Language A teacher support material
Assessment
External assessment
Paper 1
Use of the learner portfolio
The learner portfolio is a key part of how students and teachers explore literature, track progress
and practise the skills for paper 1. Students should continue to record their responses to paper 1
type questions and monitor their progress as they go through the course. There is no need for each
practice to be a full-length paper, in fact, it would be helpful to also practise shorter tasks relating
to paper 1 (such as with example introductions or first reading of texts, compared to second and
third readings) to develop different enabling skills separately. The learner portfolio is also a useful
document for practising different approaches to paper 1 and comparing their relative merits.
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Language A teacher support material
Assessment
Guidance and recommendations
Of all the assessment components in language A courses, paper 1 relies most on knowledge and
understanding of literary forms or non-literary text types. The skills paper 1 assesses are those related
with the students’ ability to analyse an unseen text on the basis of their experience with previous
similar texts.
HL literature students must be exposed to the four literary forms (drama, poetry, fiction and non-
fiction). They should know and understand the conventions and structure, as well as vocabulary and
terminology associated with each form. Students must be comfortable writing analyses on unseen
passages from any of these four forms under examination conditions. Although it is not compulsory
for SL students to study all literary forms as well, it is highly recommended as it will give them more
freedom of choice in paper 1 if they are confident in their knowledge of all forms.
In general, language and literature students must be exposed to as many non-literary text-types
as possible. They must know and understand the conventions, purposes, vocabulary, style and
terminology associated with them. Although the classification of non-literary texts is ampler than that
of literary forms (and therefore it becomes unlikely that students will be familiar with all text-types)
they should be familiar with as many as possible so that they have higher chances of being able to
transfer their knowledge and understanding of them to any text type they might encounter in paper
1. Students must be comfortable writing analyses of these texts under examination conditions.
Paper 1 requires a guided analysis and students must practise finding a focus for this, which will often
come from the guiding question. If students do not wish to write about the guiding question, they
must focus their analysis with an alternative formal or technical focus. Teachers should ensure that
students understand the importance of at least considering the guiding question given for each
passage. These questions have been formulated by the IB to suit a selected text or passage, and they
indicate an aspect of the text that is considered productive in relation to the text.
Classroom tasks
Teachers could practise the necessary skills for paper 1 by:
• giving students a set of passages—which initially need not be unseen—and a set of guiding
questions to match up. Students could try to match the passages with the questions and annotate
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Language A teacher support material
Assessment
the texts according to those questions. The different groups could then compare their answers and
their annotations.
• giving the class the same passage, but with half the class working on one guiding question and the
other half another question. After the students have had time to read, annotate and analyse the
passage, they could discuss how their findings differed with a student who had the other question.
• dividing the group into smaller groups with each working on a different passage. The
accompanying question should be on a separate sheet of paper. Students annotate the respective
passages and then form new groups with a member of each of the original groups in the new one.
Students have a round-table discussion, where they rotate their annotated passages and guess on
the basis of the annotations what the guiding question might have been.
• putting students in groups and giving each group a copy of the same passage, then instructing
them to write a guiding question for the passage.
Familiarization with the assessment criteria
The assessment criteria are not only an assessment tool but a guide for what is important for an
assessment component, and a link between the assessment component and the assessment
objectives. It is important therefore to make students aware of the meaning of each of the terms in
the names of the assessment objectives so that they are confident they know what the differences are
between knowing, understanding, interpreting, analysing and evaluating.
In order to familiarize students with the assessment criteria, teachers could:
• play the dictionary game with the key terms in the assessment objectives
• design cloze or matching activities with the criteria
• put students into four groups—each group should look at the questions for each criterion and then
present their interpretation to the rest of the groups
• cut the assessment criteria into sections and ask students to piece them back together
• have students look at the adjectives (such as little, some, thorough, convincing and satisfactory)
in the level descriptors and come up with definitions that unpack them and make their meaning
clearer
• choose one of the criteria and have students evaluate their own or a peer’s writing.
