IOC Study Guide for IB English HL
What works will be included on the IOC? Othello Selected poems of Whitman and Hughes o Whitman . “Oh Captain! My Captain” . “I Hear America Singing” . “Cavalry Crossing a Ford” . “When I Heard the Learned Astronomer” . “Faces” . “To a Foil’d European Revolutionaire” . “France, the 18th year of These States” o Hughes . “Mother to Son” . “Harlem” . “Theme for English B” . “I, Too” . “As I Grew Older” . “Let America Be America Again” . “A Song to a Negro Wash-Woman” . “What I Think” . “Wait” . “How Thin a Blanket” . “Scottsboro” I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Shame
What will the extract be like? Length: 30 – 40 lines (give or take a few) o Lines will be numbered (5, 10, 15, etc.) No page numbers or book titles No author listed (you should know this) Will be accompanied by two guiding questions (GQ) o One GQ relates to content o One GQ relates to style o You are not required to answer the GQ, but they could be helpful
How long will I have for the IOC? Preparation time – 20 minutes o Mr. Bourke’s office o Read and annotate (10 minutes) o Create thesis and outline – use line numbers from extract to find your place (color code!) (10 minutes) Presentation time – 15 minutes o Office next to Mr. Bourke’s o You talk uninterrupted for 11 – 12 minutes o I ask follow-up questions for 2 – 4 minutes
How can I study? See the IOC handouts given throughout the course Use the study guides attached (sample on back) SAMPLE – this work will not be on your IOC
Fact Sheet for Part 2 Works Example – The Catcher in the Rye
Category Example From Text Name of Work The Catcher in the Rye Genre (autobiography, poetry, drama, novel) Novel Author J.D. Salinger Author’s dates and places of birth and death B: Jan. 1, 1919, Manhattan, NY D: n/a – lives as recluse in NH Publication Date 1951 Cultural/social/historical context post-war era, rebelling against tradition disillusioned with phoniness of society Salinger had PTSS after WWII Type of story Bildungsroman (coming of age story) Point of view/narrator First person point of view, Holden Caulfied is narrator Major symbols and what they may represent Red hunting hat – security blanket, escape, stand out Ducks on the pond – innocence
Major characters (brief description of each) Holden Caulfield - protagonist and narrator; teenager, searching for identity Allie Caulfield – Holden’s brother, died three years prior to story, had profound effect on Holden Phoebe Caulfield – Holden’s younger sister; ironic because she acts older and more mature Minor characters (brief description of each) James Castle – Holden’s acquaintance from another prep school; jumped out window after being tortured by more popular students Mr. Antolini – Was Holden’s teacher; took Holden in; Holden thought that he was inappropriate with him Stradlater – Holden’s roommate at Pencey (secret slob) – Holden jealous b/c he had a date with Jane Gallagher Ackley – Holden’s neighbor; annoyed Holden Jane Gallagher – Holden’s friend; he loved her; kept checkers in the back row; only person Holden was comfortable around (besides Allie and Phoebe) Sally Hayes – contrast to Jane – but Holden calls her instead Major conflict Holden is kicked out of prep school and is afraid to go home Man vs. self (Holden’s internal struggle against growing up) Man vs. society (Holden’s struggle against societal norms – he doesn’t want to do what is normally expected) Man vs. man (Holden’s issues with his parents; Holden vs. Stradlater, Maurice) Man vs. nature? Theme Loss of innocence Setting Pencey Prep, Pennsylvania Manhattan, NYC Techniques and their effects Colloquial language – makes it realistic Flashback – develops Holden’s character Dialogue – captures youth, makes it realistic, develops character Symbolism – develops theme (holding on to innocence) and character (insecurity) Religious allusions – explains parts of plot (Mr. Antolini as Joseph of Arimathea) Freytag’s pyramid Exposition – Holden in mental institution, flashes back to Pency Prep Inciting Incident – Holden runs away from school Rising Action – Mrs. Morrow on train Ducks on the pond Museum of Natural History Bars in NYC Maurice/Sunny Date with Sally Sees Phoebe Climax – Holden cries at carousel Falling Action – Holden decides to stay home Resolution – Holden is in hospital getting treatment; sounds like he’s ready to move on and face his problems Significant passages (reveal something about Ducks on the pond – p. 81 – 83 theme, turning point for plot or character, show Carousel – p. 210 meaning of title, author uses new technique to show change in tone, etc.) Fact Sheet for Part Two Works – Prose and Drama
Category Example From Text
Name of Work
Genre (autobiography, poetry, drama, novel) Author
Author’s dates and places of birth and death Publication Date
Cultural/social/historical context
Type of story
Point of view/narrator
Major symbols and what they may represent
Major characters (brief description of each)
Minor characters (brief description of each)
Major conflict
Theme
Setting Category Example From Text
Techniques and their effects
Freytag’s pyramid (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement)
Significant passages (reveal something about theme, turning point for plot or character, show meaning of title, author uses new technique to show change in tone, etc.) Fact Sheet for Part Two Works – Poetry
Category Example From Poem Name of poem and first line
Poet
Poet’s dates and places of birth and death Publication Date (if known)
Cultural/social/historical context
Speaker of poem (persona)
Theme (and how does poet develop it?)
Tone
Length
Structure (structured or free verse?)
Rhyme scheme
Sound effects
Figurative language
Major symbols and what they represent
Relationship to poet’s work as a whole
Consider also a line-by-line study (especially of those works you’re uncomfortable with): Line Paraphrase Elements of Style Effects or Functions