The benefits of keeping a journal – advice for Language and Literature students

January 8, 2020

In the new guide for self-taught students in literature, there are three properties defining what a global issue is: It has significance on a wide or large scale It is transnational Its impact is felt in everyday, local contexts Keep a journal as you read and watch...

A cocktail party of literary theories

October 21, 2019

If you met Aristotle at a party he might inquire if you live the golden mean. This moralist theory is useful to consider characterisation, themes and reader response. Reader-response theorists believe texts need to have a reader before it can mean anything. They will...

I think therefore I can analyse?

August 28, 2019

The top three most asked questions of your English teachers: How many quotations should I use per paragraph? What’s the best structure for a comparative essay? What are the markers looking for in a conclusion? Well, the bad news is there are no definitive answers (we...

Being human: how the drama genre means everything

August 2, 2019

“Meanwhile I want to go on talking to you as freely and intimately about what we live for and die for as if I knew you better than anyone else whom you know.” English teachers want to open your eyes to what it means to be human and so do playwrights....

There is no true meaning to a text

May 13, 2019

How to approach the challenge of analysis In Language and Literature you will most probably be presented with texts that are from other cultures and time periods to your own. In Northern Australia the Tiwi people identify this with one word, Ngaruwanajirra, which...

Paper 2: Choosing your questions and texts wisely

May 1, 2019

As an IB examiner for Paper 2 I often read very eloquent and promising responses that are hindered by poor question and/or text choices. Here’s some tips to avoid this. The questions The actual questions change every year, there are, however, certain aspects of a text...