Works in Translation - Written Assignment Coursework

Oct '15: Antigone

Mar '16: Waiting for Godot SL 

Oct/Nov '16: Ghosts HL            

Written Assignment

The Written Assignment is worth 25% of the IB mark and consists of 4 stages.

It is to be based on a work in translation studied in Part 1.

The IB assessed components are a literary essay and reflective statement.
These two assignments will be written in class and externally assessed by the IB.

Work Submitted to IB: 
Literary essay – 1,200 – 1,500 words
Relevant reflective statement – 300 – 400 words

Goal: 
To produce an analytical, literary essay on a topic generated by the student and developed from one of the pieces of supervised writing. 

Assessment: 
A combined mark out of 25 to be awarded for the reflective statement and the literary essay, based on five assessment criteria.
Check the English Course Handbook to view more information regarding the assessment of this assignment.

Process:
The Written Assignment is a four-stage process consisting of both oral and written tasks.

The Four Stages of the Written Assignment- after each of the texts are read

Stage 1: The Interactive Oral

The Interactive Oral is a class discussion lead by a group of students that focuses on important contextual elements that have influenced the writing of one of the works studied in this part.

Some important elements to remember about the Interactive Oral are: 

• It is focused around class discussion in which all students and the teacher participate.
• Each student will be responsible for initiating some part of the discussion in at least one of the interactive orals for one work.
• The discussion should address the following cultural and contextual considerations:
• In what ways do time and place matter to this work?
• What was easy to understand and what was difficult to understand in relation to social and cultural context and issues?
• What connections did you find between issues in the work and you own culture(s) and experience?
• What aspects of technique are interesting in the work?
• At least one oral must be completed in relation to each work studied in Part 1.
• Minimum time for discussion of each work studied is 30 minutes.

Stage 2: The Reflective Statement

The Reflective Statement is a short piece of writing that all students must complete. It explores how the interactive oral helped in their understanding of the work under consideration. One reflective statement will be submitted to the IB. Since three works are studied in this part of the course there will be at least three interactive orals and therefore at least three reflective statements. 

The student must submit the reflective statement that is based on the same work as their final literary essay.

Some important elements to remember about the Reflective Statement are:

• It is a short writing exercise completed as soon as possible following the interactive oral. 
• Each student must provide a reflection on each of the interactive orals. 
• The reflective statement on the same work as the student’s final assignment is submitted for assessment. 
• The reflective statement must be based on the following question: 
• How was your understanding of cultural and contextual considerations of the work developed through the interactive oral?
• Length: 300-400 words. (A mark will be deducted for infringement of the max word count!)
• Assessment: A mark out of 3 is awarded using assessment criterion A.

Stage 3: Supervised Writing

The supervised writing exercises take place once the study of each work is completed. By the end of this unit of study the students will have three pieces of supervised writing - one for each work. The students generate a piece of writing based on one of three or four teacher created prompts that focus on important elements of the work under consideration. The pieces of supervised writing are not submitted to the IB but must be kept on file at the school until final graduation. The IB may ask to see a student's supervised writing if questions of authenticity are raised. Therefore, it is vital that there is a connection between the supervised writing and the final literary essay.

Some important elements to remember about the Supervised Writing are:

• From this writing the student should develop a topic and the final essay. 
• The ultimate goal of this stage is for the student to produce good essays with an appropriate topic. 
• Students are required to respond to each one of the works studied in a written exercise undertaken during class time. 
• Time for each piece of writing is between 40-50 minutes. 
• The writing must be continuous prose. (There is no set format, but the writing must be in full sentences). 
• At the end of the lesson the writing must be handed to the teacher and an unedited copy will be kept on file until graduation. 
• The student will be given 3 to 4 prompts for each work studied and must respond to one. 
• The student will choose one of these pieces of Supervised Writing and develop that into the essay required for submission. 
• There must be an apparent connection between the Supervised Writing and the final essay.
• Length: No specified length.
• Assessment: supervised writing is not awarded a mark but may be used to authenticate the student’s work. 

Stage 4: Production of the Essay
The final product of the Written Assignment process is to develop a literary essay on ONE of the works studied in this part. The essay must be written in stages with the teacher conferencing with the students after reading the first draft. The essay, along with the relevant reflective statement, will be submitted to the IB to be externally assessed.

Some important elements to remember about the Literary Essay are: 

• The essay is developed from one of the pieces of supervised writing. 
• The essay is to be completed in class, with guidance from the teacher. 
• In class, the student must work with the teacher: 
• For guidance on the development of the essay topic.
• To discuss the connection between the supervised writing and the essay.
• To ensure that the topic is suitable to the length and focus of the task.
• The teacher will also read the first draft of the essay and provide feedback through a conference in class. There is to be no editing or corrections on the actual essay. 
• After receiving feedback the student must complete the written assignment without further assistance. 
• Length: 1,200-1,500 words.