Preview
Analysing Two Unseen Texts HL
IB DP English A: Language and Literature | SL & HL | Assessment & Exam Skills | Paper 1: Guided Textual Analysis (HL — two texts)
📋 What You Will Learn
- State precisely what the HL Paper 1 demands: two separate /20 analyses of two non-literary unseen texts in 2 hours 15 minutes
- Apply a disciplined time-management strategy that protects both texts from neglect
- Use the first five minutes to annotate, identify text type, purpose and audience, and frame a provisional thesis before writing
- Engage productively with the guiding question — and understand when to propose your own point of entry instead
- Structure each analysis as a coherent, criterion-responsive argument using the TEA (technique → evidence → analysis of effect) paragraph method
- Perform close, effect-driven textual analysis on both visual/multimodal and written non-literary texts, as demanded by criteria A and B
🔍 Guiding Question Given that both texts are unseen and each earns its own independent /20, how do you prevent the pressure of writing two analyses from collapsing into two rushed half-attempts — and what does it mean to offer "balanced" coverage of both texts at HL?
🌍 Why This Matters Paper 1 carries 35% of your final IB grade for Language and Literature (Philpot, Cambridge 2019). At HL, you face two non-literary unseen texts, each requiring a self-contained guided analysis worth 20 marks: together they total 40 marks across criteria A–D applied twice. The Language A guide (2015) specifies that "at HL the analysis between the two texts must be balanced" — which means neither analysis can be abandoned or treated as an afterthought. Every technique you develop here — pre-planning, criterion-awareness, argument-building — transfers directly to the exam room.
1 · What the HL Paper 1 Actually Requires HL
📖 Definition — Guided Textual Analysis The IB course guide describes Paper 1 as a "guided textual analysis" accompanied by a guiding question that explores "a central technical or formal element that may provide an interesting point of entry into the text." It is not a summary, not a personal response, and not a list of devices: it is a sustained analytical argument about how language, structure and visual choices construct meaning.
As Philpot (Cambridge 2019) explains: "When you open your exam booklet, you will notice two non-literary texts, each