If you got a 7 in IB English A1 please come here (or if you know someone who did)!

wowsuperman2008

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wowsuperman2008

Recently, I did my English oral presentation. I got 22/30...I was doing pretty well in English last term and was hoping to get a 7 as my overall IB English A1 HL mark (IB exams + IAs) but I screwwed up my oral. Is it possible to get a 7 now??? Are the the final IB English Exams (Paper 1 and Paper 2) marked more leniently because we are given the topic right away and are writing under pressure?

Most people are writing under pressure, so any leniency in that direction will be hard to find. Generally, you shouldn't expect leniency of any sorts, rather fairness - you probably get the mark that you deserve. Increasing the deserved is a matter of hard work - knowing you texts well, being able to think critically and insightful about the events in hand, and presenting them in a clear and compelling manner. All three can be worked on, that is no secret.

wowsuperman2008

English A1 HL students get a 7 in English, but it seems overrated...Seriously, how many people can think of a 'wow' factor on the spot...

The grade 7, at least in english, is used to distinguish an extraordinary accomplishment in one area, and separate the "laid" analysts from the potentially fullborn english analyst. That may be overrated, I guess - but on the other hand, english grades are easily inflated to a standard we wouldn't want.

Reply 2

wowsuperman2008

I see...wow did you get a 7 in English?

Reply 3

Owly-woes

wowsuperman2008

I see...wow did you get a 7 in English?

Nope, I got a 6 :smile:

And that was probably what I deserved. Keep up the good work, you are doing now :smile:

Reply 4

johan_89

Even though I didn't take English A1 I think my answers still could be relevant for you, so I figured I would post them anyway.

wowsuperman2008

Is it possible to get a 7 now???

Yes, very much possible.

Are the the final IB English Exams (Paper 1 and Paper 2) marked more leniently because we are given the topic right away and are writing under pressure?

The examiners do take in account that you're writing under pressure, nonetheless a 7 represents a very good essay.

Ok so since a 7 in English A1 HL is at least 83/100 points...

Remember that this figure is kind of hypothetical as the boundaries fluctuate, it may very well be 81 or 85 for your exam session.

But how many people actually get 18/20 in their World Lit?

Even though my mother tongue is not English (I took Swedish A1) I know for a fact that it isn't impossible to get 18/20 on your World Lit essays (I have been told by English A1 people). I managed to pull off a perfect score.

Or 21 in each of their IB exam papers?

I got the following on my exams, this is relevant for you even though it's another language:

Paper 1: 23
Paper 2: 19 (oops, I just hated the topics available, my worst result ever on a paper 2, good timing)

EDIT: hence, it's doable.

What's a 7 in English? My school says that if our grammar is totally correct, the paper would still be a 6.

I don't really follow the reasoning here. In order to get a 6 you still need some sound, cohesive arguments and a certain depth of analysis. Stylistic devices must certainly be included. Take a look at the mark schemes.

The key for a 7 in your A1 language is probably the hard work of doing previous papers. I did all previous papers available, at the end our teacher laughed and said that she was going to be forced to construct exams on her own, which she did.

Reply 5

wowsuperman2008

Hey thanks! Any other people got 7s?

hello?

hey, i got a 6, but if you actually stay awake during the exam and care, it's really not that difficult to get a 7. i know some people who totally broke down during orals and started crying but still managed to get at least a 6 overall. make good world lit papers and focus on the papers. also, i think the cutoffs for 7, 6, etc change each year, so hope for the best. seriously, i didn't do any prior exams for english and didn't really care what i got in the subject (since it wouldn't give me any credit in uni anyway), but i still managed a 6. put effort in ... you'll get a 7. good luck! :smile:

Reply 8

wowsuperman2008

thanks! yea i know that the grade boundaries change every year, but it is usually 83...

Reply 9

Orange37

Hi there, got a 7 for English A2 and yet I screwed up immensely on my oral examination. I had the worst black-out ever and just kept muttering incomprehensible nonsense :P Still, the 7's in the bag. So, don't be all let down just because you didn't do too well. Hope everything works out :biggrin:

Reply 10

wowsuperman2008

Thanks...hey a 7 in A2 English isn't easy either...I saw stats said that like 3% got 7s in May 2008?

Reply 11

vivianwan

I know someone who got a 7/7 and she is my best friend which is shyer than me and better grammar then I do and I want to improve. Let me introduce myself......I am in an IB English A1 class but I realize how hard I work, it doesn't meet my standard of 5- 6/7 make on my report card. My English teacher is a very weird teacher, he teaches in a joyful silly way and I acted like everyone does in front of him but even quieter. BUT at the end, when we got our report cards back, it seems like I have to lowest mark which is 4/7 and everyone else got 5+/7. My friends laugh at me and say I shouldn't be in this class and should be in English A2 and that make me unhappy so I wanted to work to gain 5-6/7 points but I don't know how so please give me some advice to gain marks and how to improve on grammar. BTW, I was working on the unit of Romeo and Juliet and what we had to do was just act out and type some letters. I did pretty well but I sneak to see my marks one day when my teacher let us choose our Learner Profile strengths. I got a 4/7, I am so stupid and I have to get a 6/7 by the end of this week because my teacher is going to publish the report cards!!!!! Please give me some advices to gain 5+/7 and tell me how to improve on grammar. BTW is my GRAMMAR really bad? say the truth!!!!!PLS PLS PLS..........

Reply 12

Banishingboredom

Hope I can help. I got a 7 in English

The grade boundary last year was 80% which leaves you quite a bit of breathing room.
You can drop quite a lot of marks in the IA and still get a 7 if you pull it together in the finals.

We were told to aim for at least 21/25 average over Paper 1 and Paper 2 though. Trust me it's not unachievable at all. I got 25 in Paper 2 without doing much practice beforehand. If you need or want any advice or help feel free to PM me.

Reply 13

vivianwan

Original post by Banishingboredom

um... sorry, I don't know where to PM you and I don't really know what that means so I guess I will leave you a quick reply here.
I really want need your advice so I could improve. Everyone is telling me to improve but I just don't know how to.....
Please give me advices...