1. Listen and learn!

2. * “Read all the books.” * “As long as you read the books and pay attention in class, you will be well prepared for the IB exam.” * “READ THE BOOKS! Everyone is going to say this but definitely, read the books because it will make things soooooo much easier for the IB exams and for class discussions.”

3. * “Do the journals ahead of time and actually read the book!” * “The novels are all really good so actually read them and put some effort into your assignments for each one. You’ll be glad you did when the IB exams start!”

4. * “Actually read the novels. It’s so much easier to understand what happens and remember who does what when you’ve read it through.”

5. * “Buy your own book and critically read the novels (not tons of writing but at least underline important quotations). Through doing this you will be able to remember the information better as well.” * “I would read the books with sticky notes or write inside the books and pull out important symbols or ideas. I think pulling out quotes that you like and understand can also help you with the significant quotations assignment at the end of the book.”

6. * “Do the journals. They’re really helpful when it comes to the IB test because you already have some ideas in mind.” * “Do the journals. It’s not worth having to make them all up later. Just do them when the novel is still fresh in your mind.”

7. * “Actually do the journals. They feel like busywork sometimes but they allow you to solidify your thoughts about the novels, and it really helps in the long run.” * “Do the journals legitly and actually read the novels.” * “The journals are interesting and so are the novels and plays you will read.” * “Journals are pretty useful to highlight major themes, imagery, motifs, etc. If you have quality journals, all other work should be pretty easy since you have all the key details at hand.”

8. * “The work load in this class is not hard, so do not complain.” * “The classwork load is definitely manageable.”

9. * “At the beginning of the novel, we know what the homework load will be for almost the entire unit, so we could plan ahead and budget our time.”

10. * “There’s no busy work – we do journals or analysis projects for the novels we read, and then work on preparing for the IB exams, the written assignment, etc. As long as you keep up with the journals and participate in class you will learn a lot and not have too much outside work to do.”

11. * “It’s easy to do the homework quickly and get credit for it, but it will definitely affect how confident you are on your IB exam.”

12. * “Don’t be afraid to participate and share your ideas in Socratic Seminars and class. This is how you will grow as a reader and as a student. Pay attention and ask for help whenever you need it, especially for big essays.” * “Just enjoy the class! I found it to be much less stressful than IB English junior year and a lot more fun!”

13. * “Participate in class discussions and ask many questions because the environment is very relaxed and this class is so interesting.” * “We mostly do discussions, which is extremely helpful to learn from our peers and expand on our ideas.”

14. * “About classwork, I would say to pay attention during class discussions and actually take notes because they are helpful when writing essays. The homework, which is mostly reading a book and writing a journal, will only help students because they will better understand the text and that is really necessary for success.”