IB LESSON 6 · TIMED ASSESSMENT

Timed Essay & Self-Marking

Everything you have learned — against the clock

Read the passage. Then read the prompt.

This is an unseen passage in the style of the IB Paper 1 analysis. Read it twice — once for sense, once with a pen in hand. You will have 10 minutes to plan, 30 minutes to write, and 10 minutes to self-mark.

Virginia Woolf · "The Death of the Moth" (1942)

Moths that fly by day are not properly to be called moths; they do not excite that pleasant sense of dark autumn nights and ivy-blossom which the commonest yellow-underwing asleep in the shadow of the curtain never fails to rouse in us. They are hybrid creatures, neither gay like butterflies nor sombre like their own species.

The present specimen, with his narrow hay-coloured wings, fringed with a tassel of the same colour, seemed to be content with life. It was a pleasant morning, mid-September, mild, benignant, yet with a keener breath than that of the summer months. The plough was already scoring the field opposite the window, and where the share had been, the earth was pressed flat and gleamed with moisture.

Watching him, it seemed as if a fibre, very thin but pure, of the enormous energy of the world had been thrust into his frail and diminutive body. As often as he crossed the pane, I could fancy that a thread of vital light became visible. He was little or nothing but life.

— Adapted from the opening of Woolf's essay.

Your question

Analyse how Woolf shapes the reader's relationship to the moth in the opening of the essay.

Write one well-developed PACER paragraph (or two if time allows). Consider: what techniques does Woolf use, and what effect do they have on the reader?

Before you plan, look for: one metaphor or image you can unpack, one piece of diction that surprises you (word choice), and one structural move (e.g. the shift from general moths to "the present specimen"). These are the spine of a PACER paragraph.

10-minute plan

Do not skip this. A planned paragraph beats a perfect first sentence every time. Click "Start 10-min planning timer" when you are ready.

Planning Timer
10:00
Step 1 — pick 3 quotes from the passage

Short quotes (2–8 words). Each must show a different authorial choice.

Step 2 — name each technique (Lesson 2)

e.g. metaphor, shift in scale, personification, diction, contrast, pacing, enumeration, colon/dash structure.

Step 3 — write your Position (P) in one line

What is Woolf doing overall? Not "Woolf describes a moth". Something arguable.

Step 4 — pick your A and C quotes

Which two of your three quotes will sit inside this paragraph? They must extend, not duplicate, each other.

Step 5 — draft your E line now (one sentence)

"Together, these two choices…" — what pattern do they create? Do this before you start writing the paragraph.

Three angles an examiner would reward

Angle 1 — scale and attention. Woolf opens with a general taxonomy ("Moths that fly by day…") then zooms to "the present specimen". The shift in scale positions the reader to see the moth as both specimen and individual.

Angle 2 — the fibre metaphor. "A fibre, very thin but pure, of the enormous energy of the world had been thrust into his frail and diminutive body." Metaphor + the aggressive verb "thrust" + the contrast of "enormous" vs "frail and diminutive" — all in one sentence. A goldmine.

Angle 3 — diction that elevates. "Hay-coloured", "benignant", "little or nothing but life" — a register that refuses to treat the moth as insignificant. The vocabulary itself is doing ethical work.

You only need one of these angles. Pick the one you have most evidence for.

30-minute timed write

Phones down. One PACER paragraph minimum. Click "Start 30-min writing timer" when you are ready. The timer does not start automatically.

Writing Timer
30:00

The passage (for reference)

Woolf · "The Death of the Moth"

Moths that fly by day are not properly to be called moths; they do not excite that pleasant sense of dark autumn nights and ivy-blossom which the commonest yellow-underwing asleep in the shadow of the curtain never fails to rouse in us. They are hybrid creatures, neither gay like butterflies nor sombre like their own species.

The present specimen, with his narrow hay-coloured wings, fringed with a tassel of the same colour, seemed to be content with life... Watching him, it seemed as if a fibre, very thin but pure, of the enormous energy of the world had been thrust into his frail and diminutive body. As often as he crossed the pane, I could fancy that a thread of vital light became visible. He was little or nothing but life.

Prompt

Analyse how Woolf shapes the reader's relationship to the moth in the opening of the essay.

Your essay

Words: 0

Self-Mark against IB Criterion A

Read your essay against each row below. Tick the box if the statement is true of your writing — be honest. At the end, pick your band.

1. Interpretation — did I make a claim?

Band 7 descriptor: "Excellent understanding and evaluation of the text."

  • My P sentence states an arguable interpretation (not a summary).
  • My R sentence returns to the claim with the evidence's weight behind it.
  • Someone could disagree with my P — it is not obvious.

