How DP Language A: 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: Literature subject overview.

Why weightings shift between SL and HL

Paper 1 stays at 35% at both levels, but Paper 2 drops from 35% at SL to 25% at HL, with the difference absorbed by the HL essay (20%), which only HL students complete. The individual oral also carries relatively more weight at SL (30%) than at HL (20%). This shift is worth keeping in mind for revision planning – at SL, Paper 2 and the oral together account for 65% of the final grade, making comparative essay writing and spoken literary analysis especially high-value skills at that level.

SL vs HL weightings

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

How this differs from Language A: Language and Literature

Same overall structure and weightings, but Paper 1 and Paper 2 here focus exclusively on literary texts — Language and Literature’s Paper 1 works with a wider range of text types.

The individual oral

• A prepared spoken response exploring how a global issue of the student’s choosing is presented in an extract from a studied literary work, then extended to a second work.

The individual oral in more depth

The oral is graded against criteria covering: knowledge and understanding of both studied works and their context; the quality of analysis connecting the chosen global issue to how it is presented in each extract; focus and organisation within the fixed preparation and speaking time; and language. Because the oral must extend the discussion from one work to a second, a common weakness is spending most of the available time on the first extract and only briefly gesturing at the second – examiners expect a genuinely balanced treatment that develops the comparison, not a detailed analysis of one text followed by a token mention of the other.

The HL essay in more depth

The HL essay is independent coursework, produced with only a single general consultation with a teacher rather than ongoing drafting support, and assessed against criteria covering the clarity and sustained development of a chosen line of inquiry into one or more of the studied literary works, the quality of textual analysis, and organisation and language appropriate to formal academic writing. Because it is completed outside exam conditions, examiners expect deeper, more sustained argument and more precisely selected textual evidence than a timed in-class essay would produce – treating it as simply a longer exam response, rather than genuinely independent extended writing, tends to underperform against the higher assessment bands.

Command terms across the papers

Paper 1 provides a specific guiding question for each of the two unseen literary extracts, and responses are expected to work closely from that question – a response that ignores the guiding question in favour of a generic close reading loses marks even when the textual observations are accurate. Paper 2’s comparative essay question is broad enough to be answered using any two of the studied literary works from the course, and is assessed on how effectively a student selects and interweaves evidence from both texts to build one sustained argument, rather than presenting two separate mini-essays back to back.

How this course compares to Language A: Language and 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 this course’s Paper 1 and Paper 2 work exclusively with literary texts, while Language and Literature’s Paper 1 draws on a wider range of text types, including non-literary and media texts, reflecting its broader study of language in use across contexts. Where a school offers both courses, the choice between them typically comes down to whether a student’s interest and reading strength lie more in close literary analysis specifically, or in the broader study of language and communication across different text types – both are assessed to the same standard and carry equal recognition.

Exam traps

• Confusing this course’s exclusively-literary Paper 1 with Language A: Language and Literature’s broader text-type range.
• Treating the individual oral as a single-text analysis, when it requires extending the discussion to a second studied work.
• HL students skipping dedicated planning time for the HL essay, since it’s independent coursework rather than an in-class exam.

Self-test

1. What kind of texts does Paper 1 focus on in this course?
2. What specifically distinguishes HL assessment from SL?
3. How many literary works must the individual oral eventually connect?
4. What are Paper 1 and Paper 2 weighted at, at SL?
5. Name one criterion the individual oral is graded against, beyond language.
6. Why does the HL essay typically demand a higher standard than an in-class timed essay?

Answers: 1. Two previously unseen literary extracts. 2. The HL essay — independent written coursework of 1,200-1,500 words, only completed at Higher Level. 3. Two — the oral begins with one extract and extends the discussion to a second work. 4. Paper 1: 35%, Paper 2: 35%. 5. Any of: knowledge and understanding of both works and their context, the quality of analysis connecting the global issue across both extracts, or focus and organisation within the time available. 6. Because it is produced independently, outside exam conditions, with only a single general consultation – examiners expect more sustained argument and more precisely selected evidence than a timed response allows for.

Official syllabus

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