Name: _______________
HL Essay Planning Guide
Adapted from: https://www.thinkib.net/englishalanglit/page/30557/tips
Before you start writing your Higher Level essay, you will need a strategy or "game plan." The list of
tips below offers you some helpful ideas to get you thinking, writing, and editing. In brief you will
need to go through several stages, where you orient yourself with the nature of the task, brainstorm
with classmates and engage with what you want to write about and why. Be sure to practice using
the assessment criteria and look at sample Higher Level essays as well.
1,200 –1,500 word formal essay which develops a particular line of inquiry of their own choice in connection with
o a non-literary text or
o a collection of non-literary texts by one same author or
o a literary text or work studied during the course.
The essay requires students to construct a focused, analytical argument examining the work from a broad literary or
linguistic perspective.
Adhere to the formal framework of an academic essay, using citations and references.
1. Look back at your learner portfolio. What literary work(s) and non-literary text(s)
jump out? What interests you? Alternatively, look at the 7 concepts of the course:
Communication, Creativity, Perspective, Culture, Transformation,
Notes:
Identity, Representation. What do you find interesting or worth
exploring in greater depth? In the case of a collection of
short stories, poems, song lyrics
or any short literary text,
candidates may choose to use
just one literary text from the
work as their focus.
In the case of short non-literary
texts, it may be necessary for
the candidate to use more than
one from the same text type by
the same authorship, for
example the same creative
advertising agency, cartoonist,
photographer or social media
user. In this instance, at least
one of the texts should be
studied in class. If using
language texts in translation,
these must be professional and
published translations of the
text.
2. Narrow your ideas down into a topic you are interested in. Talk with your teacher,
with your peers, with anyone who will listen. Clarify your ideas and arguments
through discussion.
DP Lang & Lit
Name: _______________
Examples of broad vs focused topics.
Broad Topics Focused topics
Comedy in Shakespeare’s plays The use of comic characters to explore serious issues in
Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure and King Lear
Marriage in the novels of George Eliot The portrayal of marriages as imperfect in Middlemarch by George
Eliot
Autobiographical details in Cómo me hice monja The role of autobiographical techniques and their effects on the reader
in Cómo me hice monja by César Aira
A comparison of the main characters in Huckleberry The importance of satire in the travels of the main characters
Finn and Candide in Huckleberry Finn and Candide
The influence of the media in shaping the view of The use of language and image by UK fashion and beauty
female beauty magazines Cosmopolitan, Glamour and Look to construct a particular
body image for women
Successful political campaigns The use of language and other persuasive techniques to confront the
ideology of the United States by Malcolm X and other civil rights
activists
Humour in Measuring the World The use of humour by Kehlman in Measuring the World to bridge the
distance between the present day reader and his historic subject
matter
Argentine protest marches The use of different reporting methods by various newspapers to
cover Argentine protest marches
3. Turn your broad topic into a line of inquiry, a question that you will answer that will
frame your essay.
DP Lang & Lit
Name: _______________
3. Once you have decided on a line of inquiry, draw a spider diagram for it. Branch out
from each aspect of your thinking and answer all parts of it in relation to the text or
work you are focusing on. Share your thinking with others to clarify your ideas even
more.
DP Lang & Lit
Name: _______________
4. Write a thesis statement which will come at the end of the first paragraph. In your
thesis statement, provide a focus for your essay. What are you arguing and why?
5. Quote hunt. Find quotations from the primary source that help you explore your line of
inquiry. Rewrite them on pieces of paper. Look for similarities between the quotations
and start to cluster them. What is the guiding idea behind each cluster of quotations?
Could this ‘guiding idea’ become a ‘topic sentence’? How might these tie in to the
thesis statement?
DP Lang & Lit
Name: _______________
6. Write an outline to your essay using your spider diagram, thesis statement, quotations
and more. Make sure you stick between the 1200-1500 word limit.
7. Assess several samples using the assessment criteria. Review the expectations and
what quality looks like.
8. After you have written the first draft of the essay, think about how you can revise,
edit, and proofread (and not just the night before!).
DP Lang & Lit
