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IB Language A: Literature Year 2
Course Syllabus 2018-2019
IB Required Readings
External Assessment: Paper 2 Essay (based on two (2) works from this section - 2 hours), 25% of IB Grade
Part 2: Detailed Study (Fiction, Drama, Poetry)
- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
- The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Fences by August Wilson
- Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
- A Collection of Poems by various poets (see below)
Supplemental Texts and Videos
Throughout the year we will also explore the following supplemental texts to further boost our understanding of literature:
- Various short stories by various authors*
- Goldilocks and the Three Bears by the British Council*
- Why Some of Us Don't Have One True Calling by Emilie Wapnick*
- The Danger of the Single Story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie*
Excerpts will be provided
Short Stories and Excerpts
- Everyday Use by Alice Walker
- Just Walk on By: Black Men in Public Space by Brent Staples
- A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen
- The Things They Carried by Tim O'brien
- A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner
- The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin
- Where is the Voice Coming From by Eudora Welty
Excerpts will be provided
Poetry Excerpts
- A Poison Tree by William Blake
- Respiration by Mos Def
- Mike Check by Suheir Hammad
- The Negro Speaks of Rivers, Harlem Sweeties, Mother to Son by Langston Hughes
- Son to Mother by Maya Angelou
- If These Walls Could Talk by Kendrick Lamar
- The Day is Done by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- The Harlem Dancer by Claude McKay
- Making a Fist by Naomi Shihab Nye
- On the Subway by Sharon Olds
- An Anthem by Sonia Sanchez
- Sonnet 73 by William Shakespeare
- White Man'z World by Tupac Shakur
- Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley
- We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks
- Sunflower Sonnet Number Two by June Jordan
- Formation by Beyonce
- Out, Out by Robert Frost
- Ego Trippin', Love Is, Choices, Life Cycles, When I Die by Nikki Giovanni
- A Barred Owl by Richard Wilbur
- The History Teacher by Billy Collins
- Youth's Progress by John Updike
- Sonnet #5 by Seamus Heaney
- Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson
- American Hero by Essex Hemphill
- Ogun by E. K. Braithwaite
*Excerpts will be provided
Assignments
- Reading Assignments
- Reading checks
- Reading reflections
- Dialectical Journals
- Discussion Logs
- Annotations and Color-markings
- Short Answer Responses and Essay Writings
- Projects after required readings (visual essays, commentaries, oral presentations)
- Small quizzes (vocabulary, literary and poetic devices)
- Major tests for each unit to prepare for an IB assessment
- Class participation (discussions, seminars, study groups, etc.)
- Mixed Ink
There is no mid-term or final exam requirement. Grades for IB are distinct from and are not based on General Ed English IV assessments, and are considered separately for the purposes of the IB diploma.
Assessments

Students will have three (3) External Assessments and two (2) Internal Assessments at the end of the course in Year 2. However, one of the External Assessments, the Written Assignment, will be completed during Year 1, the junior year. It must also be accompanied with a Reflective Statement. Please see below a detailed description of each.
Written Assignment (External) (from Year 1): A reflective statement and a literary essay. You will have a choice between one of the works studied in Part 1. The literary essay should be 1500 words and the Reflective Statement, 300 words. (25%)
EXAM: Paper 1: Literary Commentary (External): A literary commentary on an unseen text provided by the IB. You will have a choice between a poem or a prose excerpt (literary fiction or nonfiction), using the works studied in Part 2. You will have two hours to write this commentary. (20%)
EXAM: Paper 2 Essay (External): An essay response to one of three questions provided by the IB about Genre, using at least two of the works you studied in Part 3. You will have two hours to write this essay. (25%)
The Individual Oral Commentary (Internal): A 10-minute formal oral commentary on one randomly-selected poem (8 minutes from you alone, with 2 minutes of questions from me), followed by a 10-minute conversation with me on one of the other works of literature in Part Two (internally assessed by me, externally moderated by the IB). (15%)
The Individual Oral Presentation (Internal): The IOP is a 10-15 presentation that must be based on one or more of the books that you’ve been reading in Part 4: Options. In relation to these texts, you are meant to explore a particular topic of your choice. Your IOP topic can be based on any aspect of the work. (15%)
EXAM: Paper 1: Literary Commentary (External): A literary commentary on an unseen text provided by the IB. You will have a choice between a poem or a prose excerpt (literary fiction or nonfiction), using the works studied in Part 2. You will have two hours to write this commentary. (20%)
EXAM: Paper 2 Essay (External): An essay response to one of three questions provided by the IB about Genre, using at least two of the works you studied in Part 3. You will have two hours to write this essay. (25%)
The Individual Oral Commentary (Internal): A 10-minute formal oral commentary on one randomly-selected poem (8 minutes from you alone, with 2 minutes of questions from me), followed by a 10-minute conversation with me on one of the other works of literature in Part Two (internally assessed by me, externally moderated by the IB). (15%)
The Individual Oral Presentation (Internal): The IOP is a 10-15 presentation that must be based on one or more of the books that you’ve been reading in Part 4: Options. In relation to these texts, you are meant to explore a particular topic of your choice. Your IOP topic can be based on any aspect of the work. (15%)