IB English Paper 2 Practice Questions from Released Tests
Prose- The Novel and Short Story Questions (Paper 2)
1. Compare the ways in which writers of two or three novels or short stories in your study have sought to
make their portrayal of characters and/or situations credible. (M04)
2. With close reference to two or three novels or short stories in your study, compare the ways in which
writers have used narrative strategies and with what effect. (M04)
3. Often in a fictional work the writer increases interest by accelerating the pace and intensity
of events. How effectively has this or other aspects of the pace of a work been used by at least two writers
you have studied? (N10)
4. Being single or being married are conditions that have often played a role in shaping the lives of
fictional characters. In at least two works you have studied, discuss the ways in which writers
have used such material to develop their narratives. (N10)
5. In what ways and for what reasons do the works of prose fiction you have studied seek to represent
thought or interior consciousness? In your answer you should refer to at least two of the works you have
studied. (M11)
6. “Fiction is an essentially rhetorical art – that is to say the novelist or short-story writer persuades us to
share a certain view of the world for the duration of the reading experience.” To what extent do you agree
with this statement? In your answer you should refer to at least two of the works in your study. (M11)
7. “The art of the storyteller is to hold the attention of the reader.” With reference to two or three
works you have studied, discuss ways in which the writers have employed techniques that hold
your attention.(M07)
8. Literature is often about crossing boundaries, both physically and mentally. In what ways,
and to what extent, does the crossing of boundaries contribute to two or three works you have
studied? (M07)
9. Stories within stories are likely to add an intriguing dimension to narratives. In at least two works
you have studied show how writers have used embedded narratives to enrich their novels and/or
short stories. (N09)
10. Important moments in narrative often have dramatic or even theatrical elements. Show to what extent
at least two writers in your study have enhanced significant moments by giving them such qualities.
(N09)
11. “Where other people exist genuine individuality is never possible.” To what extent does this
statement reflect the experiences of the central characters and the problems encountered by them
in at least two works of prose fiction you have read? (M10)
14. Discuss the ways in which at least two writers you have studied have sought to undermine or
interfere with the “voices” of their characters in order to persuade, manipulate or instruct their
audience. (M10)
15. Using the fiction you have studied, discuss the degree to which the writers have offered
a strong image of the social setting, and estimate the importance a sense of social
context has for the effect of the work. (N01)
16. “There is a school of fiction which objects to the passing of moral judgment on anything
or anybody.”
In the fiction you have studied, what evidence have you discovered that would lead you
to either agree or disagree with the approach of this “school”, and how would you
compare the effects of either strategy? (N01)
17. Women’s concerns and perceptions of reality are often different enough from men’s to provide
interesting material for fiction. Discuss the ways at least two writers in your study have made
effective use of such potential differences to create interesting and effective narratives. (N07)
18. In the telling of a story, flashbacks, reversals and digressions can add richer dimensions
to events. Explore in depth no more than three instances of any of these techniques,
showing how they have enhanced at least two works you have studied. (N07)
19. Compare the ways in which writers of two or three novels or short stories in your study have sought to
make their portrayal of characters and/or situations credible. (M04)
20. With close reference to two or three novels or short stories in your study, compare the ways in which
writers have used narrative strategies and with what effect. (M04)
21. Prose works (other than novels and short stories) might be thought to have a higher
claim for truth telling as against invention. Discuss two or three such works that
you have studied, showing how they draw attention to the claims they seem to make for
.truth.. In each case, how has your own perception of .truth. affected your reading? (M02)
22 .Writing is an art, and no art can be practised without imagination.
Discuss two or three prose works (other than novels and short stories) which you have
studied, as works of imagination that in some ways stimulated your own imagination.
Say what specific qualities in the works produced this effect. (M02)
23. Acquiring material wealth or rejecting its attractions has often been the base upon which writers
have developed interesting plots. Compare the ways the writers of two or three works you have
studied have developed such motivations. (N05)
24. “Make them laugh, make them cry, make them wait.”
