IB DP Language and Literature: Paper 2

from: http://www.thinkib.net/englishalanglit/page/2535/paper-2
The Paper 2 exam consists of six essay questions, only one of which must be answered during the timed period.
The essay is to be written about the Part 3 literary texts. Therefore, it is a test of understanding literature in
context. Although the questions will change from exam to exam, they will always focus on the connection
between, style, form, author, purpose and audience.
The basics
SL & HL: Answer 1 of 6 essay questions. SL and HL students receive exactly the same 6 questions.
SL: Essay must answer one question in relation to both literary texts that were studied for Part 3.
HL: Essay must answer one question in relation to 2 or 3 of the literary texts studied for Part 3.
SL: has 1.5 hours to answer this essay question.
HL: has 2 hours to answer this essay question.
SL & HL: Paper 2 grade counts for 25% of the nal grade.

Sample questions
1. Explain how the authors of at least two literary works have portrayed a social group in a particular way.
How might the contexts of the authors have inuenced their portrayal of these social groups?
2. It is often said that literature is a voice for social commentary. How is this true of at least two works that
you have read.
3. To what extent can the meaning of a literary work change over time? How does this question apply to at
least two works that you have read?
4. To what degree are readers inuenced by their culture and context. Explain how at least two works could
be read differently depending on the culture of their audience.
5. 'Coming of age' is a common theme in literary works. With regards to at least two literary works, explain
how the author's own youth inuenced their portrayal of this theme.
6. With regards to at least two literary works, explain how the setting both inuences the characters and
reects the author's own context.
7. How are the characters from at least two literary works representational of people from the time and
place in which they were written?
8. Why might two of your Part 3 works be considered 'timeless'?
9. With regards to two literary texts, explain why authors may have chosen to depict events in a particular
sequence or order.
10. How do two literary works both reect and challenge the spirit of the times in which they were written?

Practice!
Prepare an outline and practice writing essays in response to several of the questions above. Make
sure you introduce the topic and both works in the introduction, and weave ideas from both into your
body paragraphs, using comparing and contrasting words (showing how the texts are similar and
different in relation to the chosen topic).

IB DP Language and Literature: Paper 2 TIPS

While the Paper 2 essay only takes 1.5 hours at SL and 2 hours at HL, in fact you can spend hours preparing for
it. Good preparation will ensure that every minute of the exam is used wisely. Some tips:
1. Read the instructions. So many candidates skip the instructions and go straight to the questions. The
instructions on the Paper 2 exam draw your attention to the criteria that you will be assessed on. It helps
to have these in the back of your mind as you respond to the question you choose to answer.
2. Remember that the Paper 2 exam is asking you to do three things. In fact, these correspond to the rst
three criteria. Try looking at good samples and with three different colors of highlighter pens, highlights
examples of each of these three.
A) Be knowledgeable on the text and the context.
B) Do not forget to answer the question.
C) Remember to comment on the author's use of language, style and structure.
3. Remember that there are 6 questions on the exam. Not all questions will lend themselves to the works
you have read. What's more, some questions are more criteria-focused than others. For example, a
question such as, 'Explain why your literary works are timeless', will lend itself well to criterion A,
where you must comment on the context in which works were written and received.
4. Practice writing outlines for questions that appeared on previous tests (or one of the Specimen Papers).
5. Do research on the time period when the work was written and the authors that you have studied for Part
3 works. Find 3-5 points from his/her life that may be relevant to the work you read.
6. Have you shown how well you read the novels? Try to write a little bit about these three things in the
essay in order to score well on Criterion C:
A) Setting - How is it important to understanding the context?
B) Plot - Was there a twist, a climax, a conict that was of particular importance?
C) Narrative technique - Who is telling the story? Why did the author choose to tell it this way?
7. At HL, ask yourself if you can do the works justice by writing about all 3 works. If you take such an
approach, it is not recommended to compare and contrast all of them within unied paragraphs. If you
decide to write about all 3 works, spend one or two paragraphs on each work, commenting on context,
style and answering the question at hand.
8. Practice using the assessment criteria by examining both good and bad samples.