- Paper 1
Paper 1
Paper 1 is a (comparative) textual analysis of one or two unseen texts. This section provides various ideas to develop the necessary skills for Paper 1. Sample Paper 1s are provided, so that you can learn through example and become familiar with the criteria. Finally, we have also provided a short list of tips, which should help you prepare for the exam in a more focused way. The basics The Paper 1 asks students to comment on one of two texts within one and a half hours. The Paper 1 asks students to- Tips
Tips
By the time you reach the Paper 1 exam, you will want to have practiced working with unseen texts in multiple ways. In fact, you can already prepare for Paper 1 from the first day in the English A: Language and Literature classroom. As the exam requires many skills, from outlining to vocabulary building, you will want to break down this larger task into several smaller ones. Here is a list of tips to help you practice for Paper 1. Look at the unseen text(s) and brainstorm together as a - Criteria
Criteria
When preparing for the Paper 1 exam, you should familiarize yourself with its assessment criteria. If you know what examiners are looking for, then you are more likely to write effectively and score well. Self assessment, peer assessment and teacher assessment are key to preparing for this exam. You will want to practice by writing Paper 1s from previous years. An overview of both the SL and HL Paper 1 criteria are offered here. The overview of the assessment criteria have been slightly reworded from the original descriptors, which we recommend you - Skills
Skills
Paper 1 requires certain skills. Not only must you understand the text(s), but alos you have to express your ideas in a well-structured commentary. Like any skill, commentary writing can be perfected with time and practice. Although the exam is 1.5 hours at SL and 2 hours at HL, there will have been hours of preparation beforehand to refine these skills. We recommend you look at the pages in this section for activities that develop Paper 1 skills. You will find pages on how to write effectively, comment on tone- 8 writing tips
8 writing tips
This lesson focuses on eight ways to invigorate your writing style. These tips will come in handy for all written activities that you do, from essay writing to creative writing. They help you meet the third aim of Group 1 courses in the IB Diploma, which states that students are to "develop powers of expression, both in oral and written communication." In order to meet this objective, you will compare and contrast two letters of application. The second letter is an improvement on the first. Then you will find examples - Analyzing tone
Analyzing tone
Writers communicate a message to us through a particular tone. Tone is the choice of vocabulary, syntax and verb tense, all of which place the reader in a particular mood. As we analyze the language of the unseen texts in Paper 1, we need to establish a particular vocabulary for describing tone. In other words, we need to learn a few important adjectives in order to describe the language of texts. Instead of commenting on a text's 'sad' tone, a word like 'melancholy' may be more appropriate. Instead of commenting - Applying CDA
Applying CDA
The field of critical discourse analysis (CDA) offers useful tools for Paper 1. Critical discourse analysis is concerned with the description and interpretation of discourse in context. Essentially, if we ask the right questions in the right order, we can critically analyze a text. Most good commentaries attempt to answer three essential questions: What's being said (i.e. content, theme, ideas)? How is it being said (i.e. stylistic devices, structural features)? So what (i.e. for what ends, purposes)? While these questions are good starting points, they can lead to superficial responses. - Compare & contrast
Compare & contrast
Paper 1 at HL asks you to compare and contrast two texts. Comparative analysis is a skill that requires practice. Using Venn diagrams or tables is a great way to brainstorm together on the similarities and difference between two texts. Ask yourself: 'What do these texts have in common?' 'How are they different?' In this lesson you will practice comparing and contrasting two texts that appeared on a former exam. Each text is an autobiography; one written by Lee Iacocca and the other by Winston Churchill. You may want to - Exploring text types
Exploring text types
A great variety of text types may appear on Paper 1. You may see an ad, a brochure, a website or a memoir. You will want to be able to quickly identify the type of text on the exam and its purpose. In order to become familiar with the conventions of different types of texts, you will want to explore several prototypical examples of the same type of text. For example, you may want to examine three speeches about different topics but all characteristic of speeches. You may want to - The Big 5
The Big 5
At the heart of the English A: Language and Literature course is textual analysis. In order to prepare for Paper 1 and the individual oral commentary, you will want to learn how to analyze various texts. This lesson introduces you to a method of analysis that we call the 'Big 5'. It presents five lenses through which you can look at texts. Since not all texts are the same in nature, you will find some lenses more useful than others when analyzing different texts. Since analyzing texts is a skill,
- 8 writing tips
- P1 Sample work
P1 Sample work
