english a language and literature hl essay rubric

IB English HLE Explained

Free introductory guide to IB English Higher Level Essay (HLE) by IB44 and IB45 graduates Lareina Shen and Saesha Grover.

In this guide, LitLearn students (and 2022 IB grads!)  Lareina Shen and Saesha Grover share their wisdom on how to conquer the IB English Higher Level Essay (HLE).

Lareina achieved an IB44, and Saesha achieved an IB45 as well as the coveted IB7 in IB English Literature HL, so you are in safe hands.

Meet your instructor Jackson Huang, Founder of LitLearn. His mission is to make IB English as pain-free as possible with fun, practical lessons. Jackson scored an IB45 and was accepted to Harvard, Amherst, Williams Colleges, and full scholarships to University of Melbourne & Queensland.

What is IB English HLE?

The HL Essay (HLE) is a 1200-1500 word essay about a text studied in the IB English course. For Lang Lit, the work you choose to analyze can be literary or non-literary, but for IB English Literature the text must be literary.

The HLE will make up  25% of your final IB English HL grade , and it is graded externally. You must choose your own line of inquiry   (i.e. a question that you will answer in your HLE–more on this later).

How do I choose my text for HLE?

Do NOT choose the “easiest” text. Life is always better when you do things you're interested in, and that advice applies to the HLE, too. Choose the literary / non-literary work that interests  you the most, so that you can (semi?)-enjoy the HLE planning and writing process.

You could start by thinking of a theme that you find particularly interesting and determining which text studied in class demonstrates this theme well.

How do I choose my line of inquiry for HLE?

The line of inquiry is the core question that you will answer in your essay. A quick example might be:

"To what extent is masculinity undermined by the characterisation of Little Thomas?"

Now, it's your job to forge your destiny and come up with your own line of inquiry. But it's not a complete free-for all! There are rules. The main rule is that your line of inquiry must fall under one of the 7 main concepts of IB English (see below for a quick summary).

This summary is vague, so let's go in-depth on a couple of these concepts to really show you what you should be doing in the HLE.

Identity is what makes you, YOU. Here are some questions the concern your own personal identity:

• What is your favourite colour? And why is it your favourite?
• What makes you different from others? Why do you think these qualities came to be?
• How would someone describe you in three words?

Now apply this same logic to characters within your text.

• How would you describe this character in three words?
• How do their actions within a text influence your view of their identity?
• How has the author crafted this character to make you view the character in a certain way?

Let's take a look at a concrete example of how we might choose evidence and quotes for a HLE on cultural identity. This example is based on a Vietnamese work in translation “Ru” by author Kim Thúy. For context, “Ru” is an autobiographical fictional account which explores Kim Thúy's move from Vietnam to Canada as an immigrant and her consequent struggles. The structure of her novel is largely lyrical and poetic.

Let's look at a section from her novel that may help us come up with an essay idea based on the concept of Identity. When she returns to Vietnam, she attends a restaurant, however this becomes a major awakening for her in terms of how she views her own personal identity. Kim narrates within her novel:

The first time I carried a briefcase, the first time I went to a restaurant school for young adults in Hanoi, wearing heels and a straight skirt, the waiter for my table didn't understand why I was speaking Vietnamese with him. Page 77, Rú

This is a perfect quote for the Identity concept. Can you see why? Let's think through it together…

Why would the waiter be confused if Kim, a “briefcase”-carrying individual in “heels” and a “straight skirt”, was speaking Vietnamese with him?

What does being “Vietnamese” look like to the waiter? Why does Kim not conform to his expectation? Was it perhaps due to what she was wearing?

Now, if we look at the section which follows this in the novel, we are able to see the impact this had on the character of Kim's sense of identity.

the young waiter reminded me that I couldn't have everything, that I no longer had the right to declare I was Vietnamese because I no longer had their fragility, their uncertainty, their fears. And he was right to remind me. Page 77, Rú

Here, we can clearly see that this character is now questioning her Vietnamese cultural identity. This is just one example that demonstrates the concept of Identity.

Culture seems to be this confusing thing.  Does it have to do with religion? Race? Beliefs? What does it mean? Does the monster from Frankenstein fit into a certain culture?

The easiest way to put it is this:  Culture is the way someone lives. It is their “way of life.” Think of it as an umbrella term. “Culture” can include so many different things; the list just goes on, for example religion, values, customs, beliefs, cuisine, etc.

Now think, how would I form an essay from this concept?

• When you read a text in class, you will notice that authors let you form an opinion on the culture of certain characters or groups within a text, but how is this done?
• How does the author represent the culture of a certain community?
• What types of patterns in daily routines are discussed?

