How DP Language A: Language and Literature Is Assessed: Revision Notes

Condensed for quick recall of how the course is assessed. For the full subject overview, use the IB DP Language A: Language and Literature subject overview.

Why weightings shift between SL and HL

Paper 1 stays at 35% for both levels, but Paper 2 drops from 35% at SL to 25% at HL, with the difference absorbed by the HL essay (20%), which SL students do not complete. The individual oral also carries relatively more weight at SL (30%) than HL (20%), since HL students have an additional independent written component to balance against. Recognising this shift matters for revision planning – at SL, the oral and Paper 2 together account for 65% of the grade, making fluency in both comparative essay writing and spoken analysis especially high-value at that level.

SL vs HL weightings

Component	SL	HL
Paper 1 (guided textual analysis, unseen texts)	35%	35%
Paper 2 (comparative essay, studied literary texts)	35%	25%
HL essay (independent coursework, 1,200-1,500 words)	—	20%
Individual oral	30%	20%

What distinguishes HL

Not a longer exam — an extra piece of independent written coursework (the HL essay), on a literary or non-literary body of work studied in class.

The individual oral

• Common to both levels.
• A prepared spoken response analysing connections between a literary text and a non-literary text/extract studied in class.
• Explores how a global issue of the student’s choosing is presented across the two.

The individual oral in more depth

The oral is graded against criteria covering: knowledge and understanding of both the literary and non-literary text/extract, including their context; the quality of the analysis connecting the chosen global issue to how it is presented across both texts; the focus and organisation of the response within the fixed preparation and speaking time; and language (register, clarity and appropriate terminology). A common weakness is choosing a global issue too broadly stated to analyse precisely within the time available – a tightly framed issue, clearly evidenced in specific details from both texts, consistently scores more highly than a broad theme gestured at only in general terms.

The HL essay in more depth

The HL essay is independent coursework, produced without teacher input on drafting beyond a single, general consultation, and assessed against criteria covering: the clarity and sustained development of the essay’s central line of inquiry; the quality of analysis of the chosen body of work; and organisation and language appropriate to a formal, extended piece of academic writing. Because it is completed independently and outside exam conditions, examiners expect a higher standard of structured argument and textual evidence than an in-class timed essay – an HL essay that reads like an expanded exam response, rather than a genuinely independent piece of extended writing, typically underperforms against the criteria’s higher bands.

Command terms across the papers

Paper 1’s guided textual analysis provides a specific guiding question for each unseen text, and responses are expected to work closely from that question rather than offering a generic close reading – ignoring the guiding question in favour of a broader commentary is a common way marks are lost even when the textual observations themselves are accurate. Paper 2’s comparative essay question is deliberately broad enough to be answered using any two of the studied literary works, and is assessed on how effectively a student selects and compares evidence across both texts to build a sustained argument, rather than treating the two works as separate mini-essays stitched together.

How this course compares to Language A: Literature

Both Language A courses share an identical overall assessment structure and weighting – Paper 1, Paper 2, the HL essay, and the individual oral – but differ in scope: Language and Literature’s Paper 1 works with a wider range of text types (including non-literary and media texts) reflecting its broader study of language in use across contexts, while Language A: Literature’s Paper 1 and Paper 2 focus exclusively on literary texts. Students choosing between the two courses (where a school offers both) should weigh whether they are more drawn to analysing language and communication broadly, or to close literary study specifically, since this shapes the entire course, not just the exam format.

Exam traps

• Preparing the individual oral around only one text type, when it specifically requires connecting a literary and a non-literary text.
• HL students treating the HL essay as optional extra reading response, when it’s a formally assessed, weighted component (20%).
• Confusing Paper 1’s unseen textual analysis with Paper 2’s comparative essay on studied texts — different skills, different preparation.

Self-test

1. What specifically distinguishes HL assessment from SL in this course?
2. What two text types does the individual oral connect?
3. What is the word range for the HL essay?
4. What are Paper 1 and Paper 2 weighted at, at HL?
5. Name one criterion the individual oral is graded against, beyond language.
6. How does Paper 1 differ in scope between this course and Language A: Literature?

Answers: 1. The HL essay — an extra piece of independent written coursework only completed at Higher Level. 2. A literary text and a non-literary text or extract. 3. 1,200 to 1,500 words. 4. Paper 1: 35%, Paper 2: 25%. 5. Any of: knowledge and understanding of both texts and their context, the quality of analysis connecting the global issue across both texts, or focus and organisation within the time available. 6. This course’s Paper 1 works with a wider range of text types, including non-literary and media texts, whereas Language A: Literature’s Paper 1 focuses exclusively on literary extracts.

Official syllabus

International Baccalaureate Organization, Diploma Programme Subject Brief – Language A: Language and Literature, first assessment 2021, published 2019 – the same source cited by the full syllabus guide and the subject overview.