A powerpoint guiding students through the IB English written commentary. Original content by Brent Rohol of Sprucecreek HS. Current design by Michelle Alspaugh, Mt. Vernon HS. Photos taken from www.flikr.com

2. IB Assessments… where the commentary is

5. “ To give a reading of a work which increases the audience’s understanding of it.”

6. Concerns / Motivations of: Character, Narrator, Speaker The and emotion through the passage

8. Stating the obvious…

9. patterns, voice/tone, imagery, argument

10. Mention author’s name to introduce each idea Mention “ the reader” often

17. Concentrate on the way in which a character is presented or a scene is set or an image is developed

18. An integration of: interpretation of the content discussion of the technique Assessment of the effects achieved

19. The ideal commentary treats literary techniques as inseparable from meaning (with a focus on how the features develop meaning)

20. Stronger candidates stated a kind of overview of what the piece was about, and then set about showing how this was achieved.

23. Always Tie Technique with Meaning

25. Metaphor Resist the urge to simply list what you see.

26. Strike a balance between literal reading and over- interpretation .

28. DO NOT turn commentaries into lengthy, personal, pseudo-philosophical musings on the themes raised by the passages.

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