May 2009 extended essay reports
ENGLISH B
Overall grade boundaries
Grade: E D C B A
Mark range: 0-7 8 - 15 16 - 22 23 - 28 29 - 36
The range and suitability of the work submitted
The new criteria in many cases seem to have clarified many of the grey areas inherent in the
former guide. The subject matter this session covered a wide range of topics, yet Category 3
literary topics seemed the slightly more popular choice. Marks represented the full range from
excellent to elementary, though overall there were far fewer essays of “elementary standard”
than in past sessions. There are still, however, a fair number of inappropriate topics being
submitted, which severely limits mark awards. The academic register of the majority of essays
was generally quite appropriate. Nonetheless, there is still a tendency for candidates who
take on topics for which they are particularly enthusiastic to sometimes confuse their passion
and an informal personal style for academic rigour.
There were few pure Category 1 essays submitted. The most successful of these focused
purposefully on a particular language use like a comparison of rhetoric in a pair of speeches,
or an analysis of feminist language in teen magazines to give just two examples. Linguistic
studies on the whole could be better exploited.
Category 2 essays varied in quality often depending on how clearly these aligned with the
descriptions provided in the Extended essay Guide. Category 2a essays, though not
particularly popular, i.e. socio-cultural in nature with an impact on the language, tended to be
broad in approach and often lacked emphasis on the impact of the language. Surveys to
determine the nature of language use were rarely successful due to broad even irrelevant
question design and the lack of adequate socio-linguistic analysis. In this subject area some
candidates chose to study the impact of English on the candidate’s native language in various
ways. This is often a difficult approach to organize properly. The most successful of these
tended to be very focused on specific language elements and gave proper emphasis to the
impact of English rather than lapsing into a broad description of some loosely related aspects
of the native language.
The category that has been affected most by the changes in the new guide is perhaps
Category 2b, essays of a general cultural nature based on specific cultural artefacts. The
advantage of this approach is that it avoids topics that are too broad or that could apply to any
culture rather than focusing specifically these topics as seen in the English-speaking world.
This is often a problem with some subjects like advertising, or body image, or in a broader
cultural context like the effects of globalization or the fight against aids. Artefacts or cultural
icons may be thought of as symbols of the culture. An essay on advertising might target a
specific advertising campaign that in some way reflects the culture of a community. One
th
example was how images in early 20 century advertising of company X reflected the
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May 2009 extended essay reports Group 2 English B
mainstream racism of the time. Other artefacts might include films, TV programs, themes in
popular music, and documents such as laws or government policies, niche magazines, works
of art or other similar objects that symbolize some aspect of the culture. The most successful
essays in this category used specific objects purposefully to reflect some attitude or value
within the culture. Unfortunately, a number of essays remained too broad in approach without
focusing on a specific symbol or artefact.
In Category 3, many candidates choose classic or popular texts that have been written about
extensively (e.g. Romeo & Juliet, Pride and Prejudice, 1984, Catcher in the Rye), which in
itself is not a problem; however, these often had little fresh insight to add to the corpus of
knowledge on the work. Some candidates showed little awareness of current interpretations.
Though nearly all the literary topics were relevant and treated appropriate works, the weaker
essays tended towards plot or character description with not much in the way of focused
argument. Category 3 essays should concentrate on the literary analysis avoiding
bibliographic information or the feelings of the author as this becomes highly speculative and
misses the point of this category.
Candidate performance against each criterion
A: research question
The majority included the RQ appropriately in the introduction or early in the essay. Some
essays included several questions, or stated the question in the very broadest of terms. It is
important that a sharply focused RQ clearly fit one of the category descriptions (Extended
essay guide pages 39-43). It would be very useful for candidates to explicitly identify to which
category the RQ is related either on the title page, or within the introduction.
Proper treatment of film presented a problem. Film can be considered a cultural artefact
when the film(s) reveals a particular socio-cultural attitude or phenomenon. If the film is being
analyzed under Category 3, the film script or screenplay should be treated as any other
literary text.
B: introduction
A number of candidates successfully integrated the research question, pertinent background
for the question, and a sense of the significance of the subject under investigation. In some
cases, however, the introduction merely mirrored the abstract or explained the candidate’s
personal connection to the subject rather than presenting the academic context of the
investigation.
