Active tasks

InThinking Revision Sites

INTHINKING REVISION SITES

Own your learning

Why not also try our independent learning self-study & revision websites for students?

We currenly offer the following DP Sites: Biology, Chemistry, English A Lang & Lit, Maths A&A, Maths A&I, Physics, Spanish B

"The site is great for revising the basic understandings of each topic quickly. Especially since you are able to test yourself at the end of each page and easily see where yo need to improve."

"It is life saving... I am passing IB because of this site!"

Basic (limited access) subscriptions are FREE. Check them out at:

www.StudyIB.net

Model example 1 (Szymborska Poetry)

  • /
  • Getting Started: Students/
  • Assessment, exemplars and exam revision/
  • Higher level essay /
  • Can I read an example? /
  • Model example 1 (Szymborska Poetry)

When writing a Higher Level Essay on poetry, it's hard to determine how many poems to use.  One is clearly not enough, but it would be difficult, perhaps, to write about five different poems.  So what is the sweet spot?  For this student, it was three, and it feels like the right number given her line of inquiry about how narrative voice is used to compel readers to reflect about their own actions and behaviors.  

The student used a literary work in translation, the poetry of Wislawa Szymborska, a Polish poet and Nobel Laureate, and narrowed herself down using the course concept "perspective."  More specifically, she wanted to look at the narrative (or poetic) voices used in various poems and their effects. "To My Heart on Sunday", "Hatred", and "Funeral (II)"  are used in the essay.  You'll notice in the teacher's comments that this essay received a four out of five in each criterion.  In that regard, it's a great exemplar for you to read and consider.

How could she have done just a little bit better in each area?  How could she have improved her close language analysis?  How could the poems have been linked even more to make an even more cohesive essay?  How did she remain on topic (stay focused on her line of inquiry), but also become a bit too repetitive in terms of her language?  These are all great questions to ask with this exemplar.  More than anything though, this exemplar shows you how to write about three poems well with a focused line of inquiry.  

Sample HL Essay

Sample HL Essay Szymborska poetry

Teacher's Comments

Criterion A: Knowledge, understanding and interpretation (5 marks)

  • To what extent does the student show knowledge and understanding of the work or text?
  • To what extent does the student use their knowledge and understanding to reach conclusions about the work or text in relation to their chosen topic?
  • How well does the student use references to the work or text to support their ideas in relation to their chosen topic?

4 out of 5: There is good knowledge and understanding of the work.  Using three poems demonstrates good coverage of the work in relation to a very specific line of inquiry.  It is very close to excellent, but is held back at times by the repetitive ideas/phrasing.  References are relevant and support the candidate's line of inquiry.  

Criterion B: Analysis and evaluation (5 marks)

  • To what extent does the student analyze and evaluate how language, style, and wider authorial choices influence meaning in relation to their chosen topic?

4 out of 5: The analysis and evaluation are appropriate and sometimes insightful.  The candidate handles narrative voice well and also discusses the smaller minutia of it too.  However, it's not consistent enough in terms of close language analysis to be convincing at all times.  

Criterion C: Focus, organization, and development (5 marks)

  • To what extent is the presentation of ideas organized, focused, and developed?
  • How effectively has the student integrated supporting examples into their essay?

4 out of 5: There is a clear line of inquiry and the student stays focused on it.  Examples are also well-integrated.  A bit more cohesion in terms of connecting all three poems together - in relation to the narrative voices used - would have aided this candidate even more. 

Criterion D: Language (5 marks)

  • How clear, varied, and accurate is the student's language?
  • To what extent is the student's choice of register, style, and terminology appropriate?

4 out of 5: There is a bit of repetitiveness in terms of the vocabulary used especially the verbs used to argue a point.  However, on the whole, this is clear and carefully chosen with a good degree of accuracy.