Rubric Trait	How to fake it (not recommended)	How to earn it (i.e., learn it)
Knowledge & Understanding	memorize a bunch of random quotes or details to throw in here and there The night before the test, read Sparknotes summaries till your eyes bleed	examine the text for: what it says in no uncertain terms – including minor characters and plot events what it implies, without saying in so many words, that the reader must infer what hints may lurk in details, but only to the attentive reader what ‘facts’ could be hotly debated between two different readers what a reader must bravely interpret from a stance anchored in A) the “letter” of the text and B) the reader’s deeply held truth, experience and values
Address to the question and personal response	dutifully echo the language of the question in every paragraph (but do it ad nauseam and the examiner will just laugh)	analyze the wording of the question:  key words, relationships, meaning sought accept the invitation to consider the meanings attendant to the question With the questions in mind, "watch" the plays unfold before you in your mind's eye: what rises to your attention in light of the question?
Apprec Literary Features	look up every cheat site on the internet, memorize several buzzwords per work, and use them a lot in your paper	assess which 3 or 4 major literary features are most pertinent to the issue/s of the question note what other lit features contribute to the 3 or 4 major features consider exactly what it is about this play that most contributes to the effect it has on you;  discuss
Presentation	Create an obvious 5¶ essay structure.  Religiously use overt transition and cause/effect language such as "if/then," "although," "first/second";  compensate for lack of argument with intensifiers such as "clearly" and "obviously."	Sincerely engage the question and the literature;  find a focus that truly matters to you, and keep coming back to it.  Persuade the examiner that this work of literature is somehow uniquely, in the history of the universe, crafted to convey the precise message you get from it. Find your own personal “way in” to the work – a stance anchored in your style, biography, values, dreams, loves and terrors.
Formal language	Use the biggest words you know.  Make important-sounding claims, hedging with qualifiers like “seems,” “could,” “possibly,” and hope the examiner doesn't notice.	Write with passion, directness and clarity.  Think with precision—no one has ever had your exact thoughts before—and write with the voice of your heart.  Avoid the patois and slang that only have meaning in this hour, and strive for language that will endure for centuries. Turn in BS indicators to MsB for bounty.

 

Analyzing the question:

Look for keywords and relationships between keywords.

Often there will be a contrast suggested;  consider how each of your works can be examined through this contrast.

"To what extent" invites you to assess how much impact a feature had—AND to discuss other features whose impact affected/eclipsed it.

“Achieve their purposes” invites you to consider the effect on audience—and meaning. 

“How” and “in what ways” invites you to examine literary features, devices and strategies. 

“To what effect” or “to what purpose” invites you to examine effect on audience, including audience’s interpretation or perception of meaning. 

Avoid questions containing a significant keyword or relationship you do not precisely understand. 

Choose questions with an eye to which works you could most effectively discuss. 

NO MATTER WHAT question you answer, you are expected to:

show detailed knowledge of the works

directly address the chosen question throughout the essay

discuss literary features and their contribution to the work’s effect on audience and meaning

make an arguable claim and support it with convincing logic and evidence

use formal, vigorous, precise, persuasive, and accurate language

Choose the QUESTION and WORKS that will allow you to best do the above!

 

What IB says about handling the question:

[A] recurring area of comment by examiners is the way questions are heard and  handled.  Very often candidates grasp the central notion but are completely deaf to the  particular angle of the exam.   "Poetic devices" is heard but "the ways in which poetic devices are used to support the poets' ideas" is ignored.  Most often the candidate fixes on a familiar  word  such as "setting" but gives no time or attention to the way it "reflects underlying ideas."  (From May 2007 Subject Report)

 

Gut check, fork-in-the-road:

TO WHAT DEGREE do the aspects of the chosen question apply to your TWO chosen works? 

Your works may incorporate the aspect STRONGLY or SLIGHTLY and/or TO SEPARATE EFFECT/PURPOSE. 

 

Prewrite:  Compare/Contrast Table (strike out with large X before turning in)

	Question
	Work1	Work2
central feature (from question)
feature
feature
feature
etc.
interp too!!

Format

Black ink

One-inch margin of white space ALL four sides of page

Write only on ONE side of each page

Your most LEGIBLE handwriting OR printing

Be sure all pages are IN ORDER and NUMBERED before assembling

CROSS OUT (simple diagonal X will do ALL PREWRITE before turning in

 

Introduction

A grabber is nice but not necessary:  max. one sentence. Do not spend an entire paragraph on poetic rhetoric before getting near your point.

