4 Study Tips for IB English Language & Literature (2)
By Sandro Stephen Joseph Lau
(English Language & Literature, History & Biology Tutor at The Edge Learning Center)
Worried about what’s coming when you finally enter IB English Language and Literature? Well, here are the 4 expert tips that can help you in your preparation and ease your mind.
Tip 3 : Analyse Everything
Language and Literature Paper 1 texts can be anything from political comics to magazine covers or infographics, so you have to be ready to analyse anything. Read and analyse everything around you: Whenever you come across a piece of writing, an advertisement, a comic, or anything at all, ask yourself the following:
Context: How is the text a reaction to a writer’s situation or a social issue?
Think about the internal context: where and by whom is the text published?
Think about the external context: what was going on in the world at the time of publication?
Audience: Who is the target audience, and how do you know that?
Is it a personal audience like a friend or a relative?
Is it a mass audience like the general public or a sector of the public like a specific gender?
Is it a professional audience like biologists, lawyers, educators, or politicians?
Purpose: What is the text trying to accomplish?
Is it trying to persuade you to do or think a certain way?
Is it trying to inform you about a certain topic?
Is it trying to entertain you in order to achieve some ulterior goal?
Content: Can you find devices and state how and why they’re being used?
What are the stylistic devices (like symbolism, simile, metaphor, personification hyperbole, etc.) that are being used, and what is their effect on the audience?
What are the visual devices (like colour, size, texture, foreground, background, framing, composition, etc.) that are being used, and what is their effect on the audience?
Message: What is the main idea that the text is trying to convey?
Writer: How does the text appeal to its audience?
Think about Ethos: Does the text appeal to someone’s status or authority in order to gain the audience’s trust?
Think about Pathos: Does the text appeal to certain emotions, in order to stir up certain feelings in the audience like sympathy or anger?
Think about Logos: Does the text try to appeal to reason and logic, in order to build up an argument that persuades the audience to think a certain way?
Tip 4 : Keep Yourself Organised
The last thing to do in preparation for the IB is to be organised. You’ll soon be burdened with lots of work, not only from English, but from all your subjects combined. In order to keep your head above the water, you should start planning as soon as possible.
Get ahead in Reading
When you get your set texts, try and skim through or go through a light reading of them first before class. Don’t forget to take down any notes if you find you can pull out any of the things mentioned in point 3.
Designate Spaces at Home
Designate and keep separate spaces for your homework, your notes, your drafts, and your Internal Assessments. Ensure that you have these folders or spaces ready for each of your subjects and their subtopics.
Keep a Calendar
Make sure that you have a calendar that is easily accessible to you, whether that be on your desk or on your phone, and update them with the latest information on deadlines and when assignments are likely to be given out.
Vary it Up
When practising, change between Paper 1s one week and Paper 2s another week. This can help relieve the repetitiveness and also keep your mind agile.
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If you are still uncertain how to prepare your IB English Language & Literature. Simply give us a ring or contact us today to schedule a lesson with Sandro!
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