What Is the HL (Higher Level) Essay?
Students will write a 1,200 - 1,500 word argument essay addressing a line of inquiry they develop on a literary text or a collection of non-literary works by the same author of their choice studied this year. The focus is on the broader literary perspective in which students take a stance on the effectiveness of the author’s choices while making connections across the work as a whole. This essay is written over an extended time period so that students may refine their ideas, plan their arguments and revise their writing. Students are guided through the steps of writing as a process including research, gathering evidence, drafting, peer responses, editing and revising. Final drafts are submitted to TurnItIn.com to ensure authenticity of work. |
Determining a TopicThe topic you choose should allow for a broad literary or linguistic focus. In achieving this, the course’s seven central concepts (below) may be a helpful as a starting point in determining your topic for the essay.
Central Concepts
Identity: The student might be interested in an aspect of the representation of identity of a particular character or group of characters in the text, or on the way in which the text relates to the identity of the writer. Culture: The student might be interested in an aspect of the representation of the culture of a particular place, institution or group of people, or on the way in which the text itself relates to a particular culture. Creativity: The student might be interested in an aspect of the representation of individual or collective creativity, or lack of creativity, within the text, or on the way in which the text represents the creativity of the writer. Communication: The student might be interested in an aspect of the representation of acts of communication, or failures in communication, in the text, or on the way in which the text itself represents an act of communication. Transformation: The student might be interested in an aspect of the representation of transformation or transformative acts in the text, or on the way in which the text itself is a transformative act either of other texts through intertextual reference to them or of reality by means of a transformative effect on the reader’s identity, relationships, goals, values, and beliefs. Perspective: The student might be interested in an aspect of the representation of a particular perspective or perspectives within the text, or on the way in which the text represents the writer’s perspective. Representation: The student might be interested in an aspect of the way in which the text represents different themes, attitudes and concepts, or in the extent to which language and literature can actually represent reality. |