IB DP English B

Main Elements of Fiction / Non-Fiction / Transactional Writing

Five (5) main elements must be considered when discussing or writing Fiction / Non-
Fiction / Transactional Writing. Setting is the time and place in which the events of a
literary work occur. Plot is the sequence of events in a story. Characters are the people,
animals, or beings in a work. The theme is the main idea or message a literary work
conveys. Point of View is the relationship of the narrator or storyteller to the story
Another aspect of Fiction is conflict, which is the struggle between opposing forces in the
plot of a story. This struggle can occur between a character and an outside force, such as
another character, society, nature, or fate. It can also take place within a character who is
faced with conflicted feelings or indecision about how to act.

The Plot is the sequence of events in a story. The Setting is the time and place in which a
story happens. The Theme is the main idea of the story. The Theme is the central idea or
message of the literary work, often a perception about life or human nature. The Theme
and Plot of a work often contain Conflict, a struggle between opposing forces. This
struggle can be between two characters, between a main character and society, or
between two desires or impulses inside one character’s mind.

By using these elements, the writer makes a story interesting and involving.

Prior to May 2020, the writing paper tasks would provide the text types (an article /
speech / review) the students would have to write. However, after the 2020 changes to IB
Language B, students must now choose the text type they will use to respond to their
chosen writing task.

Example
Many languages are spoken by a small number of people, and some are in danger of
dying out. Write a text in which you explain to your peers how and why minority
languages should be maintained.
Speech Blog Diary
Tackling these prompts require students to thoroughly consider:
Context / Audience / Purpose

A. Context – What are the circumstances?

Any writing produced is in reaction to the situation we find ourselves in. According to the
prompt – what happened? When we can answer that question, we know the situation, the
CONTEXT. For Paper 1, the description of the context is included with each prompt:
Prompt Context
Many languages are spoken by
a small number of people, and
some are in danger of dying
Some languages that are spoken
out. Write a text in which you
by very few people could die out.
explain to your peers how and
why minority languages
should be maintained
B. Audience – Who are you writing to?
Refer to our example; spotting the audience is easy. We see straight away that we’re
writing to “our peers”, presumably from school. The important thing is what we do with
that information because it tells us so much more than simply who we are writing to.

Audiences, in fact, can be categorized into the following:

1. Personal Audiences
2. Mass Audiences
3. Professional Audiences

For each category of audience, our relationship with the audience and the language we us
are different:
Personal Mass Professional
Audiences Audiences Audiences
• Friends • The public • Your teacher
• Family • A group united by • A local
• Yourself something specific administrator
Examples (gender, age, Someone from the
shared interest, government
geographical • A business
location, school…)
You know these You may or may not Either:
people well. know these people You don’t know these
well. people well.
Relationship
Or:
These are people of
authority.
Use informal language Use formal or informal Use formal language
language
Language
(think about the
context)

C. Purpose – Why are you writing?

Answer this question by looking at the verbs in the prompt: …explain to your peers
how and why minority languages should be maintained.

Of course, when we write something, it’s not just to explain something! We do it for
all sorts of reasons: to persuade, to enquire, to request, to complain, to apologize…
This absolutely influences our choice of text type – are we going to use the language of
a diary entry for a customer service enquiry? What about the language of a business
proposal for an apology to a family member?
In the example prompt, we’re given the choice of writing a speech, blog, or diary.
Consider the context, audience, and purpose when evaluating each three of these text
types:

Diary
• Audience: My diary is written for me! No way I’d want the whole school reading what
I write in there.
• Purpose: I need to explain a perspective, but not to myself! I must explain it to other
people.
Yes / No

Blog
• Audience: I could imagine people from school reading my blog. But is everyone in my
mass audience guaranteed to read it?
• Purpose: A blogpost can be used to explain a perspective.
• Context: For all I know, these languages could die out fast. They would then be lost
forever. This makes the situation seem urgent and one with high stakes. Is just writing
a blog immediate enough?
Yes / No

Speech
• Audience: Speeches are made for mass audiences.
• Purpose: A speech can be used to explain a perspective.
• Context: This solves one issue I had with writing a blog! Giving a speech is more
immediate than writing a blog and is better suited to a task that is potentially urgent
and that requires attention soon.
Yes / No