IBEnglish Language & LiteratureDPEnglish A: Language and LiteratureHLRevision Notes6. HL EssayHow to Approach the HL EssayDeveloping your Line of Inquiry

Developing your Line of Inquiry (DP IB English A: Language and Literature: HL): Revision Note

Nick Redgrove

Written by: Nick Redgrove

Reviewed by: Deb Orrock

Updated on

Your HL Essay gives you the opportunity to undertake independent research into a literary or linguistic topic of special interest to you. It also allows you the freedom to explore your preferred texts and authors and apply your analytical and interpretative skills. It is intended to promote advanced research and writing skills and critical thinking. Preparation for this component will require independent research, planning, drafting and careful editing of your essay. 

This section is designed to help you understand how to choose a line of inquiry for your Higher Level Essay on your IB Diploma English A: Language and Literature (HL) course. It explores:

  • Connecting the IB concepts to your HL Essay

  • Using literary critical lenses 

  • Refining your line of inquiry for your HL Essay

Connecting the IB concepts to your HL Essay

Considering how the seven IB concepts operate within your text or body of work enables you to begin identifying potential areas for deeper analytical exploration in your HL Essay. Here are some examples of lines of inquiry across a range of texts.

Concept

Line of Inquiry

Identity

How does Ralph Ellison, in his novel Invisible Man, succeed in making his narrator a convincing spokesperson for the concerns of African-Americans in the 20th century?

Culture

How does Robert Capa represent post-Second World War France to qualify/exemplify the brutalities of the French population on former Nazi collaborators in La Femme Tondue? 

Creativity

How do Mario Testino’s portraits manage to convey the personalities of those portrayed in original ways?

Communication

Which view of love does Matt Groening convey in Love is Hell?

Transformation

In what ways does The Alan Parsons Project’s Tales of Mystery and Imagination offer a transformative re-reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s tales? 

Perspective

How does Mary Shelley’s protagonist in Frankenstein use the motif of dangerous knowledge to show the perspective of fear and anxiety of excesses in scientific enterprise in early 19th-century Europe? 

Representation

Through what means does Juan Rulfo successfully convey the representation of realistic and non-realistic characters and situations in Pedro Páramo? 

Here is an example of how you might begin mapping the seven concepts to one of your texts. In this example, we will use Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.

Concept

Text, work or body of work: Persepolis – Marjane

Identity

  • Highlights tension between personal beliefs and imposed religious and national identities

  • Examines gender identity within a patriarchal and politically restrictive society 

Culture

  • Depicts Iranian culture before and after the Islamic Revolution 

  • Challenges Western stereotypes about Iran through personal storytelling

Creativity 

  • Uses the graphic memoir form to combine visual and verbal narrative

  • Uses stark black-and-white imagery to symbolise moral and political contrast 

Communication

  • Portrays censorship and restricted freedom

Perspective

  • Narrated through Marji’s childhood viewpoint

  • Adult retrospective narration conveys reflection

Transformation 

  • Examines personal transformation shaped by war and exile

Representation 

  • Challenges simplified Western media portrayals of Iran

  • Humanises political conflict through personal narrative

Mapping the concepts in this way will help you see which areas offer the most potential for your HL Essay line of inquiry. 

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Rather than only thinking about the IB concepts when you start planning your essay, you should consistently explore how they connect to each of your texts throughout the course. To avoid limiting your options later, it is important to record your ideas and interpretations, as you may forget ideas that could form the basis of a strong line of inquiry. 

Your learner portfolio is an essential tool in this process. Consistent use of your portfolio will ensure that you have a rich bank of resources and ideas to draw upon when preparing for your HL Essay. 

Using literary critical lenses

One effective way to create a line of argument for your chosen text is to examine it through a literary critical lens. This can offer a more structured approach to your interpretations, which will enable you to deepen your analysis. 

  • Literary critics have developed a range of theoretical frameworks which shape the way a text is read and understood

  • It is important to recognise that a text can produce multiple interpretations when viewed through different critical perspectives

  • The meaning you construct will depend on the questions you ask and the interpretive framework you adopt

  • Different frameworks can therefore lead to different, yet equally valid, readings of the same work

Critical lenses: DP IB English A: Language and Literature (HL): HL Essay
Critical lenses

Here is a brief overview of some key literary critical lenses and their primary focus:

Critical lens

Primary focus

Historical/cultural theory

  • Interprets a text in relation to the historical period in which it was produced

  • Explores how the text reflects, reinforces or challenges the dominant ideologies of its time

  • Encourages analysis of how readers from different time periods might interpret the text differently

Feminist theory

  • Examines how ideas of femininity and masculinity are socially and culturally constructed 

  • Considers whether female characters are given autonomy and complexity or are marginalised and stereotyped

  • Explores themes such as patriarchy, oppression, identity and resistance

Marxist theory

  • Explores how literature reflects, reinforces or challenges class structures and economic systems

  • Focuses on conflict between social classes, particularly the ruling class and the working class

  • Examines themes such as exploitation, alienation, consumerism and ideology

Reader-response theory

  • Suggests that meaning is created through the interaction between the text and the reader

  • Recognises that different readers may produce different, yet valid, interpretations of the same text

Race/post-colonial theory

  • Explores how race, ethnicity and colonial context shape literary representation 

  • Analyses how colonised cultures are represented, particularly in Western literature

  • Examines how writers challenge dominant narratives and reconstruct suppressed narratives

Using some of the literary lenses above, these sample questions show how you might develop a focused research question for your essay. Each one connects a text to a specific theme, theory or literary aspect and shows how critical approaches can help to guide your analysis.

