Reviewing P2 response

• Engels
• Further Education (Key Stage 5)

Goals for today 

Tips and tricks for paper 2 

What to prepare for your summative 

Generating ideas from Paper 2 questions 

Example compare and contrast idea generation 

Example response 

Planning sheet for paper 2 - prepare a plan for a question 

AWL words 

acquire 

affect   

comment        

consequent 

deduce 

distinct 

evaluate 

                     

focus

maintain

strategy 

Write these down

Each time your use one of these words in speaking and in writing you can tick it off the list. 

AWL words 

approach                              indicate

occur                                          require

significant                                  similar

complex                                    

appropriate

feature 

impact

perceive 

relevant

Write these down

Each time your use one of these words in speaking and in writing you can tick it off the list. 

Key tips for paper 2 

1. Answer the question (in every paragraph)
   
2. Show understanding of the works with detailed references
   
3. Show understanding of author choices and their effects
   
4. Compare and contrast

Know these elements for your texts  

Author's background (significant biographical details)	context (all contexts) and setting	Narrative point of view
Plot review	Narrative structure	characters
conflicts	Themes, topics or concepts	symbols and motifs
notable stylistic choices for these authors	significant events or quotations from the works	Text type and genre

Referring to two works you have studied compare and contrast the ways in which they show the main character overcoming limitation.

Similarities A Doll's House & The Things They Carried	Differences
Conflict/struggle protagonist with the expectations of their society (wife and motherhood & expectations of being a soldier and going to war)	Struggle some (possible) hope of future change/understanding = Nora O'Brien shows that the telling of the story is necessary to live with trauma
Both protagonists are physically separated from the support of society.	Struggle against misogyny and sexism/ struggle against society's understanding of the experiences of war/ struggle to overcome and live with trauma.
Both novels are reflections of the social and cultural struggles in the countries in the time they portray - historical context. ( USA in a foreign war, Victorian period struggle of women to find autonomy)	genre differences. Limitation and opportunities of the genres.
	chronology/time restraints vs non-linear narrative
	Dramatic dialogue vs third-person omniscient & first-person

Referring to two works you have studied compare and contrast the ways in which they show the main character overcoming limitation.

Limitations A Doll's House	Limitations The Handmaid's Tale
Society based on patriarchal lines	Society based on patriarchal lines
Gender discrimination	Gender discrimination
Financial constraints	Theocracy
Legal constraints	Forbidden to read or write
Middle-class expectations	Restricted roles
Reputation	Surveillance and fear
Victorian society (realistic)	Dystopian imagined setting

A Doll's House 

The Things they Carried 

Overcoming A Doll's House	Overcoming The Handmaid's Tale
Organising an illegal loan to save her husband	Internal rebellion - thoughts rather than actions
Recognition of the necessity to develop her own identity	Reading and playing scrabble with the commander
Recognition of her husband's role in restricting her	Relationship with Nick
Realisation of her position in society	Contact with 'Mayday' (not an active member)
Leaving her husband and family to develop an independent identity
Small acts of rebellion - macaroons, secret copying work	Small acts of rebellion - dried flower, cigarette, stealing butter
Outcome unclear	Outcome unclear

Techniques A Doll's House	Techniques The Handmaid's Tale
Be explicit about genre - specifics for drama - realism (features)	Be explicit about genres - postmodern (features)
Structure - Acts - time - chronology - Christmas Eve, Christmas Day - Boxing Day	Headings for groups of chapters - Night, Shopping etc - link to historical notes
Dramatic dialogue	Stream of consciousness, free indirect discourse
Symbols & motifs (embedded)	Symbols & motifs
Stage & speech direction	First-person POV
(character) Conflict - foil, antagonist	(character) Conflict - foil, antagonist
Stereotypes of characters	Similes, metaphors & imagery

Components of an introduction paper 2

1. Hook where you explore the TOPIC of the question  

2. Identify the two works and authors being used. Identify date of publication/ first performance and the original language. Remember to underline the titles of novels, memoirs or plays (quotation marks for titles of poems)

3. Brief summary of both works keeping an eye on the topic.

4. Use the wording of the question

5. Acknowledge the similarities and the differences

6. Make an argument and state the 'insightful idea' that you have using a clear comparative thesis statement.

Check that all these components were in your introduction. 

