Name: IB Diploma Programme: English A1 Course Companion
Author: Elizabeth Druce & Hannah Tyson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2007
Pages: 288
ISBN: 0199151474

My Review

Due to the nature of English, you’re never going to find a textbook that provides details and help for every text you are studying. You will most likely find at least one of your texts discussed in the book. But it doesn’t matter if specifics for the texts you are studying are not present. This book contains fantastic tips and this will surely help you develop your commentary and analysis skills. There are plenty of examples and example commentaries to help you along. I particularly like this book because it breaks down what to include in your work. For example, it tells you what you should aim to say in the Individual Oral Presentation (IOP) and gives you some ideas of how to present, the IOP criteria is the main reason I bought this book!

The book will guide you in the right direction and teach you a great deal about writing commentaries, and we all know that a perfect commentary technique is your passport to a 7!

The book doesn’t contain any images, except for a few cartoons and pictures of authors and poets in the Detailed Study areas of the book. Images are not really needed as there aren’t any cycles you need to remember like for the sciences.

Like the other books in the Oxford University Press’ series of International Baccalaureate textbooks, this book is easily available from around £18 or $38.

Pros
Helps with technique
Easy to understand
Good price
Good availability

Cons
Not much colour