For IB Eng A Lang & Lit Paper 1 exam, you will be given the task of writing an essay, analysing unseen texts. Given the fact that thorough analysis skill is a prerequisite, what I emphasise adding to the skill is to spend 5-10 minutes properly preparing the outline of the essay first, and then start writing your essay.
What is a decent outlining that guarantees a level 7 paper 1 essay?
Let's check out one of the Paper 1 text outlining that completed through several revisions with my students in my class. The text below is a written text that from the 2021 November Paper 1 exam.
First, do check the given guiding question, it asks you to focus on analysing the use of Tone.
This means that the structure of the essay itself should focus on various tones and their effects.
Introduction
Present: Article published on the “The Hindu”, an Indian online newspaper platform
Target audience: English speaking contemporary Indians
Purpose: to remind the readers of the vocational value of the housewives, and to convince them to appreciate the importance of housewives more.
Thesis: Throughout the text, colourful tones such as appreciative, agitated and ironic tones are utilised by the author in order to convince the readers to appreciate the occupational significance of housewives.
The intro includes all four key contents that must be included.
In the actual essay, you just need to connect these contents as a proper paragraph.
Body 1: condemnatory tone
Sarcasm: Line 40 - sarcastically interpreting the word ‘bread winner’ to criticise failure of male society
Personal anecdote: Line 7 - showing ignorant and discriminating people in the society (attitude, perspective)
Pronoun: "Our male chauvinistic society has failed to realise that while the man may bring home the bread, it is the woman, or the housewife who actually makes the food”
Diction: “It is up to us to change regressive mindsets”
The outlining for the first body identifies the language devices and supporting quotes that reveal the critical tone of the writer and its effects!
Body 2: Imperative tone
Juxtaposition: Line 30 - changing perspective towards housewife
Contrast, compare: CEO and housewife - seemingly different, but in core, they are same
Pronoun: “we” Line 20- target audience - “we” as a indian society
Making big change together - not individual, cooperate as community
“As a country we proudly highlight our progress by citing the existence of a burgeoning female workforce… yet we cannot deny the fact that a majority of indian women still do not go to work”
The outlining for the second body identifies the language devices and supporting quotes that reveal the provocative tone of the writer and its effects!
B3: Appreciative and sympathetic tones
Metaphor: Line #22~27: emphasise the importance of housewife - tone gets empowered
Comparison: Line 25: “there is hardly any difference between the ‘job’ description of a housewife and that of the chief executive officer… while the CEO steers a company forward, the housewife is at the helm of the household”
Symbolism: Line 28: “She is a pillar of support for her husband, a guiding light for her child, and a harbour for the family’s elderly.”
The outlining for the first body identifies the language devices and supporting quotes that reveal the appreciative tone of the writer and its effects!
Conclusion:
In the conclusion, you write down 1-2 evaluation points to see if there were any weaknesses or shortcomings in this text to effectively convey the purpose to the target audience.
Limitations:
The author may seem to be overgeneralising/ exaggerating the role of a housewife - Qualifications, time, skills needed are different
Specific ways to change and become more progressive is not stated
Preparing for outlining in this quality of thoroughness is really helpful for the Paper 1 revision itself, but more than anything, this is something that is absolutely essential (though should be much simpler, of course) to be done in the exam setting as well. Cheers to IB Eng pupils!
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