Students need experience with texts that employ satire, irony and humour, not only because such texts can be very enjoyable to read and often convey important ideas, but also because the whole meaning and purpose of these texts depends on readers being attuned to such an approach. The course, and Paper 1 in particular, requires our students to be experienced and sophisticated readers who can identify the tone and attitude of a text with precision. A student who misses irony, humour or satire in a text they encounter, will most likely miss the whole point of the text - something that often happens when such texts are used for Paper 1.

This sample essay is the first exemplar of the 'new' EE (2018 onwards) we have posted. The previous samples will remain on the site because we believe they are still useful models and the essentials of what makes a good English Literature extended essay have not changed. There are some obvious and significant differences, such as the removal of the abstract and the assessment of students' reflections, but, as this example shows, the real business of writing an effective English Literature extended essay remains the same.

Marking the IOP can sometimes present difficulties, not least because there tends to be a lot less exemplar material 'out there', and also because it is often a task that individual teachers complete in isolation - making it difficult to moderate. It is important, therefore, to look for sample presentations (such as you will find below and/or on the Teacher Support Material of the OCC), as...

Meeting new classes at the start of an academic year is always exciting and one goal for any teacher in the first few lessons is to get to know the individuals they will be teaching over the next two years. In order to do this many of us ask students to write us something - a letter or a journal entry where they introduce themselves to us. The questions on this page are designed to be used as prompts for such a piece of writing.

Preparing students for the IOC There are obviously many different ways you can develop skills associated with the Part 2 assessment task, and as time goes on, you will discover the ones that work best for you, for the texts you have studied, and for the kinds of students you teach. Below are suggested a few fairly generic things to consider: 1. Keep the assessment task/s in mind Although it is...

Experience indicates that the process leading up to the Individual Oral Presentation (IOP) can play an important role in helping students to complete the assessment task in an effective way. It is important, for example, that they are made aware of the different kinds of approach their presentation format might actually take. Many, if not most, will need help focusing their ideas into a coherent...

The following 10 tips are designed to help students adopt a systematic and effective approach to Paper 1. Many of these strategies focus on what happens in that first, crucial part of the examination, when students choose the extract they will write on and then spend time annotating and planning their response.

The Commentary – a rough guide for students What is a ‘commentary’? A commentary is a close analysis of a passage or a short work. More than a summary, it must investigate both the content and the language, i.e. WHAT the passage/poem achieves and HOW it achieves it, and the relationship they have with each other. It describes the writer’s intentions, effects and how he or...

Getting it right... It is a sad and regrettable thing that each year students across the world receive fewer marks than they deserve in the IOC because their teacher has failed to properly read the Subject Guide and to check that the way they go about the assessment is correct. There are often practical problems, such as failing to make the recording clear, procedural issues such as allowing the...

The final stage of the process is of course to start writing the actual assignment. As the supervisor of the essay, your role is to provide guidance and support - but to keep in mind at all times that the assignment must be the work of the student. Note that you are only allowed to provide feedback on one written draft, and you must not write notes on the draft itself. Suggestions for improvement...