The two most recent pages are free. You can access other free pages from the sitemap. The blog is also free.
Dynamic questioning - free
This short but lively text comes from The Guardian's Travel section of a few years back. The idea of conveying information through an imagined informal conversation, often quite witty, was a feature... more»
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - free
Bizarre title, isn't it? It's not just a sales gambit – the whole plot does indeed revolve around the idea of fishing for salmon in a desert country, which is an indication... more»
Paper 2 Criteria compared - free
The diagram below shows how the marking Criteria for Written Production have changed :- Essentially, Language and Message remain fairly similar, but controlling the text-type (Cultural Interaction) is less detailed... more»
Written Assignment - free
The Written Assignment (WA) introduces a completely new 'coursework' component to Language B. The SL WA is to be a piece of 'intertextual writing' based on three texts, chosen by the teacher... more»
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The IB framework document 'Learning in a language other than mother tongue in IB programmes' (2008) may not boast the most catchy title in the world, but it has something very important... more»
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The material for this page is all drawn from a fascinating website, recently launched, called Free speech debate. Promoted by the eminent academic and commentator, Timothy Garton Ash, it is run by... more»
Previous: HL P2 Sample C, Instructions, marked (free), P2 sample questions, HL P2 Sample B, Using quotes, HL P2 Sample A, Reading minor characters, Formal letter, marked, Film review, marked..... more»
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Ghosts
Posted on 10 April 2012 by David Ripley
Two images – what do they have in common, and how are they connected ? The top one was taken at Olerdola, in the mountains near where I live. Olerdola is an ancient hilltop fortified site, in constant... more»

Found in translation
Posted on 26 February 2012 by David Ripley
My wife and I stumbled over this placard outside a terrace restaurant in the Rua Mayor in Salamanca – a rather pretentious place with imposingly elegant waiters. The English translations had obviously been done by someone with a dictionary and... more»
Notice Board
Paper 2 Criteria compared - If any of you have printed the 'one-sheet' Criteria from this free page - you should replace them with the new version. I have corrected an error - Criterion C is marked out of 5, not out of 10. Ooops! | |
Written Assignment I understand that the definitive arrangements for how to conduct the WA will be published in the Handbook of Procedures which comes out in September 2012. This may involve re-interpretation of what is stated in the Guide, so I'd recommend that you practise skills for the WA in Year 1, and don't try to make it 'just like the real thing' ! | |
Latest news : I am reliably informed that the new Paper 1s will be constructed like this : SL = 45 marks; HL = 60 marks. Note that these figures describe marks, not questions - a given question could have 3, 4, 5 marks available. |
Recent Comments
Absolutely true, David - this page refers to the outgoing system, still in operation until November 2012. For pages about... more»
David Ripley, 15 April 2012
Hasn't the above changed in the new course outline? The students now do not get to choose their presentation outline.... more»
David Cooper, 14 April 2012
Perhaps it would be more helplpful to provide "invented" words instead of the given ones: otherwise words with a Latin... more»
MARIA PITA, 27 March 2012
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After studying English at Cambridge, David Ripley taught for 23 years at St Clare’s Oxford. David has led more than 50 IB workshops and is currently an English B Principal Examiner, with responsibility for... more»
Quote of the Day
“A perfectly healthy sentence is extremely rare.”
Twitter: DavidR2000
... the slow, wobbly and inconsistent human mind has its usefulness !
21 January 2012
All software traps - and unquestioned software traps unquestionably (see markets controlled by instant analysis software), so ...
21 January 2012
Lack of power ROTS - rots hope, and confidence, and belief in shared values
21 January 2012
Re the present crisis: "All power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely" (that's what Lord Acton actually said)...
21 January 2012





I am looking forward to seeing some paper 1 examples up as I find those the hardest to prepare the... more»
David Cooper, 16 April 2012