It seems odd writing an essay about “creativity” because… like… how can anyone definitively say what ‘counts' as being creative–or not? When I say the word creativity , I think of new inventions, or maybe those weird and wacky art installations living inside those ‘modern art' museums. But hey, what's creative to me might not be creative to you!

When formulating a HLE on the concept of creativity we have two main pointers for you. Look for:

• Interesting + Unique techniques or literary devices used within a text by the author. You can learn more in the  Learn Analysis section of LitLearn.
• Recurring stylistic choices by the author

Now, for this concept, let's look at how we might select supportive evidence and quotations for a HLE on creativity within the narrative style of author Mary Shelley in “Frankenstein”. The narrative style uses  epistolary narration . This is a narrative technique in which a story is told through letters. This was something that I found both interesting and recurring within Frankenstein, which I believe worked to create a personal touch within the novel.

Additionally, Mary Shelley allows different characters to narrate Frankenstein during different volumes. Let's investigate this! I have written out different character profiles of the narrators below:

These 3 characters, each relate a part of the novel Frankenstein. This is an example of a creative authorial choice that allows us, as readers to explore different points of view within the text. This is just one example of a creative aspect of a text which you can analyze for your HLE.

Representation

Representation is all about how something is  portrayed, conveyed, shown, described, illustrated, depicted . There are many different things that can be ‘represented' within a text, and it doesn't have to be tangible.

For instance, you can look at how a belief, idea or attitude is depicted within a text through different characters or devices.

Again, let's explore a concrete example to make things clear: this time the graphic novel “Persepolis”. We'll consider an HLE on how a text  represents the  impact of political turmoil on society .

Chapter 10 of “Persepolis” highlights societal changes occurring due to the Iranian Revolution. The panels below list the authorial choices relevant to the negative representation of political change in a society. When looking at the techniques highlighted in the slides below, think about how you feel when you look at the panels below. Can you sense a more positive or negative feeling?

Cool, but what do we do to turn all this into an actual HL essay? Here is a sample response. The introduction might begin like this:

In the captivating graphic novel “Persepolis,” the author Marjane Satrapi explores the social and political impacts of the Iranian revolution. In particular, Satrapi conveys a disapproving viewpoint on political turmoil within the text. Throughout the graphic novel, Satrapi carefully represents how social isolation, hypocrisy and confusion is experienced by a young girl living in Tehran, as a result of political turmoil.  Example HLE Introduction

Then, in a body paragraph, on one of the key ideas mentioned above, we could analyze the different literary techniques. For example, Panel 1 is a great representation of the experience of confusion in the midst of political turmoil:

Marji is the younger girl pictured in the panels above. While her parents appear quite concerned by the news on the TV, she appears to not be in full comprehension of the cause for their distress. This is demonstrated by the visual imagery and dialogue, in panel 7, for instance, if you observe the facial expressions by each of the characters. Example of analysis in body paragraph

This is just a short example from one particular text. To help you unpack any text, try look for the following when analyzing chapter to chapter:

• What is the main idea of the chapter?
• Why did the author write it? What purpose does it serve?
• What do you believe is the overarching importance of the passage?

Brainstorming Tips

If you're having trouble picking your text and line of inquiry, then use this simple 20-minute process to brainstorm potential questions for your HLE:

• For each text / non-literary work, go through each concept in the table below.
• Write down a question for each of the two prompts for each category.
• Repeat for all of your texts.
• Pick the question-text combination that has the greatest potential for strong analysis.

How do I ensure my HLE question has a good scope?

Choosing a question with good scope is extremely   important, and it's one of the biggest challenges in the HLE. Here's why:

• If your scope is too broad , you may have too much to write about in order to answer the question, and therefore you won't be able to write deep analysis (which is super important–more on this later…)
• If your scope is too narrow , you may not have enough to write about and end up overanalyzing unnecessary and obscure details. Also something to avoid!

So, to help you get the balance just right , here are three examples of HLE questions, specifically for the concept of  Identity which we mentioned in the table above (by the way, the example is a made-up novel for illustration purposes).

• Too broad: “How does Irene Majov in her novel  Deadly Men effectively make her narrator a powerful mouthpiece?”
• Too narrow: “How does Irene Majov in her novel  Deadly Men effectively make her narrator a powerful mouthpiece for the concerns of Asian-Americans toward discrimination in the workforce in the 21st century?”
• Just right: “How does Irene Majov in her novel  Deadly Men effectively make her narrator a powerful mouthpiece for the concerns of Asian-Americans in the 21st century?”

How to get a 7 on IB English HLE

There are many things that contribute to a 7 in your HLE and your IB English grade overall. But if we had to boil it down to one secret, one essential fact… then it'd have to be this: Get really good at analysis .

Analysis is the key to a 7 in IB English. It doesn't matter if it's Paper 1, Paper 2, HLE, IO… You must learn how to analyze quotes at a deep level, and structure your analysis in a way that flows and delights your teachers and examiners.

