IB STANDARD ENGLISH
PAPER 1 UNPREPARED COMMENTARY
EXAM CHECK LIST
EXAM TIMETABLE / ESSAY STRUCTURE
TIME
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ACTIVITY
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ACTION
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3
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Skim read texts
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Decide which passage to write on. Read the opening and or closing paragraph / stanza. Read the guide questions. Which genre appeals to you?
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2
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Read guide questions
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Once you’ve decided on the text read the guide questions carefully. Go over them more than once. They will help you focus on the relevant features of the text
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15
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First reading
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Read text and annotate
· identify plot and structure of extract
· identify narrative voice*
· Identify key themes or ideas
· Notice the settings**
· Identify main characters
· What do you notice about the writing style***
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5
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Second reading
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Close reading. Identify key quotations that illustrate the points you have identified in the first reading. Select carefully what quotations to use. Use quotations that you can write three or four different comments on the quotation.
Identify patterns in the text. Consider the relationships between different features of the text, for example the relationship between action and words spoken, character and setting, theme and narrator.
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5
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Plan
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Draw up a list of 8-15 bullet points – just a word or phrase, these are the core of a paragraph or paragraphs. Decide what the most important feature of the text is. For example the main character, a key theme or idea, Number the bullet points. Number the most important point first. That will be your first paragraph and so on.
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50
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Write
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Write the introduction first. Your essay summarised. Present an argument about the text – an underpinning observation. State plot. List your key points – no quotations. List the key literary features that are used in the text.
Then begin with your main point. You’ll feel confident about writing about this. And go on writing the second main point and third and so on. Cross the points out in your plan as you write. Avoid writing your commentary in chronological order.
You don’t have to think what to write you have done that work. Concentrate on expression of ideas. Write clear and simple and straightforward points. If a new idea comes to you while writing – add it to your plan and write it as a footnote at the end of the essay. Don’t disturb the flow. Keep writing.
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5-10
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Reread and edit
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Read essay over. Check plan. Have you included all main points? Check for spelling, expression, punctuation. Write up footnotes.
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* Is the narrative voice 1st or 3rd person narrator. If third person restricted or all knowing, all seeing.
** Setting includes physical environment; interior, exterior, light, dark, morning, evening, city, country
***See glossary of some key literary terms
STRUCTURE OF PARAGRAPH
1
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Main point
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State simple main point of paragraph
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2
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Introduce quote or put quote in context
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Elaborate on the main point by going into detail. And or
put the quotation in context – where in the passage, what has happened
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3
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Quotation
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Select a short quotation, a word or a phrase that you casn write a lot about.
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4
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General comment
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Link quotation to the main point of the paragraph
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5
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Literary comment
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Identify the literary feature used in the quotation
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6
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Effect comment
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What is the effect of this technique on the generalised reader
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7
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Attitude comment
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Attitudes expressed through character or narrator
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8
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Connotations / Denotations
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Define key words in the quotation. Comment on relevant associations to the word
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A GLOSSARY OF SOME KEY TERMS
When it comes to literary terms remember that for every term you use write about the effect it will have on the generalised reader. Do not just refer to terms and then move on. There is no need to fill your paragraphs with loads of terms. Use ones you are confident in using. If you don’t know the technical term then describe what the writing is doing in a sentence. Terms are a short hand.
FEATURE
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DEFINITION
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EXAMPLE
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Adjective
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A word that describes or modifies a noun Comparison –
Superlative -
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bigger, worse, better
biggest, worst, best
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Adverb
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A word that modifies a verb
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Quickly, easily, hastily, clumsily, jokingly
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Adverbial
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A word or phrase that indicates time or place
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Tomorrow, the boardroom
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Alliteration
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When two or more words begin with the same sound
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Assonance
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The rhyming of vowel sounds within two or more words
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Complex sentence
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A sentence with a main clause and a subordinate clause
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Compound sentence
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Two simple sentences combined to form a single sentence using and or but
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Connotations
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The associations a word has
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Declarative sentence
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A sentence that makes a statement or gives information
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Emotive language
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Language intended to produce an emotional response from the reader
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Exclamatory sentence
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An emphatic sentence that ends with a exclamation mark.
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First person
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Use of first person pronouns
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I, me, we, us
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Hyperbole
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Intentional exaggeration
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Imagery
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An aspect of a text that appeals to the senses.
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Refers specifically to metaphor, simile and personification
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FEATURE
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DEFINITION
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EXAMPLE
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Imperative sentence
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A sentence that gives a command or instruction.
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Interrogative sentence
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A sentence that asks a question
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Irony
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Saying the opposite to what is meant. Can also refer to an event having consequences that are the opposite to those expected or intended.
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Metaphor
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A comparison that refers to something as if it were something else.
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Narrative perspective
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A point of view an author uses to convey the plot to the audience.
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1st, 2nd, 3rd person narratives. Consider the range of 3rd person narrators from restricted to omniscient.
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Noun
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A word that names a object, person feeling, concept
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Proper – Italy, Olivia, Saturday
Concrete – table, sea,
Abstract – freedom, friendship, strength
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Pathetic fallacy
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Uses natural elements to reflect human moods and emotions
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Persona
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A narrator who is a character created by the author
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Personification
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When something not human – usually an object - is described as if it were.
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Phonology
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Sound techniques usually found in poetry
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Alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance, rhyme,
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Protagonist
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The main character in a drama or other literary work. A leading or principal figure.
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Register
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The form of language appropriate to a particular situation
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Formal – Good morning
Informal - Hiya
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Rhetorical features
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Techniques used to persuade, such as
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Contrasting pair / List of three / Direct address / Repetition / Question
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Sibilance
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The repetition of s, soft c, sh and z sounds
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Simile
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A comparison that uses the words like or as
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Simple sentence
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A sentence that has one clause
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Symbolism
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An object or feature associated with disconnected ideas and associations
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Red, the moon, sports car
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Verb
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A word that refers to a physical or mental action
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TIPS
· Don’t describe, do analyse
· Do a clear and detailed plan
· Write clearly, simply and accurately
· Use a formal academic register
· Quality not quantity
· Every paragraph should contain a quotation
