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IB English A: Language and Literature Paper 1

Commentary Advice

Timothy Hoffmann
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Many students, both HL and SL, come to Elite IB for assistance with Paper 1, the
unseen aspect of the IB Language and Literature course. This blog aims to address
some of the most common concerns and to provide students with a highly useful
method to write the ideal commentary.
(https://www.eliteib.co.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/books-1.jpg)

Standard Level

The biggest difference between SL and HL is that you only have to write a
commentary on a single piece at Standard Level. The IB selects a diverse range of
sources for Paper 1 extracts so the key here is flexibility. This adaptability is
something you can acquire by doing lots of practice on different types of text, going
above and beyond the mocks you do with your teacher.

It is very important to appreciate the IB’s assessment criteria when thinking about
how to structure your commentary. These are broken down below.

Criterion A – Understanding and Interpretation

The IB are looking for an excellent overall appreciation of the text: its main message,
the central purpose of the author, as well as an understanding of its basic features.
You should aim to show this at the very beginning of your commentary, and this
should be the first thing you are trying to understand about the text when you read it
for the first time.

Criterion B – Appreciation of the Writer’s Choices

Throughout your commentary, you should bear this criterion in mind. Try not to stray
too far into the broad themes of the passage because the examiners are always
looking for a focus on the linguistic features of the text, and the exact techniques by
which the author is conveying their overall meaning.

Criterion C – Organization and Development

You should avoid a line-by-line approach to your commentary: instead organise your
paragraphs around specific themes and features of the text.

Criterion D – Language

Write in a formal fashion, using as much precise vocabulary as possible. Avoid slang
and make sure you quote frequently from the passage – around three times each
paragraph.

How to write a commentary in 14 steps

1. When you open the paper, look at each of the extracts and decide which text
you will focus on. You should aim to practice various different types (articles,
adverts, travel writing etc.) so you are comfortable with them, but it is
natural for students to have a preference. Pick the text with the most
substance you feel you can comment on in an intelligent manner. Spend a
 maximum of 5 minutes making this decision.
2. Give an initial reading of your chosen passage and try to identify its overall
message. Helpful questions you can ask yourself at this stage are: What is
the essence of the text? What meaning is the author trying to convey? What
is the central emotional resonance? What can you infer about the context?
3. Spend some time thinking about this, and then formulate a thesis statement:
a single sentence that states very clearly your exact impression of the text.
Think of this as the what section of your commentary.
4. Go over the text, this time asking yourself the question: how is the author
accomplishing this aim? This should not be an attempt to spot features
randomly, but considering how language has been used to fulfil the essential
meaning of the text. Annotate thoroughly, scouring the text for as many
different linguistic devices that serve your thesis statement as you can.
5. After about five minutes of close reading, you should hopefully have found
three or four major linguistic areas. Select three quotations from each of
these areas and organise them under headings, trying to add adjectives
before them to make your points more specific: e.g. sensationalist language,
use of juxtaposing quotations and erratic structure.
6. Now you are ready to begin your plan. Write your full thesis statement. For
example: ‘throughout the article the author performs a subtle piece of satire
that ridicules the current US President comprehensively, and this is achieved
through the use of dark humour, effective linguistic motifs and a simple
structure.’ The thesis statement should combine your overall impression of
the passage with a precise indication of the three main linguistic areas you
are going to focus on.
7. Now plan each of your three paragraphs. Ideally you will select three
quotations, one from the beginning, middle and end of your text,
demonstrating an appreciation for the device across the passage and noting
any differences or developments.For each quotation, write a few words in
your plan that will prompt you to analyse the language of the quotation
directly. Overall this will mean around nine quotations, each of which you
will analyse in turn throughout your commentary.
8. Try and find good linking sentences between these paragraphs as you plan
them, rather than beginning each paragraph with ‘Another aspect of the text
is…;’ Using good conjoining sentences will make your commentary seem
more than the sum of its parts and help you fulfil Criterion C.
9. Once you have completed this for all your paragraphs, you are ready to start
writing! You should spend around 30 minutes on your plan: this may seem
like a lot but it will mean that when you come to writing the commentary you
 will be able to do so much more fluently and will save yourself time.
10. Begin the commentary with some brief context about the passage, no more
than a few sentences. After that should be your thesis statement, which
should be stated in a precise and clear manner. Then outline the three main
areas you will be focusing on, indicating the approach you will take,
remembering to include precise adjectives.
11. Next, go into your first paragraph. Think of each paragraph as being a mini-
essay. Just as the introduction serves as the basis from which the rest of your
essay is expanded, each paragraph should unfold neatly from its opening
sentence. Therefore each of your quotations should merely be illustrations of
the point you make in your opening sentence. Make sure you analyse the
specific language of each quotation, remembering each time to connect
those thoughts to the message of your thesis statement.
12. In between each paragraph, try to use as many connecting sentences as
possible. If, for example, the sarcastic tone of an article is conveyed through
its structure, use this as the bridge between those two paragraphs.
13. As you progress through the commentary, remember to quote frequently
from the text. Keep the quotations short so you can go into lots of details
about the techniques being used.
14. Your conclusion, much like your introduction, should not be very long.
Hopefully the process of writing the commentary has prompted you to think
something in addition to your original thesis statement. Perhaps there is
greater subtlety you wish to add at this stage. Make one additional comment
on the text overall and then recap the main areas you have written about. End
with a direct reference to your original thesis statement.

