IB English A - Language and Literature
Prerequisites
English to Year 10 level. Course Description and Aims
In this course, students study a wide range of literary and non-literary texts in a variety of media. By examining communicative acts across literary form and textual type alongside appropriate secondary readings, students will investigate the nature of language itself and the ways in which it shapes and is influenced by identity and culture. Approaches to study in the course are meant to be wide ranging and can include literary theory, sociolinguistics, media studies and critical discourse analysis among others.
The aims of all subjects in studies in language and literature are to enable students to:
- engage with a range of texts, in a variety of media and forms, from different periods, styles, and cultures;
- develop skills in listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing, presenting and performing;
- develop skills in interpretation, analysis and evaluation;
- develop sensitivity to the formal and aesthetic qualities of texts and an appreciation of how they contribute to diverse responses and open up multiple meanings;
- develop an understanding of relationships between texts and a variety of perspectives, cultural contexts, and local and global issues and an appreciation of how they contribute to diverse responses and open up multiple meanings;
- develop an understanding of the relationships between studies in language and literature and other disciplines;
- communicate and collaborate in a confident and creative way;
- foster a lifelong interest in and enjoyment of language and literature.
Assessment Outline - Standard Level
| Assessment Outline - Standard |
Weighting |
| |
| External assessment (3 hours) |
70% |
|
Paper 1: Guided textual analysis (1 hour 15 minutes)
The paper consists of two unseen non-literary passages, from two different text types, each accompanied by a guiding question. Students choose one passage and write an analysis of it (20 marks)
|
35% |
|
Paper 2: Comparative essay (1 hour 45 minutes)
The paper consists of four general questions. In response to one question students write a comparative essay based on two literary works studied in the course (30 marks)
|
35%
|
|
Internal assessment
This component consists of an individual oral which is internally assessed by the teacher and externally moderated by the IB at the end of the course.
Individual Oral (15 minutes)
Supported by an extract from one non-literary text and one from literary work, students will offer a prepared response of 10 minutes, followed by 5 minutes of questions by the teacher, to the following prompt:
Examine the ways in which the global issue of your choice is presented through the content and form of two of the texts that you have studied (40 marks)
|
30% |
Assessment at a Glance - Higher Level
| Assessment Outline - Higher Level |
Weighting |
| |
| External assessment (4 hours) |
80% |
|
Paper 1: Guided textual analysis (2 hours 15 minutes)
The paper consists of two non-literary passages, from two different text types, each accompanied by a guiding question. Students write an analysis of each of the passages (40 marks)
|
35% |
|
Paper 2: Comparative essay (1 hour 45 minutes)
The paper consists of four general questions. In response to one question students write a comparative essay based on two literary works studied in the course (30 marks)
HL essay
Students submit an essay on one non-literary text or a collection of non-literary texts by the same author, or a literary text or work studied during the course (20 marks)
The essay must be 1,200 - 1,500 words in length.
|
25%
20%
|
|
Internal assessment: Individual Oral (15 Minutes)
This component consists of an individual oral which is internally assessed by the teacher and externally moderated by the IB at the end of the course.
Individual Oral (15 minutes)
Supported by an extract from one non-literary text and one from a literary work, students will offer a prepared response of 10 minutes, followed by 5 minutes of questions by the teacher, to the following prompt:
Examine the ways in which the global issue of your choice is presented through the content and form of two of the texts that you have studied (40 marks)
|
20% |
|