Start with the basics

Start with the basic foundations of analysis for free inside LitLearn's Learn Analysis course.

Our free and Pro resources have helped IB English students skyrocket their grade in weeks, days and even overnight...   Learn Analysis for IB English , the simplest guide to a 7 in IB English.

Basic Analysis

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Level up to Advanced Analysis

Since you're in HL, you'll also be needing Advanced Analysis skills if you want to impress your examiner. We've got all of that covered inside our Pro lessons.

Advanced Analysis

Finding Quotes

Also, you'll need to find good quotes for your text. Some good sources where you can find relevant quotes include  Goodreads , SparkNotes ,  LitCharts , and Cliffnotes . Of course, you could just find quotes yourself directly–this will ensure your quotes are unique.

Understanding the IB English HLE rubric

An essential step to getting a high mark on the HL Essay is understanding the rubric! It is SO important that you know what IB English examiners are looking for when grading your essay, as this helps you to shape the content of your essay to match (or even exceed) their expectations.

The IB English HL Essay is graded out of 20 marks . There are 4 criteria, each worth 5 marks.

Use the checklist below to make sure you're not making simple mistakes! Note that this is not the official marking criteria, and I strongly recommend that you reading the official rubric provided by your teacher.

Criterion A: Knowledge, understanding, and interpretation

• Accurate summary of text in introduction
• Focused and informative thesis statement
• Effective and relevant quotes
• Relevant and effective summary and ending statement in conclusion

Criterion B: Analysis and evaluation

• Relevant analysis of a variety of stylistic features 
• Relevant analysis of tone and/or atmosphere
• Relevant analysis of broader authorial choices i.e. characterization, point of view, syntax, irony, etc.

Criterion C: Focus, organization, and development

• Introduction, body paragraphs, conclusion
• Organized body paragraphs – topic sentence, evidence, concluding statement/link to question
• Appropriate progression of ideas and arguments in which evidence (i.e. quotes) are effectively implemented

Criterion D: Language

• Use expansions (e.g. “do not”) instead of contractions (e.g. “don't”)
• Use of a variety of connecting phrases e.g. “furthermore”, “nonetheless”, “however”, etc.
• Complete sentence structures and subject-verb agreement
• Correct usage of punctuation
• Appropriate register – no slang
• Historic present tense : the use of present tense when recounting past events. For example, we want to write “In  The Hunger Games , Peeta and Katniss work   together to win as a district” instead of using the word “worked”.
• Avoid flowery/dictionary language just to sound smart; it is distracting and difficult to read. As long as you concisely communicate your message using appropriate language, you will score a high mark under this criterion.

Here's everything we discussed:

• IB English HLE is tough work! Start early.
• Brainstorm using the table of concepts to come up with a strong HLE question. Don't give up on this!
• Analysis is the key to a 7 in IB English HLE (and in fact all IB English assessment). Check out LitLearn's course  Learn Analysis for IB English   for immediate help on the exact steps to improve in IB English analysis.

Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor 💪

Question​bank

Paper 1 Practice Exams

Past Paper 1 Solutions

Paper 2 Guide

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Every resource to ace IB English

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Learn Analysis

Master the essential skill of IB English with a step-by-step course.

Questionbank

Practice analysis with 60+ short questions and IB7 answers.

Exam prep guide, practice papers, past paper solutions.

Exam prep, planning and writing guide. Exemplar essay.

Individual Oral

Preparation guide, examples and full exemplar script.

Higher Level Essay

Crash course on HLE basics.

Higher Level Essay

Whether you are an HL Literature student or HL Lang/Lit student, the HLE requires some special attention.  The good thing about this assessment is that it’s a processed – rather than on-demand – piece of writing.  This means you can take your time, put in the work, and produce something that you love and makes you proud.  Our students crush this assessment!  Use the same resources they do and enjoy your success.

HLE Writing Guide

Writing this assessment doesn’t have to be challenging.  In fact, we think it can be fun and rewarding!  Let us guide you through the entire writing process, from line of inquiry to the last word of your conclusion.  Our students do well on this assessment, and so can you.

Part of our  IBDP English A Student Toolkit , this resource includes:

• 100-page course book with guidance on films, photos, cartoons, and many other non-literary BOWs
• 5 sample papers across genres
• Examiner scores and comments
• Line of Inquiry guidance
• Step-by-step approach to building the HLE in small and manageable chunks
• Complete set of graphic organizers to guide students from start to finish

Developing a Line of Inquiry and Thesis

The Line of Inquiry (LOI) and thesis are the cornerstone of the assessment, so don’t proceed until these are under control.  Sadly, many students get off to a poor start with this step, and this means they end up writing either a shallow essay or one that doesn’t really satisfy the requirements of the task.  These videos should help you unlock the task.

