The HL Essay

Key information, processes and resources

Contents
1. Task information
2. Assessment criteria
3. Exemplars
4. Tips and tricks
5. Process / skills
a. Choosing texts and example lines of inquiry
b. Pre-writing - creating a line of inquiry using concepts
c. Pre-writing - creating a line of inquiry using the areas of exploration
d. Pre-writing / research - using literary theory
e. Research - finding evidence (primary research)
f. Research - using secondary sources
g. Writing - thesis statements
h. Writing - outlining essays / possible essay structures
i. Writing - the language of academic analysis
j. Writing - using transitions to create coherence
k. Writing - integrating quotes
l. Citation
m. Editing and proofreading
1. Task information
● A 1200-1500 word essay

● It is based on a literary work studied as part of the course that is NOT used for the I/O nor intended
for the Paper 2.

● Alternatively, the essay could be based on a (collection of) non-literary text(s).

● It is completed in an untimed fashion with ongoing input from the teacher (coursework).

● The line of inquiry is decided by the student and can/should be based on a concept / AOE / critical
theory.

● You do not have to consult secondary sources.

● There are a total of 20 marks possible (5 marks x 4 criteria).

● This assignment is worth 20% of your final grade at HL.

(Source: IBDP Language A: Language and Literature Guide for first teaching in 2019)
2. Assessment criteria
The assessment criteria
matches the other
assessments you have
experienced in this
course.

Read the rubric.

 Sample 1 - Women’s Health (magazine cover)

3. Exemplars Sample 2 - White Noise (prose fiction novel)

Sample 3 - George Monbiot (essay columnist)

Browse through the exemplar folder
Sample 4 - Szymborska (poetry)
and read some examples. It would be
helpful to read essays for different text Sample 5 - Persepolis (graphic novel memoir)

types. Sample 6 - Lance Armstrong (interview)

Then, as a group, choose one to Sample 7 - “Blackberry Picking” (poetry)

assess using the rubric. Sample 8 - Mannerheim (biography)

Some of the exemplars have teacher Sample 9 - House (TV show)

assessments / comments, so look at Sample 10 - Kolder (photography)
these afterwards.
Sample 11 - Maus (graphic novel memoir)
4. Tips and Tricks
● Look back through your learner portfolio and Mr Hutton’s units (use the drop
down menu). What interests you? Choose a topic that you feel passionate
about and want to learn more about.

● Use the writing process and start with a solid pre-writing phase (more on this
later).

● Don’t be afraid to play with different possibilities in the beginning. Brainstorm

a range of possibilities and narrow these down. Also, don’t be afraid to
discuss your ideas with your teacher and peers.

● Read the advice from the IBO examiners before starting.

5. Process and Skills
a. Choosing texts and example lines of inquiry
b. Pre-writing - creating a line of inquiry using concepts
c. Pre-writing - creating a line of inquiry using the areas of exploration
d. Pre-writing / research - using literary theory
e. Research - finding evidence (primary research)
f. Research - using secondary sources
g. Writing - thesis statements
h. Writing - outlining essays / possible essay structures
i. Writing - the language of academic analysis
j. Writing - using transitions to create coherence
k. Writing - integrating quotes
l. Citation
m. Editing and proofreading
5A Choosing texts
You must choose one of the following (studied as part of this course):

● a non-literary text (e.g documentary, feature article)

● a collection of non-literary texts by the same author (e.g. essays)
● a literary text or work (e.g. novel, poems, play)

You may use any work that is rich enough to support a detailed analysis and
that has been previously studied, except for those used in the individual oral
presentation or which you plan to use in the paper 2 examination.

Take care in your selection and consult with your teacher. For example, how
many shorter texts (e.g. poems and essays) would be suitable given the scope
of the inquiry?

Go back over your learner portfolio and review Mr Hutton’s units (use the drop
down menu) to create a list of literary / non-literary texts to choose from.
Photo by Kourosh Qaffari on Unsplash
5A Line of Inquiry - Examples
• Identity — How does Ralph Ellison, in his novel Invisible Man, succeed in making his narrator a convincing spokesperson for the concerns of African-
Americans in the 20th century?

