This document provides guidance on writing commentaries for IB assessments. It emphasizes that commentaries should analyze both the content and author's techniques used to create meaning in a literary work. Strong commentaries integrate interpretation of the content with a discussion of how specific literary techniques develop meaning for the reader. Commentaries should focus on techniques like patterns, voice, imagery and how they relate to meaning, rather than simply listing techniques or turning to personal philosophizing.
3. Commentary is
“a literary composition with a
definite subject consisting of a
systematic series of comments or
annotations on the text of a literary
work.” (OED)
4. An analysis of the
words on the
page
OR
an analysis of
author
techniques
used in the creation
of meaning
5. “To give a
reading of a
work which
increases
the
audience’s
understanding
of it.”
6. Concerns / Motivations
of:
Character, Narrator,
Speaker
The
and emotion
through the passage
15. 1)Look at Structure
2) Discuss Meaning of passages without
assuming it is only to be found during a
treasure hunt or must inevitably become a
lecture about life.
16.
17. Concentrate on the way in which a
character is presented or a scene is set
or an image is developed
18. An integration of:
interpretation of the content
discussion of the technique
Assessment of the effects achieved
19. The ideal commentary
treats literary techniques
as inseparable from
meaning (with a focus on
how the features develop
meaning)
20. Stronger
candidates stated
a kind of overview
of what the piece
was about, and
then set about
showing
how this was
achieved.
This powerpoint information taken directly from a powerpoint created by Brent Rohol of Sprucecreek HS. Pictures taken from public photos on www.flickr.com
Current design by Michelle Alspaugh, Mt. Vernon HS.
(read quote); notice that it says “systematic,” which means that there is an organizational method to the “comments” on a literary work.
The Oxford english dictionary also states that it is an analysis of the words on a page—meaning, you will not necessarily get a “key passage” to discuss when you do your written commentary in 12th grade.
The ending!!* The title!! (if one is given)* The SO WHAT of the passage or the piece’s literary value * What the dominant effect was meant to be (and how it was achieved).
Avoid simply stating the obvious.. Though you should actually state the obvious, laying the groundwork for your analysis; without the obvious, we can’t understand the abstract. Go beyond. Show an appreciation of aspects such as content, style, structure, and language.
Examine the shifts/changes/anomalies in a work—look for when there are changes in set patterns, tone, imagery, argument.
Consider also: What are the structural, rhetorical, and stylistic elements of the passage?
Balance sharp-edged critical analysis with personal impression.- Use the author’s name to introduce each idea (also mention “the reader” frequently).- Your introduction should have some sort of angle or some kind of unifying principle for the commentary response.
All commentaries should be structured and fluid in how the argument progresses, not a laundry list of everything you think you found.
) Structural (stanza by stanza; section by section) 2) Elemental (aspect by aspect; literal content to figurative devices and language features to structural features to emotional levels)3) Central idea theme that binds the passage together
They understand that the writer creates a narrator or speaker. They look at structure. They can discuss the meaning of passages without assuming it is only to be found during a treasure hunt or must inevitably become a lecture about life.
And then, in the second group, there are students who see the poem or prose passage as a slice of life which is to be retold while inserting some mentions of strange phenomena called literary features, before asserting a Higher Meaning…
1st group: can – and do – write good commentaries on almost anything. 2nd group: cannot, because for such students, identifying takes the place of analysis, if they advance past paraphrase at all…
Concentrate on the way in which a character is presented or a scene is set or an image is developed – in other words, 1)identify an element, 2)explain its meaning, 3)connect it to their treatment of the central concerns of the passage
Strength comes in the integration of an interpretation of the content, with a discussion of the technique, going on to assess the effects achieved. The best commentaries offer a personal (not autobiographical) interpretation of the passage or poem, but justify the interpretation with close argument making use of the text for support.
Students must do careful examination of particular words. The basis of the commentary activity needs to be the piece itself (its words, etc)Like essays, write with control and calm ,deliberate confidence. Do NOT use too casual a register – this is a critical literary experience.
Examiners commented on the effectiveness of those papers in which candidates acknowledged the possibility of several interpretations of a piece, arguing in a BALANCED FASHION in support of each. Don’t be afraid to admit that a particular line or phrase seems or is ambiguous OR was deliberately constructed to be ambiguous (or abstract/less than concrete).
Don’t do a paragraph on imagery when you haven’t put the function and role of imagery into perspective with the larger aims of the author/passage.
Greater effort should be placed on the effect of the literary feature on the meaning of the passage. Mere naming of features will not gain high marks
Many students believe that it is necessary to find a hidden or a higher meaning. This leads them to present readings which cannot be supported except by ignoring or distorting the evidence of the texts.
In the commentary, many candidates latch on to details and squeeze everything into a ‘symbolic’ reading: the passage or poem is not a kind of puzzle with a definite solution. If you feel yourself guessing or “stretching” an idea in order to make it work, you are probably over-interpreting. Most passages are not extended metaphors with symbolic levels.
Many students either failed to use quotation marks or only referred to line numbers. Others quote large sections to no purpose.Support must be presented to accompany each assertion