The more you practice, the more you will feel able to write four or five paragraphs in
your commentary. This is absolutely fine, and the same method suggested here can
also be used.

Higher Level

This is a great chance to display your skills in comparison and contrast, something
you will be familiar with from other parts of the IB.

Assessment Criteria

The main difference with the HL criteria is Criterion A:

Understanding and comparison of the texts

Level 5 – ‘There is excellent understanding of the texts, their context and purpose,
and the similarities and differences between them; comments are fully supported by
well-chosen references to the texts.’

A lot of the method for planning and structuring the commentary at HL is similar to
the SL method, so what follows is some useful advice on how to Compare and
Contrast.

1. Always organise your paragraphs around particular themes and features of

the text.
2. Focus on the points of similarity in these themes within each paragraph, and
then move on to discussing the differences. You should avoid writing a
commentary that deals entirely with one passage and then another, since the
IB are looking for a coherent structure that can synthesises both passages
into a single effective commentary.
3. In your paragraphs, remember always to directly analyse any language that
you quote. This should involve some comment on the way in which the
author’s language is shaping their meaning, and also the effects on the
reader.
4. You should always use the guiding questions that the IB gives as part of the
Paper 1 question, but be sure to be more precise than this when you are
structuring your essay. In your introduction, it can be tempting to follow the
guiding questions broadly and write something like, ‘and this is achieved
through the use of tone’ but this is actually rather imprecise and not what the
examiners are looking for. It is absolutely fine to use these prompts in your
commentary, but always be sure to specify the way in which this feature has
been used rather than just a generic reference. Therefore, rephrase it in your
introduction by saying, for example, that you will discuss the use of ‘sardonic

tone’.
 5. Try to infer as much about the context as possible: the date of the
publication, the information in the passage, your own knowledge about what
is being discussed. Use this to inform your ideas about who the readership of
the text might be, and therefore the effects that certain techniques might
have on these readers.
6. Finally, remember to keep quoting directly from both texts. Avoid going off
into broad comparisons between ideas in both texts, and remember to keep
your commentary grounded in the language that is being used, and the
relationship that has to the overall meaning of the text.

For both HL and SL, your commentary is going to be a thread of individual points. For
each of these, you should always make sure to make your point, provide a quotation
and then give some linguistic analysis.

The best chance you can have of success in this subject is to do multiple full practice
commentaries, and also many more practice plans. Beyond that, Elite IB are happy to
offer you flexible and effective tuition to bring your skills in Paper 1 up to a very high
level.

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