Higher Level Essay - 10 Common Mistakes
Summary
TLDRIn this educational video, Andrew and Dave from 'The IB English Guys' offer valuable guidance on writing a higher-level essay for IB English students. They discuss 10 common mistakes to avoid, emphasizing the importance of a clear research question, a well-crafted thesis statement, and an engaging introduction. They also advise on avoiding limited scopes, long and rambling paragraphs, poor use of references, word count issues, and careless mistakes. Additionally, they suggest including an appendix for supplementary material to enhance the essay. The presenters aim to help students improve their writing skills and succeed in their IB English assessments.
Takeaways
- 😀 Have a clear research question or title to avoid a poor first impression.
- 📝 Ensure a well-worded and precise thesis statement to guide your essay.
- 🤝 Craft an engaging and informative introduction to make a strong first impression on the examiner.
- 📚 Maintain a broad scope in your essay, covering a range of texts or works rather than focusing on a single piece.
- 📑 Organize your essay with clear and concise body paragraphs, avoiding long and rambling sections.
- 📘 Use references effectively by interspersing quotes throughout the text, avoiding lengthy quotations that waste word count.
- ✍️ Pay attention to word count, aiming for close to 1500 words to demonstrate thoroughness in your work.
- 🧐 Include strong topic sentences in your paragraphs that reflect your line of inquiry and literary or linguistic focus.
- 🚫 Avoid careless mistakes and poor formatting; proofread your work and ensure correct citations and references.
- 📎 Consider adding an appendix for additional material that enhances your essay, such as poems or transcripts of video ads.
Q & A
What is the first common mistake to avoid when writing a higher level IB English essay?
-The first common mistake to avoid is having an unclear research question or title. It's important to be very clear and focused in your title and research question to avoid giving a poor first impression.
Why is it important to have a well-worded thesis statement in a higher level essay?
-A well-worded thesis statement is crucial because it sets the tone for the entire essay. It should be precise, focused, and analytical, reflecting the line of inquiry and the essential components of the broader literary or linguistic perspective.
What role does the introduction play in a higher level essay?
-The introduction serves as the 'handshake' with the examiner. It should be engaging and informative, providing a clear overview of the text and a strong thesis statement to make a good first impression.
Why should students avoid a limited or narrow scope in their higher level essays?
-A limited or narrow scope can be problematic because it doesn't allow students to show command of an entire body of work, which is expected in a 1500-word essay. Students should consider multiple texts to connect and support their argument.
What is the issue with long and rambling body paragraphs in an essay?
-Long and rambling paragraphs can make an essay difficult to follow and understand. It's important to have clear topic sentences and well-organized paragraphs to ensure the essay is coherent and easy to read.
How should students use references in their higher level essays?
-Students should use references effectively by interspersing quotes throughout the text. Long quotations that take up multiple lines are not recommended as they waste word count and space, and should be avoided.
What are the implications of not adhering to the word count in a higher level essay?
-Not adhering to the word count can negatively impact the essay. Going over the word count is not allowed, and having a very low word count can suggest that the student could have more to say, which might indicate insufficient effort or depth of analysis.
Why is it important to have clear topic sentences in the paragraphs of a higher level essay?
-Clear topic sentences are important because they remind the reader of the essay's line of inquiry and the broad literary or linguistic focus. They help to structure the argument and keep the essay focused and coherent.
What are some common issues to avoid in terms of formatting and proofreading an essay?
-Students should avoid careless mistakes and poor formatting. This includes ensuring proper proofreading to catch errors, using a clear font and spacing, and adhering to correct citation and reference formats as guided by the teacher.
Why might an appendix be beneficial in a higher level essay?
-An appendix can be beneficial as it provides a place for additional material that enhances the text. For example, including poems or transcripts of video ads with screenshots can make the essay more accessible and meaningful for the reader.
What is the overarching advice given by the IB English guys for writing a higher level essay?
-The overarching advice is to make the essay easier on the reader by considering who will be reading the work and ensuring it is accessible, well-organized, and meaningful. This approach not only applies to literature but is also a valuable life skill.
