Sample essays
Sample essays for IB English A1, some are past paper responses done under exam conditions. The files include essays for both Paper 1 (Unseen Commentary) and Paper 2 (Detailed Studies work).
59 files
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Blake Nature Poems
Updated by Ruan Chun Xian
Blake was interested in and influenced by nature, flowers and the garden. Choose 3-4 poems reflecting this interest/influence and suggest how we might interpret them.
Based on William Blake's Song of Innocence and Experience
Grade awarded: 7
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Outsider - Arab murder
Updated by Ruan Chun Xian
How do you account for the murder of the Arab?
Based Albert Camus' The Outsider
Grade awarded: 7
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HL November 2002 P1 no1a
Updated by Ruan Chun Xian
English A1 HL November 2002 Paper 1, Question 1.a.
Commentary.
Grade: 6
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Outsider - Tension
Updated by Ruan Chun Xian
Reread pg 45-6. How does Camus build up the tension to the final climax?
Based Albert Camus' The Outsider
Grade awarded: 6
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Commentary on an extract from "The Book of Saladin" by Tariq Ali (N04 SL)
Updated by ~Lc~
A commentary on an extract from "The Book of Saladin" by Tariq Ali from November 2004 (SL). This commentary was awarded a 7.
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Compare the ways that the treatment of time has been used to shape meaning in two or three works you have studied (N06 HL)
Updated by ~Lc~
A comparison of the ways that the treatment of time has been used to shape meaning in "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and "Beloved" by Toni Morrison from November 2006 (HL). This essay was awarded a 7.
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Commentary on "Winter Syntax" by Billy Collins (N06 HL)
Updated by ~Lc~
A commentary on the poem "Winter Syntax" by Billy Collins from November 2006 (HL). This commentary was awarded a 6.
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Unseen - Poem Winter
Updated by ~Lc~
Sample Commentary: Winter by Ruth Stone
Grade: 5
By Elsa Meserlian
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A comparison of the openings of "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte and "Perfume" by Patrick Süskind
Updated by Survival Robot
Task: Compare the openings of the novels which you have read, saying how these openings have drawn you into the fiction, and how a re-reading of them reflects the primary concerns of each work.
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Is McMurphy a saviour or an iconoclast? Discuss.
Updated by Survival Robot
A discussion on whether McMurphy from "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey is a savior or an iconoclast.
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Commentary on an extract from "Life of Pi" (M04 HL)
Updated by blindpet
A commentary on an extract from Yann Martel's "Life of Pi" from May 2004 (HL). This commentary was awarded a 7.
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Commentary on "Night Wind" by Christopher Dewdney (M03 HL)
Updated by Abu
A commentary on Christopher Dewdney's "Night Wind" from HL May 2003.
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Raymond Carver: Literary Comparison of 'Fever' and 'Cathedral'
Updated by masochist
This essay attempts to answer the question: "In what ways and for what purposes does Carver make use of the extraordinary or the unusual in his stories Fever and Cathedral?"
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Commentary: Two Hands by Jon Stallworthy
Updated by masochist
A commentary of the poem 'Two Hands' by Jon Stallworthy (English A1SL)
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English A1 sample Paper 1
Updated by dniviE
This is a sample English Language and Literature SL/HL response to a set of two texts. While the extracts used for the Paper 1 is a past exam for English A2, Paper 1 for A2 and A1 Language and Literature the same. This was a sample response given to be by my English Language and Literature teacher. Does not include marks, but I am assuming it is a pretty good response when she is handing it out as a sample response.
Now: time for random emoticons.
:sam: :sam:
- English A1
- English Paper 1
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Poetry Commentary on "The Hawk", by Harold Witt
Submitted by Guest
This is an IB Poetry Commentary Paper, which was graded a 6 by IBO.
It is on The Hawk, by Harold Witt.
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The Great Gatsby Paper 2 Exam: Passage Analysis
Submitted by adletaY
Written on the question: Choose a passage rich in symbol, metaphor, or imagery and analyze what Fitzgerald accomplishes.
This essay received a 19/25 (6)
A: 4 B: 4 C: 4 3 E: 4
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Commentary on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Submitted by nuka
This passage from One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey depicts a foreshadowing scene between “the Big Nurse” and “those Black boys” through the eyes of a first person named “Broom Bromden,” in what appears to be a hospital because of the mentioning of the “ward door” and a “nurse.”
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Commentary on Ted Hughes' "Jaguar"
Updated by nuka
Commentary on Ted Hughes' poem, "Jaguar".
(classwork)
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Commentary on Snakes in September (Poem)
Updated by Arrowhead
This was one of the last essays I wrote in the IB before the exams. So this represents my commentary writing skills at their very best.
This is a commentary written on Stanley Kunitz's Snakes in September. I don't have the poem attached to this document, so look it up online and read it a few times before reading the commentary.
Lastly, I had a 24/25 raw IB score for this essay, so I like to think that it is well-written.
Hope it helps you,
Arrowhead.
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Paper 2 Sample- Kite Runner
Submitted by marisarussell
I recieved a 5 on this Paper Two, but it was one of my first ones. Maybe some comments would help? I also thought it would be useful to those who are extremely stuck on how to format!
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"Mental Cases" poem commentary
Submitted by Sabs44
A poem commentary on "Mental Cases" by Wilfred Owen that I typed up a while ago.
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"The Second Coming" poem commentary
Submitted by Sabs44
A poetry commentary on "The Second Coming" - I think it got a 6.