IB Diploma Programme English A: Language and Literature, SL and HL
SL and HL papers
Both levels sit Paper 1, Paper 2 and the individual oral. HL writes on both Paper 1 passages and adds the HL essay.
Standard level (SL)
Paper 1: guided textual analysis 1 h 15 min, 20 marks, 35% of the grade.
Two unseen non-literary passages of different text types, each with a guiding question. You write an analysis of one.
Paper 2: comparative essay 1 h 45 min, 35% of the grade.
Four general questions. You answer one with a comparative essay on two literary works you have studied.
Individual oral 15 min, 40 marks, 30% of the grade.
A 10-minute prepared talk on how a global issue is presented in one literary work and one non-literary body of work, then 5 minutes of questions. Marked by your teacher and moderated by the IB.
Paper 1Paper 2The course, the oral and the HL essayTimed check
196 questions at SL, with Mia's feedback on every analysis and essay against the criteria.
Higher level (HL)
Paper 1: guided textual analysis 2 h 15 min, 40 marks, 35% of the grade.
Two unseen non-literary passages of different text types, each with a guiding question. You write an analysis of both.
Paper 2: comparative essay 1 h 45 min, 25% of the grade.
As at SL: one comparative essay on two literary works you have studied, from four general questions.
HL essay 20 marks, 20% of the grade.
An essay of 1,200 to 1,500 words on a line of inquiry into one literary work or one non-literary body of work studied in the course.
Individual oral 15 min, 40 marks, 20% of the grade.
As at SL: a global issue in one literary work and one non-literary body of work, 10 minutes and 5 of questions.
Paper 1Paper 2The course, the oral and the HL essayTimed check
205 questions at HL, with Mia's feedback on every analysis and essay against the criteria.
Paper 1 criteria
Each analysis is assessed on four criteria, 20 marks in all.
- Criterion A: Understanding and interpretation (5 marks). How well you show what the text says and what it implies, and how well your references to the text support your reading.
- Criterion B: Analysis and evaluation (5 marks). How well you analyse the writer's choices and the text's features, and judge how they shape meaning, rather than describing them.
- Criterion C: Focus and organization (5 marks). How clearly your ideas are organized and how closely the whole analysis stays focused on its line of argument.
- Criterion D: Language (5 marks). How clear, accurate and varied your writing is, in a register and with terms suited to analysis.
Paper 2 criteria
The essay is assessed on four criteria. You write without the works in front of you, so detailed knowledge of them matters more than long quotations.
- Criterion A: Knowledge, understanding and interpretation. How well you show knowledge and understanding of both works, and use it to draw conclusions about their similarities and differences in answer to the question.
- Criterion B: Analysis and evaluation. How well you analyse and evaluate how each writer's choices of language, technique, style and structure shape meaning, and how well that analysis compares and contrasts the two works.
- Criterion C: Focus and organization. How well structured, balanced and focused the comparison is, from the thesis to the conclusion.
- Criterion D: Language. How clear, accurate and varied your writing is, in a register and with terms suited to a literary essay.
The individual oral and the HL essay are your own work on texts your school chooses, so they are taught in a lesson rather than practised here. Mia gives feedback against the criteria; she never gives a mark or a grade.