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Is your English A Language and Literature HL essay deadline coming up and you are looking for some topics to write? This post is here to help you through that process! In this text, we will provide you with numerous ideas and examples to help you get started with writing. We aim to guide you in meeting the IB criteria as well as ensure you stay on track throughout the writing process. No matter what aspect of English you are interested in, the suggestions below are sure to have something that suits your needs!
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English A Language and Literature HL Essay Ideas
Child labour: In this topic, you could explore how the visual features and captions used in Lewis Hine’s photographic body of work transformed the public’s opinion on child labour in early 20th-century America.
Post-war trauma: Looking at this topic, you could determine how Wilfred Owen uses imagery to address the mental trauma of combat in his famous poems such as "Disabled", "Mental Cases" and "Insensibility".
Victorian gender roles: Through this analysis, you could look at how Henrik Ibsen's play, A Doll’s House, employs stylistic features to communicate the Victorian social codes of the 1870s.
Patriarchal societies: Within this topic, you could look at how Angela Carter’s short stories in “The Bloody Chamber” portray gender roles through associations with nature to resist patriarchal and androcentric customs in society.
Social class hierarchy: In this exploration, you could look at how the film 'The Platform' uses metaphors to represent the problem of class hierarchy in society as well as how this leads to wealth inequality between people.
Use of motifs: Looking at this topic, you could investigate how the use of motifs of light and darkness represents the presence and interconnectedness of both joy and suffering in a novel.
Effects of oppression: Through this analysis, you can explore how Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie reveals the social and psychological effects of triple oppression through the main character in her short story “The Thing Around Your Neck”.
Mental illness: In this topic, you could analyze how Sylvia Plath uses literary devices in “Lady Lazarus” and “A Birthday Present” to represent themes like suicidal thoughts and mental illness.
Use of satire: Within this exploration, you could look at how Jonathan Swift uses satire in "A Modest Proposal" to effectively criticise class disparity in 18th-century Ireland.
Societal beauty standards: Looking at this topic, you could determine how Barbara Kruger’s usage of imagery, text, and colouring in her different artworks relates to women’s bodies and beauty standards in society.
American Black Southern identity: In this analysis, you could explore how Beyoncé portrays the American Black Southern identity struggle by reclaiming cultural elements in the visual album "Lemonade".
Racial generalization: Within this topic, you could explore how racial generalization leads to the distortion of identity and freedom in the photo collection "Skin Tones: Visualize Racism".
Adversity of revenge: Through this topic, you could look at how William Shakespeare uses notions of duplication and duality in "Hamlet" to explore the cyclical adversity of revenge.
Fate and destiny: Looking at this topic, you could analyze how Szymborska’s poems explore the themes of fate and destiny through love and the undermining lack of free will.
Money as a motif: In this exploration, you could investigate how El Saadawi uses the motif of money to represent Firdaus' freedom and power, or lack thereof.
Western stereotypes: Within this analysis, you could look at how Marjane Satrapi portrays Western stereotypes about the Iranian culture in her graphic novel "Persepolis I".
Women empowerment: In this topic, you can look at how the representation of women in Liza Donnelly’s cartoons conveys harmful societal norms and expectations as a barrier to women’s empowerment in different levels of society.
Encouraging risk-taking: Through this topic, you could look at how Denzel Washington makes use of rhetorical appeals in his speech "Fall Forward" to enhance his message and encourage graduates to take risks and embrace failure.
Role of patriarchy: In this analysis, you can look at the extent to which the patriarchy dictates female identity and enforces its transformation in Carol Ann Duffy’s "The World’s Wife".
Public and private conscience: Looking at this topic, you could explore how Anouilh’s version of Sophocles’ Antigone criticizes the perspective that the public conscience prevails over the private conscience.
Industrialization and identity: Within this exploration, you could investigate how Charles Dickens represents the theme of industrialisation leading to a loss of identity through setting and character in his novel "Hard Times".
Value of achievements: In this topic, you could look at how ordinary achievements are given value and merit in Nike’s "Find Your Greatness" campaign.
Dangers of totalitarianism: Through this analysis, you can explore how George Orwell conveys the dangers of totalitarianism in his novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four".
Critiques of sexism: Looking at this topic, you could determine how Atwood illustrates the setting of Gilead through nature to critique sexist structures, thus highlighting the issue of inequality.
Western colonialism: In this topic, you could investigate how Lorna Goodison's poems "Survivor" and "Dream" represent the individuals of African descent who are subjected to Western colonial oppression.
Manifestation of paranoia: Within this exploration, you could look at how Edgar Allan Poe demonstrates the manifestation of paranoia in his building of unreliable narrators.
Gender roles in advertising: Through this analysis, you could explore how the Phillips Van Heusen shirt and tie advertisements from the mid-1950s represent stereotypical gender roles from that time in order to sell their products.
Female oppression: In this topic, you could look at how Arthur Miller uses societal female oppression in "The Crucible" to influence the play’s conflict.
Gender, race and sexuality: Looking at this topic, you could investigate how the intersectionality of gender, race and sexuality in "Paris is Burning" plays an essential role in the viewers' understanding of New York City's drag scene in the 1980s.
The American Dream: Within this topic, you could look at the extent to which the perspective of an immigrant contributes to the presentation of the American Dream.
For more ideas and a deeper insight into how to structure your HL essays, head to the Clastify website where you will be able to find numerous English A Language and Literature topics as well as exemplars that you can refer to during your writing process!
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