IBPossible Posted February 4, 2018 Report Share Posted February 4, 2018 Hi everyone. What are some general tips you could give to me being a first year IB student (not Pre-IB)? My mentality is kind of "flawed" and I'm trying to fix that, to me all I think is that "Oh, it's literature -- how can you fail literature?" and I don't want to keep having that mentality, and time comes to take the IB English Literature exam, and then end up failing. Alongside to that, what're some things I should start doing now to prepare for the IB English Literature exam, and to just be successful in the course overall? Thank you. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackcurrant Posted February 4, 2018 Report Share Posted February 4, 2018 Welcome tot he forum, IBPossible! Just keep on top of things, pay attention in class, make sure you know what counts (become familiar with the marking criteria for each assignment and exam) and ... ***practice, *practice, *practice *** LOTS of practice! That really is the very best way to get ahead in Eng A1. Get lots of feedback from your teacher, because without that you are just writing blind ... or recycling weaknesses. The best practice is always accompanied by feedback and awareness of what is required and how to improve. Hopefully, your teacher will give you plenty of that and in frequent doses. during the term. I assume you are talking about term exams? Good Luck! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lixter Posted February 5, 2018 Report Share Posted February 5, 2018 To add on what Blackcurrent has said, you could consider trying to familiarize yourself with all of the common literary techniques such as diction, imagery, modality, alliteration and the list goes on. After naming the technique used, you should analyse the effects of these techniques on the reader. Hope this helps! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aTeddy Posted February 5, 2018 Report Share Posted February 5, 2018 (edited) Hey there. I recently graduated and I would say that while English Literature (especially at HL) was a challenging subject, it can be handled by a proper awareness of the course demands throughout the two year process. For instance, in IB Literature, unlike any other IB courses (by and large), you are able to decide 55% of your mark before even picking up a pen for your final exams. Be consciously aware of that. The Written Assignment and IOP/IOC are far more controllable pieces of work and so if you work to score highly in these areas, you significantly alleviate the anxiety when it comes to a more chaotic and unpredictable setting like the final exams. But that's easier said than done. The skillset that you are asked to develop in IB Literature is quite complex. In my opinion, its analogous to juggling. To score a high grade, you need to not only fluently express yourself with a sophisticated, varied vocabulary, but you also need to construct, in a variety of delivery formats, an argument which is coherent on a macroscopic level (each point in the analysis can be synthesised as a part of a wider whole) and a microscopic level (each point in your analysis is correctly structured so as to prove the point you are making). But that's not all - your thesis about the works should be meaningful and your argument couched in the analysis of literary devices. Again, easier said than done. The best ways to develop these skills is, of course, practicing commentaries, essays and oral analyses regularly. But you shouldn't be passively producing analysis each time, you can expect this to be of more or less the same standard as previous efforts. If you are actually hoping to improve, you should be asking yourself with every sentence and paragraph (be it in a speech or essay) - does this in some way prove my thesis? It might be doing that by proving a subsidiary point within your analysis, or bringing together points you've made into a wider whole, but you should be able to quickly see why that sentence/paragraph is necessary. Not only that, but you should be taking quite a bit of time to plan. A rough guide would be to spend a bit more than 1/4 of your time in the commentary and 1/5 of your time in the essay planning out your argument. Finally, the actual meat of the analysis you produce is going to be, of course, about literature. Over time, you'll begin to intuitively know what points are worth making and your class should help you to identify and analyse techniques within your texts. The final generalised point that I would make is that the subject reports and the syllabus are your best friends. So many students in my cohort would make mistakes that could have been avoided easily if they simply read up on what the IB is asking for. It also seemed to somewhat demystify what an English marker is asking for. Well, they've published a whole bunch of advice, use it! Anyway, I hope you actually end up liking English (I know I did) and this advice helps you. Edited February 5, 2018 by aTeddy Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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