IB English Tips

English Paper Two Tips
1. Look at past questions and use them to break down your texts for revision
If you look through past paper questions, you'll spot that the sorts of questions you receive will always be about generalised things. Off the top of my head, things like Setting, Character, Beginnings and Endings, Death, Love, Chronology etc. all tend to crop up with reassuring regularity. So, this is the way in which you should approach your texts when revising them. Remember that in the actual thing you'll come across one of these sorts of questions and you will either have to sit and think for the very first time of exactly how the minor characters influenced the play (...for example...) or you'll have handily thought of it all before.
Hopefully you'll agree that the second scenario is much better than the first. My advice is therefore to go through all of your texts and pick out the main points to do with these themes. Not only will you familiarise yourself with the texts in the process, but you should also find that a lot of the points can be easily recycled into your actual essay in the exam and that's the aim. Get a piece of paper, head it up with the theme you're looking at and then divide it into columns. Think of a point from one of the texts and simultaneously whether that same point can be made in another text -- i.e. compare and contrast. You might draw a blank, or you might think "well they DO mention the minor characters, but they play more of a role in narrating the life of the main characters than in providing any of the action..." = et voila, a contrast! That kind of thing.

2. Prepare all of your texts
Do not favouritise texts. You will note that the questions ask you to write about 2 or more of the works you have studied. So yes, technically you only have to learn about 2. What, however, if the question in the exam asks you about Death, and nobody dies in one of the texts. You'll be stuffed. Unless you can see forward in time to know what the question will be, don't do just 2 of the texts. Do all of them. Revising them isn't really very time-consuming or difficult, and at the end of the day you'll be able to make the best comparisons if you're able to choose the best texts to compare. Simple as.

3. Use the exam time as a guide to which texts to use
Again going back to the "only doing 2 texts" thing, there is NO optimum number of texts to do. You can get a 7 comparing 2 of them, and you can get a 7 comparing all 4 of them. Also 3. It depends on the question you get and how much you know to be able to write! Sometimes you'll be able to say a lot about 2 texts, sometimes you'll be able to say a little about all 4. Provided your answer is high quality and makes some good points, it'll be okay.

4. Avoid the format Text A. Text B. Text C. End.
This also applies to the World Lit essays: do not write everything about Love in Text A and then everything about Love in Text B. It is infinitely easier to make good points and score better if you follow the model: Point A about Love in Text A, Point A about Love in Text B. In other words, each paragraph(ish) should be a comparison of a specific point across the texts, and you should be constantly flitting between the two or more texts. This'll give you good structure and make your essay cohesive. It's similar to the line-of-argument thinking, really. Hopefully that makes sense.

5. Learn roughly 5 quotes per text (minimum)
You don't have the texts with you in the exams (unless your school is being super lax with the IB rules), however it is always good to
A) do some language analysis
B) show your amazing knowledge of the texts
Of course you can (and definitely should) show knowledge by explaining where your examples sit in context within the texts, how they're supported or repeated throughout the text and all that sort of thing which shows the examiner that you clearly know the text well, without quoting. However, quotes are important. I would recommend you learn 4-5 quotes per text. The reason for this number? Well it's random, however it should also be sufficient. Remember that YOU are in charge of putting them in, so for all the examiner knows, you might know every word of the whole book but have just chosen to put in 2 or 3 quotes -- you can show off what you know and totally skip on what you don't know by simply explaining it rather than quoting it. Consequently, you don't need to remember lots, and you can base some of your points around your quotes to make sure you nip them in. For this reason, your quotes need to be well-selected. I would recommend that you have quotes to convey the main themes, important things about the main characters, examples of the author's style if they have a distinctive style, and at least one quote which you can do a tiny bit of literary analysis on per text. You can find these by flicking through the books and just thinking of the most important things your teachers picked out in lessons, or you'll also find that sites like Sparknotes often contain 'key' quotes which you can use to inspire you. Picture them appearing in your essay and the points you'll make from them and it'll help you pick
They don't have to be long... even just 3 words long if it makes your point!

6. Make sure the essay has a sound, planned structure
In my experience, people rarely run out of time for this essay. There's no line-by-line version where you can ramble on to make your point, you'll have to structure it. Again you should practice how long this is going to take you, but you should do it a bit like Tip 1. Columns to compare points across as many texts as you're going to include. This shouldn't take you too long, but make sure you introduce with a mini line-of-argument, as in Paper 1 (it's a bit harder in Paper 2 so your introduction will probably just be some major generalising about the way in which the theme pops up in the texts) -- this'll also provide you with a way to conclude. Always think how to link the previous point to the next point so your essay flows well.