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Language A teacher support material
Assessment
Text analysis practices
Knowing how to interact with a text and annotate it are crucial skills for success in paper 1. The section
“Learner portfolio entries and activities” in this TSM explored a number of ways in which these skills
could be developed in students.
As the students are expected to provide focused analyses which are supported by references to the
text, students need to plan carefully how to structure their paper 1 after they read, annotate and
analyse the texts. It is important to teach students how to do this in a manner that keeps the analysis
well organized, coherent and focused.
Students need to have a good understanding of the literary forms (for literature students) or text types
(for language and literature students) as well as the conventions, vocabulary and terminology needed
to analyse the passages. They could consolidate this understanding by developing terminology and
vocabulary lists and create portfolio entries or classroom posters that represent the appropriate terms
and vocabulary.
The section on the "Learner portfolio entries and activities" in this TSM and the unit plans include
several examples of transformative and re-creative writing tasks that could help make students more
confident in their knowledge of conventions of literary forms and text types.
Important points to consider
• Students should avoid selecting a limited number of text types or literary forms to practise for
paper 1 during the course. Having an intensive reading and thorough understanding of different
types or forms of texts will better prepare students for any literary form or text type that might
appear in paper 1.
• HL students should distribute time equally between two texts while writing the responses.
• If students decide against considering the guiding question provided, they should make sure their
analysis remains focused by providing an alternative formal or technical point of entry into the text.
• Students should not comment on the whole text in general, which would lead to a text
commentary. Paper 1 does not require a commentary but a focused analysis of a text. A thorough
treatment of all aspects of the text will disadvantage students as they may not have enough time
to cover all the points.
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Language A teacher support material
Assessment
• The point of entry into a text will be a formal or technical one, but students should focus on how
this helps construct meaning. A good analysis essay will always provide a balance of both content
and form, showing how inextricable they are from one another.
• Students should not use abbreviations or informal language when writing the analysis. The
language used should be formal, precise and carefully chosen.
• Bad handwriting is not penalized but it might cause difficulties for examiners to read the essay.
Therefore, students are encouraged to write clearly and neatly on their answer booklets.
• Grammar or punctuation errors will affect student’s mark at criterion D (language). Therefore,
students need to eliminate grammar errors and fix all the punctuation errors before submitting the
essay paper.
This downloadable PDF contains advice for students from examination paper authors.
Advice on paper 1 from examination paper authors
Paper 2
Use of the learner portfolio
When preparing for paper 2, students can use their learner portfolio as a reflective tool to answer
possible questions that may arise from the three works they have set aside for this component. In
selecting the final group of three works to be studied for this assessment, students should explore
preliminary connections between all the works studied in order to evaluate which combination is
likely to be the most useful for a wide variety of possible questions.
The portfolio should include student self-assessment for successive paper 2 practices and their
subsequent reflection pieces. These pieces could provide evidence of the student’s progress in
relation to the main skills assessed in this component.
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Language A teacher support material
Assessment
Guidance and recommendations
Any of the works studied during the course is potentially one that could be used for paper 2.
Throughout the course students should be encouraged to make a habit of intertextual exploration
in their study. There is a range of connections that could be established between the works studied.
Unlike the individual oral, paper 2 focuses on questions of a more conceptual, literary nature.
Students should be encouraged to explore, in their learner portfolio and in classroom discussion, the
connections between the works and the seven concepts that have been selected as central to the
study of the two courses.
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Language A teacher support material
Assessment
Paper 2 is a closed-book examination, but it still requires students to demonstrate an understanding
of how meaning is constructed in the texts in relation to the question chosen. This could be
demonstrated by making reference to specific stylistic decisions the authors have made, such as in
paper 1 and in the individual oral. However, given that in paper 2 the students will not have the works
in front of them, discussion of how meaning is constructed is more likely to focus on broader formal
and technical decisions the authors have made.
In order to make the preparation and revision for paper 2 more manageable, students are advised
to pre-select three works to study—this will also make the selection of questions easier during the
examination. This pre-selection can be done collectively as a group, or individually by each student.
