English A1 WLA titles

[~Lc~]

Hey guys,

basically I was looking back at my WLA and the criteria before, and still don't understand why it got the grade it got. However when I asked my teacher she told me "it's probably because of your topic being cliche" she is still waiting for the examiner's report, so I will verify if that is the reason or not.

So post your WLA titles on here, not because I'm redoing it or anything, so that others might havea better understanding of what a "6" or "7" essay title is like... mine was:

"The role authority in Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba and Anouilh’s Antigone. To what extent can authorities be described as tyrants?" which received a 5, after about 9 drafts of it 5 of which I rewrote from scratch

[Ruan Chun Xian]

I got a bloody 5 (or even 4, can't remember exactly) for this title:

An analysis of the concept of a tragic hero with specific reference to Oedipus in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex and Meursault in Albert Camus’ The Outsider.

Of course, it may not be the title at all. It was probably the essay itself. I hated it (both the title and the essay) by the time I handed it in. I could think of a million things wrong with it. Like the fact I was trying to prove a quite obvious point that had little counter-argument. It definitely wasn't the best essay I've ever written or even close, maybe partly because we started WL in IB1 and I hardly rewrote any of it, only minor editting.

[Caitlin]

I'm pretty sure they don't base the mark on the title of the essay.

I won't tell you my title, because I'm not giving any information away over the internet at all until it's all handed in and graded. Suffice to say, it's short and sweet, but I'm really hoping the essay will get a 7. I think my teacher will cry if I don't get a 7 for it.

[Bandev]

Well my title is nothing special, obvious and could be interpreted many way so I may as well say it and plus I handed it in for the last time today. mine is:

The use of the outsider in Hedda Gabler and Medea.

I think the essay is pretty good I am hoping for maybe 17/20, and my teacher said that it is "great" and she is tough to please so I am hopeful.

[BIO-AQUA]

Mine is "To What Extent Were Lorca and Ebsin Able to Criticize and Solve the Social Problems and Humanitarian Issues of their Societies in their Plays?" by referring to Lorca's Blood Wedding and Ebsin's Wild Duck.

[Bandev]

By "Ebsin" do you mean the one with the first name Henrik, because I though it was spelt "Ibsen"

[~Lc~]

By "Ebsin" do you mean the one with the first name Henrik, because I though it was spelt "Ibsen"

yea he probably does. He does Arabic A1 so he probably translated it incorrectly

and you guys seem to have misunderstood me. I didn't mean they marked me down for my title, I meant my title was discussed so many times, that it was not really anything new... so it maybe got the examiner uninterested! hence the whole getting marked down for the title thing

[Caitlin]

yea he probably does. He does Arabic A1 so he probably translated it incorrectly

and you guys seem to have misunderstood me. I didn't mean they marked me down for my title, I meant my title was discussed so many times, that it was not really anything new... so it maybe got the examiner uninterested! hence the whole getting marked down for the title thing

Yeah, I understand what you mean... your topic wasn't that common though. Sometimes I am puzzled by the IB's marks.

[Ruan Chun Xian]

It's got to do with the fact, I guess, that A1 marking can be extremely subjective. Same with history and to a certain extent, most Group 3 subjects. Not to go off topic or anything, my history teacher marked my IA quite high but then it got moderated down to the worst mark in the class, and I was the (no bragging, it's true) best history student in the class (SL and HL combined) and that left my teacher quite puzzled. Everyone got 7s on their IAs and I got a low 6, thus my pulling my final grade down. There's no clear right answer and the markscheme can only help to a certain extent. It still relies on the examiner's attitude etc a lot. Which is why I think it's more likely to get a successful remark with A1 or Group 3 subjects.

[Caitlin]

Yeah, it still seems strange to me though. I mean, isn't it fairly easy to tell the difference between a good essay and a bad one? Especially when you have criteria to follow. I put it down to bad moderators... you know, those people who shouldn't be allowed in a classroom, let alone near someone's final mark.

[Ruan Chun Xian]

I don't know. Maybe you could just be the unlucky one whose essay fell to the end when the examiner was fed of up marking essays and breezed through yours. I'm sure they try to be as objective as possible and put as much effort in the last essays as the first ones, but really, can they remain like that 100% when they themselves have marking deadlines? They maybe lucky and get a small school or be really unlucky and get a school with hundreds of kids. And I suppose it's quite strenous to mark hundreds of essays on a deadline.

