Assessment
Mind your language
25% of the marks in Paper 1 are for your use of language. As such, it is important you get to know yourself as a writer and work on developing the accuracy, precision and variety of your written language. ...
Assessment
Choosing texts for the exam
How to choose your texts for the examination What does the IB guide say? “Given the open and flexible nature of the course, potentially any work studied can be used by students for paper 2. It is highly...
Assessment
Conceptual understanding for Paper 1
The IB courses are concept-based courses: the idea behind this approach to teaching and learning is to identify and work with the big ideas that underpin a subject, providing a framework that allows you...
Assessment
Paper 2: structuring the essay
This page focuses on how best to plan and structure your comparative essay for the Paper 2 examination. Previous pages have underlined the importance of giving yourself plenty of time with your texts,...
eBook
George Orwell’s Essays: Working with the HL Essay
To further support your students in their study of George Orwell's essays, this page offers students opportunities to work with a Higher Level essay. The activities are written for students and they presuppose...
eBook
George Orwell’s Essays: The HL Essay and Global Issues
To further support your students in their study of George Orwell's essays, this page offers students opportunities to work to identify global issues, and it supports them in identifying initial ideas...
Teaching and Learning resources
Feeding forward...
It is a common trope that students inevitably focus more on the grades they get for their assignments than the feedback that will help them improve. This tends to reinforce a sense that ability is entirely...
eBook
George Orwell's Essays: Why I Write
The following tasks and activities are intended for teaching and studying George Orwell’s essay 'Why I Write' It is not required that students study all of the available materials. However, the materials...
Teaching and Learning resources
Feeding back...
The traditional approach of writing lots of comments in the margins and/or at the end of an essay can frequently have little or no impact, or sometimes even, impact that is negative. When managed well,...
eBook
George Orwell's Essays: Connecting three essays
For students who have studied George Orwell's essays, The Spike, A Hanging and Shooting an Elephant, this page presents teaching ideas that can help students consolidate their understanding through three...