7. Remember what your texts are called and who wrote them...
It does not in any way shape or form help impress the examiner if you cannot get these right!! You'd be amazed what sorts of things you assume you know but will blank on in the exam, and the names of texts and authors are right up there with major things people forget. Part of this is due to the fact you'll be giving them all slang names by the end of studying them (e.g. 'Handmaids' instead of 'The Handmaid's Tale', and suddenly you'll be in the exam wondering who on earth wrote it, how many Ts there are in "At(t?)wood" and whether it was 'a' Handmaid's Tale or 'the' Handmaid's Tale or whether there was ever an extra word there at all). Really stupid things but you'll get stuck! Make sure you're spelling all of the titles, character and author's names right (don't assume you've been calling them the right name for 2 years, for instance many people reading The Outsider are very freaked that 'Mersault' has secretly been called 'Meursault' the whole time). This is the thing you will absolutely kick yourself for not getting right.

8. Always refer back to context and give examples
Show you know the texts! Without retelling the story, pop in a little bit of context with all your examples, and make sure you give an example (not necessarily quoted, remember, it can just be explained) for every point you make. Don't waste your time by going into insane detail, just make it subtly obvious you know the texts with context and examples.

9. How many paragraphs should my essay have??
Okay, lots of people ask this. The answer is AS MANY AS IT NEEDS. The reason for this is the intrinsic structure of your essay. You want each paragraph/section to be illustrating a new compare/contrast point. For instance, if the Question you're given is something like... "In the texts you have studied, what is the role of time?", you want to instantly come up with comparators/contrasts. E.g....
- in Long Day's Journey Into Night, the setting changes over time to show the passing of the day and the 'journey into night'
- in Waiting for Godot, the setting never changes to reflect how despite changing time, nothing actually changes
- in Long Day's Journey Into Night, the mother lives mentally in the past and regresses further and further as the play goes on
- in Waiting for Godot the characters are confused about the time and how long they've been there
(...and then obviously a lot more points!!)
Having done this you want to look at the points of comparison and contrast you've created. I would say that the points are
1. the way that time affects setting
2. the character's view of the passage of time
Et voilà! 2 points and = 2 paragraphs.
Hopefully this illustrates the idea of the structure: your paragraphs/sections should represent your points, and your point should compare/contrast across all the texts you're using. In this way you end up with a good, well-structured essay that very tightly and neatly answers the question. Your points and ideas are very clear! This is, essentially, PEE again. Got to love PEE Really though, there's no point in doing X number of paragraphs as some optimum number. You'll have no idea how many points you're going to have and how many paragraphs your writing will take up until you've written it. Otherwise it's like saying that you're going somewhere nobody's ever been before, but nevertheless want somebody to advise you on the exact walking time. Just plain old bizarre.

