How to Tackle IB English Paper 2 Prompts: Tips and Strategies

Whether studying IB English Literature or IB English Language and Literature, students must sit a Paper 2 exam. Candidates must respond to one of four prompts. In doing so, IB English students must write comparatively, discussing two literary texts that they have studied in relation to the prompt they have selected. For Higher Level students, the IB English Paper 2 amounts to 25% of their total grade; for Standard Level students, Paper 2 is weighted at 35%. 

The English Paper 2 is a challenging exam. However, in this blog post we will discuss ways to improve your responses to reach the higher end of the mark band.  

Understanding IB English Paper 2 Prompts

A candidate’s success in IB English Paper 2 rests on their ability to understand the prompts. As obvious as this may sound, countless marks are lost each year by students who misinterpret what they are being asked to do. Consequently, it is vital that each prompt is carefully read and essential keywords are identified—these include, ‘analyse’, ‘compare’, and ‘discuss’—as differing keywords dictate the type of response required. 

IB English learners should also be aware of the different types of prompts they may encounter. While these can indeed vary, there are a number of commonly occurring types of prompts. These include: 

  • Theme: these require responses dealing with selected themes, such as love, power, or identity.

  • Character: these prompts generally require candidates to discuss the development of certain characters throughout both texts’ narratives. 

  • Style: students are charged with comparing the styles of both texts and how the author’s writing seeks to establish themes, characters, and so on.  

How to Choose a Prompt

For each prompt, ask yourself two questions. First, do both of your texts give you enough material to respond to this prompt in depth? Second, can you form a genuine argument using both texts, rather than simply describing what each one is about? If the answer to both questions is yes, that is a strong candidate. If you find that one of your texts fits the prompt well but the other does not, move on. A strong Paper 2 essay depends on sustained, balanced comparison across both works, so always choose the prompt that unlocks the most material from both texts.

How to Approach IB English Paper 2 Prompts

All successful IB English Paper 2 essays must begin with a plan. Following an analysis of the prompts and the decision as to which will be tackled during the exam, IB English students should begin planning. This involves deciding on a thesis, or argument, that will be explored throughout the essay, as well as jotting down relevant quotations and literary devices that will be discussed. Once all of this is put down on paper, the ideas can be organised.

Time Allocation

The Paper 2 exam is 90 minutes long. A sensible time split looks like this:

  • 10 minutes reading prompts, choosing, and planning

  • 65 minutes writing the essay

  • 15 minutes reviewing and editing

Sticking to this framework means you are never caught without time to review, which is where easy marks are often recovered.

Essay Structure

IB English learners should incorporate a five-paragraph structure for their essays. This is as follows:

  • Introduction: the essay’s thesis is outlined and a roadmap is given, indicating how the response will progress.

  • Body paragraphs: IB English Paper two responses should consist of three body paragraphs, each composed in the PEEL style (point, evidence, explain, link to question). The third of these paragraphs can often contain a counterargument that is summarily undermined, thereby adding greater authority to the essay’s central thesis. 

  • Conclusion: the thesis is restated and the argument is summarised. 

Throughout the essay, students must use quotations, textual evidence, and reference to the works' impact on the audience.

Understanding the Updated IB English Paper 2 Assessment Criteria

From 2026 onwards, the IB has updated the Paper 2 assessment criteria in a way that changes how students should approach their essays. The most important shift is in Criterion B, which was previously focused on authorial choices and is now explicitly assessed on direct comparison and contrast between texts. Crucially, Criterion B is now marked out of 10, while Criteria A (understanding), C (structure), and D (language) are each marked out of 5. In practical terms, this means that half of the available marks come from how well you compare your two texts.

This is not just a structural tweak. It means that an essay which discusses two texts separately, even with excellent analysis of each, will be capped in what it can achieve. Comparison needs to be woven into every paragraph, not saved for a sentence at the end. More on what this looks like in practice below.

How to Write a Strong Thesis for IB English Paper 2

One of the most important distinctions in Paper 2 writing is the difference between a thesis that describes and one that argues.

Weak thesis: Both texts explore themes of power and control.

This tells the examiner what the texts are about, but it does not make any claim about how or why. It gives you nowhere interesting to go.

Strong thesis: Both texts present power as inherently self-destructive, though they differ in whether individual resistance is ultimately possible.

This version makes a specific, contestable argument. It tells the examiner what you think, and it sets up a comparison that can be developed across three body paragraphs. A good rule of thumb is this: if your thesis could describe almost any two texts on the same theme, it is probably too vague.

How to Write a Comparative PEEL Paragraph

With Criterion B now carrying half the available marks, how you structure each paragraph matters enormously. The PEEL framework remains the right foundation, but comparison must run through the whole paragraph rather than appearing as a single sentence tacked on at the end.

Below is an example using a prompt about power, comparing The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.

Weak paragraph:

Both texts explore the theme of power. In The Handmaid's Tale, Offred is controlled by the regime through her role as a Handmaid. Atwood uses imagery to show how oppressive this system is. In Nineteen Eighty-Four, Winston is similarly controlled by the Party. Orwell uses the image of the telescreen to show surveillance. Both authors therefore show that power is oppressive.

This paragraph discusses both texts but never actually compares them. The texts sit side by side rather than in conversation with each other, and the analysis is surface-level.