Critical lens

Focus

Examples

Historical/cultural theory

  • Explores context of the 1920s: American Dream, post-war disillusionment

How does F. Scott Fitzgerald foreshadow how Gatsby’s unnatural attachment to the past causes his downfall in The Great Gatsby?

Marxist theory

  • Directly references class structures, wealth inequality and power dynamics

In what ways would Marxist theory about the stratification of wealth and power explain the violence that runs through the action of the novel A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez? 

Reader-response theory

  • The extent of ‘influence’ depends on interpretation and comparison by the reader 

To what extent was the characterisation of the protagonist in Patrick Süskind´s Perfume influenced by Franz Kafka´s The Metamorphosis?

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Remember, you are not required to adopt a specific critical theory in your HL Essay. However, you can use literary critical lenses as a tool to help you refine your interpretation so that you can develop a clear line of argument for your essay.

Applying a literary critical lens

For the HL Essay, experimenting with two or three critical lenses can help you identify which perspective produces the most compelling line of enquiry or argument. You may find that one lens reveals a clear pattern in the writer’s choices, while another may open up contradictions within the work. 

Here is an example of how some critical lenses can generate some ideas when applied to Sophocles’ Antigone.

Critical lens

Ideas

Feminist lens

  • Sophocles portrays Antigone as a woman who challenges patriarchal authority within the expectations of Ancient Greek society

Marxist lens

  • The play explores the concentration of power in the ruling elite through Creon’s authoritarian rule

Reader-response lens

  • Modern audiences may interpret Antigone as a heroic martyr though others may view her as stubborn and self-destructive 

Examiner Tips and Tricks

You could use the Areas of Exploration (AoEs) alongside different critical literary lenses as these can help you understand what these ideas mean before applying them to your texts. [insert link when publishing]

For example, a Shakespeare play could be explored through the area of “Time and space”. This could introduce critical approaches such as New Historicism or post-colonial criticism, which may challenge traditional interpretations of the play. 

Refining your line of inquiry for your HL Essay

Many students find that their initial ideas for their HL Essay do not develop in the way that they originally expected. This is fine; you should understand that revisiting and refining your question is part of the process of writing your essay. 

Examiner Tips and Tricks

When developing and refining your line of inquiry, remember that your HL Essay must reflect your own independent thinking. You therefore cannot submit the same question as another student on your course, so aim to create a research question that is original and unique to you. 

While personal engagement with your text is important, your focus must also be able to support a sustained literary or linguistic analysis as this is required by the HL Essay. You may find that your original question needs to change as your thinking develops and this is a good sign that you are engaging critically with the task.  

Here are some potential lines of inquiry using four different texts:

Line of inquiry examples: DP IB English A: Language and Literature (HL): HL Essay
Line of inquiry examples

These are successful lines of inquiry as they:

  • Identify a specific text or body of work

  • Reference a clear authorial choice (e.g. parody, characterisation, plastic theatre, child-centred perspective)

  • Link technique directly to a conceptual outcome (e.g. consumer culture, existentialism, madness, political extremism) 

  • Are narrow enough to sustain a detained analysis within 1,500 words

  • Avoid vague phrasing and focus on how meaning is constructed

  • Signal an arguable interpretation

  • Allow for a sustained close analysis 

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Another way to develop a line of inquiry for your HL Essay is to think about the aspects of each literary work, text or body of work that you have found particularly interesting. Rather than beginning with a broad concept or critical lens, you could start with something which has genuinely caught your attention, such as a recurring image, a controversial representation or an aspect which you felt was especially powerful. Remember, your interest can be a great starting point for a sustained and original essay. 

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Author
Reviewer
Nick Redgrove

Author: Nick Redgrove

Expertise: English Content Creator

Nick is a graduate of the University of Cambridge and King’s College London. He started his career in journalism and publishing, working as an editor on a political magazine and a number of books, before training as an English teacher. After nearly 10 years working in London schools, where he held leadership positions in English departments and within a Sixth Form, he moved on to become an examiner and education consultant. With more than a decade of experience as a tutor, Nick specialises in English, but has also taught Politics, Classical Civilisation and Religious Studies.

Deb Orrock

Reviewer: Deb Orrock

Expertise: English Content Creator

Deb is a graduate of Lancaster University and The University of Wolverhampton. After some time travelling and a successful career in the travel industry, she re-trained in education, specialising in literacy. She has over 16 years’ experience of working in education, teaching English Literature, English Language, Functional Skills English, ESOL and on Access to HE courses. She has also held curriculum and quality manager roles, and worked with organisations on embedding literacy and numeracy into vocational curriculums. She most recently managed a post-16 English curriculum as well as writing educational content and resources.