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Virtual Think-Ins
Paper 1 in DP Language A: Language & Literature and Literature
Virtual Think-In, 22 May 2024
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Paper 2 in DP Language A: Language & Literature and Literature
Virtual Think-In, 23 May 2024
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Subscriber comments
- Hi Kevin. You are correct that this is a flaw in this response and that students should aim to reference at least 2 or 3 short texts. This from the FAQ on the PRC: When marking paper 2 responses, examiners will be looking for evidence...
- This does seem like a pretty good response to me, but the student only addresses one poem from each poet. I am trying to show my students some examples of poetry essays, I told them a few months ago when we started prepping to expect to examine...
- Thanks for clarifying! To be clear, there are some great things here, but when sharing with my students, yes, I did stress some of the issues here (signposting and balance especially). Thank you for the comment! Lit exemplars are hard to come...
- Hi Jason. With some exceptions, we have not marked or graded these samples ourselves but post what they did actually receive, as is the case with this one. That doesn't mean you (or we) necessarily agree with all of the marks but we do...
- "it has a clearly defined global issue which allows for a close and detailed exploration of two well-selected extracts." This is true, But it it almost completely ignores the work as a whole in both cases. The ONLY mention of Szymborska's...
- I agree with TN above- 9 seems high considering that even when works as a whole are brought into the discussion, there is a lack of techniques and choices discussed. It's very pleasant to listen to and the issue is well-developed. I would almost...
- Thank you for the reassurance, Mark. And thanks for the "one thing in terms of another idea."
- Hello Jeff. Your thinking is pretty accurate, I would say. We can all get a big bogged down in the difference between terms like 'theme', 'idea' or 'issue' and it's probably best not to try to distinguish. What I would say,...
- I confess I don’t exactly understand the difference between global issues and themes if by “theme” one simply means a topic a work seems interested in exploring. If a theme applies to people's common experience in more than one country,...
- Hi Tricia. The old Literature questions were focused on specific literary genres so they are not so good for practice as that is not the style of question any more. However, the old Language and Literature questions are more in line with...
- If that questions wasn't clear - I know the old questions are good to use for practice but have they completely changed questions for Paper 2 or could they still come from old paper 2's? :) Thanks.
- Hi Both, I was curious about the possible Paper 2 questions - if we have the ones used in Nov and May 23, are these the types of questions we should expect for this year's exams? Or should we also still assume the questions can come from the...
- Hi Flavia - hmm. Not sure why. I can put the URLs underneath, which should work.
- Hi Team,Unfortunately, I cannot access the videos. Any ideas?Thanks,Flavia
- Understood--that was what I assumed. Thanks.
- Hi David. It just means the student who wrote it was a Standard Level student.
- With the rubric identical for SL and HL, what does it mean for this to be a "Standard Level response"?
- Thank you, David, for that clarification. She has been tested, but no accommodations came of it. She just cannot spell! :) Thank you, again.
- Hi Debbie. Examiners apply a 'best fit' approach to the criteria descriptors and accuracy is just one part of criterion D, with spelling just one of several aspects to be considered in this regard. As such, if spelling is weak but all...
- Hi Mark and David,I've been to many IB workshops (levels 1, 2 and 3), but never seem to ask this question. In criterion D, how much does spelling "count" for scoring well? I teach a brilliant student who is a fairly strong writer; however,...
- Hi Tamara. As we are not the IB, we cannot give you a definitive answer on this but I would direct you to the IB Literature guide and the FAQ on the PRC for the IB's position. Neither mentions plays specifically but the FAQ does...
- Hello, Some of my students are considering focusing their HLEs on Pinter's The Dumb Waiter. My concern is that, on its own, the play may be considered too short. Is there an actual requirement on the length of the play that would be...
- Hi Tricia. I think so, a long time ago though (probably pre-2013, before they changed to two Language A courses)
- Hi Both, By chance was 'Postcards' used for an actual Paper 1 at some point? (just curious) Thank you!
- Sorry about that, Tom. Hopefully now corrected.
- Can someone check the critic cards, please? The one I printed out has errors (like Historical being on there twice).
- Hi Andri. They should be explicit in the introduction if they are doing this; however, our recommendation would always be to answer the given guiding question.