Outlines
📝 Common Mistakes in Higher Level IB English Essays
Andrew and Dave, known as 'The IB English Guys', discuss the top 10 common mistakes to avoid when writing a higher level IB English essay. They emphasize the importance of having a clear research question and title, avoiding vague thesis statements, and crafting an engaging and informative introduction. The duo also advises on the necessity of a broad scope in essays, especially when analyzing shorter texts like poetry or advertisements, and the importance of well-structured body paragraphs with clear topic sentences. Additionally, they warn against long quotations that waste word count and the need for careful proofreading to avoid careless mistakes and poor formatting. Lastly, they stress the significance of adhering to the word count and the inclusion of an appendix for additional material to enhance the essay.
📚 Enhancing the Higher Level Essay with Appendices
In the second paragraph, the focus shifts to the strategic use of appendices in higher level essays. While not mandatory, appendices can provide additional material that enhances the essay, such as including poems or transcripts of video ads with screenshots. The speakers suggest that appendices can serve as a 'nice touch' and an extra effort to present the best work possible. They underline the importance of making the essay reader-friendly and accessible, which is a practice beneficial not only in academic writing but also in life. The paragraph concludes with a reminder to follow the teacher's guidance on citation styles and a final note encouraging students to apply the discussed tips to improve their higher level essays and succeed in IB English.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Higher Level Essay
💡Research Question
💡Thesis Statement
💡Introduction
💡Scope
💡Paragraphing
💡References
💡Word Count
💡Topic Sentences
💡Formatting
💡Appendix
Highlights
Unclear research question or title is a common mistake to avoid.
Titles and research questions should be clear and focused.
Refer back to previous videos for advice on line of inquiry and thesis papers.
Poorly worded or vague thesis statements should be avoided.
Take time to refine the thesis for precision and focus.
Introduction acts as a handshake with the examiner and should be engaging and informative.
Strong thesis statement is crucial in the introduction.
Avoid a limited or narrow scope in the higher level essay.
Show command of an entire body of work rather than focusing on a single text.
Long and rambling body paragraphs should be avoided.
Ensure paragraphs have clear topic sentences and are well-structured.
Effective use of references is key; avoid long quotations.
Word count issues should be addressed; aim for close to 1500 words.
Poor topic sentences in paragraphs can mislead the reader.
Careless mistakes and poor formatting can negatively impact the essay.
Proofread and format the essay with a clean and organized appearance.
Consider including an appendix for additional material to enhance the essay.
Make the essay reader-friendly and accessible.
Tips provided aim to improve higher level essay writing and success in IB English.
Transcripts
hi i'm andrew and i'm dave and we are
the ib english guys and today we want to
address the higher level essay this is a
i think an assessment lots of students
are working on and we want to talk about
the 10 common mistakes in the higher
level essay okay these are 10 things not
to do not 10 things that you want to do
that's right just want to be clear all
right mr giles start us off give me
number one what's the first common
mistake we should avoid i think the
first thing is an unclear research
question or unclear title we want to we
don't want to be cryptic with our with
our titles and our and our title page we
want to really be very clear and focused
i mean you have to have a research a
title and a research question yeah folks
you might want to go back to that last
video where we talked about line of
inquiry you might want to go look at our
higher level essay thesis papers video
as well we have a lot of advice for you
on this i'm surprised sometimes i'll
just get a paper and there'll be no
there'll be no title no research
question and just the the introduction
just staring at me that's prob that's
problematic yeah that's a very poor
first impression the second thing you
want to avoid when thinking about the
higher left higher level essay excuse me
is a poorly worded or vague thesis
statement mr giles we've got plenty of
time to wordsmith this paper we have
plenty of time to conference with our
teacher we have plenty of time to do
research we have to be very precise very
focused and very analytical and exact
with the wording of our thesis broad
literary or linguistic perspective right
that's our line of inquiry please
remember the essential components of the
line of inquiry third common mistake a
week introduction i think your
introduction's your handshake with your
examiner with your reader and we want to
make sure that our introduction is
engaging we want to also make sure that
our introduction is informative and
gives informed information about the
text this is again the in the examiners
being thrown into your text you got to
do some explanation and you have to have
a strong thesis statement so make sure
your introduction great first handshake