One of the best ways to learn is by example. In order to become familiar with the expectations of Paper 1, you will want to look at how student work has been assessed in the past. Both poor and good samples are presented in these pages, so that you can learn from other students' experiences. We suggest you assess student work according to the criteria for Paper 1 before you look at the examiner's comments of each work. This way you can see how your understanding of good practice compares- P1 HL S1 (birds)
P1 HL S1 (birds)
To prepare for your Paper 1 exam, you will want to know what distinguishes a good comparative analysis from a poor comparative analysis. Both the good and poor analyses below are written in response two a pair of texts about waterfowl. Read both Text 1 and Text 2. Then, before reading the two sample responses, brainstorm with classmates on what you would expect to read in a good comparative analysis on these texts. As you read both student responses check to see if they included the ideas from your brainstorming - P1 HL S2 (chocolate)
P1 HL S2 (chocolate)
To prepare for your Paper 1 exam, you will want to know what distinguishes a good comparative analysis from a poor comparative analysis. Both the good and poor analyses below are written in response to a pair of texts about chocolate. Read both Text 1 and Text 2. Then, before reading the two sample responses, brainstorm with classmates on what you would expect to read in a good comparative analysis on these texts. As you read both student responses, check to see if they included the ideas from your brainstorming - P1 HL S3 (baby girls)
P1 HL S3 (baby girls)
Below you will find two Paper 1 responses to a pair of texts about gender stereotypes. Text 1 is a comic strip, named after its creator, Cathy. Text 2 is an extract from a memoir titled The Blindfold Horse, about a woman growing up in Iran. After you read the exam texts, brainstorm and discuss what you would expect to read in a good comparative commentary. Before you actually read the sample responses, be sure to read the criteria for Paper 1. Compare and contrast the two comparative analyses and - P1 SL S1 (Saif Ali Khan)
P1 SL S1 (Saif Ali Khan)
To prepare for your Paper 1 exam, you will want to know what distinguishes a good textual analysis from a poor textual analysis. Both the good and poor analyses below are written in response to an article about a Bollywood star, Saif Ali Khan. Before you read the sample Paper 1s, be sure to read the criteria for Paper 1. You may also want to organize a brief brainstorming session on what you and your class would include in a response to this article. As you read both responses below, - P1 SL S2 (poverty)
P1 SL S2 (poverty)
The following Paper 1 samples were written on a text on poverty. The text was taken from an essay called "What is poverty?" by Jo Goodwin Parker, which appeared in America's Other Children: Public Schools Outside Suburbia by George Henderson, written in 1971. Henderson, who was a professor at the University of Oklahoma, received the essay while working on this book. Parker had only included her name and state from which she wrote, West Virginia. Her persona, her address and her background all remained a mystery. In a sense Henderson
- P1 HL S1 (birds)
- Tips
- Paper 2
Paper 2
The Paper 2 exam consists of six essay questions, only one of which must be answered during the timed period. The essay is to be written about the Part 3 literary texts. Therefore, it is a test of understanding literature in context. Although the questions will change from exam to exam, they will always focus on the connection between, style, form, author, purpose and audience. Selecting good Part 3 texts is therefore essential. These pages offer an overview of the requirements, the criteria, sample student work and tips on Paper- Tips
Tips
While the Paper 2 essay only takes 1.5 hours at SL and 2 hours at HL, in fact you can spend hours preparing for it. Good preparation will ensure that every minute of the exam is used wisely. We recommend you see the 'skills' page for further explanation on how one develops the necessary skills. On this page, you will find an overview of tips that you can apply to the preparation process. Read the instructions. So many candidates skip the instructions and go straight to the questions. The instructions - Criteria
Criteria
Before you sit the final Paper 2 exam, you will want to have practiced writing and assessing essays in class, using the IB assessment criteria. Self assessment, peer assessment and teacher assessment are good ways to prepare for the final exam, which will be assessed by an external examiner. If you know what examiners are looking for, you can write more effectively. The overview of the assessment criteria have been slightly reworded from the original descriptors, which we recommend you read in the official Language A: Language and Literature guide. As you - Skills
Skills
Paper 2 requires certain writing skills. Even if you have a thorough understanding of your Part 3 works, you must be able express them coherently and effectively. Academic essay writing, like anything, can be perfected over time with much practice. It is best to break this large task down into smaller, more manageable ones. The pages that follow in this section offer examples of activities that can be used to focus on particular aspects of Paper 2 and develop certain skills. For example, we offer help on how to outline- Coherent writing
