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IB Language and Literature A HL Course Information

In this course, students study a wide range of literary and non-literary texts in a variety of media. By examining communicative acts across literary form and textual type alongside appropriate secondary readings, students will investigate the nature of language itself and the ways in which it shapes and is influenced by identity and culture. Approaches to study in the course are meant to be wide ranging and can include literary theory, sociolinguistics, media studies and critical discourse analysis among others. 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

Higher level study requires a minimum of 240 class hours.

Students study 6 works at higher 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 literary and 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.

Areas of Exploration

  • readers, writers and texts
  • time and space
  • intertextuality: connecting texts

7 Key Concepts

  • Identity
  • Culture
  • Creativity
  • Communication
  • Perspective
  • Transformation
  • Representation