2. Authorial choices — did I name them correctly?

Band 7 descriptor: "Perceptive analysis of how authorial choices shape meaning."

  • I named at least 2 specific techniques using the Lesson 2 library.
  • Each technique is attached to a short, embedded quote.
  • I did not just say "the writer uses language" or "imagery" in general.

3. Effect on the reader — is it explicit?

Band 6+ requires every analysis sentence to name an effect on the reader.

  • Every analysis sentence contains an effect verb (positions, unsettles, reframes, etc.).
  • I used at least 3 different effect verbs.
  • I did not write "this shows that…" anywhere.

4. Structure — did PACER hold?

Criterion B: "Organization is coherent and well-developed."

  • I can point to a P, A, C, E, and R in my paragraph.
  • My C extends or complicates A — it does not start a new idea.
  • My E names a pattern, not just another example.

5. Integration (if comparing two moments or two texts)

Lesson 5 requirement for comparative tasks.

  • At least 3 of my sentences contain both moments / texts.
  • I used at least 2 different connector phrases ("where… / by contrast / together…").
  • I did not staple one paragraph per text.

6. Language — is my own prose precise?

Criterion D: "Language is clear, appropriate, and accurate."

  • I avoided filler words ("really", "very", "a lot", "interesting").
  • My quotes are short, embedded, and punctuated correctly.
  • I re-read the essay once and fixed any obvious slips.

Give yourself a band (1–7 for Criterion A)

Based on the ticks above, pick the single band that fits your paragraph best.

1–2 limited · 3–4 some understanding · 5 clear analysis · 6 perceptive · 7 insightful & evaluative

Model Band-7 paragraph (Woolf)

P: Woolf opens her essay by refusing to let the reader encounter the moth as a mere specimen — she stages it, instead, as a small vessel of a much larger force.

A: Her shift from the general ("Moths that fly by day…") to the singular ("the present specimen") foregrounds an individual creature and invites the reader to attend to it as Woolf herself is attending.

C: This individuation is then amplified by the extended metaphor of "a fibre, very thin but pure, of the enormous energy of the world… thrust into his frail and diminutive body" — where the violent verb "thrust" and the scale-contrast between "enormous" and "diminutive" reframe the moth as the point at which a universal current becomes visible.

E: Together, the move from category to specimen and the metaphor of inserted energy elevate the moth's scale without losing its frailty, positioning the reader to feel that smallness and significance are not opposites but conditions of one another.

R: The reader is left unable to dismiss the moth: Woolf has converted a trivial creature into a concentration of "life" itself — and placed the reader in the position of her own observant, reverent gaze.

Where you are — and what comes next

What this lesson series has given you

  • Lesson 1: Three levels of analysis (identification → description → analysis) — the ladder you now climb on every paragraph.
  • Lesson 2: A library of 15 named techniques — so you never write "the writer uses language" again.
  • Lesson 3: The effect-verb toolkit — the half of the sentence that earns Band 6+ marks.
  • Lesson 4: The PACER framework — a 5-slot paragraph shape that examiners recognise instantly.
  • Lesson 5: Integration, not stapling — how to make two pieces of evidence argue with each other.
  • Lesson 6: A timed write + self-mark protocol you can repeat every week.

Your weekly training plan

  1. Monday: Find one new unseen passage (novel, essay, speech). Write 3 PACER bullets only — no full paragraph.
  2. Wednesday: Pick one of Monday's passages. Write one full PACER paragraph — 20 minutes, no timer pressure.
  3. Friday: Time yourself (30 mins). Write. Self-mark with the Lesson 6 rubric.
  4. Saturday: Rewrite Friday's paragraph with every weak effect verb replaced.

Four short sessions. 90 minutes a week. This is how band 5 becomes band 7.

The red flags to watch for in your own writing

  • Any paragraph where you cannot point to a P, A, C, E, and R.
  • Any sentence that contains the word "shows" — rewrite with an effect verb.
  • Any comparison paragraph where Text A and Text B never appear in the same sentence.
  • Any "the reader can see" — replace with "positions", "foregrounds", or "implicates".
  • Any quote longer than 10 words — shorten, embed, integrate.
What to bring to the next session: your timed paragraph from this lesson, your self-mark score, and one question about the slot that was hardest for you. We will rebuild that specific slot together.

The one sentence to memorise

"A strong IB paragraph names an authorial choice, attaches an effect on the reader, connects a second choice that extends the first, zooms out to name the pattern, and leaves the reader in a specific new position."

If you can write that as an instruction to yourself above every essay, you will not drop below Band 6 again.