Irrespective of how this pre-selection is taken, students must be explicitly reminded that for paper 2
they must not use works that were previously used in other DP summative assessments.
Classroom tasks
Teachers could encourage the necessary skills for paper 2 by:
• implementing visible thinking routines to build an understanding of the overarching themes and
ideas that link the works studied
• using concept-mapping techniques as a form of making connections among all the knowledge
collected in the learner portfolio
• asking students to keep charts where they list their works and identify similarities and differences
among the potential texts. From this they can identify the three most likely texts and use secondary
tools to make meaning between them. Suggestions for secondary tools include: Prezi, Padlet,
visible thinking routines, oral presentations and elevator pitches. The charts below exemplify two
different options for students to establish connections between texts
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Language A teacher support material
Assessment
Works Persepolis The Visit Death of a Equus 1984
Salesman
Persepolis x
The Visit x
Death of a x
Salesman
Equus x
1984 x
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Language A teacher support material
Assessment
Tales from The No Exit The Pollen Death of a Goethe’s
Vienna Woods Room Salesman poems
Communication
(purpose)
Setting
Identity
(author)
Identity
(protagonists)
Context
(culture)
Representation
(literary form)
Perspective
Creativity
(language)
• using mind-mapping tools in online platforms like Prezi to organize what students know about
concepts, for example identity, and make connections—comparing and contrasting—among the
individual works
• reading sample comparative essays and trying to work out which paper 2 question those essays
were written in response to. Students could then mark the essays
• assigning groups of students different pairs of works and assigning specific questions to each
group irrespective of the works allocated in order for them to attempt an answer. This should prove
to students the importance of making sure that the question and the two works used to answer it
are a good match
• providing students with a question and a number of different essays which are cut into pieces.
Students should then sort the pieces and create essays from these pieces which they think best
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Language A teacher support material
Assessment
create cohesive, coherent responses to the question. They then put those essays in sequence from
the most satisfactory to the least satisfactory answer.
Familiarization with the assessment criteria
The assessment criteria are not only an assessment tool, but a guide for what is important for
an assessment component, and a link between the assessment component and the assessment
objectives. It is important therefore to make students aware of the meaning of each of the terms in
the names of the assessment objectives so that they are confident they know what the differences are
between knowing, understanding, interpreting, analysing and evaluating.
In order to familiarize students with the assessment criteria, teachers could:
• play the dictionary game with the key terms in the assessment objectives
• design cloze or matching activities with the criteria
• put students into four groups—each group should look at the questions for each criterion and then
present their interpretation to the rest of the groups
• cut the assessment criteria into sections and ask students to piece it back together
• have students look at the adjectives (such as little, some, thorough, convincing and satisfactory)
in the level descriptors and come up with definitions that unpack them and make their meaning
clearer
• choose one of the criteria and have students evaluate their own or a peer’s writing.
Comparative essay practice
It must be emphasized to students that embedded in the structure of the essay should be a strong link
to the question and that this should be evident in each paragraph. This will guarantee that students
remain on topic.
Students should also be taught how to approach a number of question styles, with multiple question
stems. It is unlikely that key command terms will appear in the type of questions asked, but students
should be reminded that no matter how questions are phrased, it will always be expected that they
interpret, analyse and evaluate, and in paper 2, that they do so comparatively.
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Language A teacher support material
Assessment
The central concepts in the course may be source of inspiration for paper-authors when designing the
questions, and should therefore be embedded into course construction, learning activities and class
discussions. A holistic understanding of these concepts will help students tackle a variety of questions
in paper 2. Students should understand that the fact that concepts are not assessed explicitly does not
imply that they are optional or not helpful.
It should be noted that of all the assessment components, paper 2 is the only one that explicitly
requires comparison and contrast in its assessment criteria. Both criterion A and B require that
points of similarity and difference should be established between the works used, with regard to the
meanings both works convey and the ways those meanings are constructed respectively. Teachers
should explicitly teach comparative structures that enable students to use the texts in a balanced
manner that helps to bring out their similarities and differences.
