IB English 11

Commentaries answer these:

   What is the text about? (summary and context)    What happened before this? What happened after it? Is the historical time period important to understanding the passage?

How was it written? (style and literary features)   Which literary features are there? How does the author create the piece?

Why was it written? (theme and effect on reader)   How does the author use those features to create the theme? How does that effect the reader?

Things to Consider

           Theme!

Concerns/motivations of character or speaker Tone throughout the piece Titles Endings “So what?” – Why is this passage important?

Structure & Patterns Diction Imagery/figurative language Shifts Punctuation

Basic Outline of Commentary Content

   Introduction  Title, author, one sentence summary, thesis statement – how the author uses specific literary features to develop a specific theme Base each body paragraph on a particular literary technique    Awareness of a literary feature and author’s techniques How it develops the meaning of the piece (theme) Explanation of effects on the reader Conclusion  USE QUOTES in your body paragraphs as support!

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Sentence Patterns

Introduction: This passage, written in [ POV ], is an extract from [ Text by Author ], which is about [ short summary ]. It can be divided into [ however many ] parts: [ summary of part 1 ], and [ summary of part 2 ]. The author's intention in writing this passage is to [ show theme ], and this is achieved through [ feature 1 ], [ feature 2 ], and [ feature 3 ].  Body Paragraph: The author's use of [ x feature ] to [ do y ] creates [ z effect ]. [ Quote ]” is a [ name of feature ] and it creates [ effects ]. It does this [ say how it does this ]. “[ Quote 2 ]” also creates [ effects ]. It does this [ say how it does it ]. Therefore, through skillful manipulation of [ x feature ] the author is able to [ achieve the intention stated in introduction ].

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What the Rubric Rates

Understanding of the Text: How well have you understood the thought

and feeling of the text? How well have you explored your ideas? Have you expressed a relevant personal response?

 Appreciation of Literary Features: To what extent are you aware of

literary features in the text? How accurate is your identification? How well have you supported claims about literary features? Do you relate the literary features to the theme?

 Organization: How well have you organized the commentary? How

effectively have you expressed your ideas? To what extent have you integrated supporting examples (quotes) into your commentary?

 Language: How accurate, clear and precise is your language? How

appropriate is your choice of register and style for this task? (Register includes vocabulary, tone, sentence structure, and slang.)

Example 1

Your Predicted Scores

 A:  B:  C:  D:

Actual Scores

 A: 2  B: 2  C: 2  D: 3

Example 2

Your Predicted Scores

 A:  B:  C:  D:

Actual Scores

 A: 5  B: 4  C: 4  D: 5

Reflect and Discuss

 What is the difference between the two papers?  Why might they have received the scores they did?

Examiners’ Justifications

Example 1

 The examiners said that this piece was not a detailed analysis because it just focused on one aspect or literary feature. Many features that could have been explored were ignored. The essay lacks development and explanation.

Example 2

 The examiners said that this piece showed excellent understanding of the tone and style. It had good textual support, but it could have used quotations more effectively.

Exit Slip

 What do you need to make sure to do to get the highest scores possible?

 What do you already do consistently?

 What do you need to start doing?