequently Asked Questions — EE Coach
There are currently two coaches, and you use them at different stages of the Extended Essay process:
- RQ Coach — helps you develop and sharpen your research question before your first supervisor meeting. The end point is a downloadable PDF summary.
- Outline Coach — helps you structure your essay outline around the golden thread once your research question is settled. The end point is a Google Doc written to your own Google Drive (or a text download as a fallback).
Most students use the RQ Coach first, agree the research question with their supervisor, and then use the Outline Coach to plan the essay.
The RQ Coach guides you through a structured process that culminates in a downloadable PDF summary of your coaching session.
The PDF includes:
- Your IB Diploma subjects
- The broad topic area you're interested in
- Your chosen pathway (single-subject or interdisciplinary)
- Research you've already conducted
- How you've narrowed your focus
- Your draft research question
- Reflection on the quality of your question
- Suggested next steps before meeting your supervisor
This PDF is designed to be a helpful document to bring to your first meeting with your EE supervisor, giving them a clear picture of your thinking process and where you've arrived.
The Outline Coach guides you through building a structured essay outline around the golden thread — the unbroken line of argument that runs from your research question to your conclusion. The end point is a Google Doc created in your own Google Drive, or a plain text download if you prefer not to sign in with Google.
The generated document includes:
- Your research question and working hypothesis
- A 2027-aligned section structure (Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Body, Conclusion)
- Each section phrased as a question, with a word-count target
- Notes on how each section connects back to your research question
- Assessment checklist reminders for Criteria A–D
You can then write the essay directly inside that Google Doc, keeping the outline's golden thread visible as you go.
The EE Coach asks about your IB Diploma subjects because they directly influence the type of Extended Essay you can write and the approaches available to you.
Understanding your subject combination helps the coach:
- Suggest whether a single-subject or interdisciplinary pathway might suit your interests
- Tailor advice to the methodologies and expectations of your specific subjects
- Help you identify connections between your subjects that could strengthen your research
- Ensure your research question aligns with what is possible given your subject expertise
Yes! The EE Coach has been updated to reflect the changes introduced in the 2027 Extended Essay guide. The coaching process takes into account the revised assessment criteria, updated subject-specific guidance, and new requirements outlined in the latest IB documentation.
alltheway.education is a project from Richard Allaway, an experienced IB educator dedicated to supporting students and teachers in the International Baccalaureate programme.
Richard has developed various educational tools and resources to help students succeed in their studies, including this EE Coach designed to support Extended Essay research question development.
Yes! The EE Coach includes a dedicated coordinator dashboard that allows EE coordinators to monitor their students' progress through the coaching process.
The coordinator view provides:
- An overview of all students from your school who have used the coach
- Progress tracking showing which stage each student has reached
- Access to view student coaching sessions and generated PDF summaries
- Charts and statistics about pathway choices and completion rates
Interested in coordinator access? Please contact Richard to discuss setting up a coordinator account for your school:
No, the EE Coach is an ongoing project that will continue to be refined and developed. New features, improvements, and updates based on user feedback are regularly being worked on.
Have a suggestion? I'd love to hear from you:
If you encounter any bugs, issues, or have feedback about the EE Coach, you can easily report them using the built-in reporting feature.
Look for the "Report a bug" link at the bottom of the chat interface, next to the Privacy and FAQ links:
Clicking this will open a form where you can describe the issue. Your report will include helpful context to assist with troubleshooting.
I take your privacy seriously. Your conversations and data are stored securely and are not used to train AI models.
For full details on how your data is collected, stored, and protected, please see the Privacy Policy:
Still have questions?
Get in touch and I'll be happy to help.