Start with a text you love and work toward developing a literary or linguistic perspective. Watch this video and start your pathway to success.

How To Write the Line of Inquiry

If the first method didn't work for you, please try another approach.

How to Write the Line of Inquiry (part 2)

Turn that LoI into a clear, precise, and insightful thesis statement that will drive the essay.

HLE Sample Thesis Statements and Writing

The HLE Complete Course from Start to Finish

We feel this is some of our best work.  Teachers and students around the world have commented that this HLE series gets the job done and results in some powerful writing that makes students proud.  Please take the time and work through the videos sequentially.  Work along side with us.  Let us guide you to HLE success!

Choose your text and write the LOI.

Student planning doc

Model Student planning doc

Time for brainstorming and outlining.

Student Organizer

Completed Sample Organizer

Master the intro and conclusion.

Sample Intro and Conclusion

Learn how to write strong HLE body paragraphs.

Sample Body Paragraphs

Learn to revise, edit, and polish the final product.

Final instructions before submission

Dave’s complete sample HLE

Some Sample Papers

Sometimes it’s easier to just look at a final product, break it down, and see how other students have approached the HLE.  That’s why Dave and Andrew selected some strong papers, highlighted them, and discussed their strengths and weaknesses.  We’ve examined tons of these things, so listen carefully.  Lots of tips and tricks in these videos to help you pick up some extra points and crack into that mark band you want and deserve.  Understand the task.  Work hard.  Defeat the HLE and allow yourself to beam with pride.  Go ahead, you’ve earned it.

You’ve probably noticed that Andrew and Dave love drama. Dialogue, stage directions, props…they’re amazing! Watch our student crush this HLE on Death and the Maiden by Dorfman. What can you steal from this essay in terms of ideas, organization, and overall approach? Document: HLE Student Sample – Drama

Poetry anyone? Andrew and Dave love poetry for the HLE. They are complete “mini works” with a clear beginning, middle, and end. They are rich in techniques. They are complex and have deep meaning. In short, they rock. Just remember that for the HLE, “short texts need friends.” Document: HLE Student Sample – Poetry

Looking For More Support?

Hey, nobody said this thing would be easy.  No worries.  We’ve got you covered.  Perhaps you want to see some more student writing?  Check.  We’ve got that.  Perhaps you want to know some key points to include?  Check.  We got that too.  You’re almost there!  Finish these last two videos, add some finishing touches to your work, and submit that baby in with pride and confidence.

So you watched the videos above but are still concerned about “showing deep thinking” on the HLE? It’s ok – we know this is tough. Check out this video to see several samples of how to build big thinking into your writing. Document: Showing Deep Thinking in the HLE

We know, we know. The content is overwhelming and it’s just too much at times. You just want the top ten tips for success? Fine. Here you go. But don’t forget to go back and watch the rest of these videos when you’re feeling more energy. They’re a set. Watch them all and ace the HLE.

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Ultimate Guide To IB English – Language A: Literature HL Exam

What’s covered:, ib hl vs sl: what’s the difference, how do hl papers/exams work, how are the ib english sl papers/exams scored, how does the ib english hl exam affect my college chances.

IBDP, which stands for The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme , is a common high school diploma alternative to the AP system, a system very popular here in the U.S. The IB system is much more internationally accepted, and considered a lot more rigorous in academics and exams. 

The exams can be a hard spot for IB for many students, and one of its flagship subjects, English Literature, is considered difficult and its exam is no different. Hopefully this guide can break down the exam into some digestible information and make it easier for you to approach the examination. 

All IB classes/courses have two versions, higher level (HL) and standard level (SL) . The most prevalent  difference between these two versions is mostly the amount of coursework expected, as well as some key differences to what’s being provided to the student as learning material. 

Language A is separated by not only the difficulty of exams but, there are different kinds and options for reading material for the class. Reading material matters here because the exams are based on reading material. 

HL papers for the Literature exam are divided into two components:

• Paper 1 is a 2 hour and 15 minute long essay-based examination that requires you to analyze unseen texts.
• Paper 2 is a 2 hour and 15 minute long examination that will require you to answer questions based on the required texts for the course, and questions can be picked based on which texts you chose to read. 

This paper is a bit more difficult for most students because the questions are based on unseen excerpts as opposed to the reading materials you’ve read during the two year curriculum. These unseen texts are hard to prepare for, but based on the type of student you are, you might find this more approachable as they’re concise and require more reading between the lines. For these texts it’s important to get to the motive and theme of the text as soon as possible, as opposed to understanding the actual context. Skim reading and breaking down sections into groups based on common themes is a common hack for this paper. 

