Group 1:  English Language A1

The classic English Literature class gets a international update in the IB Diploma Programme.  Over the course of two years the IB Diploma student works through fifteen literary works (eleven at the standard level).  In all of the Parts of the English curriculum discussion, formal writing assignments and oral presentation are the most prevalent forms of assessment.  The breakdown of the course is as follows.

Part 1: World Literature

Students study three works which were originally written in a language other than English.  They are expected to study the three works with an eye toward understanding the cultural and historical context in which the work was written. The students are also heavily encouraged to engage the literature with a critical mind, looking at style, structure, and content.  There is a 1500 word essay (World Literature Paper 1) which is worth 10% (HL) and 20% (SL) of the student's final mark for English Language A1.  Some examples of literary works we have studied in the past:

"Oedipus Rex" and "Antigone" - Sophocles

"A Doll's House" and "Hedda Gabler" - Henrik Ibsen

"Six Characters in Search of an Author" - Luigi Pirandello

"Mother Courage and her Children" - Bertolt Brecht

Part 2: English Language Study

The English language is studied in depth in this part of the curriculum.  This part of the curriculum focuses on multiple genres in English Literature.  It may include works of poetry, drama, fiction, non-fiction, and a Shakespearean play.  The Individual Oral Commentary is the main source of assessment, and counts for a total of 15% of the student's final mark for English Language A1.  Some examples of literary works we have studied in the past:

"Hamlet", "Othello" - Shakespeare

Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

Running in the Family - Michael Ondaatje

Poets - Emily Dickinson, Sylvia Plath, Robert Frost, Seamus Heaney

Part 3: Study in Genre

Genre becomes the main focus in the four works studied in this part of the course.  Traditionally Abby Sr. has had a strong focus on Drama (see  http://www.abbysenior.org for details about Dinner Theatre) and Part 3 reflects this.  These four works are the basis of one of the two Final Examinations written at the end of the two year Diploma Programme.  Some of the works studied in the past are:

"Waiting for Godot" - Samuel Beckett

"A Raisin in the Sun" - Lorraine Hansberry

"Master Harold and the Boys" - Athol Fugard

"A Streetcar Named Desire" - Tennessee Williams

"Death of a Salesman" - Arthur Miller

Part 4: School's Free Choice

This the part of the curriculum where the Abby Sr. IB program can choose the works they would like to see studied, not otherwise dictated by the IB Curriculum guide.  Novels, poetry, drama, short stories, and essays have all been a part of this section of the study of English in the IB program.  The major assessment in this part of the course is a fifteen minute Individual Oral Presentation which counts for 15% of the student's final IB mark.  Some examples of literary works we have studied in the past:

Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse

Surfacing - Margaret Atwood

Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

"Heart of Darkness" - Joseph Conrad