Understanding the HL essay
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Question
How long is the HL essay?
Answer
1,200–1,500 words.
Question
How many works?
Answer
One — a literary work or a non-literary body of work (not a comparison).
Question
Who sets the question?
Answer
You — it's your own line of inquiry.
Question
What is it worth / marked out of?
Answer
20% of the HL grade; marked out of 20 (criteria A–D).
Question
Is it exam or coursework?
Answer
Written coursework — you have time to think and redraft.
Question
What must it develop?
Answer
A focused, arguable line of inquiry — a developed argument.
Question
What is it NOT?
Answer
Not a summary, a book review, or a comparison.
Question
What supports the argument?
Answer
Close analysis of the writer's choices, with evidence.
Question
Register?
Answer
Formal, academic prose.
Question
The HL essay in one line?
Answer
1,200–1,500 words, formal, ONE work, your own line of inquiry, /20.
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Topic 5.1 hub
Understanding the HL essay
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English A Lang & Lit exam skills
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