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Writing an A1 Language Extended Essay


Daedalus

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  • 6 months later...
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You seem really familiar with the works that can/should be studied for an English A1 EE. I have just been told by my teacher that my works (Romeo and Juliet and Like Water for Chocolate) are too cliched and are too commonly used for EEs, and that my topic about the presentation of star-crossed lovers is too unsophisticated. If I were to change my topic/RQ to the exploration of the philosophical idea of fate versus free will (perhaps through the use of the literary archetype of star-crossed lovers), do you have any suggestions for works that I can use? My teacher suggested Macbeth or Hamlet (though star-crossed lovers aren't portrayed in the two plays), but I think that if RJ is cliched, then shouldn't ALL Shakespearean plays be cliched too? Please help! I have a little more than a month to work on this :( Thanks.

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Thank you greatly for your guide Daedalus, it is extremely helpful.

I was wondering about Criterion C, which is basically how varied sources are. What kind of variety does IB expect for English A1 EE's I imagine it cannot be as wide as that for a History or Science EE, right? I have a few books and some websites, but I heard you have to have an interview or video as well to score highly on this criteria, but I'm not sure how that would apply to literary analysis.

On the subject of outside information, how much of it should we include? My introduction was basically setting the societal context in which the novels I chose were written, but my superviser said this was useless and I needed to find some way to incorporate outside literary opinions on the subject into my analysis. Should I read other writers' opinions on the subject and use them as social barometers to evaluate the novels I'm studying?

Thanks again for the help.

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Thank you greatly for your guide Daedalus, it is extremely helpful.

I was wondering about Criterion C, which is basically how varied sources are. What kind of variety does IB expect for English A1 EE's I imagine it cannot be as wide as that for a History or Science EE, right? I have a few books and some websites, but I heard you have to have an interview or video as well to score highly on this criteria, but I'm not sure how that would apply to literary analysis.

On the subject of outside information, how much of it should we include? My introduction was basically setting the societal context in which the novels I chose were written, but my superviser said this was useless and I needed to find some way to incorporate outside literary opinions on the subject into my analysis. Should I read other writers' opinions on the subject and use them as social barometers to evaluate the novels I'm studying?

Thanks again for the help.

Same thing here - I put some societal context into my introduction. my supervisor didn't like the sound of it, but we read the criteria and I guess that's what IBO expects? I'm still not sure.

So did you figure it out eventually?

And also, are you (or ANYONE) like me, where the ABSTRACT is much more like an INTRODUCTION that we'd write for our world literature essays, or IGCSE literature papers... because my abstract is like a punchy summary of my arguments, (Besides the silly "this essay will investigate...") whereas my introduction is less so.

Anyone having the same problem please join the discussion!

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Same thing here - I put some societal context into my introduction. my supervisor didn't like the sound of it, but we read the criteria and I guess that's what IBO expects? I'm still not sure.

So did you figure it out eventually?

And also, are you (or ANYONE) like me, where the ABSTRACT is much more like an INTRODUCTION that we'd write for our world literature essays, or IGCSE literature papers... because my abstract is like a punchy summary of my arguments, (Besides the silly "this essay will investigate...") whereas my introduction is less so.

Anyone having the same problem please join the discussion!

Well, I think that the abstract is supposed to be a summary, and even the highly scoring papers I've read start out with something like "The purpose of this extended essay is . . . ." However, comparing a 1/2 vs a 2/2 abstract that I have to hand, I see that the 2/2 was much more thorough and detailed, whereas the poorer example is quite short and cursory.

I'm now thinking that, since criterion B states that you need to establish context and explain why you chose your research question, if the novel was distinct for its time and went against society then it may be useful to include some societal context and explain why the fact that the novel contradicts that makes the essay worth writing. Not sure how I'm going to accomplish that but I'll give it a shot.

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  • 2 months later...

Thanks for the guide it was helpful!

I have one question. About how many references should an EE in Literature have?

Is it ok to cite websites

As many references as you need.

And it is OK to cite websites, as long as the website is a trustworthy or scholarly site and not something like Sparknotes or Wikipedia.

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Hi I am an IB 1 student and have chosen to do my extended essay on A1 Literature and i am struggling a bit. I have chosen to focus on Huxley's Brave New World and Orwell's 1984. I have found a few topics that interest me quite a bit and have some problems narrowing them down into a research question. These include the concepts of freedom in each novel and how they start at seemingly opposite ends in depicting a Dystopia, BNW begins in a luxurious sexual clean aesthetic atmosphere seemingly free from problems and misery and the perils of reality, yet evidently the citizens are deprived of free will, freedom of expression the right to love and a family, they are dehumanized and so froth. Whereas in 1984 a harsh chaotic and dusty atmosphere is depicted, a stark contrast to that in BNW yet the core foundations regarding the freedom of the characters is quite the same, we see the concept of family is abolished, as is love, freedom of expression, the ability to think for one's self and etc.. They both feature strong collectivist structures and above all i have been drawn to the fact that in each novel they are not free to be "unhappy". Anyway, i have done a LOT of research read both novels and really tried hard but i still have no clue where to start. I would sincerely appreciate any help, tips, and advice on where i can begin and in what direction I can head, as well as summing these concepts up in an appropriate research question.

Also, i recall reading on a thread here that citing sparknotes or even Wikipedia in references is unaccpetable. Really? Well then could you please suggest some scholarly and appropriate websites from which i can obtain information and cite? As I have been fairly content with research from sites like sparknotes, cliffsnotes, schmoop and so forth.

Thank You very much for this helpful guide to EE and i hope to hear from you.

sincerely

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I'm considering doing my EE on Stephen Chbosky's Perks and John Green's Looking for Alaska. I know these aren't classic, lauded works, but I came across a school website mentioning a student who received a perfect score on her EE about Perks and The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. What do you guys think?

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I'm considering doing my EE on Stephen Chbosky's Perks and John Green's Looking for Alaska. I know these aren't classic, lauded works, but I came across a school website mentioning a student who received a perfect score on her EE about Perks and The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. What do you guys think?

I think what is important to consider when selecting novels is that they hold literary value, you don't want to start writing your essay only to realise that there isn't enough to write about. Great selection BTW, some of my favourite novels, would kill to write about them. :D

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