Linguistic and stylistic technique  

Chronological sequence

non-linear sequence  

(Themes)

motifs 

Symbolism & symbols 

narrative perspective 

point of view 

Setting 

Descriptive language 

second person narrative

first person narrative 

character perspectives 

fourth wall 

breaking norms of a play 

 

Thesis statements ​What should it contain? ​

How long should it be? ​

• The thesis statement is the announcement of your analytical argument that you intend to make and prove in the duration of your paper. It is a road map for the paper—it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper. ​
• It should be placed somewhere in the Introduction of your paper—Many like to put it as the last sentence(s) of their Intro which is fine. ​
  
• Successful thesis statements provoke thought and should read beautifully. ​
  
• Your thesis statement should include two parts: WHAT and WHY. ​
  
• WHAT: What claim are you making about the text? ​
  
• WHY: Why should we care? Why is your claim important? Your thesis should answer the “so what?” question. ​It should also contain a "roadmap"for your argumentation. 
• A thesis statement is usually, but can be more than, one sentence long. ​

Thesis statement 

A good thesis statement offers a clear direction for your paper. It should: 

1. Identify the two works and authors being used (these may have been done earlier in the introduction) 

2. Use the wording of the question

3. Acknowledge the similarities and differences

4. Make an argument and share an insightful idea 

5. Use evaluative language 

Colour coding body paragraph

1. A clear topic sentence with the wording of the question and an insightful idea/rich idea. 

2. Clear textual references or evidence If quotations, they are embedded into your sentences.

3. Labelling of literary, dramatic or stylistic features and a discussion of their effects. 

4. Discussion of the author/audience(reader) relationship. 

4. Context.

5. Comparative language. 

Look at the example colour coded essay from the IB Guys. The grading is on the back, but don't read it until you have read the response.

Give feedback BPs 

1. You will receive a body paragraph from a peer. 
   
2. Read the question they responded to.
   
3. Read their thesis statement. 
   
4. Colour code one body paragraph. 
5. What was missing? 
   
6. Give a WWW and EBI 
7.  Do not grade the work
   

How do two of the works you have studied portray the struggle to be understood

Similarities	Differences
Conflict/struggle protagonist with the expectations of their society (wife and motherhood & expectations of being a soldier and going to war)	Struggle some (possible) hope of future change/understanding = Nora O'Brien shows that the telling of the story is necessary to live with trauma
Both protagonists are physically separated from the support of society.	Struggle against misogyny and sexism/ struggle against society's understanding of the experiences of war/ struggle to overcome and live with trauma.
Both novels are reflections of the social and cultural struggles in the countries in the time they portray - historical context. ( USA in a foreign war, Victorian period struggle of women to find autonomy)	genre differences. Limitation and opportunities of the genres.
	chronology/time restraints vs non-linear narrative
	Dramatic dialogue vs third-person omniscient & first-person

A Doll's House 

The Things they Carried 

Areas to prepare study notes 

1. context- all kinds 

2. characters - characterisation, types, interaction 

3. symbols and motifs 

4. plot structure - chronology, flashback, forward etc 

5. setting 

6. narrative voice / POV 

7. Tension and conflict 

8. Themes and topics of concern 

Symbols and motifs 

1. Make three columns and write in each the symbols and/or motifs used in each novel. 

2. Make connections between these symbols/motifs. 

3. Find events, quotes, representations that are either similar or different. 

Integrating textual reference & author/audience relationship  

1. As the passage begins, (author) employs [technique] ...

2. In line ___, (author) uses [technique]...

3. To further emphasize ___, (author) utilizes [technique]...

4. To heighten___, (author) uses [technique]...

5. Even more..., (author) chooses [technique]...

6. Through [technique], the author...

7. Accordingly, the audience understands that...

8. As a result, the audience concludes that...

9. Consequently, the audience realizes that...

10. As a consequence, the audience perceives that... 

Discussing the implications 

1. This phrase implies that...

2. Although not explicitly stated, the reader can imply that...

3. The author suggests that...

4. While not stated explicitly, the author hints that...

5. The implications are clear: ( ...) .

6. The reader can deduce that...

7. Readers can infer that...

8. Readers can conclude that...

9. The audience can reason that...

10 While not overtly stated, the reader can infer that...

Goals for today 

Example compare and contrast idea generation 

Example thesis construction 

Planning sheet for paper 2 - prepare a thesis statement for a question 

Macbeth 

Rate the word 1 to 4

1. I do not know the word, and I have never seen it before. 

2. I've heard or seen the word before, but I'm not sure what it means. 

3. I know the word and can recognise and understand it while reading, but I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it in writing or speech. 

