HL Essay: final checklist

It is vitally important that you take time before final submission to ensure your work is of the
best possible standard. At this stage it is not advisable to make any significant changes to
content, but we encourage you to check your essay through carefully. Below you will find a
checklist to help you edit your work and ensure that you have presented it effectively.

1. Cover Page

A cover page is not a requirement but if you do include one it can include the following
information:
International Baccalaureate

Exam Session: May 202 –

HL English A Literature essay

Text(s) Written On:

Title and/or Question:

Word Count:
Make sure there is nothing on the document that identifies you or your school – your name, school
name and candidate number should not appear on any coursework. You can include your personal
code although this is not a requirement: ask your teacher/DP Coordinator if they want this included.

2. Formatting

• Are pages numbered?

• Is there a Bibliography / Works Cited page at the end?
• Is your essay in a minimum size 11 readable font (Arial, Times New Roman, or
similar)?
• Have you removed any identifying information (name, candidate number, school)
from your paper?
• Are text titles italicized?
• Are all of your in-text citations correctly formatted? (See this resource)

3. Word Count

• Is your essay between 1200 and 1500 words?

INCLUDED IN WORD COUNT

• Quotes
NOT INCLUDED IN WORD COUNT
• Citations and references
• Bibliography

4. Technical / Grammatical Errors

• Have you spell checked?

• Checked for typos?
• Have you checked sentence punctuation and structure?

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 • Have you checked the spelling of author’s name, characters' names etc. ?
• Have you used capital letters for titles of works and characters' names?
• Have you placed titles in inverted commas or italics?
• Have you used page references for quotations?

5. Content
As stated above, at this stage it is not advisable to make any significant changes to content.
However, small changes can make a big difference so it is worth using the following
questions to fine-tune your essay.

• Does your introduction start with a strong, relevant opening sentence that elicits the
attention of the reader?
• Is your central argument/thesis well focused and clearly articulated?
• Is there a clear awareness of the genre of the text (poetry, novel, graphic novel,
play)?
• If there is contextual information, is it directly relevant to the question? (if not, it
should not be there)
• Have you included statements that are empty, obvious or meaningless (e.g. 'the
author achieves this through the use of language'). If so, rewrite or remove these.
• Have you avoided simply retelling the plot?
• Do your quotations clearly support your claims?
• Are quotations used with precision and either embedded fluently, or introduced
clearly before being stated?
• Are you focused on the writer's craft and style, and the effects of the writer’s
choices?
• Are your paragraphs cohesive units with a clear central point?
• Do your topic sentences answer the question and focus on the author and their
choices?
• Are ideas connected - between sentences, between paragraphs and between
sections of the argument? Particular words and/or phrases that will help with
transitions are as follows:
Points of similarity and/or continuation Points of contrast or reversal
In addition; furthermore; moreover; similarly; In contrast; on the one hand/on the other; even
equally; moreover; comparatively; in the same so/though; although; instead; whereas; however;
way; correspondingly; besides; indeed; above all; conversely; nevertheless; on the contrary;
also; therefore; in consequence; firstly ... despite/in spite of; instead; for all that;
secondly etc alternatively; notwithstanding; all the same;
otherwise; and yet; after all

• Does the conclusion concisely synthesise (rather than repeat) what has gone before?
• Does the conclusion extract something fundamental from the ideas explored and end
the essay with a new perspective – not an idea that should have been in the main
body of the essay, but a new way of considering the text that has emerged from the
ideas stated?
• Most importantly - have you answered your question?

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