IB English A Lang & Lit Topic Prose Non-fiction: Example + Try It Yourself Revision Notes (SL/HL)

IB English A Lang & Lit Topic Prose Non-fiction: Example + Try It Yourself Revision Notes (SL/HL) | RevisionDojo

Written by official IB examiners

Prose Non-Fiction: Annotated Example and Practice

Definition

Prose non-fiction

A literary form that presents factual or reflective content through continuous prose, using techniques such as voice, structure, and rhetorical strategies to inform, argue, or explore real events and ideas.

Below is a short fictional memoir extract. Read it, then work through the annotated commentary that follows to see how an examiner would analyse each sentence.

Example

I have never been able to explain what my father's hands looked like when he was working. I can tell you they were large, that they moved with a particular economy I have spent years trying to describe and have never quite managed. Language fails here, as it always does when what you are trying to hold is not a fact but a quality. He built things. He built them well. What he built still stands.

I am writing this in the house he made. The walls are the same walls. But he is not here to see them, and I am not sure this is comfort or its opposite.

Examiner Commentary

"I have never been able to explain" is a confession of linguistic inadequacy that is itself an act of language. The author positions the essay as an honest attempt rather than a polished performance, and the present perfect tense ("have never been able") means the failure is ongoing, not resolved.
"Language fails here, as it always does when what you are trying to hold is not a fact but a quality" is the extract's intellectual centre. The verb "hold" is a physical word applied to an immaterial goal, implying that language can grip but cannot contain.
The shift to second person ("you are trying to hold") universalises the claim: this is not only the author's problem but a shared human one. The movement from first person to second person is a structural device worth naming.
"He built things. He built them well. What he built still stands." Three short sentences using anaphora ("He built") escalate from existence to quality to permanence. The final shift to present tense ("still stands") makes the father's work outlast the past tense that contains him.

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Definition

Paywall

(on a website) an arrangement whereby access is restricted to users who have paid to subscribe to the site.

anim nostrud sit dolore minim proident quis fugiat velit et eiusmod nulla quis nulla mollit dolor sunt culpa aliqua

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit

Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Note

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam quis nostrud exercitation.

Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident

Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit.

Tip

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris.
Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum.

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Prose Non-Fiction: Annotated Example and Practice

Definition

Prose non-fiction

Below is a short fictional memoir extract. Read it, then work through the annotated commentary that follows to see how an examiner would analyse each sentence.

Example

I am writing this in the house he made. The walls are the same walls. But he is not here to see them, and I am not sure this is comfort or its opposite.

Examiner Commentary

"I have never been able to explain" is a confession of linguistic inadequacy that is itself an act of language. The author positions the essay as an honest attempt rather than a polished performance, and the present perfect tense ("have never been able") means the failure is ongoing, not resolved.
"Language fails here, as it always does when what you are trying to hold is not a fact but a quality" is the extract's intellectual centre. The verb "hold" is a physical word applied to an immaterial goal, implying that language can grip but cannot contain.
The shift to second person ("you are trying to hold") universalises the claim: this is not only the author's problem but a shared human one. The movement from first person to second person is a structural device worth naming.
"He built things. He built them well. What he built still stands." Three short sentences using anaphora ("He built") escalate from existence to quality to permanence. The final shift to present tense ("still stands") makes the father's work outlast the past tense that contains him.

Definition

Paywall

(on a website) an arrangement whereby access is restricted to users who have paid to subscribe to the site.

anim nostrud sit dolore minim proident quis fugiat velit et eiusmod nulla quis nulla mollit dolor sunt culpa aliqua

Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit

Note

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam quis nostrud exercitation.

Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident

Tip

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris.
Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum.

Everything You Need to Know About Analysis6 subtopics

Paper 1 Lang & Lit4 subtopics

Paper 2 Lang & Lit4 subtopics

Individual Oral (IO)4 subtopics

Higher Level Essay3 subtopics

Text Types13 subtopics

Literary Forms4 subtopics

IB English A Lang & Lit Prose Non-fiction: Example + Try It Yourself Notes

Everything You Need to Know About Analysis6 subtopics

Paper 1 Lang & Lit4 subtopics

Paper 2 Lang & Lit4 subtopics

Individual Oral (IO)4 subtopics

Higher Level Essay3 subtopics

Text Types13 subtopics

Literary Forms4 subtopics

Prose Non-Fiction: Annotated Example and Practice

Examiner Commentary

anim nostrud sit dolore minim proident quis fugiat velit et eiusmod nulla quis nulla mollit dolor sunt culpa aliqua

Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit

Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident

Unlock the rest of this chapter with a free account

Prose Non-Fiction: Annotated Example and Practice

Examiner Commentary

anim nostrud sit dolore minim proident quis fugiat velit et eiusmod nulla quis nulla mollit dolor sunt culpa aliqua

Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit

Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident

Unlock the rest of this chapter with a free account