Important points to consider
• Students should be discouraged from being overambitious and preparing more than three works
for paper 2. The more works they study, the less likely they are to know them in-depth, and the
more difficult the decision will be when taking the actual exam.
• Students should be encouraged to think about works in interconnected ways, and course design
should be helpful in order to achieve this.
• Theoretical perspectives and approaches might be as useful in the preparation of paper 2 as the
central concepts of the courses. Please refer to the "The value of literary theories in language A"
section in this TSM.
• Though students are expected to provide strong examples from their works, they must be told
that memorizing quotations is not necessary. A sound knowledge and understanding of the
organization and structure of a work, of the broader decisions a writer made in relation to voice,
narrator or perspective and of the relationship the work establishes with its theme and with its
readers are just as valid to demonstrate understanding of how meaning is constructed in a text as
reference to very specific figures of speech or stylistic elements.
This downloadable PDF contains advice for students from examination paper authors.
Advice on paper 2 from examination paper authors
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Language A teacher support material
Assessment
Higher level essay
Use of the learner portfolio
The learner portfolio will be an instrumental tool for students as they prepare the HL essay in order to
track their thinking process as they read. The reading log protocol is a useful tool in encouraging and
guiding students to register their impressions, questions and insights as they read each of the texts or
works in the course. These impressions, questions and insights may also lead to the identification of
interesting inquiry questions which could be used as a base for the HL essay.
One of the reading log questions included in the reading log protocol asks students to consider the
connection between the text they are reading and the seven central concepts of the course. When
looking at texts in this way, and developing their connections in the learner portfolio, students would
be laying the foundations for the kind of work that is key to the HL essay.
Guidance and recommendations
What distinguishes the HL essay from the other components is the opportunity it offers to develop
and assess writing skills that are not assessed by any other component within the course. The HL essay
was introduced in response to the concern expressed by teachers that without a written coursework
component, students would not be developing the citation, editing and research skills that are
important for the work they may need to carry out in their courses of study at university—the HL essay
targets precisely those skills.
The HL essay allows students to explore a text or work they have studied in terms of a line of inquiry
of their own choice. It is important that teachers should support the student in developing the line
of inquiry as this will form the basis of the student’s approach to the essay. The starting point for the
development of the line of inquiry should be the work the student has carried out in their learner
portfolio. The teacher’s role in the development of the HL essay at this stage is essential but should
not be overreaching. Teachers should be mindful of keeping to the level of supervision that is allowed
within the bounds described in the course guides.
Classroom tasks
The following tasks and activities could be useful to introduce the HL essay, and to guide students in
possible ways they could approach this component.
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Language A teacher support material
Assessment
• Evaluation of different lines of inquiry—the class as a whole could discuss what would make a
good line of inquiry, and decide on a set of criteria to assess how good it is. Students could then
be presented with a set of lines of inquiry into one body of work or work they have read—some
appropriate and some problematic—to place along different continua, each one of them related
to one of the criteria decided initially. Students could do this in small groups and then come to a
conclusion about the best line of inquiry.
• Creating concept questions—students are asked to get into groups according to one of the seven
central concepts that interests them the most. The first task each of the groups could do is explore
the concept through a visible thinking routine. The group could then consider the texts and works
they have read up to that point through the prism of that concept, and elaborate a ranking of
the texts and works according to how easily the concept could be applied to them. Students
would then elaborate an inquiry question based on that concept for each of the three top-ranking
texts. The task would have two outcomes, a list of best texts for each concept, and a list of inquiry
questions for each text. Alternatively, students (again, within a group allocated according to one
of the seven central concepts) could be asked to write a list of tips on how to best develop a line of
inquiry for their allocated concept that could then be used as scaffolding for anybody wanting to
focus on that concept.
• Assessing suitability of lines of inquiry—students are asked to choose a few inquiry questions for
one of the texts or works they have studied. They are then presented with the following (or similar
example created by the teacher):
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Language A teacher support material
Assessment
We are looking for the perfect line of inquiry for (title of text). If you are a concept-based
inquiry question that is a good match for this text, then we would like to interview you.
