ENGLISH AND WORLD LITERATURE
ENGLISH AND WORLD LITERATURE
GROUP ONE
English Literature is a mandatory element of the IB Programme. As such, all students pursue it and have a choice of opting for either Higher or Standard Level.
The IB English course is dynamic, varied and exciting. The most distinctive element is the international nature of the course: a significant number of texts are studied in translation.
Higher Level students study 13 texts in all. Standard Level candidates study ten texts. The programme is flexible, covering a comprehensive range of authors and literary traditions, from classical texts to contemporary novels, poetry, plays and literary non-fiction.
Departmental prescription ensures that Higher Level candidates study Shakespeare, and students cover a full range of genres and periods, so preparing them for English literature courses at university.
Candidates develop many skills during the course, enhancing their facility to write sophisticated essays, acquiring knowledge of specific texts, developing the quality of oral presentations, as well as honing the skills of literary insight and response.
Assessment involves a mixture of written and oral coursework and terminal exams, including Unseen Appreciation, and an in-depth study of set texts.
Ultimately, students who take IB English will benefit from an appreciation of literature which is both rigorous in its depth and international in its breadth and perspective.
12 THE IB AT SEVENOAKS | GROUP ONE