Review/revision
What is a guiding question?
Paper 1 asks you to respond to a guiding question. But what exactly is a guiding question? Loosely defined, a guiding question is a question (sometimes it's written as a statement) based on a "technical...
Review/revision
How am I graded?
Before sitting your Paper 1 exam, 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....
Review/revision
Can I read an example?
On this page, you will find Paper 1 sample responses. Use them for a wide variety of purposes: to help you understand what the assessment task is asking you to do; to recognize the qualities required...
Review/revision
2021 Paper 1: Sample Response 1 (Tandoori Food)
One of the May 2021 Paper 1 examination texts was an article on tandoori cooking, published in The New York Times Magazine. You can find the article here (which, in the examination, ends at ‘or they...
Review/revision
2021 Paper 1: Sample Response 2 (Tandoori Food)
This is the second sample response to the May 2021 Paper 1 examination, an article on tandoori cooking, published in The New York Times Magazine. Because of copyright, we cannot reproduce the examination...
Review/revision
2021 Paper 1: Sample Response 3 (Tandoori Food)
This is the third sample response about tandoori food from the May 2021 examination session. The first two are excellent. This one, while not as good as the first two, is still a strong response. Comparing...
Review/revision
2021 Paper 1: Sample Response 4 (Tandoori Food)
This is the fourth sample response about tandoori food from the May 2021 examination session. This one is the weakest of the four we’ve published so far. So why use it? It's important for you to see the...
Assessment
Skills
Paper 1 requires certain skills. Not only must you understand the text(s), but also you have to express your ideas in a well-structured guided textual analysis. Like any skill, writing a guided textual...
Assessment
Paper 1
Paper 1 includes two unseen non-literary texts or text extracts. SL students write a guided textual analysis about one of the texts. HL students write a guided textual analysis about both of the texts....
Assessment
Skills
The Higher Level Essay requires, well, essay-writing skills, such as the ability to write coherently and accurately. Many of these essay-writing skills are also covered in the Paper 2 skills section of...