You have read your child’s essay. It is thoughtful. The writing is good, the quotes are there, and they clearly love the book. Then the grade comes back and it is a 4. Nobody can tell you why. Parents looking for an IB English Literature tutor describe this same thing again and again. A child who can write. A subject they enjoy. A grade that makes no sense.
Usually the essay is not weak. It is simply answering a question the examiner did not ask. If a school report has recently landed and said something similar, our advice on what to do after a poor English report is a good place to start.
What is this article about?
Bright students often write the essay they prepared instead of the one they were asked for. That single habit caps the grade.
The prepared essay problem
Here is what happens. Your child revises a text properly. They build an argument they believe in, they memorise the strongest evidence, and they walk into the exam ready. Then the question appears, and it asks about something slightly different. Rather than adjust, they write the essay they came in with and hope it fits.
It never quite fits. The examiner reads a good piece of writing that does not address the question, and the grade is capped no matter how well it is written. This is why hard work often fails to improve the grade in this subject. Your child is working, but on the wrong task.
“If you do not get the question you revised for, you shift the introduction to meet the one you did get. You do not rewrite the essay. You aim it.”
One of our IB English Literature tutors
An IB English Literature tutor spends real time on this, because it is a teachable skill rather than a talent. Reading the question properly, deciding what it is really asking, and pointing an argument at it can be practised until it is automatic.
How we teach it, and how you will see it working
Our tutors work to your child’s exact texts and assessment criteria, so nothing is wasted. They mark written work against the real criteria, not a general impression, and they return short written feedback after each session. As a result, you can see exactly what changed. Most importantly, the technique goes back into school essays the following week.
For students aiming at the top of the scale, we have written separately about how to get a 7 in IB English Literature HL.
Three students and what changed
These are composites. The names are invented and the details blended, because these are real children from real families. The teaching is exactly as it happened.
Nadia, who wrote the essay she had prepared
Nadia knew her texts extremely well. Under pressure, however, she reached for the argument she had rehearsed rather than the one the question needed. Her tutor gave her ten past questions on the same text and made her write only the opening paragraph for each. No full essays. Just the aim. After a fortnight, she stopped writing past the question and started writing at it.
Ruben, who chose beautiful quotes
Ruben picked the lines he loved most. Unfortunately, the lines he loved were rarely the strongest evidence for his point. His tutor changed one thing: choose the quote that proves the argument, even when a lovelier one is sitting on the same page. His writing became less decorative and considerably more convincing, and the grade improved.
Sasha, who read the question too quickly
Sasha understood the texts and still lost marks, because she skimmed the question and answered a version of it that was in her head. Her tutor made her underline exactly what was being asked before writing a single word. It sounds almost too simple. Nevertheless, it was the single change that improved her grade, because she had never been losing marks on knowledge at all.
Sasha’s habit is not really an English problem at all. It shows up in every essay subject, which is why our History revision methods teach the same discipline: read what is being asked, then answer that.
What the first lesson looks like
Your child brings a recent essay. The tutor reads it in front of them and asks one question: what was the essay title, and where exactly does this paragraph answer it? That conversation usually reveals the whole problem within twenty minutes. Afterwards, they agree what to work on and you get a written summary the same day.
Have one essay read properly
Bring a recent piece of work and we will show you where the grade is going.
Meet three of our IB English Literature tutors
Laurie
Laurie read English at Oxford and took a Double First. She teaches IB English Literature, including the Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge. She is especially strong with international students meeting the UK system for the first time. Her feedback on essays is direct and specific, which is what a capable student needs.
George
George holds an MPhil in Linguistics from Cambridge and a First in English Literature from Manchester, and begins a PhD this year. He teaches IB English Literature alongside Philosophy and Religious Studies. His background in how language works gives him a sharp eye for whether an argument lands. That is the difference between a 5 and a 7.
Lucy
Lucy read Theology and Philosophy of Religion at Cambridge and took A* Psychology alongside English Literature at A Level. She teaches English Literature at IB and A Level, and she is calm and patient with students who have lost confidence in a subject they used to enjoy.
Worth reading next
Ready to have the essay read properly?
If your child writes well and the grade does not reflect it, the problem is usually aim rather than ability. An IB English Literature tutor will show you the difference in one lesson.
Improve your child’s English grade
START WITH ONE ESSAY
Send us a recent essay. We will show you exactly where the grade is being lost, and how to fix it.
Frequently asked questions
