I scored a 5 for HL Language & Literature (Lang & Lit) during my IB Examinations. Am I particularly proud of it? No. Was I disappointed by it? Sort of. Do I regret it? Not at all. Let me explain why.

My interest in a subject is greatly influenced by the educator. (I wrote about how an educator caused me to enjoy a subject I didn’t like in another article HERE). When my passionate Lang & Lit teacher headed back to Canada, I was stuck with someone who, well… let’s just say wasn’t the best teachers. My interest for the subject torpedoed to the ground.

My grades for Lang & Lit before the teacher took over wasn’t stellar but it was decent (I’m talking about 5/6s). When she started teaching, it was perhaps about half a year before the IB examinations. Even after trying my best to understand her lessons, I simply was not able to grasp what she taught. I sought help from my friends who gracefully tried their best to help me. However, I knew internally that I was in trouble.

The thought process that went through my head was this: If I tried to salvage Language and Literature, I would be able to score a 6 at best (7 to me was out of my reach as my fundamentals were weak and it wasn’t my strong subject). But getting a 6 might mean that I would not attain a 7 in the other subjects. It was either I focused my efforts on the subjects that I was more assured of hitting a 7 or try to pull up my Language and Literate grades.

So I took a gamble.

(Disclaimer, I do not promote any kind of gambling. I am using the words “gambling” and “bet” as a way to explain that I sacrificed the potential of doing well in particular subject(s) for the sake of other subject(s))

I decided to focus all my efforts on the other subjects, those that I knew I could score well. I studied my hardest for these. I knew that for this gamble to pay off, I really had to ensure that I did well for them. Thankfully, it paid off and I scored a 7 in all the above subjects, except for Chemistry which I was 1 mark away from a 7.

Let’s analyse why this was a well-calculated gamble, if I may say so myself.

Assuming that I decided to salvage Language and Literature, these might have been my grades:

Language and Literature — 6

Mathematics — 6 (Check out how I got from 2–7 in SL Math in my other article!)

Geography — 6

Economics — 7

Chemistry — 5

Chinese B — 7

Extended Essay + TOK — 2 bonus points

*This estimate was based on my grades throughout my IB journey as well as from my personal analysis.

Total IB score: 39

This was my actual IB score:

Language and Literature — 5

Geography — 7

Economics — 7

Mathematics — 7 (Check out how I got from 2–7 in SL Math in my other article!)

Chemistry — 6

Chinese B — 7

Extended Essay + TOK — 2 bonus points

Total IB score: 41

2 points more than if I tried to salvage my Language and Literature grades! Pretty good trade off right? It was! Especially since the universities and careers I was aiming to apply to did not require a good score in Lang & Lit.

Is making such a gamble always justified then?

The answer is no. Let me explain why.

1. Why put yourself in a situation whereby you have to make a gamble in the first place?

Often times, you don’t need to make such a gamble. If you are consistent in school and make sure you clarify your doubts with your teachers often, your foundation would most probably be pretty solid.

My number 1 advice for students in IB Lounge is to build a rock-solid foundation so that you never have to play catch up. Always strive to make sure that you are on task with each weeks’ teachings!

If your school teacher can’t really teach you effectively (perhaps because her teaching style isn’t suited for you), then consult your friends who understand! I’ve gained a lot of help from my friends.

If not, look for external help such as tuition. Tuition can be a good supplement and help by providing more individualised consultations and guidance. Having a tutor can really assist you in correcting very specific areas where you are weak in, which a school teacher may not have time to do. (Disclaimer: Not every tuition is beneficial and expensive tutors don’t equate to quality ones! Some tutors may even cause you to do worse than you already do). I will be writing an article on how I choose tutors in the near future!

2. It really depends on what your goals are.

This depends on various factors such as which university course you are aiming for and the type of career that you are planning on pursuing.

For example, while considering applying for London School of Economics’ BSC Economics program, I noticed this requirement.

Therefore, if I were to choose between focusing my efforts on Mathematics to attain a 7 versus pulling up my Lang & Lit grades, I would definitely choose the former.

Granted, a 5 for any subject doesn’t look good on your IB result sheet but when it comes to being practical, it might be worth to make that sacrifice.

For me, I knew (because I did my research) that scoring well in Lang & Lit wasn’t as important as attaining a 7 in other subjects like Mathematics and Economics as well as getting a score above 40. So do your research!

If my goal was to get in to a prestigious Literature course, for instance, then it would have not been wise to neglect Lang & Lit. I would have probably then chosen to push my Lang & Lit upto a 7 and that would have probably meant sacrificing grades for other subjects (given my circumstance)

Be clear about your goals and where you want to head to after IB and focus on getting there. Don’t let the distraction of doing well for every subject distract you. Choose your battles wisely. As the saying goes: Don’t FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).

3. Taking a gamble doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try.

Taking such a gamble means that you have to put in much more effort in to the subjects that you have decided to dedicate yourself to. Imagine what would have happened if I didn’t manage to score well for those subjects.

But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try for the subject you have chosen to sacrifice! A passing grade in IB for any subject is a 4 and if you completely neglect the subject, you are at risk of scoring a 3 and below. This means that you might not attain the Diploma if IB recognises it as a fail.

For me, I put in a reasonably decent amount of effort in to Lang & Lit. Just enough to ensure that I could at least write a reasonably good essay but definitely not enough to do exceptionally well. I still memorised the necessary quotes and revised important skills that examiners looked for. I consulted my friends as well for help. Perhaps I should have gotten a tutor to help me… Too late for that now!

On my examination day, I was not able to get a cab and my family car broke down at the last minute so I was 20–30 minutes late for the examination. However, I had already accepted that I would be aiming for a 6 at best and that helped me to stay calm. I quickly finished my essays and handed the paper in on time. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise because for the next few papers, I took more precautions and arrived early for the remaining examinations. Imagine if I was late for an Economics paper! There simply would not have enough time to complete it.

Making good bets

Till today, I do not regret my decision of sacrificing my Lang & Lit grades in the interest of the other subjects. It was the best decision at that point in time, given my circumstances and my goals. I feel that most students aren’t clear about their goals and this is why they end up not meeting their targets. But like I wrote, if you have been consistent from the start, you probably wouldn’t be in a situation you have to choose. So seek help early if you have to. Do it once, do it right!

Need help in the IB Languages?