• Culture — How does Robert Capa represent post-Second World War France to qualify/exemplify the brutalities of the French population on former Nazi
collaborators in La Femme Tondue?

• Creativity — How do Mario Testino’s portraits manage to convey the personalities of those portrayed in original ways?

• Communication — Which view of love does Matt Groening convey in Love is Hell?

• Transformation — In what ways does The Alan Parsons Project’s Tales of Mystery and Imagination offer a transformative re-reading of Edgar Allan
Poe’s tales?

• Perspective — How does Mary Shelley’s protagonist in Frankenstein use the motif of dangerous knowledge to show the perspective of fear and anxiety
of excesses in scientific enterprise in early 19th century Europe?

• Representation — through what means does Juan Rulfo successfully convey the representation of realistic and non-realistic characters and situations in
Pedro Páramo?

● How does F. Scott Fitzgerald foreshadow how Gatsby’s unnatural attachment to the past causes his downfall in The Great Gatsby?

● In what ways would Marxist theory about the stratification of wealth and power explain the violence that runs through the action of the novel A
Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez?

● To what extent was the characterization of the protagonist in Patrick Süskind’s Perfume influenced by Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis?
5B Pre-writing - creating a line of inquiry (concepts)

● Culture
● Creativity
● Identity
● Communication
● Perspective Read the following slides to learn more about
how these these big ideas relate to language
● Representation and literature. Which one(s) seem most relevant
to your chosen text(s)? Also, you could look over
these cards or this curriculum resource (see the

● Transformation drop-down menu).

5B Pre-writing - creating a line of inquiry (concepts)

Culture
The concept of culture is central to the study of language
and literature. It raises the question of how a text relates to
the context of its production and reception, and to the
respective values, beliefs and attitudes prevalent in them.
This concept also plays an important role with regards to the
relationship that is established between an individual text
and the writing tradition that precedes it. In both senses, the
application of this concept to the study of a text should
prompt reflection on the extent to which it is the product of a
particular cultural and literary context and how it interacts
with it.
(IBO Guide, PP. 43 - 44)
Photo by Sorasak on Unsplash
5B Pre-writing - creating a line of inquiry (concepts)

Culture
● What collective ideas or values are revealed
by this text?

● How does the cultural context of the

author/text influence its construction?

● How does our own cultural context influence

our interpretation of the text?

Photo by Sorasak on Unsplash

5B Pre-writing - creating a line of inquiry (concepts)

Creativity
Creativity plays an important part in the experience of
reading and writing. The concept is fundamental to
analyse and understand the act of writing, and the role
that imagination plays. When applied to the act of reading,
creativity highlights the importance of the reader being
able to engage in an imaginative interaction with a text
which generates a range of potential meanings from it,
above and beyond established interpretations. Creativity
is also related to the notion of originality and to the
question of the extent to which it is important or desirable
in the production and reception of a text.
(IBO Guide, PP. 43 - 44)
Photo by Dragos Gontariu on Unsplash
5B Pre-writing - creating a line of inquiry (concepts)

Creativity
● How central is imagination to the
construction of this text?
● How original is this text? (i.e. How does it
borrow, conform to / deviate from the genre)
● Is the imagination based on personal
experience or a complete fabrication?
● How important is the reader’s imagination
for constructing meaning from this text?

