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Paper 1 contains two previously unseen literary passages (usually one prose and one poetry). Students are instructed to write a guided analysis of ONE of these passages. A guided analysis in this context refers to an exploration of the passage supported by a guiding question which asks the students to consider a technical or formal aspect of the extract.
The passages for analysis may be either a complete piece of writing or an extract from a longer piece. One guiding question will be provided for each passage on a central technical or formal element that may provide an interesting point of entry into the text.
The maximum mark for paper 1 is 20.
Each extract will be from a different literary form and may be any of the following forms:
Poetry
Prose fiction
Prose non-fiction
Drama
Remember, this is not a comprehensive commentary. The student does not need to, and should not attempt to, cover the entire text. The aim of a guided textual analysis is to write in-depth about one specific aspect of the text"
- IB guidance video on Paper 1
Some useful resources to help you with your Paper 1 exam:
Unseen Commentary guide
Paper 1 is no longer a written commentary. Instead, it is a guided textual analysis that asks you to focus on a particular aspect of the text. Despite this change, this Written Commentary guide can be very helpful when looking at different aspects of literary texts. I suggest you spend some time reviewing it.
61 - Writing Unseen Commentaries.pdfd_1_axeng_gui_2012_2_e.mp4This is the IB guidance video for teachers. It provides useful guidance on all aspects of the paper.
I highly suggest you watch this video and take notes.
SCASI
Exploring different focus areas for a guided textual analysis
SCASI
Exploring different focus areas for a guided textual analysis
setting
setting
The setting of a story isn’t just a flat background without meaning. The setting is not just meant to be be something for the reader to "look at" as they observe the actions and dialogue of characters.
Characters interact with the setting; the setting can influence the action; the way the setting is described can be an important feature of the style; and a writer’s ideas may centre more around the location of his story than around anything else.
Sometimes, a writer will give us a sense of a wider historical, moral and philosophical context. Perhaps the author has created a universal setting which includes us as readers as well. Perhaps the story is taking place in a geographical and historical setting that we have experienced and understand. If yes, the author can lead us into his story.
What types of settings are present in this passage?
What words and stylistic devices are used to illustrate these different settings?
What is the tone and mood of the passage - what does this say about the setting?
Are there characters present in this setting? How are they connected to the setting?
How does the narrator's way of describing the setting help us understand something about him?
Are there contrasts present in the setting?
character
character
When you are discussing character in a passage. You need to remember that they are not real people but are creations of the author.
Go beyond what kind of people they are. If you simply write about them as if they’re ‘real’ then yes, you’re paying the writer a compliment – his characters have convinced you. But the examiner will want to see that you can distinguish between literature and life, and write about characters as the creations of someone’s imagination.
One was of doing so is to consider the techniques the writer has used to bring his characters to life.
How do authors help us understand characters through various means?
What do we learn about characters both directly and indirectly?
How do the interactions between character help us understand them individually?
How do authors use narrative voice / narrative perspective to aid in characterization?
action
action
Because you will be reading an excerpt from a longer text, it may seem as though there isn't a lot "going on" in the passage. Often the actions that characters take in a passage may be in response to something else that has happened earlier in the novel. It is this "something else" that is important for you to consider.
1) What is happening in the passage?
2) How much time has passed? How do we know?
3) How would you describe the tone and mood of this passage? How does the description of the action contribute to this tone and mood?
4) How do different characters react to the action in the scene? What does this tell us about them?
style
style
Style can be defined as the words that the author chooses to use and the order in which they have used them.
In order to discuss style you need to have a clear vocabulary of stylistic features, linguistic devices, rhetorical devices and poetic techniques. It's not that you just need to know the terms, you also need to understand how they are used and be able to consider their effect.
Style is not a stand alone aspect of SCASI. The writer's style is used to help in characterization, to describe setting, to explain action and character reactions to it and to explore ideas and themes through symbolism and imagery. You cannot discuss any of the SCASI points without mentioning authorial choice - which is STYLE!
Style is also closely connected to tone and mood. Think your emotional reaction to the passage or aspects of the passage. How does the author create this reaction in their reader and more importantly, WHY?
How do authorial choices contribute to our understanding of character, setting and theme in an extract?
How and to what effect to authors use stylistic elements in their writing?
How can we use our understanding of an author's stylistic choices to better understand an unseen extract?
ideas
ideas
Ideas when they run through a longer piece of writing become themes. In a shorter piece they will probably be no more than our or the writer’s thoughts about what is happening in the extract itself, about how the people in it are behaving, about what the world in which the episode takes place is like, and so on.
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