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LIVE. LEARN. LEAD | QUEEN MARGARET COLLEGE 5 The extended essay Students may choose their own topic related to any subject offered within the IB Diploma Programme. This offers the opportunity to investigate a topic in depth and to research independently. The detailed structure of this essay follows the expectations of similar work undertaken at university. The prescribed limit is a maximum of 4000 words, and teacher supervision and guidance is provided throughout. The first draft is started towards the end of the first year and the final version is completed in the second year of study, when the student is at their most mature. Many exemplars are available for inspection from the Queen Margaret College library and from the Diploma Coordinator. The theory of knowledge (TOK) course The interdisciplinary TOK course is designed to provide coherence by exploring the nature of knowledge across disciplines and by encouraging an appreciation of other cultural perspectives. In simple terms, students attend these weekly lessons where they have an opportunity to explore and reflect on the nature of knowledge and the process of knowing. Students reflect on the knowledge, beliefs and opinions that they have built up from their years of academic studies and their lives outside the classroom. Assessment is undertaken through an exhibition - assessing the ability of the student to show how TOK manifests in the world around us and an essay – engaging students in a more formal and sustained piece of writing in response to a title focused on the areas of knowledge. The creativity, activity, service (CAS) programme Participation in the school’s CAS programme encourages students to be involved in artistic pursuits, sports and community service work, thus fostering a student’s awareness and appreciation of life outside the academic arena. A reflective journal is kept in which a student indicates individual growth and awareness. Whilst there is no definitive assessment for this part of the Diploma, all three components must be satisfactorily completed in the student’s own time. Students are timetabled for CAS as part of their regular schedule and teachers provide guidance and mentoring.