ENGLISH A

Studies in language and literature EEs (English A) are divided into three categories:

Category 1:  Studies of one or more literary works originally written in English.

Category 2: Studies of a literary work or works originally written in English, compared with one or more literary works originally written in another language. (The work originally written in another language may be studied in translation.)

Category 3: Studies in language based on one or more texts originally produced in English.

The essay must be written in English

Categories 1 and 2—appropriate texts

Students can choose literary works from any source, including the IB Diploma Programme prescribed list of authors.

Crucially, students’ chosen text(s) should be of sufficient literary merit to sustain in-depth analysis.

Clarification on the use of song lyrics

Song lyrics are considered literary texts belonging in the poetic literary form. An EE focusing on song lyrics will therefore be either a category 1 essay if the texts are not in translation, or a category 2 essay if there is a comparison involved between a text written originally in the language of the essay and others written in another language. In the case of an essay studying music videos, however, the correct category would be category 3, since music videos are multimodal and as such are non-literary. If the focus is on context, then the essay would be a category 3. This also applies to other literary text types where the focus is on context.

Category 3—appropriate texts

For the purpose of a category 3 language EE, “texts” include a wide range of oral, written and visual materials present in society:

• single and multiple images with or without written text

• literary written texts and text extracts

• media texts, for example, advertising campaigns; films, radio and television programmes and/or their scripts

• electronic texts that share aspects of a number of media texts, eg video-sharing websites, web pages, SMS messages, blogs, wikis and tweets

• oral texts, eg readings, speeches, broadcasts and transcripts of recorded conversation.

Students may also use literary written texts in a category 3 essay, when appropriate. For instance, a literary text might be considered in relation to a media text—the Hindu-language film Haider might be analysed as an adaptation of the play Hamlet, using a comparative approach. In another example, the streaming series The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor might be compared with their source material—Shirley Jackson’s novel The Haunting of Hill House and Henry James’s novella The Turn of the Screw, respectively.

eg:

Title: Two Hauntings of Jackson’s Hill House

Research question: How and to what effect do Shirley Jackson’s novel The Haunting of Hill House and the Netflix series use “hauntings” as a metaphor for trauma?

Approach: Through close readings of the literary and cinematic texts, investigate how the authors employ both literary and cinematic techniques to engage “hauntings” as a metaphor. Compare and contrast how the two media (texts) treat the metaphor differently and to what effect.

When writing the essay, students must bear in mind that any narrative and/or descriptive material included should be directly relevant to the critical analysis. A summary of the student’s reading is not sufficient.

Where relevant to the topic, students may compare and contrast different languages and cultures. However, the essay’s main focus should be the language and culture(s) of the language in which the student is writing.

Important note on the use of film in studies in language and literature essays:

If students wish to base their essays on a film or screenplay, they must be aware of the fact that films and screenplays are defined in the studies in the language and literature guides (first assessment 2021) as non-literary. An EE about a film or screenplay will therefore be a category 3 essay. This also applies to film adaptations of literary works. Students must ensure that, when considered in isolation, films and other multimodal texts are originally produced in the language in which their EE is submitted.

What text/s should I choose for a Language A extended essay (category 1 or 2)? 

(watch these videos for advice)