More English A1 EE general questions

[meowchelle]

Hi there!

I have a few more general questions on an English A1 EE.

1. Can I do on a book as long as it's "literary fiction", or does the book need some sort of criteria?

2. Can I do on autobiographies-turned-into-novels?

3. Can I do new books (published in 2012 onwards?)

4. Can I do new authors (the book is their first novel, etc?) or not very well-known authors?

5. Would the examiners be unhappy if they don't know the book/s I chose because it's new and not well-known, even though it's shortlisted for awards and is a bestseller?

6. How would the examiner actually mark the EE if they haven't read the books I chose?

7. What comparison can I do, can I do on two books with different themes but the same way of narration/symbols/etc?

By the way, I'm hoping to do on The Light Between Oceans. It's a bestseller and a film is in making but I don't think many people have heard of it...it's really new. If anyone has read it, please let me know if it's EE-material!

Thank you all!

[Hannah V]

Hello! I'm have nearly finished my EE in English A1 and, just for your potential interest, I did it on 'The Great Gatsby' and the ways in which it is a criticism of the American Dream. I did pick a book that was well known and also one that is on the syllabus for some IB English courses! I would advise you to pick a book that is on the IB English Spec as it is likely to have a lot of scholarship surrounding it. To score highly on the EE, you must realise that it is a research essay not a literary essay. For this reason it's good to pick a book that is fairly old as you are more likely to find articles on it. This book that you suggest - which, as you predicted, I haven't heard of - is unlikely to have much literary criticism surrounding it. By picking a well known book you are making the next few months of research easier for yourself!

I hope that you found that helpful. In any case, talk to your supervisor and ask for their opinion. When I was starting out, I ascertained that I was interested in writing an EE based around the topic of women and so my supervisor pointed me in the direction of works containing prominent female characters, one of which was 'The Great Gatsby'. After reading a York Notes from cover to cover, I realised that the American dream was the theme that seemed to have the most uncertainty surrounding it, so that was what I picked!

This link is pretty useful, especially on p. 21:

http://www.etela-tapiola.fi/uploads/EXTENDED%20ESSAY.pdf

Good luck! English EEs are so much fun to write!