A-2 English

Text Types

Year Assignment

One of the big parts of I.B. A-2 English is the idea of text types—the idea that different texts have different purposes, and they use different types of language to achieve those purposes.

Nearly every I.B. literary assessment involves that idea in some way. You must be able to identify and explain different techniques, word choices, syntax, literary devices, registers, and other ingredients that go into different kinds of writing and communication.

It might seem obvious that a cookie recipe uses a different kind of language than a novel, or that an advertisement for an iPod will use different language than an instruction manual for an iPod. But sometimes—especially on an I.B. exam—the differences aren’t so obvious. And even when they are obvious, it’s not always so easy to explain exactly what’s there and why.

So, as with lots of other things in this course, what you should do is practice.

For the rest of this year, you’ve got an ongoing assignment:

Approximately every other week, I will designate a Text Type Day.

On that day, your assignment is to bring into class:

• one text of some type off the I.B. list of text types (8 copies of it)*, a different text type each time. That means the assignment will get harder as the year goes on! If it’s a long text (a novel, for example), just bring in the best sample page or excerpt from it.
• one written analysis of that text’s purpose, audience, and language—vocabulary, syntax, register, literary devices, and other features you find that are appropriate to that text type. (to hand in to me)

You will then also:

• give a short (5-8 minute) oral analysis to the class of the text you’ve brought (this will presumably be a version of the written analysis you’ve done, in oral form)

I will be grading you each time on:

• the quality of the text you’ve brought in
• does it have an appropriate amount of language?
• is the language rich with meaning?
• is it representative in some way of its text type?
• your written analysis
• do you cover the big three—Purpose, Audience, Language—your PAL?
• do you discuss specific language examples from the text?
• do you know how to use words like register, syntax, simile, metaphor, etc.?
• your oral presentation
• do you demonstrate a knowledge of the text?
• does it seem as if you’ve seen and read the text before class?
• can you deal with questions and comments from the audience?

You will be adding each time to your Text Type Folder, the blue folder you received in class today. By the end of the year, this folder should be stuffed with excellent examples to carry on next year into the second half of your A-2 English course.

*If you hand in the text to me 48 hours in advance, I’ll make the copies for you. If not, you must make the copies yourself.