Come up with a line of inquiry Students are required to write a 1,200 –1,500 word formal essay, which develops a particular line of inquiry of your own choice in connection with a non-literary text, a collection of non-literary texts by one same author or a literary text or work studied during the course.(11th and 12th grade)
▪ The HL essay offers you an opportunity to develop as independent, critical and creative readers, thinkers and writers by exploring a literary or language topic over an extended period of time, refining their ideas by means of a process of planning, drafting and redrafting. The essay requires you to construct a focused, analytical argument examining the work from a broad literary or linguistic perspective. It also requires you to adhere to the formal framework of an academic essay, using citations and references.
▪ EXPLANATION OF THE TASK
▪ The HL essay is based on exploration During this exploration process, you will have investigated a number of works and texts from a variety of different perspectives. In the lead-up to the drafting of the essay, you must decide which text, texts or work to focus on for further investigation, and which topic to write about in connection with them. In choosing the topic, the student can consult the course’s seven central concepts. 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. What is the guiding idea behind each cluster of quotations? Could this ‘guiding idea’ become a ‘topic sentence’? How might these tie into the thesis statement?