- Hi, a quick question about the guiding qu: I know the students do not need to actually answer this but alternatively must provide an different point of entry which they need to make clear in their introduction. Do they need to re-write a new...
- Thank you! I wasn't sure if we were only allotted 5 minutes of questions regardless or if getting to 15 minutes superseded the 5 minute rules when a student didn't reach the 10 minutes.
- Hi Hannah. If you can ask questions to get them to 15 minutes then do that as it will increase their chances of getting some more marks - obviously if they are not able to answer your questions then there is limited use in continuing...
- Hi Rebekkah. I think any combination could work. It would depend which poems you are studying and what similarities/differences you wanted to draw out through the activity. For example with Duffy, Havisham/Medusa could work...
- Hi! I have a question about the length of the IO. What should I do if a student stops talking before their 10 minutes? For example, what should I do if a student concludes and absolutely stops after 6 minutes of talking, do I ask questions...
- Hi Tom. We have some samples linked above although I realise we do not have one on poetry - this is something we will look to rectify soon. In terms of structure, the samples here are all good; the one on Antony and Cleopatra was...
- What a great activity! Does anyone have some suggested poem pairings for trying this with Seamus Heaney or Carol Ann Duffy?
- Hi, I have a very able candidate who is hoping to do their EE on poetry. Do you have any sample essays that might be of help for them? They are particularly interested in successful structures of essays. Thank you!
- Hi Claudia, this would be a Category 1 essay. I would advise against the focus on Poe's 'personal experiences and psychological struggles' as this will lead the student away from the texts and into biographical speculation. It needs a...
- Hi again, I have a late student with a lot of pressure on, who would like to write about Edgar Allan Poe and I am sending you here her research question to tell me if it is alright, and what category should it be? Many thanks!To what extent...
- Hi Alice. They should reference the work as a whole (the collection the poem comes from) and relevant features of that, as well as perhaps 2 or 3 specific poems that have relevant connections (the key thing is that all references are...
- Hi Kevin. I would advise against this as they could get marked down if an examiner thinks they are reading. As you say, you can't control how your students prepare but you could tell them that this is not the approach the most successful...
- If a student has chosen a poem as one of their extracts, how many other poems do they need to discuss as part of the 'wider work'? Many thanks.
- Hi Claudia. Yes, students can use different colours to annotate the exam paper (but should not use in their answers where they should just write in blue or black ink). They can annotate after the 5 minutes reading time at the start...
- Hi some of my students decided to write out a script for their oral and want to attempt to memorize it--is this okay? I told them they can only bring in extracts and outlines as that is all allowed by IB, but I can't control how they prepare...
- Hi there, I saw samples with annotations made on the exam paper with different colors, especially for poems. May students use colors in exam conditions? Are they allowed to make annotations on their exam paper before they actually...
- Hi Tricia. While this will be the main focus of the question, they should still aim to explore how metaphor works in combination with other authorial choices - the best analysis often looks at how different elements work together. So,...
- Hi Both, I was curious, if students get a Paper 2 question that is centered around metaphor for the two authors, then students wont really be able to focus on other authorial choices per se since they will be focusing on metaphor correct? Thanks!
- Thank you for your response, much appreciated!
- Hi Olive: it is possible that an extract from a graphic novel could appear on paper 1. Information about this appears on the FAQs section of MyIB: The paper will include two literary passages belonging to a different literary...
- Since the study of a graphic text is not a requirement for literature, surely we should not expect a graphic text on Paper 1?
- Many thanks, David.
- Hi Daniel. TOK is not our specialist area but, as with English, upload requirements can be found on the Programme resource centre on My IB. Your IB Coordinator should also guide you with what is required and can tell you the sample size...
- Hi Daniel. There is a form that needs to be submitted - it can be found on the Programme Resource Centre on My IB under Assessment Forms 2024. The IB will probably request all 5 of your candidates or submission.
- Hi Flavia. They need to refer to at least two or three short stories/poems from the collection so your suggested approach can work, although they could also adopt a more balanced approach as well. My advice is always for them to do whatever...
- Hi Andrea. That approach can also work - as long as both the wider work and the extract are dealt with, the order can be whichever seems most logical and effective for the student.