Ideally you’d want to have a general plan before you step into paper 1. The plan should detail your approach to reading the exam and its texts. Breaking the texts down to the following subcategories would be useful for literature analysis:

• Contextual and Content
• Author Motives

By breaking the text down like this, you can identify the purpose of the excerpt and hence answer any question that involves the analysis of the literature pretty easily, because your plan has already been executed as you were skimming or reading. 

This plan should make paper 1 much more manageable, but some practice goes a long way. Make sure to use previous examinations and specimen papers to your advantage and practice older questions to perfect your skills.

Paper 2 can be considered a little easier given that you’re aware of the texts that will be used for the examination, and you can choose which questions you wish to solve out of the provided options. These options make it even easier to implement the plan as described previously! Paper 2 is only as difficult as you come underprepared so study those texts and provide literature!

The texts refer to readings that have been assigned from a board at IBO, and these selections are sent to schools all over the world. The way the paper is designed, no matter which option you choose to read for a text, there will be an exam question that pertains to your selection. There will also be numerous generalized questions that can refer to many texts and be pretty-opened. 

There’s ample time to create answers that are more concrete and proofed compared to responses in paper 1, therefore the grading expectations for this paper are less lenient than paper 1. Understanding your provided reading material is key to excelling in this paper, so making sure to come in prepared is the key difference of passing and failing this paper.

Both papers are scored out of 20 points, and are based off a rubric/criterion chart that can be used to pick a score based on performance. 

The criteria can be clearly seen in the diagram above, with level 1 being the weakest performance in each criteria, up to 5 being the strongest.

You should study the criteria thoroughly because it shows you what the grader is looking for in a  good, well-written essay/response. 

The scores out of 20 are then used along with your performance in internal assessments to determine a grade out of 7 for the class . The table below, called a grade boundary table, is used by graders to determine this score out of 7.

To calculate your grade, you would take the total score on both papers (which is out of 40) and your internal assessment grades, a total isn’t as clear here as it’s based on what your teachers would decide. Divide your earned points by the number of available points to score, and multiply the decimal by a 100.

Read Early 

Given that paper 2 is completely dependent on how well you’re prepared by understanding your literature options, read earlier and get a head start. The sooner you understand your text, the earlier you can analyze prior to the exam. By getting this over with, when the exam rolls around you’re already done with the prep work required to solve the prompts and questions.

By reading earlier you may also notice the text you chose isn’t quite suited for you, or you simply don’t enjoy reading it. The extra time from starting it earlier, gives you a chance to swap our selections if required.

Exam Stress Management

A more general, but equally as important tip! Managing stress during exam season can be difficult, but a couple healthy practices can make it easy! Start by telling yourself exams are not as important as schools make them out to be! They are not going to decide our future, and certainly have less impact on your chances of college admission than you’d think! Understanding this can remove a lot of stress off you, which funnily enough might make you even perform better due to feeling less inclined to exceed those expectations that were previously placed on you!

In short they do not! Scores don’t mean much when it comes to college admissions, but showing the will to be in a hard class like English Literature HL is more important. Colleges are inclined to favor students with a set of more difficult classes as opposed to high scores and other metrics. 

A nifty tool, CollegeVine’s admissions calculator , takes all factors that do matter in college admissions, ranging from extracurriculars, GPA, and standardized test scores, along with a lot more, and provides you with your unique chances of getting into a college/university of your choosing. 

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

• Support Sites

English A: Language and Literature Support Site

Io sl/hl assessment criteria, criterion a: knowledge, understanding, and interpretation.

• To what extent does the oral show knowledge and understanding of the extracts, and the literary work and the non-literary body of work from which they were taken?
• To what extent are interpretations relevant to the global issue?
• To what extent are interpretations supported by relevant references to the extracts, the work and the body of work?

Criterion B: Analysis and evaluation

• To what extent does the oral analyse and evaluate how the authors present the global issue through authorial choices in the extracts, the work and the body of work?

Criterion C: Coherence, balance, focus and organisation

• To what extent does the oral show coherence, balance, focus and organisation?

Criterion D: Language

• To what extent is the student’s use of vocabulary, tone, syntax, style and terminology accurate, varied and effective?

English Collaborative

IB English A: Language and Literature: Individual Oral Assessment Considerations

Please note:  The purpose of this information is to elaborate on the nature of the IB assessment tasks, define and explain the assessment criteria and their implications, share observed challenges in students’ submitted assessment work, and offer strategies and approaches for assessment preparation.    

This post is not meant to replace a reading of the IB Language A: Language and Literature Subject Guide or the Teacher Support Materials available on  My IB .  Those resources should always be the first stop for teachers in checking the requirements of each assessment task and how the task should be facilitated.    

Individual Oral Overview

30% at sl; 20% at hl, nature of the task.

