In this episode I’m speaking with Andrew and Dave of the IB English Guys. 2023 saw the first roll out of the IBDP English A course’s Paper 2. As such, teachers across the world rallied to prepare students for a comparative literature essay that featured unseen prompts and the opportunity to select any of the studied texts from across their two years of study.

I was keen to chat with Andrew and Dave as they have been a fantastic point of contact on relevant IB teaching forums and of course across all their content on YouTube. Additionally, both of the guys were examiners for Paper 2 this year and had access to extended conversations with the principle examiner regarding expectations for students’ responses.

We discuss:

1. Since the last time we spoke, something new Dave and Andrew have taught or would like to teach in the coming year.

2. Whether this year’s Paper 2 and its focus on thematic prompts is a sign of things to come

3. The observation that students fared better if they stayed out of sentence-level analysis and instead aimed at broad authorial choices.

4. How to write conclusions in a meaningful manner.

5. What the tell-tale signs are that an essay has been learnt and therefore forced onto a question provided

6. And finally, what we should all be doing more of on a formative assessment level to prepare students for this paper

Thanks again to the guys for being so generous with their time as well as the practical advice gleaned from reading hundreds of responses and consolidating what they believe to be best practice for a demanding exam.

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Links:

The IB English Guys YouTube Channel