Focusing on one of these demands for the writing of fiction, show how it emerges as a significant
factor in creating interest in two or three works you have studied. (N05)
25. “I believe plot is necessary, although I believe it would be possible to write a work of
fiction without it.”
Including your own definition of plot, consider the relative importance and impact of
plot on works in your study in light of the above quotation. (N03)
26. Work and professions are one defining element for characters in fiction just as they are
for people in real life. Compare how writers in your study have used one or more of the following to
provide depth and interest to characters in their novels or short stories: work, professions, work
environments. (N03)
27. “The real purpose of fiction is to give pleasure by satisfying the reader’s love of the uncommon
in human experience… but the uncommonness must be in the events, not in the characters.”
Discuss how far this ‘recipe’ for fiction – combining unusual events with recognisable
characters – is relevant to two or three works you have studied. (N06)
28. Evaluate the effectiveness of devices used to represent internal states of mind in two or three
works of fiction you have studied. (N06)
29. Compare uses and/or abuses of power as a theme in novels or short stories you have
read. Say what this theme and its presentation contributes to each work you discuss. (M01)
30. Say what the titles of some individual works you have studied indicated to you at the
outset. In what ways were your first impressions reinforced or altered as you read and
explored each work? (M01)
31. Acquiring material wealth or rejecting its attractions has often been the base upon which writers
have developed interesting plots. Compare the ways the writers of two or three works you have
studied have developed such motivations. (N05)
32. “Make them laugh, make them cry, make them wait.”
Focusing on one of these demands for the writing of fiction, show how it emerges as a significant
factor in creating interest in two or three works you have studied. (N05)
33. Discuss the ways in which at least two novels or short stories you have studied demonstrate
that the search for identity can be a conscious or an unconcious process. (M08)
34. “Defiance becomes our duty in the face of injustice.” Referring to at least two works you
have studied, explore the ways in which the writers have attempted to persuade us to accept or
challenge this view. (M08)
35. “The past is forever in the present.” How does the use of narrative techniques, in at least two
of the works you have studied, demonstrate whether or not this statement is valid? (M08)
36. Justify, with close reference to at least two of the texts you have studied, your judgment as to
whether their endings are fitting in the light of what has gone before. (M08)
General Questions on Literature (Paper 2)
1. In what ways does the concept of “freedom of choice” inform your reading in any two or three works
you have studied?
2. To read work which was produced in a culture other than your own has difficulties, but cultural
different between audience and text may be productive. How far do you agree?
3. Literature admits conflicts between good and good as well as between good and evil. Which two or
three works would you choose to discuss to illustrate this generalization, and why might both types of
conflict be important?
4. To what extent have you found it possible, in your consideration of literary works, to separate the
individual from his or her public role? In your answer you should refer to any two or three works you
have studied.
5. “Fact versus fantasy”; this is a clash that can have comic or tragic results.” Bearing this statement in
mind, explore the results of using realism and fantasy in any two or three works you have studied.
6. Compare how writers in your study have explored the themes of judgment and punishment, or disguise
and deceit, or love and friendship, and with what effect.
7. Compare the subject matter and style of two or three works you have read, which highlight regional
locality, saying in each case what is gained by this local focus.
8. “Art is on the side of the oppressed.” Evaluate the means by which two or three works in your study
either confirm or raise questions about the validity of this assertion.
9. “Works of literature are often layered, and may require close attention to discover their depth and
complexity.” With respect to two or three of the works you have studied, show how valid this view is.
10. “A writer conveys not only experiences but a whole world in which these are possible.” With respect
to 2 or 3 works you have studied, discuss whether the author has created a coherent, imagined “world.”
11. “Why won’t writers allow children to simply be children?” Discuss the presentation and significance
of children, or the state of childhood, in at least 2 works you have studied in the light of this complaint.
12. It is said that writers are the conscience of the world. In what ways have at least 2 of the works you
have studied encouraged you to appreciate or question this assertion?
13. “Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.” Discuss at least 2 works you have studied in light of this
statement, and say how far you would agree with it.