Coherent writing
In Criterion D for Paper 2, you find that you are expected to write coherently. But what is 'coherent' writing? Coherence is the glue that sticks good writing together. It is what makes one sentence depend on another, through the use of linking words and relative clauses. In this lesson, you will discover coherent writing as you unscramble a scrambled essay. In other words, the sentences in the essay below do not appear in the right order. You will find yourself looking for words like, 'this', 'even', or 'similarly'. After you - Outlines
Outlines
There is no single correct way to write Paper 2. However there are several good ways to structure the essay. Before you begin to write your essay, take 10-15 minutes to outline the main ideas. This is a good idea for several reasons: We use outlines to prevent 'after thoughts' from creeping into the essay. Examiners find it difficult to read scripts that include, boxes, arrows and symbols that attempt to insert text that was written as an after thought. Once you see an overview of your ideas, you can - PIE structure
PIE structure
You will notice that for many forms of assessment, you are asked to organize and structure your ideas. This lesson gives you a kind of 'recipe' for cooking up an essay as it were. The template approach to structuring writing, which is presented in this lesson, is not meant to be prescriptive. Rather, consider the PIE method a kind of guideline or safety mechanism to fall back on. For each sentence that you write, you should ask yourself: 'What is the purpose of this sentence?' If you find the purpose - Unpacking questions
Unpacking questions
As Paper 2 presents six unseen questions, you will want to become good at understanding and 'unpacking' exam questions. The term 'to unpack' is used here because it suggests that essay questions, like baggage, can be opened up to reveal more inside. This is a very applicable metaphor to Paper 2. We often select one of the six essay questions based on a gut feeling, but we do not always understand the implications of the question until we have studied it more closely. This lesson aims to develop a simple but
- Coherent writing
- P2 Sample work
P2 Sample work
One of the best ways to learn is by example. In order to become familiar with Paper 2, you will want to look at how student work has been assessed in the past. Both poor and good samples are presented in these pages, so that you can learn from other students' experiences. We suggest you assess student work according to the criteria for Paper 2, before you look at the examiner's comments on each work. This way you can see how your understanding of good practice compares to that of- P2 HL S1 (Disgrace)
P2 HL S1 (Disgrace)
The following essays were written on the following exam question: “How do the conflicts between characters in two or three of your Part 3 literary works reflect the kinds of conflicts from the time and place in which the texts were written?” The two samples that are presented here explore the question with relation to two literary texts: Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw and Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee. As you can see, the second sample is an improvement on the first. Besides assessing both works with the criteria, you may - P2 HL S2 (1984)
P2 HL S2 (1984)
Before the study of all three Part 3 works is complete, you will want to practice writing Paper 2. This sample, which was completed after the study of just one Part 3 work, addresses the question: "How can you explain the continued interest of works of literature over time?" The thrust of the question is interesting, as it goes in the opposite direction of many of the context oriented questions. Here, you are being asked to consider how a piece of literature transcends context of production. The focus is more - P2 SL S1 (Fiela's Child)
P2 SL S1 (Fiela's Child)
The sample essays below are based on the following question, which is one of six essay questions that appears on the specimen Paper 2 (on the OCC): "Analyze how justice is represented and understood in two works studied." The responses to this question are based on two literary works: Fiela's Child by Dalene Matthee and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. The second sample is an improvement on the first. Read both samples, compare them and discuss their differences. While reading both samples, remember to keep the assessment criteria for Paper
- P2 HL S1 (Disgrace)
- Tips
- Written tasks
Written tasks
Throughout this course, you will build a portfolio of written tasks. There are two types of written tasks, known as written task 1 (WT1) and written task 2 (WT2). These are very different in nature. Written task 1 is an 'imaginative piece' in which you demonstrate your understanding of the course work and a type of text. For example you could write a letter from one character to another character from a novel that you have read for Part 3 or 4. Or you could write a journalistic review of a- Criteria
Criteria
Before you write written tasks, you should look at the assessment criteria. This way you know what the examiner is looking for. The best way to become familiar with the criteria is to use them regularly. For each written task that is entered into the portfolio, there should be some form of self assessment, peer assessment and teacher assessment. Remember: Teachers are not allowed to edit or annotate students' written tasks. This does not mean that teachers cannot give feedback. Rather, teachers can and should tell students how they think - WT1 Tips
