Chinese A subject report · November 2009

November 2009 extended essay reports Page 1 © International Baccalaureate Organization 2009 CHINESE A1 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 Overall, candidates demonstrated a clear understanding of the task and a great deal of care in t reating their respective topics. As a result, the majority of them carried out a sharply focused study, and some really excellent pieces were produced. The common strengths of these studies were the candidates' understanding of the work/topic and their pre sentation of their arguments in an academic way . The areas that had caused problems to some candidates in the past prevented a number of weaker candidates from gaining a good mark for their essays this session too . The type and nature of the problems shall be explained in more detail later on in the report. One of them, which is worth mentioning here, was again the choice of the research question, as this is the reflection of candidates' intellectual capability in general and insight into the issue of their personal investigation. Candidate performance against each criterion As always, a thorough perusing of the official regulations and the set of criteria contained in the Guide, both by the supervisor and the candidate , lays the solid basis for the latter' s success in completing his/her research. This session is no exception. As mentioned above, the candidates were normally clear ly aware of the task and handled their studies in accordance to the specific demand as described in each criterion. Yet, the marks scored were widely ranged, with a few essays being awarded almost the highest marks possible and some others judged as mediocre. A: research question This is the most crucial aspect of the exercise, and the majority of the candidates performed well on this criterion . The questions were appropriate both in terms of the nature and the scope, as well as in terms of the literary aspect of t he work concerned and specified. This generally enabled the candidates to give an efficient treatment within the length p ermitted. Some candidates,