English A L&L · Lesson 2 of 6 · Paper 2

Unpacking Paper 2’s general questions and choosing a pairing

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Paper 2 gives you four general questions that never name a text or author, and you must answer one by comparing and/or contrasting two of your prepared literary works. Choosing the right question and tailoring your knowledge to its exact words is the single fastest way to secure top marks in Criterion A (knowledge, understanding and interpretation) and Criterion C (focus and organization).

By the end you’ll be able to

Analyse a general question to identify its key terms, assumptions, command term and the comparison it invites.
Choose the question and pair of works that allow the most sustained and insightful comparison, not the favourite topic.
Define the question’s key terms in the introduction and apply them to both works.
Adapt prepared knowledge to the wording of the question instead of reproducing a pre-written essay.

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Core ideas (continued)
Worked examples
Exam technique
Common mistakes
Quick recap
Check your understanding (3 questions)

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What the exam asks

In Paper 2 (1 hour 45 minutes, 25 marks at both SL and HL), you face four broad, conceptual questions shared by both Language A courses (literature, and language and literature). You must choose one question and answer it using two literary works studied in class (excluding any work used for your Individual Oral or, at HL, your HL Essay).

Examiners use three criteria that directly test how well you unpack the question:

Criterion A (5 marks): Tests whether your interpretation persuasively answers the exact question asked, rather than just summarizing the plots.
Criterion B2 (5 marks): Rewards how far the similarities and/or differences you find between the two works deepen your analysis of the question’s core concept.
Criterion C (5 marks): Demands a sustained, balanced focus on the question from your opening sentence to your conclusion.

Core ideas

1. Anatomy of a Paper 2 question

Most Paper 2 questions can be broken into four parts (not every question has the fourth). Before you choose a question, break it down into these pieces:

Element	What it is	Example: “Discuss how and to what effect two of the works you have studied portray characters or speakers who refuse the role others expect them to play.”
Command term	The instruction telling you how to argue (e.g., discuss, compare and contrast, to what extent, in what ways).	Discuss: weigh up several arguments or readings fairly, then reach a clear conclusion backed by evidence.
Key terms	The main ideas in the question, which you must define in your introduction so your essay has clear limits.	“refuse” (open rebellion vs quiet non-compliance) and “the role others expect them to play” (a daughter’s obedience, a wife’s compliance, a son’s duty to earn).
Hidden assumption	The idea the question takes for granted, which you can accept, accept only in part, or challenge.	Assumes characters actually do refuse, and that the refusal has an effect (“to what effect”) worth weighing.
Double requirement	Two linked tasks (often how and why, or cause and effect) that must both be answered for top marks in Criterion A.	How (the authorial choices—Criterion B1) and to what effect (the impact on meaning and on the reader or audience).

2. Choosing the best pairing (not your favourite topic)

Suppose you prepared three works in depth: for example, Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel Purple Hibiscus, and Carol Ann Duffy’s poetry collection The World’s Wife.