Challenging socially-constructed gender roles.

This is a very strong oral that reflects a student taking confident ownership of her chosen Global Issue and its representation in two quite different works. The gender theme is one that many students gravitate towards (in one form or another) but this student addresses its content in detail and with depth. Unlike many, the oral gets far beyond mere description of gender inequality in order to address the way in which it is presented, as well as developed, through both works as a whole. It is also a helpful oral to listen to in terms of the support by provided by the teacher. Her questions are apt, constructive and supportive.

HL Essay Exemplar 6: The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga.

HL Essay Exemplar 5: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

'The destruction of landscape'

This oral is a good one to play for students as it illustrates many of the qualities that examiners look for, although it is not without flaws that they will hopefully spot. The candidate engages thoughtfully with both texts and although comparison is not a requirement, there are moments (mostly in response to the questions) where some comparative analysis yields interesting insight into both texts. Other features of the oral are its focused analysis of the two extracts and the sensitivity displayed towards literary features,

Sample paper 1 responses

Linked from this page are a range of paper 1 responses with teacher marks and comments. It is important for teachers and students to look at a range of examples so that you become familiar with the expectations of Paper 1 and how student work is assessed using the criteria. While many of these samples could be described as exemplary, they do vary in approach, style and quality; it is important for students to see that there is not one set way of responding to this examination, and it is also useful to look at examples in terms of what they get wrong or could do better, as well as those that do a lot of things right.

The final Individual Oral is a complex and challenging task so students need focused and scaffolded practice on the different elements of what they are asked to do in this assessment. A central part of the task is to explore how a global issue is presented in texts, so students need opportunities to identify and articulate ideas about global issues in literature. This page gives an example of an approach to help students develop and articulate claims about global issues being explored in texts, using Persepolis as an example.

It may be a slightly obvious thing to say, but progress in this course depends more on the acquisition of a set of skills than the accumulation of a body of knowledge. And recognition of this carries particular weight in reference to Paper 1 - not least because success in the component derives from elements that underpin all parts of the course. Fundamentally, it is where students' sensitivity...

Paper 1, the first of two external examination papers, is now called Guided Literary Analysis for both HL and SL students. In this examination students will be given two unseen passages, each from a different literary form and each with an accompanying guiding question. The passages can now be taken from any of the four literary forms listed on the PRL: drama, poetry, prose:fiction and prose:non-fiction. SL and HL students will get the same examination paper with the same texts but there are some important differences in terms of what is required for each level.

Questions for guided literary analysis

For paper 1, guided literary analysis, students are given two unseen literary passages which can come from any of the four literary forms on the Prescribed Reading List: drama, poetry, prose fiction and prose nonfiction. Students then write in response to the extract(s) (one for SL, both for HL) and an accompanying guiding question "on a central technical or formal element that may provide an interesting point of entry into the text." As such, it is important students have the opportunity to practice responding to a variety of texts from all four forms, and the types of guiding questions they might face in the examination.

It is important to introduce students to the seven concepts early on in the course so that they become familiar with them and begin the process of exploring, discussing and connecting them in the context of specific texts. The activity below is designed to do just this and uses short poems as a relatively quick and accessible means of getting students to apply the concepts to literary works. Alongside the poems, students work with three questions for each concept, designed to provoke thought and discussion; these are available to download as a handout below.