European Baccalaureate Language 1 study plan
European Baccalaureate Language 1 · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Written examinations
Diagnose your written-exam baseline by completing one full past-paper commentary under timed conditions and scoring it against the official criteria descriptors
Map the written exam's component structure (commentary, essay, and language/grammar tasks) onto a weekly schedule so each component gets at least two practice cycles before week 5
Build a personal error taxonomy covering grammar, register, structure, and argumentation, tagging every mistake from your diagnostic with one category
Assemble a reusable analytical toolkit of 15 literary and stylistic terms (e.g. focalisation, anaphora, register shift) with a one-line definition and a model sentence for each
Your checkpoint
A scored diagnostic paper plus a one-page error taxonomy sheet listing at least 20 tagged errors and the 15-term analytical glossary
Written examinations
Draft two timed commentaries (90 minutes each) on unseen short texts from different genres, applying the analytical toolkit explicitly
Revise each commentary against the assessment criteria, rewriting at least three sentences to raise precision of quotation integration and terminology
Practise embedding short, exact quotations rather than long block quotes, targeting at least six integrated citations per commentary
Drill the ten most frequent errors from your taxonomy using targeted rewriting exercises
Your checkpoint
Two revised commentaries with a before/after comparison note identifying which criteria descriptors moved up
Written examinations & Preliminary mark (formative and summative assessment during s7)
Write two full argumentative essays under exam timing on prescribed-work themes, each with a clear thesis, counter-argument, and conclusion
Compile a one-page evidence bank per prescribed work (key scenes, quotations, structural features) that you can cite from memory
Collect and log the assessment evidence your s7 coursework generates this week (essays, oral contributions, projects) into a portfolio folder with dates and criteria matched
Identify which preliminary-mark criteria your current portfolio evidence is weakest on and list three concrete actions to close each gap
Your checkpoint
Two timed essays plus an evidence bank covering at least two prescribed works and a portfolio audit table mapping existing evidence to preliminary-mark criteria
Written examinations & Preliminary mark (formative and summative assessment during s7)
Complete a full mock written paper under strict exam conditions and self-mark it against the official band descriptors
Submit one piece of portfolio evidence for teacher feedback and convert the feedback into three specific revision targets
Tighten grammar and orthography accuracy by proofreading three of your own texts specifically for agreement, tense consistency, and accentuation
Reduce planning time to under ten minutes per essay while maintaining a visible outline structure
Your checkpoint
A fully self-marked mock paper with a band score per component and a written list of three revision targets derived from teacher feedback
Oral examinations & Preliminary mark (formative and summative assessment during s7)
Record three five-minute oral presentations on prescribed-work topics and review each recording against fluency, structure, and lexical range criteria
Prepare and rehearse a two-minute personal response to an unseen text extract, practising the transition from reading time to speaking
Build a bank of 30 discourse markers and rhetorical structures for structuring spoken argument, and use at least eight in each rehearsal
Schedule and confirm your oral exam logistics (format, timing, materials allowed) and simulate the full sequence once
Your checkpoint
Three recorded oral presentations with a self-assessment sheet scoring each against oral criteria, plus one full simulated oral exam
Oral examinations & Written examinations
Conduct two mock oral exams with a peer or teacher, including follow-up questioning, and log the questions you handled poorly
Practise defending an interpretation under challenge, preparing three responses to likely counter-questions per prescribed work
Write one timed commentary focusing on the genre you scored lowest on in week 4
Refine pronunciation and intonation by shadowing a recorded literary reading for 15 minutes three times this week
Your checkpoint
Two completed mock orals with a question log and prepared counter-responses, plus one revised timed commentary
Preliminary mark (formative and summative assessment during s7) & Written examinations
Finalise the preliminary-mark portfolio, ensuring every criterion has at least one dated, clearly labelled piece of evidence
Draft a self-assessment statement summarising your s7 progress against the preliminary-mark criteria for discussion with your teacher
Run one final timed written paper component you have practised least, and compare your score to week 4
Consolidate the error taxonomy into a one-page pre-exam checklist of your five remaining recurring weaknesses
Your checkpoint
A complete, indexed portfolio with a self-assessment statement and a comparison of week 7 versus week 4 component scores
Written examinations & Oral examinations
Rehearse the full written exam once under authentic timing and conditions, then review only the highest-impact errors
Run two final short oral rehearsals emphasising openings, transitions, and conclusions rather than new content
Review your evidence banks and analytical glossary for retrieval speed, testing yourself without notes
Plan exam-week logistics (timing, materials, rest) and write a one-page exam-day routine
Your checkpoint
A final full mock written paper with a score summary, two oral rehearsal recordings, and a written exam-day routine sheet
Milestones
Week 2: You can produce a structured commentary with at least six integrated quotations and correct terminology within 90 minutes without notes
Week 4: Your mock written paper scores at or above the middle band on every component, and your portfolio has evidence mapped to at least half the preliminary-mark criteria
Week 6: You can sustain a 10-minute oral exchange on prescribed works, handling at least two challenging follow-up questions without losing structure
Week 7: Every preliminary-mark criterion has at least one dated piece of evidence in the indexed portfolio, and your weakest written component has improved from the week 4 baseline
Week 8: You complete a full timed written paper and two oral rehearsals at target standard, with a written exam-day routine in place