Strong paragraph:

Both Atwood and Orwell present power as a force that operates through the control of the body, though the mechanisms each author depicts differ in their intimacy. In The Handmaid's Tale, the Handmaid's red robes function as what Atwood calls a "disguise" that simultaneously conceals and announces the regime's ownership of female fertility, rendering the body itself a political instrument. Orwell similarly renders the body a site of state control through the telescreen, which Winston knows "could not be turned off," making self-surveillance a tool of oppression. Yet where Atwood's regime exerts control through prescribed ritual and collective ceremony, Orwell's Party relies on isolation and the threat of an unseen observer. This distinction suggests that while both authors share a preoccupation with bodily autonomy as a casualty of totalitarianism, Atwood frames compliance as socially enforced whereas Orwell presents it as psychologically internalised.

This paragraph makes a clear point, uses evidence from both texts, explains the significance of each, and then develops a meaningful contrast.

Common Themes in IB English Paper 2 Prompts

Thematic questions often occur on Paper 2 for IB English. Themes that are often referenced in IB Paper 2 prompts include identity, power, authority, love, and freedom. In regard to the theme of power, a prompt may read, ‘What questions about power has your study of two works of literature raised?’ When considering their response, IB English students should look beyond traditional power structures such as police or government, and consider the relationships that exist between parents and children, or between genders, to name but two. Put simply, IB English students should become comfortable in looking beyond the more obvious examples of thematic representation in a given text. By doing so, they will find much more to write about and, likely, compose a more interesting read for the examiner. 

It is recommended that, in preparation for IB Paper 2, learners scour IB English Paper 2 past papers and compile a list of commonly occurring prompts. From here, it is beneficial to compose essays that respond to these prompts. Use the accompanying mark schemes to aid in grading each essay. Creating an essay bank for frequently set questions is a handy revision tool. 

Below, you will find a list of English Paper 2-style thematic prompts, offering a great sense of the types of questions asked:

  • Compare how two works in your study have explored the themes of judgement and punishment, or disguise and deceit, or love and friendship, and with what effect.

  • How is the theme of happiness explored in two literary works?

  • In what ways, in two works you have studied, have technology or technological advances played a role as a theme or a source of conflict?

  • In what ways is the theme of individual freedom presented in any two works you have studied? 

  • Great literary themes involving love and death have sometimes been treated in ways that are unique or are unexpected. Discuss how any two of the works you have studied demonstrate this phenomenon.

  • Explore the ways in which the themes of  chance and coincidence are presented in any two works of literature you have studied.

  • Discuss how themes of death and dying exist in two works that you have studied.

  • Economic circumstances can be critical elements of the way a writer presents the world through literary forms. In what way has the theme of economic inequality been included in the work of two writers you have studied?

  • Consider the theme of justice and how it is represented in two works of literature. 

  • Discuss the role that regret plays in two works studied. How is regret central to the works’ central ideas or themes? 

Common Mistakes to Avoid on Paper 2

The same errors appear in IB English Paper 2 responses year after year. Being aware of them before you sit the exam gives you a real advantage.

  • Retelling the plot. Analysis is not summary. If your paragraph is explaining what happens in the text rather than what the author is doing and why, you are not writing analytically.

  • Superficial comparison. Noting that "both texts deal with loss" is not a comparison. A comparison explains how the treatment of loss differs between texts, what effect that creates, and what it suggests about each author's perspective.

  • Ignoring the specific wording of the prompt. Students often prepare well for broad themes and then answer a slightly different question to the one that was actually asked. Read the prompt carefully and make sure every paragraph is explicitly connected back to its specific language.

  • Unsupported assertions. Every claim needs evidence. If you argue that an author presents power as fragile, you need a quotation or specific textual reference to back it up.

  • Treating comparison as an add-on. Given the weighting of Criterion B, comparison that only appears at the end of paragraphs in a single sentence will cost you marks. It needs to be structural, not decorative.

Tips for Success on IB English Paper 2

As mentioned early, building up a question and essay bank is an important tip for success, but there are a number of others that IB English Paper 2 candidates can also try. Make sure to write essays to time. Use a stopwatch to monitor progress. The exam, after all, is a timed event so all students must practise writing under these conditions. It should be noted that essay writing practice does not necessarily mean completing full essays. It can be just as useful to practise paragraphs in isolation. This can mean selecting a prompt and working on the introductory paragraph to this essay, or the conclusion, and refining this. Writing a single body paragraph can also be beneficial in honing PEEL-paragraph writing skills. Building up to a complete essay over time can have more longer term benefits than forcing the completion of a five paragraph essay while having little idea of how to really write a paragraph. 

A few other practical tips worth keeping in mind for Paper 2:

  • Compile a list of strong quotations from both texts before the exam. You cannot bring notes in, so the more you have memorised, the better.

  • Practise writing theses in response to prompts you have not seen before. This sharpens your ability to form an argument quickly under pressure.

  • Use past paper mark schemes not just to check answers, but to understand the language examiners use to describe high-scoring responses.

How BartyED’s IB English Tutors Can Help You Prepare

At BartyED, our expert IB English tutors are keenly aware of the challenges that the IB English Paper 2 holds. It is a complex task that requires IB learners to engage multiple skills at once, and each one of these skills must be carefully developed over time. That’s why our team of experienced tutors work closely in a one-on-one environment with each student to ensure that they understand the skills needed to succeed and how best to apply them. Our focus is on building confidence and developing writing skills that are highly adaptable so that, regardless of the prompts, IB English candidates feel prepared to take on the task. If you think that you or your child could benefit from the guidance of a BartyED IB English tutor, reach out to us today by phone (+852 2882 1017), email (enquiries@bartyed.com), or contact us via the form below.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • There are four prompts for the IB English paper 2.

  • An IB English Paper 2 essay should be no less than five paragraphs long—an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. This should amount to roughly 1200 words, with 250 words per body paragraph.

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English, IB DiplomaMark Malone