WT1 Tips
The written task 1 can be tricky. With so much freedom, there can be many pitfalls. The requirements ask you to imitate a writing style or construct a specific type of text. Here are some of the common pitfalls that students often fall into, followed by three tips on how to avoid them. The common pitfalls The written task is not an essay writing assignment. Unfortunately, many 'opinion columns' and 'blogs' end up sounding like essays. The context of the text is not clear. If you write an opinion column, - WT1 skills
WT1 skills
The guide states that written task 1 is an 'imaginative piece'. Imagination, however, is not the skill that is assessed when you look at the criteria. In fact there are other 'hard' skills that you can develop in order to do well on the written task 1. For example you will have to write a certain type of text, and so you will want to focus on the conventions for writing in a particular style or genre. Simply developing a relevant idea for written task 1 is in itself a- Exploring text types
Exploring text types
The written task 1 asks you to imitate a certain text type. You may want to write a brochure, a speech, a letter or a memoir. But how do you know what structural elements to include in these types of texts? In order to become familiar with the conventions of different types of texts, you will want to explore several examples of the same type of text. For example, you may want to examine three speeches about different topics but all characteristic of speeches. You may want to look at - Writing proposals
Writing proposals
Althugh the IB does not stipulate that students must write a proposal before writing the written task 1, this activity helps for several reasons: Writing a proposal of 200 words helps the teacher give guidance. If you have a poor or irrelevant idea, you will not want to waste your time on it. It is better to reject it earlier than later. You can use the proposal as a springboard for the rationale. The proposal creates a sense of commitment. If you and your teacher agree to write the task - Writing rationales
Writing rationales
Although the rationale only counts for 2 of the 20 marks for the written task, the success of your written task largely depends on it. On this page, we suggest which points to include in a rational. In the activity you find a written task that lacks a rationale. Use the list of points below to write a rationale for the task. Be sure to include The rationale must be between 200-300 words. The purpose of writing a rationale is to place your written task 1 in a particular context,
- Exploring text types
- WT1 Samples
WT1 Samples
On the following pages you find a wide range of sample written tasks. As many of us learn through example, you will want to study the good samples carefully and avoid the mistakes that have been made by other students. While written task 1 invites you to creatively explore your course work, it also comes with pitfalls. We suggest you check out the tips page to see an overview of common mistakes and suggestions on how to avoid them. You can check to see if these samples include all of- WT1 HL S1 (Mandela)
WT1 HL S1 (Mandela)
On 9 May 1994, a day before Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as President of South Africa, he gave a speech to the people of Cape Town. The student who wrote the sample written task for Part 1 was inspired by this speech and decided to write her own speech about it. In this written task, she pretends to be Antjie Krog, a popular South African, giving her speech to members of the African National Congress in 2014, on the 20th anniversary of Mandela's inauguration. After you read Mandela's original speech, - WT1 HL S2 (Collector)
WT1 HL S2 (Collector)
The following written task was written for Part 3. It takes its inspiration from The Collector, a novel by John Fowles, written in 1963. You do not need to read this novel in order to understand the nature of the task. In brief, it is about a young man who abducts a young woman and keeps her in his cellar until she dies of pneumonia. The story is told from both the perspective of the victim, Miranda Grey, and the perpetrator, Frederick Clegg. As you can read from the following - WT1 SL S1 (2pac)
WT1 SL S1 (2pac)
The following sample student work stems from a unit on language and race in Part 1 of the syllabus. As a class, students explored several texts from African Americans, analyzing language use as an expression of identity. This particular student was inspired by the lyrics from the song 'Changes' by 2Pac Shakur (who samples Bruce Hornsby). In the task the students refers to several examples of 2Pac's use of language, explaining how he speaks on behalf of troubled, young African Americans who lead a life of gangs, drugs and violence. - WT1 SL S2 (Internet)
WT1 SL S2 (Internet)
The following written task 1 takes its inspiration from a series of lessons on the Internet and how it is redefining how we communicate. The task is relevant to the first learning outcome of Part 2, which asks students to "examine different forms of communication within the media." This following sample student work specifically takes its inspiration from an article that Clifford Stoll wrote in Newsweek in 1995, titled 'The Internet? Bah!' The task is a letter to Clifford Stoll, written over 16 years after Stoll's article. The student's purpose - WT1 SL S3 (CK)
WT1 SL S3 (CK)
