Resources
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...
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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...
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Secondary sources
What distinguishes a very good written task 2 from a mediocre one? Besides answering the expectations of the prescribed question, good WT2s cite both primary and secondary sources. In other words they...
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The 'flipped' classroom Free
Perhaps the biggest buzz word in education in 2012 was 'flipped classroom'. Just as easily as this hype peaked in 2012, it will most likely fizzle into the archives of pedagogical trends in 2013. The...
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Target audience
'For whom is the text intended?' This question will sound familiar to any language and literature teacher or student. Throughout many forms of assessment, students are expected to comment on how effectively...
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Guerrilla ads
In our efforts to "examine different forms of communication within the media" (first learning outcome from Part 2), we deserve to look at an entire range of advertisements. There are many different kinds...
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Black English & Disney
Black English, or African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) is one of the more debated and politically charged linguistic realities related to language, communities and social relations. But what is...
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Written task 1: Topic or text? Free
I recently had an interesting discussion with a group of teachers about a specific written task 1 and the terms 'topic' and 'text'. In the rationale to this particular task the student claims that the...
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P1 SL S3 (finca)
This specimen paper offers an indication of the types of texts that could be expected on a standard level Paper 1. Although this specimen is not authorized by the IB, the texts have been selected in the...
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Specimen Paper 1s Free
I've recently received requests from several teachers to develop some specimen Paper 1s. As you may know the official specimen papers can be found on the OCC under 'assessment'. Practising with these...