English B subject report · May 2010

May 2010 extended essay reports Page 1 © International Baccalaureate Organization 2010 ENGLISH B This is a supplementary report following the May 2010 session and should be read in conjunction with the May 2009 extended essay report. 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 Marks this session represented the full range from excellent to elementary with a healthy percentage of essays achieving excellent or good and demonstrating solid knowledge of the investigative process. Nonetheless, candidates continue to submit a good num ber of inappropriate topics or topics with a poor approach or development that severely limits the awarding of high marks in a number of criteria. This seems to indicate less than satisfactory guidance in the early stages of the essay process. Far too oft en the less successful essays took the form of a descriptive report rather than an investigation that allows for development of an argument. Many essays were not well suited to any of the prescribed categories, which indicates a need for greater familiarit y of the basic criteria laid out in the Extended Essay Guide. Essays that were clearly framed within a category often exhibited a more successful focused approach to the RQ. Category 3 literary topics appeared noticeably mo re often than Category 1 and 2 topics. There were many strong essays treated a large variety of novels and plays appropriately. Many of the most successful essays focused on the development of one or more characters within one work or compared characters or themes in two works of a simila r nature. Weaker essays dealt superficially with plot or character description with not much in the way of focused argument. Film or television programs presented a challenge when submitted as Category 3 essays unless the screenplay or script becomes the p rimary source for analysis. Comparing a novel with its film version nearly always proved less than successful. Category 2b, essays of a general cultural nature, were popular though problematic in that many failed to focus on the required “artefact” to