Paper 1:
Guided Literary Analysis
Literary Commentary
Session 3
Goals, Process, Assessment:
 Goal: Students show how they, as readers, have
made their own meaning from a previously unseen
text; they are required to analyse a passage and
produce an interpretation supported by an evaluation
of the writer’s choice of language, technique and
style. HL students construct a literary commentary.
 Process: practice during two-year course.
 Assessment: externally assessed, according to
different sets of criteria at SL and HL. A combined
mark out of 20, based on four criteria.
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Assessment details
 Task: compare the assessment details for SL and HL,
referring to pages 36 and 44 of the Literature Guide.
 How are students at SL and HL assessed differently?
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SL & HL: response to an unseen passage
 Students choose either poetry or prose
 SL write for 1.5 hrs; HL write for 2 hrs
 SL are given two guiding questions
 HL are not given guiding questions
 SL write a “guided literary analysis”
 HL write a “literary commentary”
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SL and HL
 Weighting: 20%
 Paper 1 consists of two previously unseen passages;
students write a literary commentary on one of these
passages. One passage will be poetry; the other will
be taken from works such as:
•
•
•
•
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A novel or short story
An essay
A biography
A journalist piece of writing of literary merit
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SL and HL
 The passages for analysis may be either a complete
piece of writing or an extract from a longer piece, and
wherever possible they will not have been written by
authors listed on the PLA nor be taken from works
likely to have been studied in class
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Standard Level: Guided Literary Analysis
 Examination: 1 hr 30 minutes
 Two guiding questions are provided: one on
understanding and interpretation, and the other on
style. Students are required to respond to both
questions in their commentary. Students may also
respond to other aspects of the text (see p. 29,
Guide).
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SL sample material
 Poem: “Ballad of Birmingham”
 Which of the “writer’s choices” – of language,
structure, technique and style – would you hope or
expect the student to explore in response to the
questions?
 What other questions might you recommend for this
passage?
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Higher Level: Literary Commentary
 Examination: 2 hours
 The term “literary commentary” is used to refer to a
close reading of a passage that is presented in the
form of an essay. Students need to explore aspects
such as content, technique, style, structure, theme
and language and they are assessed on their ability
to:
• Demonstrate understanding of thought and feeling in the
passage through interpretation that is supported by detailed
reference to the passage
• Analyse and appreciate how the passage achieves its effects
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Applying the assessment criteria
 Task: read the HL student sample on pages 62-65 of
your workbook, and give the script a mark out of 20.
 Moderation in pairs / groups
 What marks might this script be rewarded if assessed
by the SL criteria?
 If this were a SL exam, what two guiding questions
might you anticipate? Formulate two guiding
questions, using the guidelines on page 29 of the
Guide.
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