Photo by Dragos Gontariu on Unsplash

5B Pre-writing - creating a line of inquiry (concepts)
Identity
When reading texts, students will encounter and interact with a
multiplicity of perspectives, voices and characters. It is usual
when reading and interpreting a text to assume that the views
are to some extent representative of the writer’s identity.
However, the relationship between an author and the different
perspectives and voices they assume in the texts is frequently
complex, and this makes the concept of identity an elusive one.
The figure that emerges from the reading of various texts by
the same author adds to the complexity of the discussion.
Conversely, the ways in which the identity of a reader comes
into play at the moment of reading a text are equally central to
the analysis
(IBO Guide, of
PP.the
43act of reading and interpretation.
- 44)
Photo by Smit Patel on Unsplash
5B Pre-writing - creating a line of inquiry (concepts)
Identity
● What does it mean to be human?
● What aspects of our lives make us who we are?
How are these aspects represented in texts?
● How does the author’s identity play a role in the
construction of this text?
● How does the reader’s identity influence the
perception of this text?
● How fixed is one’s identity?
● How do people discover, shape, resist and/or
ultimately accept their identities?
Photo by Smit Patel on Unsplash
5B Pre-writing - creating a line of inquiry (concepts)

Communication
The concept of communication revolves around the question of the relationship
that is established between a writer and a reader by means of a text. The extent to
which writers facilitate communication through their choices of style and structure
may be an aspect to analyse in this exploration. The writer may also have a
particular audience in mind which may mean assumptions have been made about
the reader’s knowledge or views which might make communication with some
readers easier than with others. Alternatively, the amount of cooperation that a text
demands from a reader for communication to take place, and the readiness of the
reader to engage is also important as a topic for discussion. Even with cooperative
readers, the meaning of a text is never univocal, which makes the concept of
communication a particularly productive, and potentially problematic one in
(IBO Guide, PP. 43 - 44)
relation to both literary and non-literary texts.
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
5B Pre-writing - creating a line of inquiry (concepts)
Communication
● Communication involves a message, a sender, and a receiver. What
is the nature of the relationship between the author and audience?
● What is the sender’s purpose for the message?
● What does the sender anticipate about the receiver’s reception of
this message?
● How does the medium of the message influence its form, content
and reception?
● How might a receiver’s reception of the message differ from the
sender’s intention?
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
● To what extent might a receiver’s reading be ‘cooperative’ or
‘resistant’ / ‘oppositional’?
5B Pre-writing - creating a line of inquiry (concepts)

Perspective
A text may offer a multiplicity of perspectives which may, or may not,
reflect the views of its author. Readers have also their own
perspectives which they bring to their interaction with the text. This
variety of perspectives impacts on the interpretation of a text and
therefore deserves critical attention and discussion. The fact that the
acts of reading and writing happen in a given time and place poses
the additional question of how far the contexts of production and
reception have influenced and even shaped those perspectives.

Photo by Nadine Shaabana on Unsplash

5B Pre-writing - creating a line of inquiry (concepts)
Perspective
● How might opinions about a text, topic or author differ?
● How can multiple interpretations about a single text emerge?
● How does the language used within the text convey a certain
value set or view of the world?
● How does the language used within the text also influence our
own perspective on the world? (i.e. confirm, modify, challenge)
● How might a certain view of the world be exploited for different
purposes?
● How can engaging with other perspectives give us insight into our
own worldview in relation to others?
● How can texts be critiqued through different methodologies (e.g.
Photo by Nadine Shaabana on Unsplash
critical theory)
5B Pre-writing - creating a line of inquiry (concepts)
Representation
The way in which language and literature relate to reality has
been the subject of long running debate among linguists and
literary theorists. Statements and manifestos by writers have
made claims about this relationship which range from
affirming that literature should represent reality as accurately
as possible, to claiming art’s absolute detachment and
freedom from reality and any duty to represent it in the work
of art. Irrespective of such a discussion, the concept is a
Photo by Content Pixie on Unsplash
central one to the subject in connection with the way in
which form and structure interact with, and relate to,
(IBO Guide, PP. 43 - 44)
meaning.
5B Pre-writing - creating a line of inquiry (concepts)
Representation
● To what extent does the language used within the text represent
reality? (e.g.. Abstraction, mimesis, symbolism) For what
purpose is the subject represented in this manner?
● How can a representation shape, challenge, modify, influence
our views?
● To what extent is the representation intentional or
subconscious? Objective or subjective? Ambiguous or precise /
concrete?
● How can representation privilege certain positions whilst
marginalising others? Photo by Content Pixie on Unsplash
● How can representational systems change due to mode,
medium and culture?
5B Pre-writing - creating a line of inquiry (concepts)