C: investigation
The best essays made good use of secondary sources to support their arguments. In literary
topics, the primary text remains central, but good essays showed awareness of conventional
thinking on the subject while the best challenged such thinking.
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May 2009 extended essay reports Group 2 English B
D: knowledge and understanding of the topic studied
Full marks were not the norm here. Candidates often quoted relevant information but did not
always develop their own thoughts sufficiently to show a thorough understanding of the
material.
E: reasoned argument
Poorly phrased RQ’s had difficulty achieving high marks in this criterion. Inclusion of
interesting but largely irrelevant information also lowered achievement. The best essays had
a clear sense of purpose in logically revealing the thesis of the investigation. In the case of
literature, merely narrating plot does not constitute an argument.
F: application of analytical and evaluative skills appropriate to the
subject
The highest marks were awarded to essays that integrated quotations from the primary texts
with appropriate context and explanation. Candidates should not adopt a style of leading with
a quote followed by a paraphrase instead of interpretation/analysis. Frequently very
interesting arguments lacked proper supportive evidence.
G: use of language appropriate to the subject
The general level of language use in the majority of essays was impressive. A few candidates
would do well to edit their work more carefully. Improvements could also be made in using
proper terminology for a given subject. Knowledge of appropriate literary terms, for example,
would be rewarded. Cultural topics, for example in the media or fine arts, also use specific
vocabulary common to the subject.
H: conclusion
This was an area of general weakness this session. Though many of the conclusions were at
least consistent with the information presented, too many essays merely restated the main
points without synthesis or further consideration.
I: formal presentation
Overall, the presentation of essays has improved steadily often containing headings and sub-
headings that improve organization. Nonetheless, there are a few persistent misconceptions
to address.
The Table of Contents should be an outline of the major sections, which match the section
titles within the essay. Merely listing “introduction, body, conclusion” is of no help whatever to
the reader and should be avoided.
Quotations should contain proper quotation marks and should be relevant to the point being
made. Excessive reliance on long tracks of text is not effective or desirable.
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May 2009 extended essay reports Group 2 English B
The Works Cited page (in bibliographic format) and reference formats must be consistent.
There are many sites to assist candidates and it is best to choose one style to use throughout
the essay. Also, candidates should only include materials that have been cited in the essay
on the Works Cited page. Other books that may have been consulted and influenced ideas
but are not cited should be acknowledged in the introduction.
J: abstract
This requirement is still not well understood; abstracts often included introductory material.
The best abstracts succinctly summarized the essay using the three relevant factors; the
research question, the scope or how the question was dealt with, and the conclusions
reached. The abstract should be placed after the title page. It is not part of the body and
need not be included in the TOC.
K: holistic judgment
Too many supervisors continue to leave the supervisor’s comment section of the coversheet
blank. This makes the application of criterion K far more subjective for examiners. Reference
to the essay process and significant outcomes of the viva voce would be useful as well.
Recommendations for the supervision of future candidates
Supervisors and candidates must review the assessment criteria together and consult
the OCC for pertinent documents such as the most recent subject report.
Consultation with librarians on preferred styles and sites to use for generating
bibliographies/works cited pages and footnotes or in text references is encouraged.
Supervisors also would do well to spend a good deal of time on the choice of RQ.
The supervisor should intervene early on especially if a candidate seems to be
headed toward a potentially poor or failing essay. The EE is an independent
investigation, but this does not mean the process is not without some close guidance.
Supervisors should encourage students to take fresh looks at classic or popular texts.
Better yet, encourage candidates to analyze less popular texts that give more room
for innovative approaches and more original interpretations.
The use of surveys as the main data source in language or culture topics does not
usually form the basis for an effective essay. Alternative sources of information
should also be used.
Though IB does not specify any one format, schools should choose a standard
format, for example, MLA or APA, to be used in all Group 2 essays.
Further comments
The new criteria often resulted in slightly higher marks for mediocre essays as examiners
went to great pains to mark each criterion on its own merits thus avoiding double penalties for
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May 2009 extended essay reports Group 2 English B
candidates. The overall achievement level this year was slightly higher than in previous
sessions. Generally, examiners seem to regard the new guidelines for the extended essay as
a welcome improvement that fairly assesses candidates’ efforts.
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