IB Diploma Programme English A: Language & Literature (SL & HL)
Aims, assessment objectives, the three areas of exploration, every component (Paper 1, Paper 2, Individual Oral, HL Essay), critical theory and literary terminology — your complete IB DP Language & Literature reference for 2026.
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Aligned with the latest 2026 syllabus and board specifications. This sheet is prepared to match your exam board’s official specifications for the 2026 exam series.
IB Diploma Programme English A: Language & Literature rewards close reading of literary AND non-literary texts, conceptual thinking and sustained analytical writing. This reference sheet brings together the assessment objectives, three areas of exploration, every assessed component and the analytical vocabulary you need at SL and HL for 2026.
All four assessment objectives (AO1–AO4) explained with what examiners reward
Three areas of exploration — readers/writers/texts, time/space, intertextuality
Component-by-component breakdown: Paper 1, Paper 2, Individual Oral, HL Essay
Critical theory, rhetorical analysis and literary terminology toolkit
Every component is assessed against these four AOs — match your writing/oral to them explicitly.
Show what the texts mean and how you interpret them.
Demonstrate knowledge of the text's content, context and conventions; offer a personal, supported interpretation rather than retelling the plot. Use precise textual references (short quotations) — paraphrase only when faster and as accurate.
Analyse HOW writers create meaning and effect.
Analyse choices of language, structure, technique, style and form. Evaluate why those choices matter for meaning and effect. Connect ideas, texts and contexts coherently.
Synthesise readings across texts/contexts; use focused comparison and a controlled overall argument. Especially weighted in Paper 2 (comparative essay) and the HL Essay.
Write/speak in clear, accurate, register-appropriate English.
Formal academic register, precise critical vocabulary, controlled syntax, accurate grammar and citation. Every text studied is approached through one or more of these lenses; the IO and HL Essay are organised around them.
Close reading; how texts work as constructed artefacts.
Conventions of literary forms (poetry, prose, drama) and non-literary forms; choices of language, structure, voice, tone; relationship between reader and text. How texts shape — and are shaped by — their cultural and historical context.
Cultural, historical, social and geographic contexts of production and reception; how meaning shifts across time and space; representation of identity, power and belief. Connections between texts, genres and traditions.
Comparison of works across genres and forms; recurring features, conventions and reworkings; how genre shapes meaning. Two written exam papers; structure and timings differ between SL and HL.
Two unseen non-literary text passages, each with a guiding question.
SL
Choose ONE of the two passages; respond with a guided analysis. 1 hour 15 minutes. HL
Respond to BOTH passages with separate guided analyses. 2 hours 15 minutes. Method
Identify text type and audience → form a thesis answering the guiding question → analyse language/structure/visual features → link choices to effect on the reader. Comparative essay on TWO literary works studied, written in response to one of four unseen questions.
SL & HL
1 hour 45 minutes; choose 1 of 4 questions; both works compared throughout. Structure
Thesis → comparative paragraphs (point → both works → analysis) → controlled conclusion that returns to the question. Avoid 'Work A then Work B' structure — examiners reward integrated comparison.
One internal oral and (for HL only) one extended written essay.
10-minute prepared oral examining how a global issue is presented in two extracts.
Format
10 minutes total: ~10 min prepared response + 5 min teacher follow-up questions. Texts
One extract from a literary work studied + one extract from a non-literary text/body of work studied — chosen by the student. Prompt
Examine the ways in which the global issue of your choice is presented through the content and form of one of the works and one of the bodies of work that you have studied. 1,200–1,500 word essay on ONE work or body of work studied.
Develops a focused line of inquiry from a work in the course; written outside class with teacher feedback on a draft. Treat it as scholarly inquiry — narrow the question, sustain a thesis, integrate close textual evidence.
Use these to move beyond description into analysis — every component rewards a recognisable framework applied with control.
Use for any literary or non-literary text.
Form · structure · language (diction, imagery, figurative language) · voice · tone · register · point of view · syntax · sound (for poetry). Useful for visual and multimodal texts (adverts, posters, photographs).
Saussure
Signifier (the form) ↔ signified (the concept) → sign. Barthes
Denotation (literal meaning) vs connotation (cultural/associative meaning); myth as second-order signification. Apply to speeches, opinion columns, manifestos.