• The Individual Oral is 15 minutes long. For the first 10 minutes, the students will deliver their response to the prompt, which is then followed up with a 5-minute discussion led by the teacher.  
• The prompt for the Individual Oral is: “Examine the ways in which the global issue of your choice is presented through the content and form of one of the works and one of the bodies of work that you have studied. 1 ” 
• The rubric on which the Individual Oral is assessed is worth a total of 40 marks. 
• On the day of the exam, students will bring blank copies of their literary and non-literary extracts as well as 10 bullet-pointed notes into the room. The extracts they choose should be representative of the way in which a global issue is presented in the work and may also provide the students a few talking points about authorial choices that contribute to that presentation as well. The extracts are not the center of the discussion but rather serve as launching points to talk about the work(s) as a whole, and Criterion C assesses that the students are balanced in their examination of both extracts and works. 
• After the first 10 minutes, teachers ask the student follow-up questions. This can be an opportunity for a teacher to nudge students in the direction of aspects of the prompt/assignment requirements that were not adequately addresses in the assessment.  While it may be helpful for the teacher to pre-prepare follow up questions, the teacher-student discussion tends to be more organic and helpful to the student if the questions build upon points the student has made in their oral.  Furthermore, teachers should avoid leading questions, or general questions about the global issue outside of the context of the works. 

Selection of the global issue

• A global issue is an issue within the work that exists transnationally but is also something that manifests in local contexts. Something like “how a community is dependent on fracking in Colorado” would be too precise to be a global issue. Something broader like “how the harvesting of energy sources impacts communities” might be more appropriate as it can be applied to other locations and situations. 
• Students and teachers should refer to the five Fields of Inquiry in the Language A guide 2  or the  UN Sustainable Development Goals  (SDGs) as launching points for developing more specific global issues.  

Fields of Inquiry   

• Culture, identity and community 
• Beliefs, values and education 
• Politics, power and justice 
• Art, creativity and the imagination 
• Science, technology and the environment 

Sustainable Development Goals  

• Zero hunger
• Good health and well-being
• Quality education
• Gender equality
• Clean water and sanitation
• Affordable and clean energy
• Decent work and economic growth
• Industry, innovation and infrastructure
• Reduced inequalities
• Sustainable cities and communities
• Responsible consumption and production
• Climate action
• Life below water
• Life on land
• Peace,justice and strong institutions
• Global partnerships
• The student should further narrow the global issue from these broad fields.  A specific and more narrowed global issue helps students sustain focus in the task and adequately develop their ideas in the 10 minutes allocated to the presentation portion of the Individual Oral.  
• Penalty:  Orals that discuss more than one global issue will score a zero in Criterion A. 

Selection of work s/bodies of work

• SL Students should note that the literary work they choose is not eligible to be used for their Paper 2.  
• HL students should note that the works they choose cannot be used for the Paper 2 (literary) or the HL Essay (literary or non-literary).  
• Students must also select an extract from their literary work and non-literary body of work that serves as a supportive example of what they are asserting about each work’s presentation of the global issue.  
• The learner portfolio can be a helpful place for students to look back on their coursework and identify global issues that are prominent throughout the works and bodies of work they have studied.  
• Penalty:  Students who base their oral on two literary works or two non-literary works will score a zero in Criterion A. Students who select bodies of work originally written in languages other than English without providing an official translation will also risk penalty.  

Selection of the extracts

Selection of the extracts   

The extract should contain 40 consecutive lines (max), or the equivalent. 

• “The equivalent” can be interpreted as a significant moment or sequence in a text or film that is typically a page in length. 
• A complete text such as a poem, song, or advertisement can be an extract. 
• An extract from a film may highlight of a sequence of stills, or a mix of stills and consecutive lines of screenplay. The stills should correspond to the extracted portion of the screenplay. 
• A “sequence of stills” averages around 4 stills but may be shorter or longer depending on the depth and complexity of the sequence. 
• For images, extracts should be replicated in color when possible. 
• Adding line numbers and/or figure numbers to the extract will help the listener locate specific parts of the extract with ease. 

A note about uploading extracts:    The IB requires that candidates upload the non-literary and literary extracts. Each extract’s provenance should be identified with the title of work/body of work and author. The 10 bullet points are not necessary to upload, but teachers should hold onto them in case a review needs to be made.   

What is the Individual Oral Assessing?

Criterion a:  knowledge, understanding, and interpretation (10 marks), defined terms.