Transformation
The study of the connections among texts constitutes the
focus of one of three areas of exploration, namely
intertextuality: connecting texts. The complex ways in which
texts refer to one another, appropriate elements from each
other and transform them to suit a different aesthetic or
communicative purpose, are evidence of the importance of
transformation in the process of creating a text. Additionally,
the act of reading is potentially transformative in itself, both for
the text and the reader. Different readers may transform a text
with their personal interpretation. The text can also have an
impact on the reader which potentially might lead to action and Photo by Håkon Grimstad on Unsplash

to the transformation of reality. (IBO Guide, PP. 43 - 44)

5B Pre-writing - creating a line of inquiry (concepts)

Transformation
● How is the work of another text used to amplify
the meaning of one’s own?
● In what manner can a text or idea be
transformed? What effect does this transformation
have on meaning / effect?
● How can intertextuality re-envision texts for
particular creative or critical purposes or to suit
different cultural contexts?
● How can the act of experiencing a text be Photo by Håkon Grimstad on Unsplash
transformative on an individual or the wider
world?
5C Pre-writing - creating a line of inquiry (AOE)
The areas of exploration might also come in handy. These questions have guided your teacher’s
planning of this course, so they should be relevant! Have a read of the following slides and see if the
guiding questions spark any ideas.

READER, WRITER AND

TIME AND PLACE INTERTEXTUALITY
TEXT
READER, WRITER AND TEXT
Why and how do we study language and literature?
How are we affected by texts in various ways?

In what ways is meaning discovered, constructed and expressed?

How does language use vary amongst text types?

How does the structure or style of a text affect meaning?

How do texts both offer insights and challenges?

TIME AND PLACE
How important is cultural context to the production and reception of a text?
How do we approach texts from different times and cultures to our own?

To what extent do texts offer insight into another culture?

How does the meaning and impact of a work change over time?

How do texts engage with local and global issues?

How does language represent social distinctions and identities?

INTERTEXTUALITY
How do texts adhere to and deviate from conventions associated with genre or text type?

How do conventions evolve over time?

In what ways can diverse texts share points of similarity?

How valid is the notion of a ‘classic’ work?

How can texts offer multiple perspectives of a single issue, topic or theme?

In what ways can comparison and interpretation be transformative?

5D Prewriting / research - literary theory
Using a critical approach to literature (literary theory) is a
great way to apply a specific methodology and thus create
original and creative thinking.

You can review these here:

● Formalism, historical-bio, reader response (p6)

● OWL Purdue - intro to literary theory
● Brief examples of different schools
● In-depth guide (aimed at teachers)

Which approach would be suitable for your line of inquiry?

5E Research -finding evidence (primary research)
In this subject, primary research means
analysing the literary or language text
itself. You should be focusing on parts of
the text, or techniques within the text,
that relate to your line of inquiry.

On the following slides, you can find a list

of linked resources that have been used
throughout the course. These will also be
useful for this particular assignment.
5E Analysing the works
To analyse means: “Break down in order to bring out the essential
elements or structure. To identify parts and relationships, and
interpret information to reach conclusions.” (IBO)

You have had plenty of practice at this, but the following resources
may be helpful...
● Language text type / purpose
● CSI routine overview (the basics)
● Literary work comparison chart (HL/SL)
● ‘The Big 5’ framework
● Literarydevices.net
● Literary analysis vocabulary ● How to analyse artworks
● Checklists for approach poems #1 and #2 ● Advertising layouts
● Elements of fiction ● There are many more to list, but no
● Tone and mood vocabulary enough space! Links to all my unit
● Film - terminology slideshows here.
5F Research - Using secondary sources
In this subject, secondary research refers to texts other than that
being studied. This could include encyclopedia entries, critical Mr Hutton can share the
essays, videos, author biographies, academic journals, password document containing
interviews and much, much more. accessing details for any of the
following...)