Answering the Question: Paper 2 Examination Essay Writing Hints
Do choose a question from either the genre category you have studied or one of the general questions.
Don’t answer a wrong genre question (or you will be heavily penalized).
Remember that the questions have been written for literally 10s of thousands of candidates. You have to ‘tailor’ your response to your specific Part 3 texts you have studied (or should have studied!). You must find a focus that you can deal with in 1 1/2 (SL) to 2 (HL) hours.
And here’s some pointers to help you with that…
Identify what the question is asking in literary terms.
Rewrite the question in your own words.
Does it involve extra questions? If so, rewrite each one to be sure you understand all of the implications of the question.
Define all the words in the original questions whose meaning is important (i.e. key terms), especially those terms which could be ambiguous. You may want to define a given term by exclusion. Brainstorm synonyms for key terms.
List all the titles of works and the authors you have studied in Part 3 (as relevant). Think them over carefully, and choose (at least) two to use as examples or evidence. It’s usually best to write about two works.
Apply questions 2 and 3 above to the works you have chosen and list the main quotations and examples you could use in responding to the question.
Focus What is the main focus/thrust of the works you have chosen? How does this relate to the question(s) asked in 2 and 3 above? How does this help you to set your parameters?
No matter what the question asks, the criteria are the same. Make sure you are scoring on them by demonstrating knowledge and understanding, responding to the question, demonstrating appreciation of literary features, providing a coherent structure to your argument, and using formal, literary language. What you’re really answering is “What? How? and Why?”
Plan your essay.
Essay Structure
Introduction: Here you can enumerate and briefly delineate your answers to 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7. Define terms. Set parameters. Establish links to key issues/themes of the works making clear comparison/contrast claims.
Body: Here you discuss your answers to 6 & 7, supporting your arguments with evidence from the texts.
Make clear claims at the start of your paragraphs, relevant to the question.
Relevant and accurate quotation from a text is always impressive. So are specific examples!
Summarize your key point at the end of a paragraph.
Provide transitions within and between paragraphs.
Don’t forget that it’s a comparative essay (what’s similar, what’s different, why does this matter in relation to the question.
Conclusion: Bring together your answers. Be succinct, and do not merely repeat what you have already said in the body of your essay.
Time Management
DON’T rush into writing
DO think carefully about what the question is really asking and how you will answer it, in what order
DO remember, it is better to develop a few points in detail, than a lot of points superficially.
DO leave time to proofread and edit your work
At the 30 minute ‘warning’ finish the paragraph you are writing, reread your script (while proofreading and editing) adapt your introduction as necessary, write your conclusion.
Time recommendations
30-45 minutes brainstorming/planning
60-80 minutes drafting
10-15 minutes proofreading/editing
Remember
Check your introduction. Have you started in an interesting manner? Have you defined the key terms enough? Have you set parameters that are focused enough to deal with in the time allotted? Have you ensured you are mapping out an answer to all the key parts of the question?
Double check your paragraphs to see where you lack relevant knowledge / quotes / examples / transitions.
Research / review to fill in the gaps.
Check your conclusion. Does it restate your main points in another way and lead out in an interesting manner?
Double check for language clarity, variety, precision and conciseness. Fix errors!
Paper 2: Essay (HL) Criteria
Criterion A: Knowledge and understanding
How much knowledge and understanding of the part 3 works and their context has the student demonstrated in relation to the question answered?
Marks Level descriptor
0 The work does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.
1 Little knowledge is shown of the part 3 works and the way context affects their meaning.
2 Knowledge of the part 3 works and the way context affects their meaning is sometimes illustrated; understanding is superficial.
3 Knowledge of the part 3 works and the way context affects their meaning is adequately illustrated; understanding is satisfactory.
4 Knowledge of the part 3 works and the way context affects their meaning is pertinently illustrated and the understanding shown is good.
5 Knowledge of the part 3 works and the way context affects their meaning is thoroughly and persuasively illustrated and the understanding shown is perceptive.
Criterion B: Response to the question
To what extent is an understanding of the expectations of the question shown? How relevant is the response to these expectations, and how far does it show critical analysis?
Marks Level descriptor
0 The work does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.
1 There is little awareness of the expectations of the question.
2 There is some awareness of the expectations of the question; the response is only partly relevant and is mostly unsubstantiated generalization.
3 There is adequate awareness of the expectations of the question; the response is generally relevant and critical.
4 There is good understanding of the expectations and some of the subtleties of the question; the response is consistently relevant and critical.
5 There is excellent understanding of the expectations and many of the subtleties of the question; the response is relevant, focused and insightful.
Criterion C: Understanding of the use and effects of stylistic features
To what extent does the essay show awareness of how the writer’s choices of the stylistic features in the texts (for example, characterization, setting, theme, narrative point of view, structure, style and technique) are used to construct meaning?
To what extent does the essay show understanding of the effects of stylistic features?
Marks Level descriptor
0 The work does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.
1 There is limited awareness or illustration of the use of stylistic features.
2 There is some awareness and illustration of the use of stylistic features, with limited understanding of their effects.
3 There is adequate awareness and illustration of the use of stylistic features, with adequate understanding of their effects.
4 There is good awareness and illustration of the use of stylistic features, with good understanding of their effects.
5 There is excellent awareness and illustration of the use of stylistic features, with very good understanding of their effects.
Criterion D: Organization and development
How logical and developed is the argument of the essay? How coherent and effective is the formal structure of the essay?
Marks Level descriptor
0 The work does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.
1 There is little focus, structure, sequencing of ideas and development.
2 There is some focus, structure, sequencing of ideas and development.
3 There is adequate focus, structure, sequencing of ideas and development.
4 There is good focus and structure, with a logical sequence and development.
5 There is precise focus and excellent structure; the work is coherently sequenced and thoroughly developed.
Criterion E: Language
How clear, varied and accurate is the language? How appropriate is the choice of register, style and terminology? (“Register” refers, in this context, to the student’s use of elements such as vocabulary, tone, sentence structure and terminology appropriate to the task.)
Marks Level descriptor
0 The work does not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.
1 Language is rarely clear and appropriate; there are many errors in grammar, vocabulary and sentence construction and little sense of register and style.
2 Language is sometimes clear and carefully chosen; grammar, vocabulary and sentence construction are fairly accurate, although errors and inconsistencies are apparent; the register and style are to some extent appropriate to the task.
3 Language is clear and carefully chosen with an adequate degree of accuracy in grammar, vocabulary and sentence construction despite some lapses; register and style are mostly appropriate to the task.
4 Language is clear and carefully chosen, with a good degree of accuracy in grammar, vocabulary and sentence construction; register and style are consistently appropriate to the task.
5 Language is very clear, effective, carefully chosen and precise, with a high degree of accuracy in grammar, vocabulary and sentence construction; register and style are effective and appropriate to the task.