In a nutshell: The HL essay is a formal 1,200–1,500-word essay (HL only) exploring your own line of inquiry about ONE literary work or one non-literary body of work, marked out of 20.
The HL essay is your chance to think deeply, in writing, about ONE work you know well — on a question you choose.
Unlike the exams, it's written coursework: you develop your OWN line of inquiry (a focused argument) about a single work, in 1,200–1,500 words of formal, academic prose. It rewards a genuine, developed argument supported by close analysis — not a summary, and not a rushed exam answer.
What the HL essay asks
One work
ONE literary work OR one non-literary body of work — not a comparison.
Your own line of inquiry
A focused, arguable question YOU choose about that work.
1,200–1,500 words
A developed essay — long enough to argue in depth, short enough to stay focused.
Formal & analytical
Academic register, a developed argument, close analysis — marked out of 20.
The key move: The HL essay = 1,200–1,500 words, formal, on ONE work, exploring your own line of inquiry — a developed argument supported by close analysis, /20.
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Why it matters in the exam: The HL essay is worth 20% of the HL grade and is the one task where you set the question and have time to think.
The HL essay
- Rewards depth
- A sustained, evidenced argument about a single work
The other tasks
- Timed, comparative, or oral
- Very different from the HL essay
A student plans an HL essay: ‘I'll summarise my favourite novel and say why I like it.’ What's wrong, and what should the HL essay be?
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Watch out: The HL essay is not a summary, a book review, or a rushed exam answer. It's a developed, formal argument about ONE work along a line of inquiry YOU choose — with time to think and redraft.