- Is there a form (or forms) that must be submitted with each candidate's IB Lit IA Individual Oral? If so, where do I find them? Also, if I have 5 IB Lit candidates, how many scored IAs need I submit to IB as samples?
- Is there a form (or forms) that must be submitted with each TOK IA Exhibition? If so, where do I find them? Also, if I have 21 TOK candidates, how many scored IAs need I submit to IB as samples?
- Hi David, I have a few questions about Paper 2. What advice would you give to students using a collection of poetry and a collection of short stories? Should they focus on one story mainly and then show where the same ideas can be found in...
- Hi, I was wondering if starting from the body of work and then scaling down into the extract and the nitty gritty and then repeating the process for text 2 would be a legitimate strategy or if it would hinder my students in any way? Thanks!
- Hi Anne. The IB's position is outlined here - https://blogs.ibo.org/2023/02/27/artificial-intelligence-ai-in-ib-assessment-and-education-a-crisis-or-an-opportunity/?fbclid=IwAR0nk8e_huORE6EKoyRfaNZXLc4hF9wy_1hnzF336QCsUGBu4Y9l4-n2Jz0....
- Hi Linda. While the student does not refer to some of the features of the graphic novel, their approach is consistently analytical and evaluative, well focused on authorial choices most relevant to the question. Perhaps they could...
- Hi there, I love teaching grahic novel and am explicit in my teaching, using the language and terminology for this specific text type (as we are to do in teaching all text types). When I read over the sample essay here, I feel there...
- Hi gentlemen,I have a question. I have a student that has submitted his draft of the HL essay and it is clearly AI-generated. He did submit an outline---which has a quite original idea coming from a pretty average student. When...
- Hi Albert. I would say the first one is ok, although could be phrased more succinctly e.g. How important are descriptions of physical sensation to the portrayal of Meursault's interior life? The third one is ok - though the student would need...
- Dear David I have a group of 10 HL students who have just completed their HL essays Three of the students chose to write on The Stranger by Camus. Their essays are very different and they have worked totally independently. The...
- Hi Chris. There is no 'pass' mark but from what you describe it sounds like they would drop marks in criteria A and B if they could not comment on one of the works as a whole.
- Thank you!
- Correct Lori - they should not say anything that identifies them or their school. So they can just start by introducing their oral, their global issue and texts.
- Can a student pass if he cannot talk at all about 1 of the works as whole? The whole IOC was not great, but this seems like it would a deal breaker ?
- Have I understood correctly that in the IO recording, students should not say their candidate code? Thanks.
- Hi Claudia. No, they do not have to study two poets, as long as all the course requirements are met (literary forms, time periods, places etc). In Paper 2 students can compare texts from any literary form - so they can compare two poets if...
- Hi Claudia. No, they do not have to study two poets, as long as all the course requirements are met (literary forms, time periods, places etc). In Paper 2 students can compare texts from any literary form - so they can compare two poets if...
- Hi there,I have some questions regarding Paper 2. Must the course overview include 2 poets? I studied only Wislawa Szymborska as poetry so far. I saw in the sample responses that the student who chose poetry analyzed 2 poets in paper 2. Can...
- Hello! It appears that the Romeo and Juliet clip is no longer available. Can someone recommend another clip to use? I would love to use this to talk about perspective as a lesson starter before a discussion of the chapters surrounding Sibyl...
- HI Erica. I am afraid not- in the School Supported Self-Taught guide it states: "All of the works on your booklist must be chosen from the Prescribed reading list."
- This has now been updated, thanks Jo-Anne
- Sorry about that, Cassandra - now (hopefully) corrected!
- Hello. Can you post a landscape version of the knowledge organizer? As posted currently, the right side is cut off and you can't read the entire document - this is still the case if you download it. I really like this idea and would like to...
- Good day, Can a student who is self-taught also get to select 2 "free choice" texts? I am a tutor and struggling to find texts in Afrikaans that is on the prescribed list, so if my student has free choice of two, it would be great!
- Thank you, David, I hadn't noticed that.
- Some of the guidance here for EEs doesn't accurately reflect details from IB - nor the most recent examiner reports... Can it be updated, please?For example:Category 1Studies of one or more literary works originally written in the language...
- Thank you! I appreciate the clear answer. That's very helpful and makes sense.