This sample written task is written by Michael Michell, who teaches at the International School of Amsterdam. The task is the product of a greater unit on the portrayal of women and sex in advertising. It takes its inspiration from Jean Kilbourne's 'Killing Us Softly'. Students watched this polemic presentation and discussed many of the ads that it features. Students explored the defining characteristics of opinion columns and more specifically the columns of Maureen Dowd. You can see that he imitates her writing style or 'voice' very well. After you view
- WT1 HL S1 (Mandela)
- WT2 Tips
WT2 Tips
Before you start writing a written task 2, or 'critical response', you will need a strategy or 'game plan'. The list of tips below offers you a step-by-step approach for this task. You will notice that each tip helps to break down this larger task into smaller, more manageable tasks. In brief you will need to go through several stages, where you orient yourself with the nature of the task, brainstorm with classmates and engage with the text and the prescribed question. Be sure to practice using the assessment criteria - WT2 Questions & samples
WT2 Questions & samples
Higher Level students must write at least one critical response (written task 2) to a text. These responses, which in fact are essays, answer one of six prescribed quesitons from the Language A: Language and Literature guide. These questions are answered with regards to the text that has been studied. The six questions are versatile, meaning they can be applied to both non-literary and literary texts. Like written task 1, there is some element of student choice. Students are encouraged to choose a question that they would like to explore in consultation- WT2 Q1 (Pieta)
WT2 Q1 (Pieta)
The sample written task 2 below has taken its inspiration from a United Colors of Benetton advertisement. Students studied language and taboo in Part 1, with a particular focus on AIDS awareness campaigns (see lesson 'AIDS and taboo'). Like many of the ads in the lesson, 'La Pieta', the Benetton ad, was considered very controversial. As you can read in the sample critical response below, an understanding of the context leads to different interpretations of the same text. The question answered in the task is: "How could the text be - WT2 Q2 (Pygmalion)
WT2 Q2 (Pygmalion)
The sample critical response (written task 2) presented on this page was written after studying Pygmalion, a play by George Bernard Shaw, which was written in 1912. This work is very versatile and lends itself well to the English A: Language and Literature course in general. Culture, context, language issues and gender are all important to understanding the text. The student demonstrates an understanding of these ideas in his written task 2 below. For those who are not familiar with Pygmalion an extract from the play has been provided below. 'The gentleman' - WT2 Q3 (Starkey)
WT2 Q3 (Starkey)
The following written task 2 took its inspiration from a unit on race and language. Students were given all six prescribed questions for written task 2 and shown a few videos, one of which was this interview with David Starkey on Newsnight, a BBC program. Students were asked to select one of the six questions that could be answered effectively, using one of the texts or videos that they had seen. One student found the third prescribed question particularly relevant to the David Starkey interview. "How and why is a - WT2 Q5 (ACLU)
WT2 Q5 (ACLU)
The following written task 2 took its inspiration from a lesson on racial profiling, in which students studied various text types. One of the texts was a public service announcement from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The comparative discussion inadvertently answered one of the prescribed questions for written task 2: How does the text conform to, or deviate from, the conventions of a particular genre, and for what purpose? The sample examines how the primary source makes use of the structural conventions for wanted posters, public service announcements and - WT2 Q6 (Pretty Woman)
WT2 Q6 (Pretty Woman)
The sample written task 2 on this page is on Pretty Woman, a Hollywood movie from 1990 by J.F. Lawton. Although this text was not studied in class, the student received permission to work on this after a detailed study of Pygmalion, which was read for Part 3. Pretty Woman, as it turns out, is heavily inspired by Pygmalion, and so the essay title is very appropriate for the prescribed question: "How has the text borrowed from other texts and with what effects?" Pygmalion is just as much the focus - WT2 Q6 (Vote Different)
WT2 Q6 (Vote Different)
This written task 2 has taken its inspiration from a lesson on mash ups and attack ads. The first text from this lesson explores an attack ad against Hillary Clinton. It is best understood in the context of an ad for Apple Macintosh computers and the novel Nineteen Eighty-four. The sample offers a critical response to the attack ad, which explains how the text has borrowed from other texts in order to persuade voters to vote for Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton in the primary elections in January 2008. The sample
- WT2 Q1 (Pieta)
- Criteria
- Individual oral commentary
Individual oral commentary
