Is there a big difference between HL and SL English Lang/Lit in terms of exams?

[chanjake82]

I'm more worried about the exams than the coursework.

So could you please highlight the main differences between exams for the two courses?

Is one significantly harder than the other? Or are they both almost the same?

I know the workload for HL is higher and you do more texts and have a higher workload, but I'm more worried about exams.

 

I'm hoping to study law so I really don't want to take a HL subject that will get be below a 6.

Thanks.

[Fiona]

As far as I understand you are talking about English A: Language and Literature. There are several differences between SL and HL and they are as follows: 

 

Paper 1: 

Paper 1 is a (comparative) textual analysis of one or two unseen texts. 

 

SL:

• Each individual text is presented with two guiding questions. HL students will not have guiding questions. 
• Possible text types for analysis include: advertisements, opinion columns, brochures, extracts from memoirs, or travel writing.

 

HL:

 

• The Paper 1 asks students to compare and contrast one of two pairs of text within two hours. 
• One of the texts from one of the pairs may be a literary text. 
• Possible text types for analysis include: advertisements, opinion columns, brochures, extracts from memoirs, or travel writing.

 

Paper 2:

The Paper 2 exam consists of six essay questions, only one of which must be answered during the timed period. It is a test of understanding literature in context.

 

SL:

 

• Answer to 1 of 6 essay questions. SL and HL students receive exactly the same 6 questions.
• Essay must answer one question in relation to both literary texts that were studied in class.
• You have 1.5 hours to answer this essay question.

HL:

• Essay must answer one question in relation to 2 or 3 of the literary texts studied in class.
• You have 2 hours to answer this essay question.

Written task/Coursework:

There are two types of written tasks, known as written task 1 (WT1) and written task 2 (WT2). These are very different in nature.

 

Written task 1 is an 'imaginative piece' in which you demonstrate your understanding of the course work and a type of text. Written task 2 pertains to HL students only. It is a critical response to a text or texts, written in light of one of six prescribed questions from the IB Language A: Language and Literature guide. These questions can be answered using texts from all parts of the syllabus.

 

Oral Commentary: 

Both HL and SL students are assessed according to the same criteria. Differentiation between levels only occurs at the stage when grade boundaries are determined by the IB. The general picture of what will be happening is as follows:

• Each student receives a 40-line passage from a work that he or she has studied for Part 4.
• Students do not know which passage they will receive on this internal exam.
• Each student has 20 minutes to prepare the passage.
• Students must then talk about their passage for a minimum of 10 minutes and a maximum of 15 minutes.

Frankly speaking, there is a big difference between HL and SL and this is not only how exams are structured but also what they are expecting from you. And it is obvious that they will expect more from HL. I did not do Lang and Lit in IB - I did Lit. It was SL and I was literally dying although literature was always the subject I was struggling with. Moreover, if you are going to study law, you should consider not doing HL (unless you want to study it for yourself and your cultural background of course)

 

Hope this helps!

[deeznuts]

yeah sl is much easier and examiners aren't that harsh in marking but HL is alright as well, my english is horrible, got a D in gcse english but I managed to get a high 5 in iB so...