❓ Compiled Past IB Paper 2
Questions
The following questions were written by the IB and are collected from the
Specimen paper, the Example paper and the exam papers from the November and
May sessions.
Compiled Past IB Paper 2 Questions (“new” course 2019)
# Question Year
1 How do two of the works you have studied portray the struggle to be Spec.
understood?
2 Some literary texts, although set in a particular place or time, convey Spec.
ideas that are universal. In what ways is this true in two of the works you
have studied?
3 Discuss how two works you have studied present concepts of good and Spec.
bad, not as absolute notions, but as a matter of individual perception.
4 Referring to two works you have studied, discuss how the author has Spec.
created a convincing “world”.
5 Identify some of the forms intolerance can take, and discuss how its Ex.
effects on both the victims and the intolerant are presented in two of the
works you have studied.
6 Often the appeal for the reader of a literary work is the atmosphere a Ex.
writer creates (for example, peaceful, menacing or ironic). Discuss some
of the ways atmospheres are conveyed and to what effect in two of the
works you have studied.
7 Referring to two of the works you have studied, discuss both how and why Ex.
the text invites the reader to identify with situations, characters and/or
ideas.
8 Some say ignorance is bliss. How is “not knowing” presented in two of the Ex.
works you have studied and to what effect?
9 How and to what effect are different moral values conveyed in two works Nov 2023
you have studied?
10 Discuss how conflict and resolution are treated in two works you have Nov 2023
studied.
11 Comparing the presentation of characters in two works you have studied, Nov 2023
evaluate how the search for truth changes people.
12 Discuss how isolation or loneliness is presented in two works you have Nov 2023
studied.
13 Writers can sometimes present their ideas in unusual and thought- Nov 2023
provoking ways. How, and to what effect, has this been shown in two of
the works you have studied?
14 Referring to two works you have studied, compare and contrast how the Nov 2023
tensions between “new” and “old” have been presented.
15 Implicitly or explicitly, literary works inevitably communicate their cultural Nov 2023
values to the reader. Referring to two of the works you have studied,
compare and contrast the ways in which this is done and the effects it
achieves.
16 Explore how two works you have studied present characters as complex Nov 2023
and multi-faceted.
17 Referring to two works you have studied, discuss how the writers portray May 2023
the significance of a journey.
18 With reference to two works you have studied, discuss the means by May 2023
which the passage of time is communicated and the effect this achieves.
19 Referring to two works you have studied, compare and contrast the ways May 2023
in which they show the main characters overcoming limitation.
20 With regard to two works you have studied, explore the representation of May 2023
poverty.
21 Referring to two works you have studied, how is an unconventional order May 2023
of events used to achieve a specific effect?
22 How, and to what effect, do the writers in two works you have studied May 2023
portray the societies they are writing about?
23 Referring to two works you have studied, how, and to what effect, do the May 2023
different points of view expressed influence the reader?
24 Discuss how and to what effect contrast has been used in two works you May 2023
have studied.
25 How and to what effect are different moral values conveyed in two works Nov 2023
you have studied?
26 Discuss how conflict and resolution are treated in two works you have Nov 2023
studied.
27 Comparing the presentation of characters in two works you have studied, Nov 2023
evaluate how the search for truth changes people.
28 Discuss how isolation or loneliness is presented in two works you have Nov 2023
studied.
29 Writers can sometimes present their ideas in unusual and thought- Nov 2023
provoking ways. How, and to what effect, has this been shown in two of
the works you have studied?
30 Referring to two works you have studied, compare and contrast how the Nov 2023
tensions between “new” and “old” have been presented.
31 Implicitly or explicitly, literary works inevitably communicate their cultural Nov 2023
values to the reader. Referring to two of the works you have studied,
compare and contrast the ways in which this is done and the effects it
achieves.
32 Explore how two works you have studied present characters as complex Nov 2023
and multi-faceted.
33 Writers often use more conventional settings to highlight the contrasting May 2024
strangeness of events or characters. Referring to two works you have
studied explore how this has been achieved and to what effect.
34 Referring to two works you have studied, explore how and to what effect May 2024
writers make use of myths and legends.
35 Discuss how two works you have studied make the reader question May 2024
preconceived ideas and how this is achieved by the writer.
36 How do two works you have studied portray the relationship between May 2024
humanity and nature?
37 Discuss how two works you have studied portray the concept of death. May 2024
38 Relationships are often central to literary works. How is this true of two May 2024
works you have studied?
39 The depiction of historical setting is an important aspect of many works. May 2024
Referring to two works you have studied, discuss how and to what effect
this depiction is achieved
40 Referring to two works you have studied, discuss how female heroism is May 2024
represented by the writers.
✍🏻 Review & Practice Tasks
🤔Review all questions:
● How do the questions connect with the 7 concepts?
● What aspects do you find confusing?
● What aspects do you find surprising?
● What do you notice about how questions are phrased?
● Do you notice a pattern in the style/types of questions?
✍🏻Short revision tasks:
● Collate the questions based on concepts
○ Review which concepts regularly come up, recently come up, and never come up
in the exam.
○ What could this potentially mean for the next exam session?
● Pick a question and consider which two works you would use to answer the question.
○ Repeat with another question.
● Pick a question and write a comparative thesis for the essay you would write comparing
& contrasting two works.
○ Repeat with another question.
● Pick the most challenging or confusing question and propose two texts and a
comparative thesis for the essay.
○ Repeat with another question.
