Paper 1
Purpose
Paper 1 is a platform that allows you to demonstrate some of the key skills developed in your English classroom, including:
The ability to interpret and analyze non-literary texts
The ability to evaluate the effectiveness of authorial choices in achieving a desired purpose
The ability to clearly, coherently and logically present your ideas in writing
Assessment in a Nutshell
Paper 1 is an analysis of unseen non-literary texts. Two different text types will be presented on the paper. SL students will have 75 minutes to analyze one of these texts, and their work will be worth 20 marks, accounting for 35% of their final grade. HL students, however, will have 135 minutes to analyze both texts, which will account for 40 marks, but still only 35% of their grade.
It is not unheard of to be asked to comment on the "interplay" of text and image, or how linguistic choices and visual/image choices work together to create meaning.
Check out these slides for more details on how to do this effectively.
When we study non-literary texts, we still do need to include draw connections from choices and their effects to whole elements of the text (Level 2); however, because the texts often speak directly about the real world, we often talk about the ways in which a particular person, place or thing is depicted.
Check out these slides for more details on how to do this effectively.
Common Mistakes
Strategies & Resources
Non-Literary Texts
Rhetorical Analysis,
The Writer's Toolbox
The Writer's Toolbox
Reflecting on Your Work
Examples
Using Sentence Stems to Help You
Here is a skeleton essay. Whilst it might not be a one-shoe-fits-all approach to Paper 1, these sentence stems can really help guide your analysis and focus. Practice with a few texts using them and be sure to check out the example towards the bottom of the document.
DIY PRACTICE PAPERS
Use the slides to find various different text types with example Paper 1 Guiding Questions. There are model answers for some of these, so if you'd like to compare, please email me and I can send you the example answer & mark scheme.