IB · Diploma Programme · IBDP English A: Lang & Lit
English A: Language and Literature — Keywords & Key Terms — Definitions Glossary (2026)
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme English A: Language and Literature (SL/HL)
Topic-by-topic keywords, key terms and definitions for precise exam language—separate from our revision checklists (topic coverage) and formula sheets (equations).
Keywords & Key Terms — definitions
Examiner-style keywords and definitions organised by syllabus topic. Terms are tagged Essential (start here), Core (typical exam standard), and Advanced for harder distinctions — tick each row when you can recall it. Your progress is saved in this browser for this list.
IB Diploma Programme English A: Language and Literature (IBDP English A: Lang & Lit)
IB Diploma Programme English A: Language and Literature (IBDP English A: Lang & Lit)
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme English A: Language and Literature (SL/HL)
Topics map to the IB DP English A: Language and Literature course — three areas of exploration (Readers/writers/texts; Time and space; Intertextuality), assessed via Paper 1 guided textual analysis, Paper 2 comparative essay, the Individual Oral and (HL) HL Essay.
Mark schemes: IB English A mark schemes reward close, evidenced reading; precise literary and linguistic terminology; thesis-driven argument; integrated quotation; and clear engagement with global issues and contexts.
Active recall: 0 / 41 terms ticked
| Recalled | Topic | Level | Keyword | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Critical Analysis and Close Reading | Essential | Close reading | Detailed, sustained interpretation of a passage attending to language, form and structure. | |
| Critical Analysis and Close Reading | Core | Narrative voice | Perspective from which a story is told (first-, second-, third-person; limited or omniscient). | |
| Critical Analysis and Close Reading | Core | Tone | Writer's attitude towards subject or audience as conveyed through language choices. | |
| Critical Analysis and Close Reading | Core | Mood / atmosphere | Emotional feeling a text creates in the reader. | |
| Critical Analysis and Close Reading | Core | Free indirect discourse | Narrative technique blending the narrator's voice with a character's thought without explicit attribution. | |
| Critical Analysis and Close Reading | Advanced | Focalisation | The lens through which events are perceived; may shift between characters. | |
| Critical Analysis and Close Reading | Advanced | Unreliable narrator | Narrator whose credibility is compromised, requiring readers to question their account. | |
| Literary Devices | Essential | Metaphor | Figure of speech describing one thing as if it were another to suggest a likeness. | |
| Literary Devices | Essential | Simile | Comparison using 'like' or 'as'. | |
| Literary Devices | Core | Personification | Attribution of human qualities to non-human entities or abstract ideas. | |
| Literary Devices | Core | Allegory | Extended narrative in which characters and events represent abstract ideas or moral qualities. | |
| Literary Devices | Core | Irony | Discrepancy between expectation and reality; verbal, situational or dramatic. | |
| Literary Devices | Core | Juxtaposition | Placement of contrasting ideas, images or characters close together for effect. | |
| Literary Devices | Core | Symbolism | Use of objects, characters or actions to represent ideas beyond their literal meaning. | |
| Literary Devices | Advanced | Motif | Recurring image, idea or symbol that develops a theme across a work. | |
| Literary Devices | Advanced | Pathetic fallacy | Attribution of human emotions to nature, often to mirror a character's mood. | |
| Linguistic Analysis | Core | Semantic field | Group of words related in meaning that build a particular theme or atmosphere. | |
| Linguistic Analysis | Core | Register | Level of formality and specialised vocabulary appropriate to a context. | |
| Linguistic Analysis | Core | Modality | Grammatical expression of certainty, obligation or possibility (e.g. modal verbs must, may, could). | |
| Linguistic Analysis | Core | Deixis | Words whose meaning depends on context (e.g. here, now, you, this). | |
| Linguistic Analysis | Core | Lexical choice | Selection of specific words for connotative effect. | |
| Linguistic Analysis | Advanced | Pragmatics | Study of meaning in context, including implicature and speech acts. | |
| Linguistic Analysis | Advanced | Discourse marker | Word or phrase organising discourse (e.g. however, in addition, nevertheless). | |
| Comparative Essay Technique (Paper 2) | Core | Thesis-driven essay | Essay organised around a single central argument stated in the introduction. | |
