The gist: A developed argument builds: each section adds a new layer to your thesis — deepening, extending, or complicating it — so the essay ARRIVES somewhere it couldn't have started.
The difference between a good HL essay and a great one is DEVELOPMENT — does the argument grow, or just repeat?
A weak essay makes the same point three times with different quotes. A strong one builds: it states a thesis, then each paragraph adds something new — a deeper reason, a complication, a counter-idea it answers — so by the conclusion the argument is richer and more nuanced than at the start. Think staircase, not carousel.
How an argument develops
Start with a thesis
A clear claim your line of inquiry answers.
Each paragraph adds a layer
Deepen, extend, or complicate — don't just re-prove the same point.
Answer a counter-idea
Consider a reading against yours and respond — this shows real development.
Arrive somewhere new
By the conclusion, the argument is richer than the thesis alone.
The key move: Make each section add a new layer — deepen, extend, or complicate the thesis (including answering a counter-reading) — so the argument BUILDS to a richer conclusion.
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Why it matters in the exam: Criterion C rewards ‘focus, organisation AND DEVELOPMENT’, and Criterion B rewards evaluation. An argument that builds and complicates — rather than repeating — is what turns a competent HL essay into a strong one.
Two essay plans argue ‘the novel presents memory as unreliable’. Plan A: three paragraphs each giving another example of unreliable memory. Plan B: memory is unreliable → because the narrator has a motive to forget → but the novel suggests this self-deception is protective → so unreliability becomes a kind of mercy. Which develops, and why?
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Watch out: Don't make the same point repeatedly with new quotations — that's a carousel, not development. Each paragraph must add a new layer: a deeper reason, a complication, or a counter-idea answered.