Ethos (credibility/character) · pathos (emotion) · logos (logic/evidence) · kairos (timing/context). Recognise the form before you analyse the content.
Speech · article (news/feature) · blog · letter · diary · manifesto · political poster · photograph · advertisement · interview · cartoon. Each has expected conventions of audience, purpose, register and structure — base your analysis there.
Use precise critical terms; vague labels lose AO2/AO4 marks.
Meter
iambic / trochaic / anapaestic / dactylic; pentameter, tetrameter, hexameter; spondee, caesura, enjambment. Sound
alliteration · assonance · consonance · sibilance · onomatopoeia · rhyme scheme · half-rhyme · internal rhyme. Form
sonnet (Shakespearean/Petrarchan) · villanelle · ode · elegy · free verse · blank verse · ghazal. Narrative perspective (1st / 2nd / 3rd limited / 3rd omniscient / unreliable narrator) · characterisation (direct/indirect) · free indirect discourse · stream of consciousness · frame narrative · in medias res · motif · symbol. Soliloquy · aside · monologue · dramatic irony · stagecraft (lighting, blocking, set, sound) · stage directions · chorus · prologue · denouement. Your IO must explore a global issue that is significant on a wide scale, transnational and locally felt. Pick a focused angle, not a vague theme.
Power, politics and justice · gender, sexuality and identity · culture, identity and community · belief, values and education · science, technology and the environment · art, creativity and the imagination. Move from broad theme → focused, debatable issue.
Vague: 'Gender'. Sharper: 'How language constructs female agency in political discourse.' Vague: 'Power'. Sharper: 'The legitimisation of state violence through visual rhetoric.' Strong global issues are specific, contested and visible across both your literary and non-literary extracts.
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For each work, log 15–20 short quotations indexed by both theme (e.g. power, identity) and technique (e.g. free indirect discourse, motif). This makes Paper 2 and the HL Essay much faster.
Topic sentence = a claim, not a description. Then evidence → analysis → link back to the question. Examiners reward a sustained argument, not feature-spotting.
The IO is graded on coherence and analytical rigor. Record yourself, time the 10 minutes, and refine until you naturally weave the global issue through both extracts.
Replace 'shows', 'uses', 'tells' with precise verbs: 'foregrounds', 'undercuts', 'destabilises', 'juxtaposes', 'ironises'. Precision is rewarded under AO2 and AO4.
Quick answers about this free PDF and how to use it for exam revision and active recall.
Yes. This Tutopiya formula sheet is free to use and you can download it as a PDF from this page for offline revision. There is no payment or account required for the PDF download.
This page groups key English A: Language and Literature formulas in one place for revision. Master IB Diploma Programme English A: Language & Literature (SL & HL) with this 2026 reference sheet. Covers assessment objectives, three areas of exploration, Paper 1, Paper 2, Individual Oral, HL Essay, critical th… Always cross-check with your official syllabus and past papers for your exam session.
No. In the exam you must follow only what your exam board allows in the hall—usually the official formula booklet or data sheet where provided. This page is a revision and teaching aid, not a replacement for board-issued materials.
It is written for students preparing for assessments at Post-Secondary in English A: Language and Literature, including classroom revision, homework support, and independent study. Teachers and tutors can also share it as a quick reference.
Work through past paper questions, quote the correct formula before substituting values, and check units and notation every time. Pair this sheet with timed practice and mark schemes so you see how examiners expect working to be set out.
Explore Tutopiya’s study tools, past paper finder, and revision checklists linked from our tools hub, or book a trial lesson with a subject specialist for personalised support alongside this formula reference.
Work through unseen Paper 1 analyses, Paper 2 comparative essays and your Individual Oral with an experienced IB DP English tutor. We focus on argument, technique vocabulary and global-issue framing.
Pair this reference sheet with past papers, revision checklists, and planners — all free on our study tools hub.
This reference sheet aligns with IB Diploma Programme English A: Language and Literature syllabus content for 2026 examinations (SL and HL).
Always frame your analysis around an argument that addresses the question — feature-spotting without interpretation rarely reaches the top bands.