4. I know the word well and can use it correctly in writing or speech. 

Melancholic 

Word of the day

Melancholic (adj) - expressing feelings of sadness

Are there character(s) or events that we have met in our literary explorations that you could describe as melancholic ? 

she becomes quite melancholic when she reflects on all the lost opportunities of her life

Paper 2 prompt 

Compare and contrast how and to what effect authors use literature as a microcosm of society with reference to two works you have studied. 

Breaking down the question

Compare and contrast	Finding similarities and differences
How and to what effect	Author choices and the purpose or message
Microcosm	a tiny world. Using literature as an allegory or symbolic for the larger society

A Doll's House - microcosm of Victorian - late 19th Century Western Europe

Patriarchal society	Nora, Torvald, Christine Linde,Krogstad, Dr Rank
Judicial restrictions	Loan, women could not borrow money without their husbands signature - Nora
societal restrictions	inheritance - characteristics , the sins of the fathers. Origin of The Species - 1859
Women's position and complicity	Nora, Christine Linde, Anne-Marie (Nurse)

1984 - microcosm post 2nd world war Britain (1940-1948) 

Threat of totalitarianism	Ingsoc, Neo-Bolshevism, Obliteration of the Self
The Cold War - Western Block, Eastern Block, Third Word	Eastasia, Eurasia, Oceania, Airstrip One
Cult of personality /scapegoating	Emmanuel Goldstein, Big Brother,
Rationing	Razorblades, gin, chocolate ration
Sexual repression	Anti-sex league
Effects of war on the working classes	Proles representation, woman singing, pub
Censorship, The BBC	Ministry of Truth, diary, photo of Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford

How and to what effect: 1984

How	Effect
Third Person limited Narration	limited to the paranoia of Winston's experiences, inner world, empathy, psychological pressure
Dialogue and Characterisation	Supporting characters are flat and represent ideas rather than psychologically rounded figures.
Symbolism	Telescreens - control
Disrupting the narrative - The Brotherhood manifesto	Polemic regarding the nature of of political control
Imagery	The Golden Country - imagined freedom, reclaiming identity

How and to what effect: A Doll's House 

How	Effect
Dramatic dialogue	Illustrates the roles played within the patriarchal society.
Dramatic irony	Illustrates the social and political criticism
Symbolism	the wish for identity and communication
Stage and speech directions	Focus of the playwright
Arc of the play - acts, chronology of time	Rises tension, exposes the speed in which Nora comes to realisation through crisis .
Characterisation - costume & props	Identity and stereotyping that the characters represent

Topics 

• nature of the control differs
  
• experience a growing awareness of their oppression
  
• attempt to break free from societal control
  
• using personal narratives to expose broader mechanisms of control
  

Thesis statement - the start  

Both A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen and 1984 by George Orwell represent society through their characters and conflicts. While Ibsen criticizes gender roles, Orwell critiques political oppression.

Thesis statement emphasising similarities 

While A Doll's House and Nineteen Eighty-Four use very different means to depict a microcosm of their respective societies, both Ibsen and Orwell create these "mini-worlds" to sharply criticise oppression and inequalities; additionally, to demonstrate the cost of conformity and the illusion of freedom.

Thesis statement emphasising differences 

Although both Henrik Ibsen, in his drama A Doll's House, and George Orwell in his novel,  Nineteen Eighty-Four,  create microcosms to sharply criticise oppression and inequalities and also demonstrate the cost of conformity and the illusion of freedom, they use drastically different means to create these “mini-worlds” as a result of the chosen genre and complexities of their works.

