PLANNING AN IB WRITTEN COMMENTARYHow to ANNOTATE and ANALYZE an extract

Approaching an Unseen Text…what to do??

When confronted with a text you’ve never seen before, it’s helpful to have a ‘strategy’ in mind to deal with the text. Having a plan will help you: Not freak out if you are confronted with a

confusing text Make the most of your planning time

The strategy on the following pages is geared at ensuring you examine a variety of literary aspects.

Poem or prose extract?

Do not go into the exam already thinking you WILL respond to the poem or you WILL respond to the prose extract.

Read BOTH extracts before making a decision.

Just because an extract seems easy on the surface don’t be lulled into a false sense of security. You still need to write a thought-provoking, analytical response (think about the severed head extract in the mock exam!)

In a Paper 1 commentary don’t: decide before you have even opened the

paper which text you are going to do. simply avoid the difficult bits. use the poem or prose as a springboard

for your own opinions or experiences. Make detailed reference to other works. praise the prose or poem! give your commentary a title.

Steps for confronting an unseen text

Once you have read both extracts and decided which you will respond to: Step One: Read the work through once and

annotate just any ‘big ideas’—major things that strike you/your initial impressions.

Step Two: Read it again and annotate other literary features that jump out at you.

Step Three: Examine the text more thoroughly and add to your annotations using the following 10 questions.

The 10 questions

Do not use this as a rigid guide. You need to be flexible in your approach to Paper 1 and wait and see what extracts you get given on the day.

BUT these 10 questions will help ensure you consider all potential aspects of the extract.

Ten questions to ask yourself: 1 1. What is the text about?

Examine the title—it may give you a hint Look for clues in the publication date,

author’s name

Ten questions to ask yourself: 2 2. Where is it set?

What country? Is it inside or outside? Rural or urban? One setting or more? Real or imagined?

Ten questions to ask yourself: 3 3. When is it set?

Is it set in the past, present, or future? How does this add to your understanding of

the text?

Ten questions to ask yourself: 4 4. Who is the speaker?

Is the speaker the same as the writer? What are their feelings, views and

opinions? Are there other characters in the text? Who are the other characters? What characteristics do they have? (this

could be revealed through descriptions of the characters, or through what they say and do and their actions)

Ten questions to ask yourself: 5 5. Why has it been written?

What are the underlying themes or messages?

How are the themes revealed in the text?

Ten questions to ask yourself: 6 6. What is the overall

structure of the piece? How many paragraphs/ stanzas? Does each deal with a different aspect? Are layout and meaning related? Is it written in a recognizable form like a

sonnet? Are the sentences long or short? Is there caesura or enjambment? How do these features/ devices contribute

to the meaning?

Ten questions to ask yourself: 7 7. What do you notice about the

words the author has chosen (the diction)? Is the diction simple or complex? Are technical or archaic words used? Are there words, or types of words that

reoccur? Are there any unexpected or out of place

words?

Ten questions to ask yourself: 8 8. How is Imagery used?

Are there any similes, metaphors, etc…? How do they contribute to the text? Are there patterns of images?

Ten questions to ask yourself: 9 9. Are other literary features

used? These may include rhyme, rhythm,

assonance, alliteration, etc… Does it have a rhyme scheme, and what is

its effect?

Ten questions to ask yourself: 10 10. What is the tone, mood,

atmosphere? How does the tone etc… contribute to the

overall meaning of the piece? Does the mood or tone play a significant

role? Does it shift or change at any point? What

effect does this have?

I have my notes, now what?

After you have read the piece SEVERAL times and have made detailed annotations on its many features, you need to give your notes structure (this will be looked at in the next session) and analyze the features you have found through close analysis of the PURPOSE behind the feature– you can’t just name the feature!!

It is not enough to say the author used alliteration, you need to say HOW they used it and WHY they used it.

What the examiners say:

Use the present tense when writing a piece of literary appreciation.Observe the poet’s line breaks - many candidates transform poetry into prose by their careless quotation Use quotations more liberally from the text in order to justify pointsGo beyond identification of literary features to consider and analyse their effects.

What the examiners say:

Understand and employ paragraphs Think carefully and plan their

commentaries before they begin writing so that they have a confident, well supported, interpretation ready to develop

Consider the whole poem or passage and do not leave gaps in analysis

Compose a clear introduction, establishing what the text is about

Always tie technique with meaning: the ideal commentary treats literary techniques as

inseparable from meaning (with a focus on how the features develop meaning)