Tips and Tricks for Paper 1
"With every example you give within this exam you must explore its meaning. The example's meaning is as important to the examiner as the writer who wrote it".
Paper 1 (Parts 1&2)
25% of the final IB mark for the Language A: Language and Literature course is based on the Paper 1 (comparative) commentary. At HL you have 2 hours to compare and contrast two unseen texts that are thematically connected. You are expected to show your knowledge and understanding of these texts, commenting on how context, audience and purpose help construct the text’s meaning. A good Paper 1 comments on the effects of language on the reader and evaluates the text's formal and stylistic features. It tests the skills that you acquire in Parts 1 and 2 of the course, where you engage in the close reading of many non-literary texts. As in other forms of assessment, you will have to organize and articulate your ideas clearly and coherently.
Paper 1 at higher level
-
is a comparison of two unseen, thematically connected texts, which are selected from two pairs of texts (Texts 1-2 OR Texts 3-4)
-
may contain a literary text
-
may include a visual text (such as a comic or advertisement, etc.)
-
does not provide guiding questions for the texts
-
is 2 hours long, excluding 5 minutes of silent reading time
-
accounts for 25% of the final IB grade.
-
The Paper 1 essay is written by hand
(taken from Brad Philpot's IB Language and Literature A site
https://www.philpoteducation.com/course/view.php?id=3 ).