IB Diploma Programme
English Language
& Literature
Official Exam-Style Practice — All Units
20 Questions 45 Minutes SL & HL Paper 1 & 2 Style
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📚 Concept Review & Key Terms

Tap each unit to review concepts, memorisation points, and example questions before attempting the test.

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Unit A — Reading Literary Texts
Q1–4 ▼
Narrator & Point of View
First-person (I), second-person (you), third-person limited/omniscient; affects reader access to character's inner world.
Tone vs. Mood
Tone = author/narrator's attitude. Mood = emotion the reader feels. Both shaped by diction and imagery.
Dramatic Irony
Audience knows something the character does not; creates tension or pathos.
Symbolism
Object/person represents an abstract idea (e.g., green light = Gatsby's dream/American ideal).
Foil Character
A character whose contrasting traits highlight the protagonist's qualities.
Stream of Consciousness
Narrative technique reflecting continuous unfiltered thought (e.g., Woolf, Joyce).
⚡ Must Memorise
  • Alliteration
  • Assonance
  • Enjambment
  • Caesura
  • Free verse
  • Iambic pentameter
  • Anaphora
  • Volta
  • In medias res
  • Hubris
📝 Exam-Style Example
"The green light pulsed across the dark water, steady as a heartbeat."
Q: The green light most likely functions as a symbol of —
✓ Answer: C — Gatsby's longing for an unattainable dream/future (IB expects textual evidence + literary term)
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Unit B — Non-Literary & Media Texts
Q5–8 ▼
Rhetorical Appeals
Ethos (credibility), Pathos (emotion), Logos (logic/evidence) — the Aristotelian triad used in persuasion.
Register
Degree of formality in language: formal, neutral, colloquial, intimate. Varies by audience and context.
Connotation
Emotional or cultural associations of a word beyond its literal meaning (e.g., "home" vs. "house").
Visual/Multimodal
How images, layout, colour, typography and white space interact with text to create meaning.
Bias & Framing
Selective use of language, sources, or perspective to favour a particular viewpoint.
Purpose & Audience
Why a text was created (PIGTAG: Persuade, Inform, Grieve, Thank, Advise, Greet) and who it targets.
⚡ Must Memorise
  • Ethos
  • Pathos
  • Logos
  • Hedging
  • Euphemism
  • Imperative
  • Second-person address
  • Statistics as logos
📝 Exam-Style Example
"Studies show 9 out of 10 doctors recommend this supplement for heart health."
Q: The phrase primarily uses which rhetorical appeal?
✓ Answer: Logos + Ethos — statistics (logos) attributed to medical authority (ethos)
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Unit C — Language, Identity & Power
Q9–12 ▼
Dialect & Sociolect
Dialect: regional language variation. Sociolect: language used by a social group (e.g., teenagers, professionals).
Code-switching
Alternating between languages or registers depending on social context or audience.
Hegemony
Dominance of one group's language/values over another; often naturalised so it seems neutral.
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
Language shapes (or limits) thought — the words available to us influence how we perceive the world.
Appropriation vs. Appreciation
Appropriation: adopting elements of another culture without understanding/permission. Appreciation: respectful engagement.
Neologism
A newly coined word or expression (e.g., "selfie", "gaslighting") reflecting cultural change.
⚡ Must Memorise
  • Idiolect
  • Standard variety
  • Stigmatised variety
  • Language ecology
  • Glottophobia
  • Lingua franca
  • Diglossia
  • Taboo language
📝 Exam-Style Example
A bilingual speaker uses English with colleagues but switches to Cantonese at home.
Q: This behaviour is best described as —
✓ Answer: Code-switching — conscious shift of linguistic register based on social context
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Unit D — Paper 2 Comparative Essay
Q13–16 ▼
Thesis Statement
A precise, arguable claim that directly responds to the prompt and signals the essay's analytical direction.
Parallel Structure
Organising comparison so that both texts are addressed in each paragraph (integrated comparison).
Transference
Carrying the same literary concept from Text A to Text B to sharpen comparison (e.g., both use silence symbolically).
Global Issue
IB concept: a broad concern (e.g., power, identity, memory) that connects texts to the wider world.
Authorial Choices
Deliberate decisions in form, structure, style, and language that shape meaning and reader response.
Counter-argument
Acknowledging an opposing view then refuting it to strengthen your own argument.
⚡ Must Memorise — Paper 2 Criteria
  • Criterion A: Knowledge & Understanding
  • Criterion B: Response to the question
  • Criterion C: Language & Style
  • Criterion D: Organisation & Development
📝 Exam-Style Example
A student compares how two authors use silence to convey power imbalances.
Q: For highest marks, the comparison should be —
✓ Answer: Integrated — both texts discussed within each analytical paragraph, linked by the same concept
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Unit E — Individual Oral & HL Essay
Q17–20 ▼
Individual Oral (IO)
15-minute assessed presentation (10 min + 5 min discussion) linking a global issue to one literary and one non-literary text.
Extract Choice
IO extract should be 40 lines of prose or 20 lines of poetry; chosen for density of relevant language features.
HL Essay
1,200–1,500 word formal essay on one work studied in Part 3; marked externally using criteria A–D.
Global Issue Link
Must show how the global issue is reflected in the text through specific authorial choices — not just stated.
Intertextuality
When a text references, alludes to, or is shaped by another text; enriches meaning through dialogue between works.
Metalanguage
Language used to describe language itself (e.g., "the author uses analepsis to…") — expected in IB responses.
⚡ Must Memorise — IO Global Issue Categories
  • Culture, Identity & Community
  • Beliefs, Values & Education
  • Politics, Power & Justice
  • Art, Creativity & Expression
  • Science, Technology & Environment
📝 Exam-Style Example
A student links "the female body as a political site" across Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and a news article about reproductive rights legislation.
Q: Which global issue area does this best represent?
✓ Answer: Politics, Power & Justice — bodily autonomy as a political power struggle