What’s Paper 2 about?
Paper 2 is one of the two exams that you’ll have to write at the end of your IB English Language and Literature or Literature course. The paper is a comparative essay between two texts that you would have studied throughout your two-year course. It is important to note that you can’t write your exams on texts that you’ve used for prior assessments, such as your IO and/or the HL essay (for HL students only). The exam’s the same for both Langlit and Lit students.
In the paper, you’ll be given four questions to choose one out of. The questions are designed to be open-ended enough to be applicable to almost all of the assigned IB texts.
What kinds of questions can appear on the Paper?
For example, questions could be as broad as the following:
- Discuss how two works you have studied use symbolism and motifs.
- Writers often base their works on specific events and contexts. With reference to twoworks you have studied, explore how writers reflect such contexts.
- Referring to two works you have studied, discuss how power is represented by thewriters.
- Conflict is often a driving force in many literary works. With reference to two works,discuss how and why conflict is depicted.
What are some major issues people have with it?
The biggest issue is in not focusing on the question enough, and making sure that you have sufficient comparisons made throughout your essay. Many essays that students submit have good analysis and insight, but are on a topic that’s almost completely irrelevant to the essay question! When writing and planning your paragraphs, make sure to always check if what you’ve written is relevant to the question.
How should I prepare for the exam?
The essay is meant to be comparative, so what you should ideally do is make a table with central comparisons between the two texts with supporting evidence or relevant quotes. Points of comparisons can be on any of the following: thematic comparisons, character comparisons, stylistic comparisons, structural/narrative comparisons, and comparisons of the socio-historical context surrounding the texts. Having these ideas pre-planned will help you address virtually any question that will appear.
How should I structure my essay?
Below is an outline that can be used:
Introduction
- Identify and define the key terms of the question
- Relate the key terms of the question to a summary of Text 1
- Authorial intention/social commentary of Text 1 in relation to the question
- Relate the key terms of the question to a summary of Text 2
- Authorial intention/social commentary of Text 2 in relation to the question
Body paragraph ideas (these need to be linking ideas between both texts that will constitute the topics for the three required body paragraphs)
- Thematic comparisons
- Character comparisons
- Narrative structure (setting, rising action, climax, resolution)
- Context of production (comparing the values that society had when the texts were written)
- Context of reception (comparing how different audiences would receive the texts)
- Techniques in both
Body paragraph structure
- Topic sentence: State how both texts explore the essay question through your first central body paragraph topic
- 1-2 quotes from Text 1, with analysis
- Similarity in terms of the main idea
- Difference in terms of the main idea
- 1-2 quotes from Text 2, with analysis
- Link: Refer back to your topic sentence to conclude the paragraph
Concluding paragraph
- Restate/rephrase thesis 1
- Restate/rephrase thesis 2
- What the two texts collectively show about the question
Sample introduction and model paragraph
In literature, structure can be broadly defined as how the narrative plot of a novel comes together and how the narrative progressively adds tension which is then resolved. This includes elements such as the introduction, setting, climax and the followed by the resolution/conclusion. This is specifically explored in Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical novel Persepolis where she explores the narrative structure by first introducing Marjane as a child and her life in an oppressive regime. This is then progressed to her growing up and moving to Vienna, hopeful for a better future where she faces an identity crisis as she doesn’t know if she is a foreigner or belongs to Iran. Yet, after coming back to Iran, the novel is concluded with Marjane moving out to France, yet again hopeful for a better future as she felt threatened by the Iranian government. As a whole, Satrapi explores the structure of her work in order to show the hardships Marjane had to experience, alongside her internal struggle for finding her true identity. This is also represented in Margret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, specifically with the character of Offred who initially faces oppression after becoming a handmaid, yet tries to find freedom within the boundaries of the theocratic Christian government who at the end conforms and submits herself to the government. Atwood effectively weaves the structure of the novel yet again to show the difficulties in the life of Offred due to the oppression faced by the government and the indoctrination by her peers.
At first, the writers effectively structure their introductions to engage the reader and represent their ideas of the initial struggle for freedom. C This is similar to the handmaid’s tale in how both novels have strict religious norms against women by the government and how women are both indoctrinated; however in Persepolis, some women try to rebel against these norms whilst in the handmaid’s tale, Offred conforms to the ruling. Shifting to the Handmaid’s tale, the introduction also presents an initial struggle for freedom. This is first seen in how Offred and the other women in the Red Centre reflect on their lives as she states “We yearned for the future. How did we learn it, that talent for insatiability?” At first, the diction “yearned” depicts the extreme suppression that the women face, to which they now want a future of freedom. Yet, this creates situational irony in how Offred and the other women do not do anything to achieve this goal. Moreover, the hyperbolic diction “insatiability” with the rhetorical question yet again shows how Offred doesn’t take any action towards having more freedom in the future. This therefore shows a dissatisfaction in her life; however, this is different to Persepolis in how Marjane and her mother alongside other women fight for freedom in Iran. The lack of freedom is further exemplified in how Offred describes her room as “they removed anything you could tie a rope to”. The vivid visual imagery of “removed anything” to “tie a rope” depicts how people in the gilead don’t even have the personal freedom to choose their death, showing how the government believes how the lives of the Handmaid’s do not matter at all. This creates a feeling of sympathy for the handmaid’s through the extremist ruling and the strict regime. This parallels Persepolis in how the government takes people’s rights away, as in Persepolis, the citizens aren’t allowed to do basic activities such as partying or for women – wearing the wrong dress and running on the street. Overall, through the introduction of both novels, the writers effectively engage the reader and represent their ideas of the initial struggle for freedom.
Learning the All Round Way:
All of the above should give you a solid overview of how to tackle Paper 2 in IB English. However, if you’re looking to delve deeper into specific texts or feel uncertain about your analysis, we encourage you to explore our services at All Round Education Academy. Our team is dedicated to helping students excel in their studies. For more information, please contact us at +852 6348 8744 or tuition@allround-edu.com. We look forward to hearing from you!