The Exam
The arrangements for the IB SL English exam are as follows:
The exam will take place on Monday 8 June in room 1E1 at 9.00. It is a two hour exam and you should expect to arrive for the exam at least 10 minutes before the exam is due to start.
The exam consists of two questions. You should expect to spend an hour per question.
One question will be on Othello. You must answer the question with close detailed analysis to the extract provided.
The second question will be on The Great Gatsby. You must answer the question with close detailed analysis to the extract provided.
The purpose of the exam is to give students practical experience of sitting an IB English exam. The model of this exam will be similar to the oral commentary you will be doing at the end of this academic year as well as giving you some experience of the exam questions you will experience next summer.
The exam result will help - along with other assessments - to allocate a predicted grade in English for students.
Some Links
Below are some links to posts you might find helpful in preparing for the exam [and commentary].
Click here for the basics about the exam and analysis.
Click here and here for terms you can use in your analysis.
Click here for further details of terms you can use for your analysis.
Click here and here and here for some examples of analytical paragraphs. Consider the structure of these rather than the actual content of the paragraphs.
The Commentary
The arrangements for the IB SL English commentary will be posted here as details are finalised:
The commentaries will take place in the last teaching week of the year. The week beginning 22nd June. The commentaries will take place over two days between Tuesday 23 - Thursday 25 June.
You will be given the extract by an exam assistant and shown to a room where you can prepare your presentation independently and without interruption by annotating the text and making a plan.
Students will have 20 minutes to prepare a 10 minute presentation - including some follow up questions from me; on a specific extract either from Othello or The Great Gatsby. The presentation must include a close detailed analysis of the extract provided.
The commentary will be recorded, marked, internally moderated and then some recordings will be externally moderated by the IB. Marks from the commentary out of 30 - 15% of your overall English grade and presentation - marked out of 30 - 15% of your overall English grade - will be carried forward into the second year assessment of the course - 70% of your overall English grade.