14. “Although doubt is not a pleasant condition, certainty is an absurd one.” In the light of this
statement, explore the impressions of doubt and/or certainty conveyed in at least 2 works you have
studied.
15. “Some writers succeed in hypnotizing the reader; others compel the reader to think.” Compare and
contrast 2 or 3 works of literature in your study in the light of this statement.
16. “In literature, the concept of ‘home’ is often used to locate the thoughts, memories, and dreams of
humankind.” In the light of this quotation, explore the ways in which “home” is used in any 2 or 3 works
of literature you have studied.
17. Compare the ways in which writers have explored the relationship between experience and
understanding. Refer in detail to any 2 or 3 works of lit. in your study.
18. Consider the use made of musical elements in any 2 or 3 works of lit. you have studied.
19. “Realism is as contrived a way of writing as any of the methods of writing against it is defined.” With
specific references to 2 or 3 works you have read, say how far you would agree with this proposition.
20. Compare the subject matter and style of 2 or 3 works you have read, which highlight regional
locality, saying in each case what is gained by this local focus.
21. “Reading against the grain is a phrase often used to describe reading that identifies but refuses to
accept unspoken or implicit assumptions that lie deep within texts.” In what ways could you read 2 or 3
texts ‘against the grain’ and with what validity?
22. “Some works of literature are universal and timeless; others seem specific to one place and/or time.”
In what ways do 2 or 3 works in your study explore this range of possibilities?
23. A writer speaks of being “surprised by joy.” In 2 or 3 works you have studied, discuss some
moments which have surprised and/or delighted you and consider the ways writers have achieved those
particular effects.
24. Using 2 or 3 of the works you have studied, discuss how and to what effect writers have used
exaggeration as a literary device.
25. Writers make many deliberate choices in the course of creating their works. Considering one or two
stylistic aspects, compare the effectiveness of some choices writers have made in two or three works you
have studied.
26. Using 2 or 3 works you have studied, discuss how and to what extent the writers have show the
pervasive influence of the past.
27. If one of the roles of literature is to provide insight into human nature, by what techniques and to
what degree did your texts offer you such insight? Discuss with reference to 2 or 3 works you have
studied.
28. A writer may speak in his or her own voice or take on the voice of a character or persona.
Comparing 2 or 3 works you have studied in the light of this statement, discuss what effects those choices
have on each work as a whole.
29. “In the end is my beginning.” This is a statement made by an author to describe how he organizes his
works. What do you understand by the sentence, and how does it cast light on the literary strategies
employed in 2 or 3 works you have studied.
30. Some writers present a world view that is pessimistic and disorderly, while others present a world of
hope and possibility. How, and to what extent, do your writers reflect these views in 2 or 3 works you
have studied?
31. “It is the role of literature to challenge and confront the conventional values of a society.” In what
ways, and to what extent, have conventional values been challenged in 2 or 3 works you have studied?
32. “Memory feeds imagination.” To what effect has memory been used in 2 or 3 works you have
studied?
33. “It is impossible for literature to be completely objective.” How, and to what extent, does this
statement apply to 2 or 3 works you have studied?
34. Great literary themes involving love, death, survival, and the like have sometimes been treated in
ways that are unique or are unexpected. Discuss how any of the works you have studied demonstrate this
phenomenon.
35. “A writer without a keen sense of justice and injustice would be better off editing a school yearbook.”
To what degree is such a sense of human behavior important to works you studied?
36. “Mirror or X-Ray or lamp?” Which of these terms do you think best describes the way writers in your
study have represented the world? In each case examine how this effect is achieved, using 2 or 3 works
you have studied.
37. In what ways and to what effect have writers in your study made it possible for you to choose more
than one interpretation of their works? Use 2 or 3 works you have studied in your answer.
38. “Some authors prefer to write about ‘the real world’, while others prefer to be unhindered by the
restrictions of reality.” Discussing 2 or 3 works, show how the writer’s preference helps convey the ideas
of the works.