H-IB Paper 1 The first exam paper May 20% of the IB grade
What it is: IB gives you two texts that you will not have seen before. You will be able to choose one of the texts: either a prose or poetry piece. Know the difference between prose and poetry. Prose - written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure; excerpt from novel, short story, journalistic writing You will have 2 hours to write an analysis in response to the piece you choose.
How to proceed: 1. Choose the passage (recommended time: 15 minutes) 2. Identify the thoughts and feelings and the central idea (steps #2-5 should take about 45 minutes) -Annotate the piece paragraph by paragraph or stanza by stanza. -Pin down a statement about the central idea.
How to proceed: 3. Identify the key literary features of the piece. -You will learn a checklist (coming up) to help you sweep through the piece. 4. Decide on your argument, which will be the framework for your commentary. -It will probably be based on the connections between your responsive thoughts and feelings, the meanings of the piece, and the way it is written. -It might be advisable at this point to write your introduction.
How to proceed: 5. Plan the structure of your commentary. Plan paragraph by paragraph. 6. Write (about 70 minutes). 7. Review what you have written (about five minutes).
Skills that Paper 1 requires of you: Close reading The use of details is a factor that determines success in a commentary. Focus on individual words, phrases, and lines from the text you study.
Skills that Paper 1 requires of you: Two structural principles to commentary writing: 1. It is planned around the central meaning (theme) of the text. 2. It presents a coherent argument relating to this central meaning and/or how it is presented.
Skills that Paper 1 requires of you: Practical guidelines to commentary writing: 1. It begins with a forceful introduction that sets up the central meaning and the coherent argument relating to it. 2. It explores and justifies the coherent argument in the main body of the commentary in a continuous and structured manner. 3. It is written in unified paragraphs. 4. Transitions between the sections of the argument are evident. 5. Statements are supported by close reference to the text. 6. Its conclusion brings a sense of completion and closure to the argument.
The tone of Paper 1: Task: prove you understand the thoughts and feelings in the passage Audience: anonymous examiner Style: Formal However, it should also be personal. Communicate your own sense of identity without being too familiar. Be enthusiastic about the ideas you are exploring and the feelings you are receiving from the text. The examiner wants to see your involvement with the feelings and thoughts of the text.
The tone of Paper 1 (cont.): Use the word I when you are describing the effect the passage has on you. It gives evidence that you are personally involved.
All-important CHECKLIST for breaking down the text: You will use this checklist as you begin practicing for Paper 1 throughout the remainder of the school year. Learn it and know it.
CHECKLIST (cont.): 1. Subject: What is it about? Recognize the literal content of the text. 2. Action: What happens in the text? Are the events important? 3. Character/relationship: Does it focus on a character or a relationship?
CHECKLIST (cont.): 4. Setting: Consider the physical setting as well as the time, geographical place, and culture. What role does the setting play? 5. Narrator: Who is speaking? 1 st or 3 rd person? Involved or detached? How does this affect the subject? 6. Themes and ideas: What themes and ideas does the text explore? What is the point of the text?
CHECKLIST (cont.): 7. Imagery: What descriptive, sensory detail exists in the text? 8. Figurative language: What is the role of literary devices? CAUTION ABOUT LITERARY DEVICES: -It is not enough to identify that a particular literary device exists in a work. -You must explore the effect that the use of that device has on the text or you as a reader.
CHECKLIST (cont.): 9. Sound: How does the text use sound? Consider alliteration, rhyme, assonance, onomatopoeia, etc. 10. Diction: Comment on the vocabulary of the text. Are the word choices simple or complex? Is there repetition? 11. Structure: Stanzas or paragraphs? How does the layout contribute to the meaning? Does each deal with a different idea or represent a point of development? Are the verses or sentences long or short? Any caesura or enjambment?
CHECKLIST (cont.): 12. Tone: What feeling(s) does the narrator express toward the subject of the text?
Additional literary features that apply to poetry: Alliteration Allusion Anaphora Assonance Any type of irony Hyperbole Juxtaposition Metaphor -Omission -Paradox -Parallelism -Personification -Repetition -Rhetorical question -Simile
Additional literary features that apply to prose: Plot Characterization Chronology Paragraphing
Bibliography Tyson, Hannah, and Mark Beverley. English A: Literature Course Companion. Oxford, 2012, pp. 36.