IB English Language & Literature HL
The IB English A: Language and Literature HL course spans two years, honing critical reading and analytical thinking skills. Throughout the program, students are evaluated on their proficiency in articulating well-developed academic responses, both in spoken and written form, to various topics and global issues. The Language component of the course introduces students to diverse non-literary texts, including advertisements, films, documentaries, and other media. Meanwhile, the Literature section delves into exploring themes, character development, and the intentional authorial choices made to convey meaning and engage readers.
Course Structure and Content
Students study six literary texts at the HL level, including prose fiction, prose non-fiction, poetry, and drama. An equal number of “bodies of work” will also be studied in class, and these texts are directly applied to the assessment model. HL students are evaluated through Paper 1, Paper 2, the Individual Oral, and the Higher Level Essay.
For Paper 1, students must answer two questions and write a guided textual analysis of a guiding question. Paper 2 is the same for all courses, and this task requires students to choose one of four questions and write a comparative literary essay using two works seen in class. The Individual Oral is a 10-minute recorded presentation followed by a 5-minute Q&A session with the teacher. The goal is to show how the content and form of a work (Literature) and a body of work (Language) support a Global Issue from the course content.
Lastly, students must complete the Higher Level Essay, which is a 1500-word essay centered around a Line of Inquiry developed by the student.