Interviews will take place on …
Different groups of students could then be assigned one line of inquiry to apply for the position. One
group of students would be assigned the role of interviewing panel, and would have to decide on the
key questions they would ask of each of the lines of inquiry, and determine how they would come to
a decision as regards the best applicant. Students conduct the role-plays. Debriefing follows in which
teachers and students come to conclusions as regards to what makes a good line of inquiry.
• Theoretical approaches—students are put into groups and the teacher provides each group with
the same text, but different theoretical lenses with which to approach or read a text. The group
will analyse the text through this allocated lens and discuss their findings. Next, each student
is reassigned to a group which combines all of the theoretical lenses. In these second groups,
students will act as experts defending the lens through which they read the text initially.
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Language A teacher support material
Assessment
Familiarization with the assessment criteria
The assessment criteria are not only an assessment tool but a guide for what is important for an
assessment component, and a link between the assessment component and the assessment
objectives. It is important therefore to make students aware of the meaning of each of the terms in
the names of the assessment objectives so that they are confident they know what the differences are
between knowing, understanding, interpreting, analysing and evaluating.
In order to familiarize students with the assessment criteria, teachers could:
• play the dictionary game with the key terms in the assessment objectives
• design cloze or matching activities with the criteria
• put students into four groups—each group should look at the questions for each criterion and then
present their interpretation to the rest of the group
• cut the assessment criteria into sections and ask students to piece them back together
• have students look at the adjectives (such as little, some, thorough, convincing and satisfactory)
in the level descriptors and come up with definitions that unpack them and make their meaning
clearer
• choose one of the criteria and have students evaluate their own or a peer’s writing.
Reminders
Teacher guidance is essential in the HL essay, as is true with all coursework components. The table
below provides some reminders of the forms this guidance should take.
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Language A teacher support material
Assessment
Do not Do
Edit student’s work Check compliance with academic honesty
Assign specific texts Check student’s work regularly
Assign specific topics or lines of inquiry Scaffold assignment to help students build an
understanding of the relationship between
concepts and texts
Provide advice after having commented on one Guide students writing an appropriate question
complete draft that is neither too broad nor too restrictive; too
difficult or inappropriate
Share and discuss the assessment criteria for the
assessment
Ensure that the line of inquiry keeps the focus
on literary and/or linguistic concerns
Additionally, teachers could support students by making them aware of how a suitable line of inquiry
might arise using concepts as starting points. The following are some examples of how this could be
done.
• Identity—how does Ralph Ellison, in his novel Invisible Man, succeed in making his narrator a
convincing spokesperson for the concerns of African-Americans in the 20th century?
• Culture—how does Robert Capa represent post-Second World War France to qualify/exemplify the
brutalities of the French population on former Nazi collaborators in La Femme Tondue? (Language
A: language and literature only)
• Creativity—how do Mario Testino’s portraits manage to convey the personalities of those
portrayed in original ways? (Language A: language and literature only)
• Communication—which view of love does Matt Groening convey in Love is Hell? (Language A:
language and literature only)
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Language A teacher support material
Assessment
• Transformation—in what ways does The Alan Parsons Project’s Tales of Mystery and Imagination
offer a transformative re-reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s tales?
• Perspective—how does Mary Shelley’s protagonist in Frankenstein use the motif of dangerous
knowledge to show the perspective of fear and anxiety of excesses in scientific enterprise in early
19th century Europe?
• Representation—through what means does Juan Rulfo successfully convey the representation of
realistic and non-realistic characters and situations in Pedro Páramo?
However, using the seven concepts is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive. Other literary focuses,
theoretical approaches or areas of exploration could lead to lines of inquiry such as:
• How does F. Scott Fitzgerald foreshadow how Gatsby’s unnatural attachment to the past causes his
downfall in The Great Gatsby?
• In what ways would Marxist theory about the stratification of wealth and power explain the
violence that runs through the action of the novel A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García
Márquez?
• To what extent was the characterization of the protagonist in Patrick Süskind´s Perfume influenced
by Franz Kafka´s The Metamorphosis?
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