The individual oral commentary (IOC) is a test on Part 4, a critical study of literature. By the time students take this oral exam SL students will have studied two works from the PLA, and HL students will have studied three works from the PLA. In class much preparation can be done to create confidence and understanding. For example students can be involved in the process of finding important passages from the literary works. Presentations on passages can be given in class. Teachers can draw students' attention to the assessment criteria. We- Tips
Tips
Although there is no one way to guarantee a 7 on the individual oral commentary, some of the following tips help to ease the nerves and keep focus on the purpose of the task. Most importantly, we recommend you hold a round of mock orals in your school before conducting the real exam. This will help create a sense of confidence, and you will understand the practicalities involved in running such as exam. You will need two rooms and timetable that allows one student to prepare while the other is - Criteria
Criteria
Before the individual oral commentary is taken, you should have a good understanding of the assessment criteria. Students will want to practice assessing their own work, a classmate's work, or a recording of sample work. You may want to do a round of mock orals before setting the real exam as well. Here is an overview of the criteria for the individual oral commentary. For the exact descriptors we recommend that you consult the Language A: Language and Literature guide. Both HL and SL students are assessed according to the - Skills
Skills
You may have an excellent understanding of the Part 4 works, but if you lack the skills to express these ideas, performance on the individual oral commentary could be poor. In these pages several skill-building exercises are made available, so that you can make the most of the individual oral commentary. You can learn how to tackle guiding questions or work on annotation skills. If you are looking for quick tips on how to tackle this form of assessment, we recommend checking out the tips page. Furthermore, assessing sample oral commentaries, - IOC Sample work
IOC Sample work
This section contains several sample individual oral commentaries from former students. You will want to look at sample work for several reasons, depending on who you are and what your aims are. Teachers may want to practice assessing students, comparing the grades that they would have given with the grades that we have given. Students may want to look at the sample work to learn from example. Either way we recommend you approach these sample works as an 'information gap' exercise, that is to say by making educated guesses before- IOC HL S1 (Sassoon)
IOC HL S1 (Sassoon)
The following individual oral commentary is based on a poem by Siegfried Sassoon. In class students studied a unit on the role of women in war. Students studied several poems and their use of various poetic features. Before you listen to the sample response, brainstorm on the poem together with classmates. What points would you hope to hear the student mention? While listening you can check off all the points that you hear. Are there points that you mentioned that he has missed? Are there points that he mentions that - IOC HL S2 (Pygmalion)
IOC HL S2 (Pygmalion)
This individual oral commentary is based on a passage from Pygmalion, a play by George Bernard Shaw. Before you assess the student, you will want to study the passage carefully and make a detailed list of aspects you would expect to see included. If you are not familiar with the play, then you may want to make a list of questions that you have about the passage. Does the student answer these? A good commentary should be clear for both those who have a detailed understanding of the extract and - IOC SL S1 (Nichols)
IOC SL S1 (Nichols)
The following individual oral commentary is based on a poem called 'The Fat Black Woman Remembers' by Grace Nichols. Read the poem carefully before listening to the commentary. You may also want to write a list of aspects that you would expect to hear in a good commentary on this poem. Has the student commented on all of the aspects in your list? Perhaps she has included several items that you missed. Remember: The assessment criteria for Higher and Standard Level are the same. In other words, as students are
- IOC HL S1 (Sassoon)
- Tips
- Further oral activity
Further oral activity
For Parts 1 and 2 students will be asked to conduct several further oral activities (FOA). These activities can be based on different types of situations that use spoken language, ranging from presentations to interviews, or from debates to speeches. In the FOA students must demonstrate their understanding of course work, focus on the relevant topic and an achievement of one or more learning outcomes. In the classroom preparation that leads up to FOAs, teachers should guide students towards successful ideas and speaking formats, without prescribing one method or approach.- Tips
Tips
Like everything in this course, further oral activities require skills that can be developed and perfected with time and practice. There are a few tips and tricks that you can find here to help you approach this form of assessment. Conduct a lot of further oral activities under different circumstances. As a minimum requirement, you must do two FOAs; one on Part 1 and one on Part 2. But the advantage to doing more is that there are more opportunities to learn from mistakes. Try doing one with minimal preparation, - Criteria
Criteria