But really if you follow the remark thread on TSR, there's been a few people moving up from a 5 to a 7 in English. Sheesh if I knew it was this likely, I'd probably had got a remark for mine as well, especially when I had to wait around for months for uni anyway. Ah but then you guys can learn from past experience, being the ones that come after.

Why are we awake at nearly 2 am discussing IB marking? Good thing I don't have classes tomorrow. Anyway, I'm still going to sleep now.

[basilmasri21]

yea he probably does. He does Arabic A1 so he probably translated it incorrectly

and you guys seem to have misunderstood me. I didn't mean they marked me down for my title, I meant my title was discussed so many times, that it was not really anything new... so it maybe got the examiner uninterested! hence the whole getting marked down for the title thing

Question, about the WL assignment 1 topics. If I write a certain appropriate topic, and hypothetically score really well, would I get marked down any just because it's repeated/cliche? I just got worried about that after seeing your remark about topics that aren't new.

[~Lc~]

Question, about the WL assignment 1 topics. If I write a certain appropriate topic, and hypothetically score really well, would I get marked down any just because it's repeated/cliche? I just got worried about that after seeing your remark about topics that aren't new.

have you read anything in the thread? seriously basil.. your question up there.. is what this thread is all about

and WLA are externally assessed.. so the only grade you get, is that of your examiner.. hence there is no "marking down" you can only get a predicted grade from your teacher

[Guest warrenf]

mine was "how do the authors illustrate the conservative traditions of their societies in their novels." it went alright and i suppose most of the marks came from the work that i did, not the title of the the topic

[winter]

Like Caitlin, I'm not going to say much about what I've done until the exams are flown away to ... somewhere.

I did my WL1 on Anna Karenina and Selected Stories by Chekov (only three of the stories though). I was comparing the way the peasants were presented in each. My teacher liked the essay, but we all know that this doesn't say much at all.

If you've also done the WL2, which essay did you find easier?

I found WL1 easier because there was less choice as to how and what I could write, and I'm wondering if I'm the only person with this view.

[Guest trotskyism]

Right now I'm working on the WL1, and my topic was about the infidelities in the two novels, how it was portrayed and to what purpose it brought to the plot of the story.

I've been switching title five times now which is part of the reason why my essay is taking much longer than it should.

[cixelsyD]

"Comparing the Morality of the Protagonists from the Novels 'The Outsider' and 'The Sorrow of War'"

Perhaps one of the most confusing essays I've ever written ><

[luami]

I'm doing serious editing on my WLAs. One is about relationships and finding belonging, but i doubt that'll be in depth enough

I don't really care if I get anything above a 5, that's all I need to get my credits for Eng. HL

[mymmlan]

I'm writing my World Lit A on A Doll's House and A Streetcar Named Desire. I'm comparing 'the function of the animal imagery used to describe the female characters'. It is a pity that my essay is in Swedish, otherwise I would have submitted it, because I think I will get good marks.... Or, at least my techer thinks so..

What is you topic? Do you need help to find a topic, or to get started with the writing?? Tell me - I'm the literature freak!

Edited September 18, 2007 by mymmlan

[mymmlan]

I think the main thing is just to try and make the title as specific as possible. To try to explore an aspect of the works which is as narrow as possible, without leaving you with too little material..

We've also studied The House of Bernarda Alba... Isn't it quite obvious that she (Bernarda) is a powerful authority figure? Maybe that's what your teacher meant by 'cliche'. She/he maybe wanted you to try and argue for something a little bit more revolutionary...?

I know some good titles that students at my school used (all 7s):

• How the symbolism of children is a substructure of themes and messages in A Doll's House and A Streetcar Named Desire
  
• The use of sexuality in the characterisation of women in Madame Bovary and The House of Spirits
  
• Letter as a means of characterisation in A Doll's House and A Streetcar Named Desire
  

(These are quick translations from Swedish...)

My own title is something like: How animal imagery is used to describe the female characters in A Doll's House and A Streetcar Named Desire (I think I'll get good marks..)