Getting a 7 in IB English: How to Structure an Essay

I always thought of myself as more of a maths and science student. So during the IB, I considered english my weakest subject. However, when I got my results English was my highest scoring subject with a perfect score in my exam.

How did I do this? I devised a very structured way of achieving a high 7 - the perfect approach for a maths/science student to master english.

Firstly, if you are not currently where you want to be for English just remember that improvement is going to be like an exponential function.

It will take a while to see progress and it will be very slow initially, then once it clicks, you just keep getting better.

So let’s jump straight in.

What are we assessed on:

1. Understanding the literal meaning

2. Analysis and evaluation

3. Structure and organisation

4. Language

In order to be able to do all of that we need to build our foundations:

1. Literary techniques and what words to use when analysing them

2. Good vocabulary

3. Common purposes who see in texts

4. Develop a structure you can use for all your essays

5. Learn how to analyse

So, how do we actually structure our literary analysis essay?

Introduction:

[Author]’s [text type] from [source], recounts/depicts [literal meaning e.g. the narrator encountering a boar in the midst of a forest]. Through [Idea of paragraph 1], [idea of paragraph 2] and [idea of paragraph 3] [Author] establishes/draws some conclusions about/meditates upon [guiding question]. Ultimately, [broader purpose/thesis e.g. exploring the nature of the human condition].

The most important part here is is when we write out our idea of paragraph 1, 2 and 3.

• During this, they must show a link from step 1 to step 2 to step 3.

• They should not be 3 separate ideas put together.

This is our line of argument and our essay should stay closely tied to it throughout.

Paragraphs

Firstly, Topic Sentences:

The topic sentence should link to the overall purpose we mentioned in our introduction and especially for the first paragraph, make sure to link it to the guiding question.

How to start off a topic sentence?

• Anything but: In the first/second/third paragraph,

• From the outset,

• Subverting,

• Building upon,

• Expanding upon,

• Juxtaposing X against …

In this way, we can link the topic sentence to the previous paragraph as well.

The Actual Paragraph:

Generally 3 paragraphs works well, but 2 and 4 are also fine.

Paragraphs can be organised based on ideas, chronologically or literary devices. Or best of all, a combination of them

• Personally, I generally mix chronological (so the first paragraph is about the first part of the text and the second paragraph about the second part of the text etc.) with ideas as they are often well matched.

This makes the essay seem very structured and organised. If it works, feel free to mix all three as well - just be careful not to overcomplicate it trying to force a connection.

Mention a variety of literary techniques in the paragraph and analyse them well.

Structure of a paragraph and how to analyse will be covered in a separate post so stay tuned.

Conclusion

Keep this short (2-3 sentences if fine).

We are not just summarising our essay so far, we are adding a bit more to leave the reader thinking. So, end with a strong interpretation (Criterion A)

• Something that shows a more universal/deeper meaning that is linked to our purpose

• E.g. Thus, the author illuminates the importance of looking beyond oneself and recognising the immensity of nature in comparison to mankind in order to liberate ourselves.