• The student’s answer to the prompt should consist of two overarching conclusions, one for how each work/body of work presents the global issue. These can be presented as thesis statements at the beginning of the oral. According to the rubric, orals that do not interpret implications in relation to the global issue (i.e., by offering a conclusion) are unlikely to score above a 4 in criterion A. 
• The response should discuss the ways in the global issue is presented in both the extract and the work/body of work.  Responses that only discuss the extract or only discuss the work/body of work are unlikely to show “adequate” understanding.   
• When the extract serves as optimal evidence for how the global issue is presented in the entire work, this helps the student balance their discussion, make connections, and fluidly discuss both the extract and the work/body of work. 
• During the 5-minute teacher-led discussion, students can demonstrate further knowledge and understanding through their responses to their teacher’s questions which can enhance their mark in Criterion A. This can be an opportunity to recall more details from the work and body of work or add more nuance to an interpretation.

Activities and protocols that develop skills related to knowledge, understanding, and interpretation.

Formulating Interpretive Statements

This activity scaffolds the process of developing an “interpretive statement” in response to a text or work.  This is achieved through a sentence completion exercise […]

Continue Reading

This protocol helps students independently synthesize information, events, or key ideas from a work/body of work.  Process Ask students to identify 5 words that represent […]

Card, Stack, and Shuffle

Assumptions play an important role in our understanding and interpretation of work, and this protocol helps students critically evaluate assumptions.  The types of assumptions will […]

Concept Formation

In this activity, students use small examples to establish what a concept is (and is not).  This inductive strategy works to give depth, ownership, and […]

In this activity, students publicly identify their position in response to ideas and issues and justify that position with like-minded (and differently minded) peers.  This […]

Interviews using Naïve Questions

Conversations with a naïve partner can be an effective means to engage in reflection and identify gaps in knowledge or understanding.  The protocol below can […]

Criterion B:  Analysis and evaluation (10 marks)

• The identification of authorial choices, whether they be visual, rhetorical, formal, or literary, can only get students so far. These features should be mentioned only if they support claims about the presentation of the global issue (see the “Focus” element of Criterion C). If the analysis of authorial choices is not in reference to the global issue, the rubric indicates that students are unlikely to score in the adequate bands and above. 
• Students are rewarded for making meaningful references to genre-specific and text type-specific elements and using corresponding terminology correctly, assuming the analysis is in reference to the presentation of the global issue.  “Simple” or more obvious authorial choices are rewarded in the middle bands of the criterion.  The higher bands reward attention to detail and perceptive insight which often includes a careful, close reading of the work.  
• Because the IO prompt asks the student to consider both the “content and form” of the works, there is an implied expectation they address the literary form and its corresponding formal features and then also the “format,” or structural components, of the non-literary body of work.  As teachers prepare students for this assessment, they can remind students to consider structural choices (in addition to language choices) made in the extract and in the work as whole.  
• Credit for “evaluation” is only attainable in the top two mark bands of Criterion B. Students must work to appreciate how those authorial choices present the global issue. Their conclusions might even weave in discussions about why the text communicates its ideas about the global issue in a specific way; it might have to do with the specific formal elements of a text type, the function of literary or non-literary texts, the culture in which the text was produced, etc. 
• During the 5-minute follow-up discussion, teachers might ask students to provide further analysis of the extracts and the works which can enhance the student’s mark in Criterion B. This can be an opportunity to further detail the effects of specific authorial choices or recognize patterns of or connections between authorial choices that work to develop the global issue.  

Activities and protocols that develop skills related to analysis and evaluation

Why might this detail matter?

This activity gets students to think about the significance of minor details in a work.  These details can be used as evidence to form the […]

Ladder of Abstraction

This activity allows students to process the ways in which details from a work might represent larger abstract ideas. Process Divide students in groups of […]

This activity helps students visually see and appreciate the ways in which parts make up a whole.  One of the challenges many students have is […]

Diversity Rounds

This protocol directs students to reflect on the ways in which their identity shapes their reading/ audience response compared to others in a group.  The […]

Criterion C:  Focus, organization, and development (10 marks)

• There is no prescribed way for students to organize the ideas they wish to present. However, like with the other IB English assessments, students must think about how they can best convince someone of their drawn conclusions, which often includes considering the order in which they present their ideas so as to develop the most effective line of reasoning.  
• It is important that students balance their presentation.  There are two considerations here:  the first is balancing the discussion between the literary work and non-literary body of work; the second is balancing the discussion of each extract and its corresponding work/body of work. This plays an important role when awarding marks in this criterion. 
• It is worth noting that comparative analysis and evaluation is not a requirement of the assessment criterion, but students may discuss connections and contrasts between the work and body of work if it seems natural or interesting to do so. However, this should not be the focus of the task.  
• Criterion C will only be assessed based on the first 10 minutes of the individual oral; a student’s response cannot be improved or damaged based on the organization of their responses to their teacher’s questions [3].
• The extent to which students adhere to the 10-minute time limit is considered in this criterion. Orals that have long stretches of silence or are considerably under or over the 10-minute mark, may be limited in what they can achieve in this criterion.  

