Written Task (1) - 2 70w9

Written Task 1 English Language and Literature SL and HL

Written Task 1 The written task 1 is an 'imaginative piece' of 8001000 words, written at home in consultation with the teacher. It can be based on a topic or text from any part of the course and it counts toward 20% of the final course grade. It is accompanied by a 200-300word rationale that explains what you aim to achieve and how you achieved it. The task tests your ability to write a type of text other than essay, in which you respond to a topic or text from the course. All (HL and SL) English Language and Literature students must submit Written Task 1

Written Task 1 Here is a 'word cloud' that offers a visual representation of the description of the written task in the IB Language and Literature guide. Words that appear more frequently in the guide are depicted in a larger font. Words that appear less frequently

Written Task 1 (in summary) • Written task 1 is for both SL and HL students. • WT1 must be between 800-1000 words. Tasks that exceed the word count will lose 2 marks on Criterion C.  • The task is accompanied by a rationale of 200-300 words, explaining which text type was chosen and why it was chosen to meet the goals were set. • WT1 is written outside class, with teacher’s guidance. • Teachers may only review one draft. Teachers may not annotate or edit this draft. • Students keep a portfolio of tasks. There is a minimum number of tasks that must be in this portfolio. At SL there must be 3 tasks in the portfolio.

Written Task 1 • Many students lose points on written task 1, not because they perform poorly, but because they do not understand the nature of the assessment. Be sure to submit a proposal of your WT idea to your teacher before you write your task.   

Written Task 1

Written Task 1 • Defining 'imaginative piece' There is often confusion surrounding written task 1, because it is called the 'imaginative piece' in the IB guide. Unfortunately, many students fail this assignment, because their imagination runs away from them. For clarification here is a brief overview of what Written Task 1 is and what it is not.

Written Task 1 What it is

What it is not

A text type - For WT1, you have to show that you have understood the structural and stylistic conventions of a particular text type. In other words, if you write a speech, it must sound like a speech. 

Creative writing - This is not your chance to write a fantastical short story, a hypothetical play or poem. It's not the product of your own imagination only. It has to reflect your understanding of the course work.

In context - Some of the best written task 1s take on a role or a voice. If you're writing a letter of complaint, who are you? If you're writing a missing chapter to a novel, is it in the spirit of the author?

Out of context- Poor rationales often state: "I'm writing an opinion column because I have a strong opinion about this topic.” It has to be plausible. Instead, write about a current affair in the voice of a particular columnist.

An understanding of coursework A persuasive essay - Essays are - There should be evidence of research penalised on Criterion B. Essays are and study of a topic and text. For Parts different than columns or articles. 1 and 2 you have studied topics that are based on a study of non-literary texts.

Written Task 1 A marriage of form and content In brief, the Written Task 1 is a marriage of form and content. You are asked to write in a style that shows you have understood a text type and reflect understanding of the coursework at the same time.

Written Task 1 Here are examples of written tasks that have scored well and those that have scored poorly. These examples illustrate the points mentioned above. What conclusions can be drawn, based on the examples below?

Written Task 1 WT1s that have scored well

WT1s that have scored poorly

•a personal letter as could have been written from one character to another.

•a hypothetical journal entry of what it is like to be a homosexual living in Turkey.

•a letter to the editor in response to a biased article in the newspaper.

•a long poem about the digital revolution and the beauty of Apple Computers.

•a speech as could have been •a historical of the given by a character from a novel. economic crisis in the world. •a journal entry as could have •a biography of a character from a been written by a character from a novel or play. novel or play. •an opinion column about recent •a tabloid news article about changes in school uniform policy. sensational events from a play or

Written Task 1 Recommended text types What types of texts score well as Written Task 1s? The answer to this question depends on the course content that you are writing about. For example, diary entries based on literary works tend to score well, but they perform poorly when based on a topic from Parts 1 or 2. There are certain pitfalls that you can avoid by selecting a text type carefully. At the same time, you can take advantage of certain ‘recipes for success’.

Written Task 1  

PARTS 1 and 2

PARTS 3 and 4

Diary / journals

Not recommended. The problem: Your understanding of a topic is difficult to  demonstrate through your understanding of an individual. Yes, these can work well. However keep in mind that content matters. Simply getting the rhetorical devices right is

Diary entries allow you to show the development of a character from a play or novel. This text type has potential.

Speech

These also have potential, depending on the literary work. Is there a reason why a character would give a speech?

Written Task 1 Opinion column

Parts 1 and 2 Warning: Columns are not persuasive essays. These are popular, but results are not excellent.

Parts 3 and 4 Columns on a literary text are not common.

News article

Challenging. The problem is plagiarism. It’s difficult to write the news when the news is often used as a stimulus source for Parts 1 and 2.

Yes. This is often a recipe for success. Some events in a novel are ‘newsworthy’. to show your understanding and knowledge of the literary work.

Written Task 1 Embedded  interview

Parts 1 and 2 These can work very well in response to an article. Example: “Mr. Murdoch, The Sun writes X, Y and Z about you. What is your response?”

Parts 3 and 4 Find a reason why a character might be interviewed and this text type might work. But it is not a common recipe.

Letter to the editor

Excellent idea. Find a controversial article and write one or more responses to it from multiple perspectives, referring to the language of the original article

This is rarely an appropriate text type for demonstrating one’s understanding of a literary work

Written Task 1 Personal letter

Parts 1 and 2 Not recommended. The problem is the hypothetical nature of this letter. Who are you? To whom would you write?

Parts 3 and 4 Yes. This is a popular recipe for success. What would one character say to another?

Report

Challenging. Reports on non-literary phenomena are written all the time, but for different purposes. Who’s your target audience?

Police reports on criminal events in literary texts have been written by students before varying levels of success.

Written Task 1 Brochure

Parts 1 and 2 Not recommended. The problem with brochures is their superficial nature. They consist of bulletpoints, short sentences and pictures.

Parts 3 and 4 Not recommended for the previously mentioned reasons. 

Short fiction

Not recommended. In Parts 1 and 2 your knowledge of a topic is not best represented through fictional characters. 

If you are thinking of writing a missing chapter from a novel, be sure to be in the spirit of the author, as you are assessed on your understanding of the text. These are not the most successful

Written Task 1 Questions From the above mentioned text types, which ones would you find easiest to write? What makes you say this? As a group, select one of the text types above. What do you know about this text type? List 4-5 defining structural features. (A Letter – Personal vs Business) Think of Pygmalion – a literary text - Which text type would allow you to show your understanding of this topic if you were to write a written task on it? Share your ideas as a class.

Written Task 1 – Guidelines and guidance The rationale Written task 1 is accompanied by a 200300-word rationale. The rationale can receive up to two marks for clearly explaining and understanding the task’s connection to the course material. Although these marks are relatively easy to receive, many students fail to explain the nature of their written task clearly.

Written Task 1 – Guidelines and guidance

The Written Task rationale answers the examiner's questions.

Written Task 1 – Guidelines and guidance The writing process and the rationale When do you write your rationale? Do you write it before or after you have completed your task? Should it be written in the past, present or future tense? In order to answer these questions, you need to understand the entire writing process, from conceiving an idea to submitting your final version. The figure on the next slide depicts a typical workflow for the written task. Notice that the rationale is a 'rewrite' of a proposal. Although it precedes the task, it is written in the past tense. 

Written Task 1 – Guidelines and guidance Notice that teachers can give you a mark according to the criteria. Teachers may not annotate or edit your work. The rationale should be written in the past tense. It precedes the