This course is designed for IB Diploma Programme students studying English A: Language and Literature HL who need clear syllabus mastery, accurate understanding of assessment criteria, and structured preparation for high-quality exam and coursework performance.
Students begin with a diagnostic assessment and a personal target-grade plan, then build the core analytical knowledge required for both literary and non-literary texts. The program covers the full range of key HL demands: Paper 1 guided analysis, Paper 2 comparative essay writing, the Individual Oral, and the HL Essay. It also teaches IB command terms, grading logic, timing strategy, and revision methods that can be applied to unfamiliar tasks.
The curriculum is practical and criterion-focused. Students learn not just what to write or say, but how to make analytical decisions that earn marks: selecting evidence, building arguments, comparing works meaningfully, defining global issues, structuring oral responses, and revising weak drafts with purpose.
- Diagnostic and planning: baseline assessment, target-grade benchmarks, study planning, and mistake-log systems
- Syllabus and assessment foundations: course structure, assessment objectives, command terms, grade descriptors, and timing demands
- Core analysis skills: text, context, purpose, audience, theme, authorial choices, ideology, voice, form, and close reading
- Literary analysis: narrative structure, characterization, symbolism, tone, poetry, and drama techniques
- Non-literary analysis: rhetoric, persuasion, visual design, media language, multimodal meaning, and audience positioning
- Paper 1: unseen-text annotation, thesis planning, analytical structure, evidence integration, and timed guided analysis
- Paper 2: prompt interpretation, comparative thesis building, contextual use, paragraph design, and full comparative essays
- Individual Oral: global issue selection, extract choice, wider-work links, oral structure, analytical language, and delivery control
- HL Essay: line of inquiry, close analysis, essay structure, academic style, redrafting, and academic integrity
- Revision and consolidation: worked examples, original exam-style questions, quizzes, cumulative review, timed drills, and weak-area remediation
Throughout the course, students work with concrete methods rather than vague advice. Lessons include concept explanations, guided practice, independent practice, common-error correction, criteria-based self-assessment, and full answer explanations. The result is a structured pathway from foundation knowledge to confident, high-level IB performance.