The important to remember is that the information within these ● Library catalogue search
● Library website (Libguides)
sources should be used as a complement to your own ideas,
● JSTOR database
not as a replacement. For example, you might like to introduce ● Questia School database
some opposing critical views on a text and then argue with one. ● EBSCO Host database
● Britannica School
● Wheelers ePlatform
Be careful to cite any information carefully in order to ensure
academic honesty. I also have an extensive selection
of textbooks containing text type /
genre information in the
Some secondary sources that may be helpful are linked opposite. classroom. Please ask!
You do not have to do secondary research for the HL essay.
 After reading the linked
resources, think in terms of
metaphor. What is a thesis
5G Thesis statements statement like?

After completing your primary and secondary research comes the most
important step in your writing process - crafting your thesis statement. This
is an argument that will be the foundation of your paper.

● Introduces your argument in terms of WHAT and WHY

● Succinctly and precisely ANSWERS your inquiry QUESTION
● Outlines the flow of SUPPORTING POINTS in the paper

Here are some resources to help with this. They mostly contain similar
information, so skim over them and choose whichever seems most accessible
and relevant to you.

● Purdue OWL - Tips for writing thesis statements (general)

● UNNCCH - More tips for writing thesis statements (general)
● BUA - Literary analysis thesis statements (comprehensive!)
● UTA - Sample thesis statements for literary analysis essays
● Brian Yothers’ handout - some good examples of bad thesis statements
and how to improve them
5H Outlining essays / essay structures
Pre-writing involves everything you do before you start writing the actual piece,
such as reading, talking, brainstorming, outlining, gathering more information etc.

● First, review six prewriting strategies here. (Or watch this BrainPop
video!) Which would be most useful for you for this essay assignment? Use
whichever strategy you choose to get ideas down on paper.

● Second, narrow down these ideas and outline an essay (BrainPOP,

Purdue).

● Your points should come from one of your pre-writing strategies:

○ Style-based? (i.e. focusing on different stylistic elements of the text?)
○ Topic- or idea-based? (i.e. does your argument require examination
of smaller ‘sub-points’?
○ Example-based? (i.e. Can you select different examples from, or
parts of , the work?)
5I The language of academic analysis
Once you have researched, brainstormed ideas, crafted your thesis
statement, and outlined your essay, you are ready to write!

I have collected a variety of tips, examples and resources about the

language style of academic essays here. Most of these tips come from
Perrine’s Literature.

Please skim over this to refresh your memory before you write and
return to it as necessary as you draft.

A more comprehensive resource is the Purdue OWL website (Online

Writing Center). Includes a wide variety of topics such as conciseness,
sentence variety, mechanics, punctuation, grammar, adding emphasis
and so on.
5J Using transitions to create coherence

Once you have completed research,

created a compelling argument, and
outlined your essay, the next step is to
ensure that your writing is coherent.

Read this website to learn more about

coherence and how to create it.
5J Using transitions to create coherence
5K Integrating quotations
Integrating quotations is tricky because
there are so many different ways to do
it. Remember that a good balance
between
concrete details vs. commentary is
necessary and be sure to follow this
guide to ensure that you are integrating
quotations correctly.

A good balance of methods can ensure

that your writing does not become
repetitive.
5L Citation
As students of English, it is important to engage
with the thoughts of others, although they
shouldn’t be a replacement for our own thinking.

Accordingly, we must cite the ideas of others in

order to ensure academic honesty. Any idea that
you did not develop independently and that is
not common knowledge must be cited
appropriately.

Here are some resources to help with citations:

● Sample MLA 8 works cited list

● ML8 citation quick guide
● ML8 citation extended guide
5M Editing and proofreading
At this stage of the process, you should go
back over your work with a critical eye and
make sure that it will make sense to a
reader. This could involve changes in
paragraph order, cutting ideas out, adding
more ideas in, proofreading for errors,
correcting language style, etc.

This is a good guide to help with this stage

of the process.