Thesis statement - two sentences 

Both Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Orwell’s 1984 serve as microcosms of society, exposing the mechanisms of control considering control through domestic expectations or authoritarian rule. While Ibsen critiques 19th-century gender norms through Nora’s realization of societal constraints, Orwell extends this idea to a dystopian extreme, illustrating how absolute power suppresses individual autonomy. By portraying their protagonists’ struggles against oppressive structures, both authors reveal how societal norms shape personal identity, ultimately demonstrating the cost of conformity and the illusion of freedom.

Planning sheet - 20 mins 

Download the planning sheet in MB => paper 2 => planning sheet paper 2 

Fill in your sheet for your two titles using the following prompt. Use your AWL vocabulary. Brainstorm and construct your thesis statement. 

 

In two works you have studied, examine how the specific is used as a means of understanding the universal.  

With reference to two works studied, explore how and to what effect writers portray characters constrained by social expectations.  

With reference to two works studied, explore how and to what effect writers portray characters constrained by social expectations. 

similarities Social expectations A Doll's House & The Visit	Differences social expectations A Doll's House & The Visit
Both plays depict rigid societal norms that dictate behaviour and identity.
Patriarchal norms and gender roles confine Nora to the role of obedient wife and mother. - behaviour and identity	The expectations are domestic and gender-based, rooted in family and marriage.
Expectations of loyalty and morality constrain the townspeople initially, forcing them to uphold a façade of virtue .	Expectations collective and economic , tied to communal survival and greed .

Characters constrained by social expectations A Doll's House	Characters constrained by social expectations The Visit	Similarities
Nora conforms initially playing the role dictated by social constraints. Later she rejects this.	Ill and the townspeople reject Claire's offer and choose initially to take the morally correct stance of protecting Ill; however, greed and survival corrupt their morality.	Both characterise the protagonist as initially conforming to the constraints of their society.
Nora rejects the social constraints and chooses individuality and liberation .	Ill’s accepts death as inevitable, reflecting societal corruption rather than personal emancipation.
Economic : Nora’s forgery stems from financial dependence on Torvald - social constraint - private impact	Economic : Claire’s wealth manipulates the town’s moral compass. Public force corrupting an entire community	Both show money as control; scale differs between private and domestic and public and community wide.
Nora gains moral power ; liberation.	Claire wields material power ; vengeance	Both empower women ; motives differ (idealistic vs destructive).
Critiques hypocrisy of marriage and morality	Exposes the fragility of justice under capitalism.	Both question integrity of societal values.
Outcome unclear - hopeful?	Outcome unclear - bleak, cynical?

Techniques A Doll's House	Techniques The Visit
Be explicit about genre - specifics for drama - realism (features) - social & political commentary	Be explicit about genres - specifics for drama - Postmodern tragicomedy, satire absurdism, social & political commentary
Structure - 3 Acts - time - chronology - Christmas Eve, Christmas Day - Boxing Day	Structure - 3 Acts - chronology - longer periods of time
Dramatic dialogue	Dramatic dialogue
Symbols & motifs (embedded)	Symbols & motifs (explicit) exaggeration
Stage & speech direction	Stage & speech direction
(character) Conflict - foil, antagonist	(character) Conflict - foil, antagonist
Stereotypes of characters	Allegory, chorus (Greek tragedy), allegorical characters

 In two works you have studied, examine how the specific is used as a means of understanding the universal.  

Thesis statement 

Both Ibsen and Orwell depict societies that impose rigid structures of control over individuals, though the nature of this control differs—while A Doll’s House reveals the suffocating expectations of gender roles in a patriarchal society, 1984 portrays an extreme form of totalitarian surveillance that strips individuals of independent thought.

Thesis statement 

Despite existing within vastly different societal structures, both Nora and Winston experience a growing awareness of their oppression, leading them to question the illusions they once accepted as truth.

Thesis statement 

In the world that the author has created, both Nora and Winston attempt to break free from societal control. However, their fates underscore the dangers of challenging dominant power structures—one achieves escape, while the other is utterly consumed by the system.

Paper 2 thesis 

Because of the contrasting genres and degree of complexity of their works, there exist significant  differences in the techniques used in The God of Small Things and Death and the Maiden to depict a microcosm of their respective societies. However, Arundhati Roy and Ariel Dorfman create these mini-worlds to sharply criticise oppression and inequalities and also to give a voice to the voiceless victims. 

Source: The IB Guys