IB Prospectus 2026_paperturn_2 - Flipbook - Page 14
GROUP ONE: LANGUAGE A
English and World Literature (available at HL and SL)
This is an exciting course covering a wide variety of diverse texts
from both English and World Literature. Exploring the range
of literary forms, from Sophocles’ Antigone to Butterworth’s
Jerusalem; from Flaubert’s Madame Bovary to Angela Carter’s
Bloody Chamber and Bulgakov’s The Heart of a Dog and from
John Donne’s Songs and Sonnets to Alice Oswald’s Dart, the
English and World Literature course is a complete change from
GCSE. We move quickly through the selected texts, approaching
them from di昀昀erent critical perspectives and encouraging
students to develop their own responses and ideas driven by
discussion-based, seminar-style learning.
Reading each text in light of its speci昀椀c historical and political
context, you will investigate links between texts and analyse the
ways in which global issues such as identity, power and creativity
are represented.
Thirteen texts are studied for Higher Level and ten for Standard
Level; some are studied in depth and closely, some more rapidly
but we are always looking at what kind of knowledge of the world
and of ourselves we can gain through literature.
Assessment in the 昀椀rst year is oral, by means of an analysis of
two extracts and the ways that each represents the global issue
of your choice. In the second year, HL will write an essay which is
externally assessed.
For oral examinations and Higher Level essays, students are
encouraged to focus on ideas and concepts that interest them
personally.
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