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Diagnostic · 1 h · 2 questions · 2 sections
A one-hour diagnostic, about a third of the SL exam time. Paper 1, shortened (25 minutes): a guided analysis of one of two original unseen non-literary passages with guiding questions, Text A a news photograph with its caption and short report, and Text B an extract from a podcast transcript. Paper 2, shortened (35 minutes): a comparative response to one of four general questions (on humour, journeys, family conflict and the natural world) on two literary works you have studied; the model essay compares Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis. Both are marked on the IB criteria to set your starting grade and study plan.
Your answers save as you go, and your results, with every answer explained, stay in your account.
New here? Create a free account. The diagnostic is always free.
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Paper 1: guided textual analysis
1 question · 25 min · ≈ 25 min a question
Paper 2: comparative essay
1 question · 35 min · ≈ 35 min a question
A one-hour diagnostic, about a third of the SL exam time. Paper 1, shortened (25 minutes): a guided analysis of one of two original unseen non-literary passages with guiding questions, Text A a news photograph with its caption and short report, and Text B an extract from a podcast transcript. Paper 2, shortened (35 minutes): a comparative response to one of four general questions (on what is left unsaid, a character or speaker changed by what happens to them, a parent and a child, and openings) on two literary works you have studied; the model essay compares Franz Kafka’s short stories and Maya Angelou’s poems. Both are marked on the IB criteria to set your starting grade and study plan.
This practice test is shorter than the real English A L&L exam but uses its question styles: 2 sections, 60 minutes in total. Work under timed conditions and answer every question.
Your score arrives with section scores, a breakdown by topic, your time on every question and each answer explained. Questions you miss join your review queue, and written and spoken answers get an examiner’s report.