Before you think about 'how' to write your Paper 2 essay, it helps to know 'what' you are going to write about. Even though you do not know the exam questions, there are many ways in which you can prepare your knowledge of your literary works. 

1. Which works are you planning on writing about for your Paper 2 exam? After you have ear-marked one work for you individual oral and possibly another for your HL essay, there are only three (SL) or four (HL) works left for your to explore for your Paper 2 exam, and you only need to explore two. What themes do these works have in common? In groups with a large piece of paper, draw a three-way (triangle) or four-way (square) diagram like the one below to depict the thematic connections between works.  One the lines between the works write the themes that connect the works.


2. What stylistic and structural features do your literary works have in common? These kinds of connections are best made visible by using a table, like the one below. In this example, narration, turning points and symbols are explored (without much depth). You may want to focus on other stylistic and structural aspects of your works, such as imagery, characterisation, 



Work	Narration	Plot twists	Symbols/motifs
The Tempest	dialogue some frame narration	Prospero asks for forgiveness	books chess
Disgrace	present simple free indirect speech	rape of Lucy relationship with Beverly	opera dogs
Death & the Maiden	dialogue unreliable?	flat tire forced confession	Schubert gun
Woman at point zero	frame narration flashbacks	murder of her pimp	money books

3. After creating a table like the one above, what kinds of opportunities do you see for comparison?  Which works are best suited for comparison? What do you still need to find out about your literary works, before you can write successfully about them?