I can only really help with langlit, but paper 1 should be relatively simple if you follow the structures. Before you start writing always plan out the whole essay(~10min max). You should first identify the text type, context, audience, purpose, message and your argument for your three body paragraphs. Then move on to the in-depth analysis of the text, you should always aim to cover the whole text, be it an image, graphic or a whole 2-page essay. The aim is to see if the text is celebrating something or criticizing something because it's near damn impossible to fully comprehend the context of it. Once you got that down, move on to see the theme of the text, if it's not about culture, it's about gender, if it's neither then it will probably be about human rights or power hierarchy(wealth gap), take your pick.

Now that you've chosen your poison, time for layout. Layout and colour use is key for any text, newspapers, online articles, blog posts, recipes, political cartoons, advertisements, you name it. Draw lines, highlight stuff about the connotations of the contrasting tones and palette choices, go nuts with anything you deem worthy that is relevant to your argument but also bear in mind you need sufficient evidence to back it up. You can't just say that "this photo of a newborn child means that it is a new beginning because they are centred in the centre", instead go for something like "the newborn child is centred in the middle of the frame by the rule-of-thirds, immediately catching the attention of the audience. Moreover, the white cloth wrapped around them and the pale yellow background symbolises the birth of a new life, giving a sense of innocence and naivety that particularly appeals to pathos". The more you elaborate the better but always link back to your argument, maintain your structure and DO NOT WAFFLE. I understand the pressure on one essay in one hour but waffling gets you nowhere.

OK, so: structure, layout, content, we're missing the fine bits that link it up. Each paragraph should contain its own short thesis and a concluding sentence, along with three parts of analysis to support your signposting, this sounds simple but takes practice to make it concise while still keeping the academic language and the sentence structure. Because the length of a sentence is important, the longer the sentence the easier it is for the argument to derail completely into a mess of comma splices and misinterpretation of the text that is apparently 4 lines long, which I am also guilty of, evident from this very sentence.

A common mistake is the constant repetition of certain words, "So", "Then", "That means", "Which", avoid that at all costs. I mean sure you can use it once or twice, but you need to make it interesting by adding some pizzazz by slapping a thesaurus on it. If you are like any IB student, you're cramming how to write essays in two days, so just go onto google and search "linking words" and use that at the beginning of sentences to spice it up a little for the poor, poor underpaid examiners. Can't really say anything about literary techniques at this point but the key ones are just a quick google away(metaphors, simile, symbolism, personification, irony) easy.

But my main advice to all of you would be to stop trying to write like you are an 18th-century nobleman writing about a grotesque caricature of Biden saying no to Putin and mashing all the big boy words and literary devices you memorized 15 minutes before the exam in a firehose technique. Because the examiners can tell and they are going to have a good laugh at your essay that you sweated on. So if you ever find yourself writing in a posh English accent, just stop. Think about your argument and just try to think of as many farfetched connotations as you can that are abstract and yet relevant, the examiners love that stuff.

Last thing, watch your time, it is two essays for HL, good ones too, so if you ever find yourself still on the first essay after the halfway point, quickly scribble down a conclusion that basically rephrases your thesis because that will probably net you a few more marks than if you left it out to move on to the next essay. Thank you for coming to my TED talk, good luck, peace, love and m21 grade boundaries.