Before you conduct a further oral activity, you should become familiar with the corresponding assessment criteria. You can become familiar with the criteria through self-assessment, peer assessment or teacher assessment. You can start using the assessment criteria by assessing the sample oral commentaries in this section of the Subject Site. Here is an overview of the four criteria used to assess the further oral activity. For a more detailed description, you can consult the official IB English A: Language and Literature guide. There you will notice that the descriptors are - Skills
Skills
The further oral activity tests various skills. As the course aims to develop the powers of expression and communication, students are expected to prepare their use of language, organize their activity and demonstrate and understanding of the course work. This may mean that students have a command of PowerPoint or have rehearsed a role carefully. Good preparation may also include the writing of a proposal and a reflective statement. These pages provide students with the kinds of skills necessary for performing a range of further oral - FOA Samples
FOA Samples
In order to prepare for the further oral activities, you will want to listen to work from previous students. The following samples include both good and poor practice, along with teacher's comments on the sample performances. Try assessing the activities using the assessment criteria for the further oral activity. Compare your marks to the teacher's. How were they different or similar? How to Use Sample Work This section contains several sample Individual Oral Commentaries of former students. You may want to look at sample work for several different reasons,- FOA HL S1 (Switch)
FOA HL S1 (Switch)
The following sample further oral activity took its inspiration from a lesson on the MTV Switch campaign. The lesson focused specifically on the following guiding question: "How has MTV used the medium of film to persuade its audience to care more about the environment in its 'Switch' campaign?" In the lesson, students studied how the use of camera use, mis-en-scene, sound and copy all construct meaning. Students were asked to compare and contrast video clips in groups, discussing how effective each ad is in achieving its purpose. As an extension - FOA SL S1 (Marley)
FOA SL S1 (Marley)
The following further oral activity is based on lessons about Jamaican Patois and Nigerian Pidgin, in which students looked at the lyrics of Bob Marley and Fela Kuti, respectively. In the context of the further oral activity, the year is 1980 and both artists are being interviewed on National Public Radio (NPR) after the release of their songs, Redemption Song and Colonial Mentality. As you listen to this sample, keep track of their performance by filling in the assessment sheet below. Primary sources Redemption Song Bob Marley 1980 Old pirates, - FOA SL S2 (drugs)
FOA SL S2 (drugs)
The following further oral activity takes its inspiration from a lesson on anti-drug public service announcements. Three students have an informal discussion with each other and their teacher about the effectiveness of various anti-drug ads. They comment on the use various propaganda techniques, the stylistic devices and tone of several ads. The students compared older ads from the 1980s with more modern ads from the 2000s. The older ads that the students refer to, are taken from the lesson 'Just say no!' Here are several, more modern ads which the
- FOA HL S1 (Switch)
- Tips
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| Paper 1 | Paper 2 |
| Written tasks | Individual oral commentary |
| Further oral activity | Tips |
| Skills | P2 Sample work |
| Skills | Tips |
| WT1 Samples | WT1 Tips |
| Criteria | WT1 skills |
| Tips | Tips |
| IOC Sample work | FOA Samples |
| 8 writing tips | Coherent writing |
| P1 HL S3 (baby girls) | WT2 Questions & samples |
| WT1 SL S3 (CK) | Guiding questions |
| Outlines | P2 SL S1 (Fiela's Child) |
| The Big 5 | Exploring text types |
| FOA HL S1 (Switch) | IOC SL S1 (Nichols) |
| Skills | WT2 Tips |
| WT2 Q5 (ACLU) | |
Summary
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Selected Pages
FOA HL S1 (Switch) - free
The following sample further oral activity took its inspiration from a lesson on the MTV Switch campaign. The lesson focused specifically on the following guiding question: "How has MTV used the medium... more»
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Writing a good reflective statement is a skill. It can also be used as a tool to motivate, clarify and give focus to the further oral activity. Unfortunately, because it is not... more»
IOC SL S1 (Nichols) - free
The following individual oral commentary is based on a poem called 'The Fat Black Woman Remembers' by Grace Nichols. Read the poem carefully before listening to the commentary. You may also want... more»
Further oral activity - free
For Parts 1 and 2 students will be asked to conduct several further oral activities (FOA). These activities can be based on different types of situations that use spoken language, ranging from... more»
Written tasks - free
Throughout this course, you will build a portfolio of written tasks. There are two types of written tasks, known as written task 1 (WT1) and written task 2 (WT2). These are very... more»
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The following written task 2 took its inspiration from a unit on race and language. Students were given all six prescribed questions for written task 2 and shown a few videos, one... more»
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