This posting will shed light on the topics frequently discussed during weekly classes with pupils who have completed the first quarter after starting their first year of DP and with Y2 ones who are going through the busiest period in the DP course.
Which is all about under these questions: is it really that difficult to get a 7 on Eng A? In what way do I have to revise to get 7?
Of course, getting a 7 is not a sole aim or only measure of DP course, and the final score alone does not prove the value of all the effort and learning that a student has put in during the nearly two-year course. Nonetheless, I would still love to deliver some of my tips for students who want to know how to revise properly and who want to revise hard and get a fair score.
A. Step-by-step breakdown of how to get a 7 in IB English A
1. Do read your texts thoroughly.
That's reading it right. Are you really reading the lit works and non-lit texts you selected in your Eng class properly and thoroughly? Most schools do not properly analyse and teach each work from beginning to end due to various limitations. Or you can't. For example, when studying Shakesphere's Othello, only Act 3 is taught and analysed in class, the assessment is done using the contents of ACT 3, and then the class moves on to a new text, leaving the rest of the works in the hands of the students.
There is not enough emphasis on the fact that students must properly read and analyse the remaining parts of the work and revise it for Paper 2 or IO on their own. However, most students often do not. Skimming-through the rest of the content on youtube, lit charts, supersummary, etc. and call it a day. In many cases, there is no cheat sheet created by the student for the work studied. Can you really write a proper literature comparative essay in this situation?
2. Upgrade that Vocabulary
Let's use IB Eng level Vocabulary. Let's update continuously!
It is really important to use the academic and formal vocabulary desired by IB English, but it is something that many students do not consciously make an effort to do.
Using the right words in the right context is a skill that improves through constant essay revision, active paraphrasing, and hard reading.
Sometimes, students studying for the SAT together use words they have memorised in their essays. This is a very commendable attitude, but the problem is that you need to check whether it is appropriate in the proper context before using it. It is not always a good idea to use difficult words. Even if it is a synonym, you must use words and phrases that fit the context.
3. Straighten out that Grammar.
Don't be generous to yourself about grammar mistakes!
Regardless of whether students are comfortable using English or not, essays with zero Grammar mistakes seem to be very rare.
The reason is because IB eng is a hand-written assessment, so Google doc's magic trick does not work. Moreover, when the thoughts and sentences that pop up in our heads are written down by hand, surprisingly many mistakes occur.
For students who are not as comfortable with English as their mother language, writing clean, easy-to-understand sentences with succinct words instead of using complex sentence structures will reduce grammar mistakes.
For students who are comfortable with English but make many grammar mistakes, one method is to do proof reading after each sentence.
4. Learn how to analyse–properly!
Let’s properly understand what ‘analysis’ means and revise according to it!
The tips introduced in numbers 1, 2, and 3 above are actually very basic qualifications required for students who choose Eng A, and are only worth 4 points of the IB English score. The quality of Lang & Lit 'analysis' will determine the grade 5, 6 and even 7.
As many students are already well aware of, IB English is a very heavily analysis-oriented subject. The better your analysis, the higher your grade. It is absolutely difficult to score more than 5 points without critical analysis.
IB-style analysis is not simply retelling the plot and proving it with quotes. It interprets and explains the author's intention and lit-contents such as context, symbols, allusion.. etc. used in the work.
You must clearly understand this difference. Students who have memorised and written quotes and read the work diligently, but do not get good analysis scores, are most likely retelling their essays rather than critical interpretation and analysis.
5. Your writing style is extremely important!
Let’s make sure you write a ‘well-communicative’ essay!
Smart writing is simple writing.
It is a nonsensical illusion that the longer and more complex the sentences, the better your English will appear and the more well-written your essay will look.
The best written essays are ones that anyone, whether your friends, teachers, or parents, can understand. In the Eng A assessment, the school teacher's comments included things like 'I don't know what you're talking about here... It's unclear...' or simply '? If you've ever received a comment like ', it means your essay isn't communicative properly.
I often talk about this during my lessons, and this is the thing that I pay most attention to when it comes to revision for students who are stuck at 6. You must write your sentences so that anyone who reads them can accurately understand what you are trying to analyse, interpret, and explain.
What this means is that it is easy to understand with the correct grammar using the correct vocab, but requires deep analysis. In fact, this is the most difficult stage of revision. I hope you will focus on organising your content concisely using the correct essay structure such as PEEL (Point, Evidence, Elaboration, Link)!
6. Do Internal Assessments really well.
Do your utmost best on IA!
As the final exam approaches, most students put great efforts on Eng A final revision, and their paper 1 and 2 essays improve and the scores rise, but the score on the IO assignment at the end of the first year or the beginning of the second year of IB was not satisfactorily high. Because of this, a student who could have gotten a 6, ends up getting final mark 5, and a student who could have gotten a 7 gets stuck with a 6.
IA in Eng A is IO. You really have to do your best and prepare hard. Eng A HL students also need to do their best on the HL essay. (Of course, this is an external assessment.)
There is no ‘magic’ trick to getting a 7 in IB Eng A.
The most magical asset is the ‘consistent’ revision that you have done for the good 2 years!
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