IB English A: Language & Literature revision notes
Group 1 · Language A · SL / HL
Paper 1 gives you an unseen non-literary text, like an ad, speech or article. You get marks for explaining how the writer shapes meaning for a specific audience and purpose.
Individual oral· Global issues, extract choice, structure · 3 subtopics
HL essay· Line of inquiry, structure, criteria · 3 subtopics
Free lesson: Readers, writers and texts
Context
Who made it, when, where and why
Audience and purpose
Who it's for and what it wants them to think, feel or do
Techniques and effects
The choices the writer made, and the impact of each choice
Exam format: SL analyses one of two texts (1h15). HL analyses both texts in separate answers (2h15).
First read: identify text type, audience, purpose and the overall message.
Second read: annotate techniques in three layers: visual (layout, images, colour), language (diction, imagery, rhetoric), structure (order, contrast, ending).
Thesis: one sentence that names the purpose and the main ways it is achieved.
Paragraph shape: claim → evidence (short quote) → technique → effect on the reader → link back to purpose.
Worked example
Original sample: a coffee ad that reads “Your morning. Reclaimed.” over a photo of an empty, sunlit kitchen. Write one analysis paragraph.
Claim: the ad sells calm and control, not just coffee.
Evidence: the two-word fragment “Your morning. Reclaimed.”
Technique: direct address and a minor sentence; the verb “reclaimed” suggests the reader has lost something.
Effect and link: the reader feels their mornings are stolen by stress, and the product is framed as the way to take them back.
Common mistakes
Listing techniques without explaining their effect.
Quoting long passages instead of short, precise words.
Ignoring the visual elements of the text.
Writing a thesis that only summarises what the text is about.
Quick check
A speech repeatedly uses “you”. The main effect is usually to…
create a personal connection with the audience. Direct address makes the audience feel personally involved.
“Faster, cleaner, smarter” is an example of…
a tricolon. A tricolon is a list of three, often used for rhythm and emphasis.
In HL Paper 1, students…
analyse both texts. HL analyses both texts. SL chooses one.
Which is the strongest thesis?
Through direct address and minimalist imagery, the advert presents its coffee as a way for stressed workers to regain control.. It names the purpose, the audience and the key methods.
What topics are in IB English A: Language & Literature?
IB English A: Language & Literature (SL / HL) is organised into: Readers, writers and texts; Time and space; Intertextuality: connecting texts; Paper 2 · Comparative essay; Individual oral; HL essay.
Are these IB English A: Language & Literature notes free?
Yes. The topic pages, key terms and the first lesson are free. The full lessons, interactive diagrams and exam-style practice papers with mark schemes are in the FortyFive app, which you can start for free.