The basic facts on the IB Written Assignment in English Literary Analysis and Works in Translation: The basic facts on the IB Written Assignment in English

Description of the WA A formal, typed, MLA format essay 1200-1500 words in length Focuses on a literary aspect of one of the three works in translation we have read this year Represents original work plus some research using academic resources NOT sites like Shmoop or SparkNotes Is narrow in focus and uses the text for support NEVER uses I, you or slang

The Rubric has 5 parts A. The Reflective Statement—scored on a scale of 0-3 points B. Knowledge and understanding—have you shown a true understanding of the work from a literary point of view? Have you included appropriate details and/or quotations from the text to support your assertions? Have you offered an insight into the work instead of just retelling the story? On a scale of 0-6

The remaining points: C. Appreciation of the writer’s choices: Have you examined the literary devices or techniques used by the author and connected those devices to effects or meanings in the work? Have you shown your appreciation of the way in which the author uses metaphors, symbols, structure, imagery, diction and other literary devices to achieve a definite purpose in the text? On a scale of 0-6

Rubric points D & E D. Organization and Development: Have you organized your writing in a logical and effective way? Have you worked the quotation or relevant details from the text smoothly into your writing? Do your quotations from the text help your argument? On a scale of 0-5 E. Language: Have you used formal language, appropriate to this kind of assignment? Do you use the correct literary terms in your discussion? Have you avoided repetition? On a scale of 0-5. The max score is 25

Picking your topic Your topic (the book you will write about and the specific aspect of the book) is drawn from the Supervised Writings you have done for these texts. You will pick one of the SWs, extract one aspect of the prompt for the SW, and propose a way to expand and improve your analysis You will submit your choice to me for approval

What to do once your topic is approved: First, brainstorm everything you know about your idea; look back at your reflective statement and IO notes Second, reread the relevant parts of the text, taking notes and annotating again, with the topic in mind Third, formulate a thesis statement that expresses what you intend to show, analyze, argue and prove in the essay

Once you have steps 1-3, THEN: Fourth, write an outline using your notes from reading to support your points. At this time if you feel like you need more help, you can do some limited research, but you must cite your sources both in-text and on a works cited page. Fifth, write a draft. It should be typed so you can see the length and include all notes/citations. You will cite the original text on a works cited page. Your draft is due in class on June 2

To help you: We will have 5 class days (all A days; not including the SW & exam to read/write. There can be writer’s workshops after school for students if you want some help (1:1 or small group) Check my wiki for research you can do online for writing literary analysis I cannot edit your paper, but I can check for plagiarism, and I will indicate such and explain how you need to fix it.

Written assignment calendar May 12—SW / the start—picking a book/topic May 15/16—research/read May 17/18—thesis/outline May 19/22(4A exam)—Write the essay May 23/24—Writing the essay May 25(2B Exam)/26—Writing the essay May 30/31(2A Exam)—Peer editing June 2—Final tweaks/turn in essay