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Advice on "Literature" and Language and Literature"


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Just a short introduction: I am: 10th grader, German, living in England, going to do the IB next year.

*Note: LangLit = abbreviation for 'Language and Literature'

Lit = abbreviation for 'Literature'

I already have an exact idea of all the courses I want to do in the IB (HL: Maths, Physics, English A course and SL: German A LangLit, Chemistry, Economics). The only uncertainties I have are relating to the choice of my language course choices. I am 100% sure that I will do the 'German A Language and Literature' as this is the only German course my school offers (Please don't understand me wrongly, I do appreciate the fact that they actually give us this opportunity).

So the only thing I am not sure about is my 'English A' course. The other thing is that I need it to be a HL course, as I still need one and don't want to take neither Chemistry nor Economics as HL (German as mentioned above is SL only). The other thing is that I want to take an 'English A' course to get the Bilingual IB Diploma. I currently am in the 'English 10 Advanced' course in my school which is supposed to be a good preparation for either English A Lit or English A LangLit courses (both offered at HL and SL). [The "supposed" isn't implying that I doubt that.] Also, I am doing fairly well in this English 10 Adv class (93%, A).

Therefore, the options are English A Lit HL or English A LangLit HL.

My question is which one you would suggest to take. I am not planning on including neither German nor English in my future studies (university, college,...). I heard that the Eng A Literature course is very challenging and demanding (thus, the HL would probably be even harder), but as I am already taking the German A LangLit course, I would be interested in taking a Literature class.

Thank you for every response! :)

Every tiny answer/ suggestion is appreciated.

dvirchow

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If you are ready for a challenge and are keen to learn, enjoy reading fine literature, then go for Literature HL. You certainly won't be bored.

Check out the course outline for details. The reading load has been reduced since I was at IB and is therefore less demanding than previously. Also you get rather more guidance for some of the major assignments than in the previous curriculum, so all things considered, you are in a good position to do well.

Edited by Blackcurrant
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Well, with the Literature course there is a lot more reading to be done than with the Lang&lit. However, with Lang&Lit you should keep in mind that there is a lot more IAs (internal assessments) to do since you do about a total of 7 IAs for HL out of which only 4 get actually submitted. So in terms of work load, it could create more pressure on you as you will have more IAs to do, considering the fact that you will also be doing German Lang&Lit, this would probably not be a good idea unless you won't mind doing so many IAs.

As mentioned above, if you are a keen reader then probably literature wouldn't be a bad option especially since the reading load is quite less than it used to be before, but you will still have to read about 12 texts if I am not mistaken which could be poems, novels and plays. With literature I think you have only 3 IAs to do all of which get sent. so you would probably have less load of IAs. However, the literature course is quite demanding especially at HL but I don't think if Lang&Lit HL would be any less demanding.

At the end of the day it is you who has to make the decision!!!

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Well, more than reading....literature is about analysing texts and appreciating the author's/poet's work and the literary techniques he/she has incorporated in his work. That in mind, if you're a person who likes to going into the depths of texts, in order to discover the subtle hints and messages left behind by the author/poet...then my friend, literature is the perfect choice for you.

I would also like to add that it can be quite challenging at times (as people above me have mentioned) but it is a very enjoyable course - if you've got a good teacher, who knows what he/she is saying.

In terms of lang and lit., i'm not quite sure....since I don't take that. Hopefully, someone can provide you more information on that. ;)

Also, you might want to ask your current english teacher on what he/she recommends for you.

Edited by Jane500
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Thanks for all the responses :) They are really helpful

I just recently (about 2 hours ago) joined this website, and i am already getting so many useful feedback :D

So, to sum it up (as far as I understood):

- amount of work = about the same

- LangLit = more stress as more Internal Assessments

-Lit = overall more challenging

I am tending a little more to the side of English Literature now.

Thank you

Edited by dvirchow
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Thanks for all the responses :) They are really helpful

I just recently (about 2 hours ago) joined this website, and i am already getting so many useful feedback :D

So, to sum it up (as far as I understood):

- amount of work = about the same

- LangLit = more stress as more Internal Assessments

-Lit = overall more challenging

I am tending a little more to the side of English Literature now.

Thank you

yay! glad to hear that!! :D

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