Last-Minute IB English Exam Guide: How to Approach Paper 1, Master Paper 2, and Avoid Costly Mistakes

It’s exam season, and IB English has a way of making even the most prepared students second-guess themselves. Oftentimes, the languages are pushed aside during this time, as more ‘content-heavy’ subjects such as Biology, Psychology, History and Economics take priority. This is understandable, but if you’re aiming for a 7, it’s not something you can afford to ignore.

The good news is, even if you have yet to approach how to revise and prepare for IB English exams, it is not too late. This guide will help you actualise a clear, effective plan, along with a realistic 3-day cram study guide to prepare for both Paper 1 and Paper 2. 

Paper 1: How to Actually Improve (Lang&Lit vs. Literature) 

Paper 1 can appear daunting in that you do not know how to prepare for a text you haven’t seen, but this is precisely the problem. Here is how to do well on Paper 1: 

Firstly, and this is for Lang&Lit students, understand the text’s medium. Each medium calls for a different approach to take, and examiners will notice this.

• Advertisement: your response is based on analysing persuasion. Look for the headline, slogan, the ‘hook’ that draws the reader in, the colour scheme, and the layout; all of these are done with intent. Your response should be analysing its effect. 

• Speech: Remember, speeches are intended to be spoken. Search for rhetorical devices (repetition, rhythm and persuasion) and talk about their effect on the audience. 

• Comic: Though this can be tricky, just look at past papers. Comics follow a sequence of events, talk about them (beginning, middle and end) and the story that is created. Comics are deliberately chosen to tackle large themes in a comedic, satirical way. How do visuals help accentuate the theme?

• Article: What reality is this article framing, chances are it’s going to be biased to one side of a given argument. This will be given in the introduction, setting the angle – so look out for this. What statistics, facts or quotes are used to persuade the audience to believe the article is credible?  

• Blog: a personal forum. Unlike articles, blogs aim to feel authentic and relatable, using first and second person with an informal structure. What does this accomplish for the reader? 

Next, this applies to both Lang&Lit and Literature students, the focal point is on analysing literary devices and techniques. Analysing how setting, narration (first, second, third limited versus third-person omniscient, etc.), and structure contribute to the overall theme. For literature students, you are limited to receiving a drama text, a piece of prose or a poem. Recall how you went about analysing these texts in class, and focus on these points for each respective type of text:

• Poetry: tends to focus on themes and big ideas relating to identity, time, memory, loss, nature, nostalgia, etc. It is then the structure, sound devices (your best friend for poems, as remembered poems are meant to be spoken), imagery, symbolism and tone that emphasise the given theme. 

• Drama: focus on dialogue, and the relationship between this and stage direction. Oftentimes, there are starkly different characters; compare and contrast them – what their motives are in the scene, what they are trying to achieve.  

• Prose: think about how you, as the reader, are being guided through the story. Narrative voice is always good to focus on – think about the effect of use of first, second or third person, the description of the setting, characterisation.

Likely, you have covered a large spectrum of these and have pocketed some. It would be smart to write down a list of what you know and what they typically do from your class discussions. For literature students, something my own teacher told me was that poetry tends to follow.

In all instances, it is important to understand a) what the text is about, the theme and b) in what way literary devices, and the text medium help emphasise or make the theme ‘shine’. And another note – look at the guiding question. They are optional, yes, however, it is likely that they will inform you of the theme of the text, or what your response should at the very least be touching upon.

Paper 2: How to Do Well (Patterns trump Memory) 

If treated right, Paper 2 is where you can gain serious marks if you approach it correctly. Exams are about recognising patterns, not predicting exact questions. You’ll get four unseen questions, but they’re entirely randomised… or are they? Oftentimes, at least one of the questions will revolve around one of these points:

1. Power

2. Identity 

3. Conflict

4. Gender 

See below, and the cram guide for how to effectively revise for this paper. 

Personal Strategy (How I Got a 7)

I got a 7 in Paper 2 because I focused on patterns rather than trying to guess the exact question.

In the days leading up to the exam, I worked closely with my IB Literature teacher (you have access to experts—use them). Even the night before, I prepared a response comparing power dynamics between characters, which is a very common theme.

I focused on two characters:

• Juliet from Romeo and Juliet

• Hang from Paradise of the Blind

Both deal with power imbalances in very different contexts.

Then came the day of the exam, and there was a question on:

“Referring to two works you have studied, discuss how female heroism is represented by the writers.”

Thankfully, as I had already explored power and character dynamics, I was able to adapt my response to this question. 

This goes to show that you don’t need the exact question. You need flexible ideas. As a personal recommendation, I suggest you prepare a response on power dynamics, more importantly, imbalances; oftentimes, there will be a question somewhat touching on this. 

3-Day Cram Study Guide (What to Prioritise)

First things first, if you have not read everything, it’s not the end of the world. Prioritise the text you actually understand best; however, it is important to stay away from texts you explored in your IO and, for HL students, your HL essay. Though there is no explicit rule, IB does not want you to reuse the same arguments you used in these other assessments, and chances are you will. So, best stay away from them, and zoom in on having 2-3 texts pocketed for the exam.

Here is a 3-day brief guide to follow if you have not started: 

Day 1: Consolidate feedback from your mock exams.

What feedback did your teacher give you? Keep this in mind on things to avoid doing when going about writing your Paper 1. Find a past paper online, write Paper 1 and send it off to your teacher or tutor. 

Day 2: Paper 2 ‘Vision Board Mapping’ 

This is an approach I crafted to prepare for my paper. Here is how to do it step-by-step: 

1. Pick 2 texts 

2. Create a comparison table (colour-coding helps)

3. Start by comparing:
   - Similarities
   - Differences 

4. Then, turn these into themes, such as how each text goes about portraying:
   - personal fulfilment
   - strong female characters
   - irony
   - symbolism
   - conflicting values
   Note: these are what I focused on for my table. Make sure to choose your own for the texts you chose. 

5. These themes become your paragraph ideas.

Make some time here to review any feedback from your paper 1 response, and also go through the corrections you made when looking at the markscheme. This ensures you keep recall, firstly, what you didn’t notice your first time around writing your response, but also what reinforces what the examiners are looking for. 

Day 3: Writing a Paper 2 response

Find a prompt from a past paper, and go about writing a response. Send this to your professor, tutor or someone and see what feedback they give.

If you have the time, try to repeat what you did on Day 1, and write another response to a different past paper for Paper 1. 

Day of exam:

Review feedback on responses you wrote, notes on literary devices, and a comparison table for Paper 2. 

Final Note 

By now, you should effectively know how to use PEEAL, PEEL, or PEE paragraphs (whichever abbreviation works best for you). This guide will ensure you go from your predicted 5 or 6 to a 7, so long as you follow each step carefully. It, of course, helps to do multiple past papers, memorise multiple texts – but the fact of the matter is, this can appear unrealistic when you are just days away from taking the exam. The key to this is understanding precisely what examiners are looking for. Combining this with confidence that you feel prepared, you become an unstoppable force.

At Kokusaba, we offer tutoring support, with experienced tutors tailored specifically to IB English Language & Literature and Literature, helping students refine their analysis and approach exams with confidence. Contact us to learn more!