| Comparative Essay Technique (Paper 2) | Core | Integrated paragraph | Paragraph analysing both texts in conversation rather than sequentially. | |
| Comparative Essay Technique (Paper 2) | Core | Topic sentence | Sentence opening a paragraph with its analytical point and connection to the thesis. | |
| Comparative Essay Technique (Paper 2) | Core | Embedded quotation | Short quotation woven into the writer's own sentence rather than block-quoted. | |
| Comparative Essay Technique (Paper 2) | Advanced | Counter-perspective | Alternative reading acknowledged and addressed to strengthen the argument. | |
| Comparative Essay Technique (Paper 2) | Advanced | Synthesis | Combining insights from both texts to reach an overall comparative judgement. | |
| Global Issues and Contexts | Core | Global issue | Significant transnational issue (e.g. migration, climate, gender, power) explored through texts in the Individual Oral. | |
| Global Issues and Contexts | Core | Representation | How people, groups or ideas are constructed and depicted in a text. | |
| Global Issues and Contexts | Core | Gender | Socially constructed roles and expectations shaping characters and language use. | |
| Global Issues and Contexts | Core | Power | Distribution of agency, authority or voice within and around a text. | |
| Global Issues and Contexts | Core | Context of production | Historical, cultural and biographical circumstances in which a text was created. | |
| Global Issues and Contexts | Advanced | Context of reception | Circumstances of the audience reading or interpreting the text. | |
| Global Issues and Contexts | Advanced | Postcolonial reading | Interpretation focusing on representations of colonialism, race and cultural identity. | |
| Internal Assessment — Individual Oral | Core | Individual Oral | 10-minute internal assessment exploring a global issue through one literary and one non-literary extract. | |
| Internal Assessment — Individual Oral | Core | Extract | Self-selected 40-line passage chosen to illustrate the global issue. | |
| Internal Assessment — Individual Oral | Core | Bookwork (annotation) | Permitted brief outline notes guiding the oral; not a full script. | |
| Internal Assessment — Individual Oral | Advanced | Authorial choices | Specific decisions made by the writer regarding language, structure and form for effect. | |
| Internal Assessment — Individual Oral | Advanced | Discussion phase | Final five minutes of the oral in which the teacher probes and extends the candidate's argument. |
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English A: Language and Literature (IBDP English A: Lang & Lit) — Keywords & Key Terms FAQ
- What is on this IB Diploma Programme English A: Language and Literature keywords and key terms list?
- It is a topic-organised glossary of important english a: language and literature terms with short, exam-style definitions aligned to International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme English A: Language and Literature (SL/HL) (IBDP English A: Lang & Lit). It is designed for “define”, “state”, “outline” and “explain” questions where precise vocabulary earns marks.
- How should I use this English A: Language and Literature glossary alongside past papers?
- Tick terms when you can recall them without reading the answer, then check your wording against mark schemes. Pair vocabulary practice with past papers for Diploma Programme English A: Language and Literature (IBDP English A: Lang & Lit) so you apply terms in context.
- Is this the same as a revision checklist or a formula sheet?
- No. Revision checklists help you track which syllabus topics you have covered and your confidence—separate pages on Tutopiya. Formula sheets summarise equations and quantitative relationships. This page is only a definitions and key-terms glossary for English A: Language and Literature.
- Can I download this English A: Language and Literature keywords and key terms list for free?
- Yes. After a quick free sign-up you can download a UTF-8 CSV (opens in Excel or Google Sheets) or open a print-friendly page and save as PDF. Browsing the list on the page is free.
- Is this English A: Language and Literature list aligned to the IBDP English A: Lang & Lit specification?
- Topic groupings and wording follow International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme English A: Language and Literature (SL/HL) for IB Diploma Programme. Always confirm final learning objectives and any regional options in your official specification and recent examiner reports for your exam session.
- Why focus on definitions instead of full notes?
- Mark schemes reward correct technical terms and clear links between ideas. A compact glossary lets you drill the exact language examiners expect for English A: Language and Literature at Diploma Programme, separate from longer notes or topic trackers.