first impression i agree 100 mr chiles i
think another thing to avoid is a
limited or narrow scope in your higher
level essay typically you would see this
perhaps when a student has chosen poetry
or an advertisement where they're
looking at one small text but they're
not considering the larger body of work
remember this is a 1 500 word paper you
want to show command of an entire body
of work if you're doing poetry you need
two or three poems if you're doing ads
you need two or three ads you can't just
focus on one ad you must connect to that
larger campaign or work sure texts need
friends short texts need friends mr
giles okay the next one is our kind of a
pet peeve is long and rambling body
paragraphs your paragraphing is really
important this is a 1500 word essay so
you got to make sure you're really
thinking deliberately about your body
paragraphs and and make sure that your
paragraphs are not long and rambling and
and you have an unclear topic that's
that's a problem yeah if you have to
break up a long paragraph consider
adding another sort of mini topic
sentence as a holding point because we
don't like to see paragraphs without
topic sentences right so right keep that
in mind i think another thing to avoid
is poor use of references mr giles we
like to see little nuggets of quotes
interspersed throughout the text we
don't like to see long long quotations
that take up you know two three lines we
think that's a waste of your word count
a waste of your space so please use your
references effectively make sure they're
well chosen only identifying the key
aspects of the play that help push your
argument and your line of inquiry
further yeah that's great you choose
those you choose those really rich
quotes that just give you so much stuff
to talk about it's great okay the next
thing is word count issues and i say
word count issues because
going over word count is an absolute no
no no one goes over word count we don't
want to do that but we also want to
think about going under go having a
really low word count is to me a a sign
that you could have more to say and so
we want to make sure we want to try to
get as close to 1500 as possible but mr
giles the course guide says 12 to 1500
words no
yeah that's true that's true but we
think better you better be close to 1500
not close to 1200 it shows that you put
a lot of time and energy and thinking in
your hand make sure you put the word
count at the bottom of your paper
essential it has to be there yeah
another thing we've already talked about
briefly but again avoid poor topic
sentences in your paragraphs remember
you have a very precise line of inquiry
you have a broad literary or linguistic
focus let's see those things in the
topic sentences remind the reader of
your idea remind the reader of that
broad literary or linguistic focus
include that with a rich idea in the
topic sentence then use other features
to help round out your argument yeah
that's right remember also the next the
next thing to avoid and again this is
not just something that you're texting
to your friend where you have
autocorrect okay is careless mistakes
and poor formatting i can't emphasize
this enough and my friend lisa would
laugh because i do sometimes make
careless mistakes in my handouts i got
to be really careful every time i write
something i always find a mistake if i'm
not reading it over carefully so we have
to make sure we proofread it we're not
just using um a spell checker and then
we're really formatting that thing with
a nice font that's probably 12 point
font and a one and a half spacing and
it's really a clean great well organized
page yeah make sure your references your
citations are correct as well your
teacher will guide you on that there's
several different approaches so stay
with your teacher's advice on that mr
giles the last one
you're the higher level essay master
tell us about the appendix and why we
need to have an appendix in there yeah
there's no rule that says you can't have
an appendix an appendix is like
additional material that you want to put
in your essay to me if you're writing
about poetry put the poems in your
appendix the examiner would like that
because they probably would like to read
the poetry but mr giles of course god
says it doesn't say to do that why would
you do that because it's just that extra
final thing that you could add to
enhance your text it's a nice touch you
know you're making it's like you're a
job interview you're you're applying for
you want to do your best work here make
it look nice if you're doing a video ad
for langlet let's say you do a video ad
put the transcript of the video ad with
a few screenshots from your video ad in
an appendix really nice touch a big
takeaway for all this is make it easier
on your reader and this isn't just about
laying lit this is about life in general
you want to think about who's going to
be reading this piece of work and how
can i make it easy accessible and really
meaningful for them okay in closing once
again we hope that this video gives you
some ideas gives you some tips things to
avoid but hopefully we hope that this
makes you write a better higher level
essay and ultimately helps you succeed
in ib english and below hand out below
thanks for watching see you next time
thank you
you
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