IB English

Core Concepts & Key Knowledge

Review each unit's essential frameworks before attempting the exam questions.

Unit 1 · Paper 1

Textual Analysis

Analysing unseen texts using literary & language tools. Focus on purpose, audience, and context.

Guiding concepts: identity, culture, creativity, communication
Four text types: literary, non-literary, mixed, multimodal
HL requires comparative analysis of two texts

Unit 2 · Paper 2

Literary Works in Context

Comparative essay on literary works studied in class, responding to a question from 4 options.

Must compare at least 2 works
Focus on theme, structure, technique, context
No annotations — essay written from memory

Unit 3 · Individual Oral

Language & Literature

Global issue explored through a literary extract and a body of work text.

10-min presentation + 5-min discussion
Global issue must be relevant, significant, transnational
Explicit textual evidence required

Unit 4 · HL Essay

Higher Level Essay

1,200–1,500 word formal essay on one literary work or body of work.

Must demonstrate independent line of inquiry
Focus on specific stylistic / structural feature
Not a summary — analytical argument required

Readers & Writers

Rhetorical Strategies

The tools writers use to construct meaning and influence readers.

Ethos, Pathos, Logos
Tone, diction, syntax, imagery
Irony, juxtaposition, allusion, anaphora

Time & Space

Context & Narrative

How setting, history, and socio-cultural context shape meaning in texts.

Historical context vs. contemporary relevance
Narrative perspective & reliability
Chronological vs. non-linear structure

★ Essential IB English Terminology to Memorise

AnaphoraRepetition of a word/phrase at the start of successive clauses. Effect: emphasis, rhythm, momentum.

JuxtapositionPlacing contrasting ideas side by side. Effect: highlights difference, creates irony or tension.

Free Indirect DiscourseNarrator adopts character's voice/perspective without quotation marks. Effect: intimacy, ambiguity.

PolyphonyMultiple distinct voices/perspectives within a single text. Effect: complexity, plural truth.

IntertextualityReference to another text within a text. Effect: adds layers of meaning, requires cultural literacy.

EpiphanyA sudden moment of insight or realization by a character. Effect: turning point, theme revelation.

SibilanceRepetition of /s/ sounds. Effect: can suggest softness, menace, or unease.

BathosSudden anti-climactic drop from the elevated to the trivial. Effect: humour, deflation, irony.

BildungsromanComing-of-age narrative genre. Effect: explores identity formation, societal initiation.

DiegesisThe narrative world of the story; diegetic elements exist within it.

Worked Example · Paper 1 Style

Read the following extract and identify the primary rhetorical device:

"We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."

— Winston Churchill, 1940

✓ Answer: Anaphora — repeated "we shall fight" builds momentum, collective resolve, and emotional intensity. The cumulative structure mirrors the breadth of resistance across multiple terrains, with the final clause ("never surrender") arriving as a decisive climax after the list.

Language & Literature · All Units