The introduction is a good place to explicitly define your understanding of or approach to the terms of the question.  If you do not define your terms explicitly up front, make sure you implicitly show your understanding of them throughout the discussion. 

It is nice but NOT entirely necessary to end the introduction with a fully-developed thesis;  instead, you can indicate a specific direction of your exploration, then elaborate more fully in the conclusion. 

 

Claim:

Make it PRECISE

Make it ARGUABLE

Include FEATURE and EFFECT/S on INTERPRETATION

 

Content:

Do not waste ink rhapsodizing over the importance of your feature or the renown of your author. Engage with the text, describe what it does, and analyze how it does it.

Treat characters as LITERARY CONSTRUCTS, not people.

Remember the web of literary features that combine to create the overall effect (and hence interpretation) of each work.  How does this feature impact others, and how does the result influence interpretation?

Pertinent details from the text are essential;  direct quotes are one way but not the only way to achieve this.

"Connecting to the audience" is essential for any literary effect, but it is only a starting point. Does it connect in a positive or negative way? After the connection, is the audience inclined to think or feel? What is the audience inclined to think or feel?

 

BE SPECIFIC, PRECISE, AND CONCISE.  Take a stand!

 

LESS GOOD:  This shows what the author was really trying to say.

MORE BETTER:  These negative connotations underscore the point that evil can take very ordinary forms.

 

LESS GOOD:  Shakespeare's dialogue develops the plot.

MORE BETTER:  Short lines of dialogue increase the pace of the plot as the climax approaches.

 

LESS GOOD:  The amazing play Othello is renowned for its villain...

MORE BETTER:  The villain in Othello...

 

LESS GOOD:  This greatly develops the character of Emilia...

MORE BETTER:  This develops Emilia as a dynamic and pivotal character...

 

LESS GOOD:  "reveals a major theme" any feature that does not somehow contribute to the theme is hardly worth mentioning

MORE BETTER:  This introduces the theme of sin and redemption, which is more fully developed by…

 

KNOW YOUR LITERARY FEATURES.  Study their definitions.  Identify examples in your plays.  Ask if you aren’t sure.  Assess the interaction as well as presence and effect of these features.  Be precise!

 

VIEW FROM THE THEATRE SEAT:

“Candidates who can convey a sense of the theatrical dimensions of the play will likely do better in writing Paper Two … than those who see only the effects on a ‘reader’ of the play.” (From IB Forums)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conventions:

SPELL CHARACTER NAMES CORRECTLY-- especially major character names.

SPELL AUTHOR NAMES CORRECTLY – no exceptions.

Call it a play, not a novel

Refer to "audience," not "reader."

Legibility

Titles of works are underlined

THOU SHALT PROOFREAD THY PAPER AND CORRECT ALL OBVIOUS MISTAKES.

 

Handwriting:

 

from IB...
Presentation in terms of handwriting is very important as is the necessity to spell authors' names and titles of texts correctly. An unfavourable impression is given if the script is hard to decipher or key words are spelt incorrectly. Presentation and effective argument
is also furthered weakened by a significant number of candidates who forget the conventions of effective paragraphing which was noticeable on too many papers this session. (From May 2008 Subject Report)

 

 

FORBIDDEN WORDS:

relatable (try: appealing? sympathetic? approachable?)

interesting

always/never

obvious, obviously

I believe

my claim

NEARLY FORBIDDEN WORDS:

unsubstantiated amplifiers such as:

indeed, definite, definitely, extremely, highly, greatly, certainly

wafflers such as:

various, often, different, seems, seemingly, could, might

Regarding NEVER:  there is much that does not appear in any given work of lit.  It is tough to be absolutely sure on such a claim, unless you are operating at an extremely superficial level.  The ONLY reason for discussing what does not happen is that something that IS in the text (or interpretation) suggests it should or might.  Yes, it's true, no pigs fly in Othello—what suggests that they would or should?

 

A note about how much to write, from IB:

...many candidates sitting this paper, often write copious amounts of
material, some of which simply does not relate to the question apart from the odd phrase or word
which is used in an attempt to suggest that the question is being answered whereas in reality it
isn‘t. It is much better for candidates to write shorter essays which are well focussed and answer the demands of the question as opposed to writing everything they know about a text. (from May 2008 Subject Report)