Activities and protocols that develop skills related to organization and development

Generate, Sort, Connect, Elaborate: Concept Mapping Significant MOMENTS in a Work

This activity asks students to individually identify significant moments in a work and collaboratively connect the moments to ideas, issues, and other moments in the […]

Generate, Sort, Connect, Elaborate: Concept Mapping IDEAS in a Work

This activity asks students to individually identify ideas and issues developed in a work and collaboratively connect and develop one another’s ideas.  This ultimately helps […]

This protocol helps students consider which ideas, issues, and feelings are playing a significant role in shaping their personal response to a work. Process Give […]

Criterion D:  Language (10 marks)

• Though this is an oral assessment, the student’s language is assessed in a similar way to the other assessments, considering clarity, accuracy, variety, and style. It is important to note that even a student with occasional errors can still score well if their language is effective (persuasive and nuanced) enough to enhance their presentation of the ideas in the oral.  
• Unlike in the previous oral, students now can “practice” the presentation of their ideas before the exam. Students can take advantage of this to try to think about enriching the vocabulary they use, transitioning fluidly from point to point, and using a variety of sentence structures. However, students may not prepare a “script” for their presentation, and the 10 bullet points they bring cannot be excessively long, which means it should still be a verbal articulation of ideas rather than a recitation. 
• A wider vocabulary and knowledge of sentence structures gives students more language tools to express abstract and complex thoughts.   
• Correct use of terminology may be considered in awarding marks in this criterion; however, jargon is not the sole focus.   
• The Individual Oral is a formal assessment and therefore students are expected to sustain a formal register throughout the presentation.  Of course, voice is welcomed in all IB assessment tasks: formal assessments do not need to be turgid. 

Activities and protocols that develop skills related to use of language

Interpretive Statement Wall

This protocol helps students develop revision skills by asking clarifying and critical questions about each other’s interpretive statements or thesis statements.  This helps students develop […]

Evaluating Thesis Statements

This activity helps students understand the role language plays in communicating specific and complex ideas in a thesis statement.  The approach invites active collaboration, and […]

Discussion Posts and Personalized Learning

This formative assessment gives students an opportunity to personalize their learning while engaging in collaborative discussion with their peers around their chosen text(s) or work. […]

Stir the Classroom

This protocol requires that members take ownership of the ideas discussed within a group so that if called, they can synthesize them for their next […]

This protocol helps students generate ideas in response to a work. Process Give students a writing task, asking them to identify one thing they think […]

[1] Language A: Language and Literature Guide, First assessment 2021 , IBO: 2019. pp. 54.

[2] Language A: Language and Literature Guide, First assessment 2021 , IBO: 2019. pp. 55.

[3]  “10 tips for schools & teachers for the individual oral”. My IB Website, IBO: 2020.  

[4] Language A: Language and Literature Guide, First assessment 2021 , IBO: 2019. pp. 59.

L&L Individual Oral Samples

Individual Oral Samples

Image by Daniel Friesenecker from Pixabay

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Language A: language and literature

The language A: language and literature course introduces the critical study and interpretation of written and spoken texts from a wide range of literary forms and non literary text-types. The formal analysis of texts is supplemented by awareness that meaning is not fixed but can change in respect to contexts of production and consumption. This course is available for study in 17 languages.

The course is organized into three areas of exploration and seven central concepts, and focuses on the study of both literary or non-literary texts. Together, the three areas of exploration of the course allow the student to explore the language A in question through its cultural development and use, its media forms and functions, and its literature. Students develop skills of literary and textual analysis, and also the ability to present their ideas effectively. A key aim is the development of critical literacy.

Key features of the curriculum and assessment models

• Available at higher and standard levels
• Higher level study requires a minimum of 240 class hours, while standard level study requires a minimum of 150 class hours
• Students study 6 works at higher level and 4 works at standard level from a representative selection of literary forms, periods and places
• Students study a range of non-literary texts and bodies of work that include a wide variety of text-types
• Students develop the techniques needed for the critical analysis of communication, becoming alert to interactions between text, audience and purpose
• An understanding of how language, culture and context determine the construction of meaning is developed through the exploration of texts, some of which are studied in translation, from a variety of cultures, periods, text-types and literary forms 
• Students are assessed through a combination of formal examinations and oral and written coursework and oral activities
• The formal examination comprises two essay papers, one requiring the analysis of unseen non-literary text, and the other a comparative response to a question based on two literary works studied
• Students also perform an oral activity presenting their analysis of a literary work and a non-literary body of work studied
• HL students comply with an additional written coursework requirement which consists of writing a 1200 - 1500 word essay on one of the works or bodies of work studied.

Language A: language and literature subject brief

Subject briefs are short two-page documents providing an outline of the course. Read the standard level (SL) and/or higher level (HL) subject brief below.