Great Ideas for EE Categories 1 & 2 (Eng A)

Before looking at potential topics, it is worth knowing the parameters for an English A extended essay, so that you have a clear idea of the appropriate focus and scope for this essay.  We outline these briefly, here, before delving into viable topics.

A good research question in this subject will be one

• in which you are able to convey some personal critical judgement about literature.

• that is finally shaped after examining some available critical comment on the writer and the work(s)

• that is sharply focused and possible to treat in no more than 4000 words.

Studies in language and literature EEs are divided into three categories:

Category 1 Studies of one or more literary works originally written in the language in which the essay is presented.

Category 2 Studies of a literary work or works originally written in the language of the essay compared with one or more literary works originally written in another language. (The work originally written in another language may be studied in translation.)

Category 3 Studies in language based on one or more texts originally produced in the language in which the essay is presented.

This article focuses on categories 1 and 2, literary essays. For essays in language (Cat.3), click here.

Treatment of topics in literature

You should always consider how your chosen text(s) work as literature, dealing with aspects such as the effects they achieve, the devices they use and the way they are written.

You may choose as your topic a philosophical, political or social issue arising from a work of literature.  However, the major focus of your essay should be the literary treatment of the issue. You must not treat the literary work(s) simply as documentary evidence in a discussion of the particular issue. In addition, you should not use the essay solely as a vehicle for your own thoughts on the issue.  You must focus first on an analysis of the presentation of the author’s ideas. Then you can present your personal views on the way the author has treated the subject.

When using literary criticism aim for a compromise between building on the wisdom of experienced critics and introducing new personal elements. An essay that simply repeats the views of established literary critics will not receive a high mark.

Essays that interpret literary works in terms of the writer’s life tend to produce reductive readings based on second-hand information. Such essays receive low marks and the IB therefore advises students to avoid biographical topics. 

Examples of topics - Cat. 1

Topic An exploration of evil as a motivating force in drama

Research question How effectively does Christopher Marlowe present his view of evil in Dr Faustus?

Approach A detailed study of the play to include selected quotations to support the argument, with reference to secondary source material if appropriate.

Topic The treatment of prejudice in novels

Research question How far are the approaches to prejudice and discrimination different in To Kill a Mockingbird and The Kite Runner?

Approach The identification of types of prejudice (religious, racial, caste, gender, as appropriate) in the novels and the selection of detailed incidents and/or character studies for close analysis. Some background research into 1950s America and Afghanistan between 1970 and the mid-1990s may be helpful in establishing a context for the argument and a comparative element to the discussion.

Examples of topics - Cat. 2

Topic The portrayal of childhood in novels

Research question In what ways, and to what purposes, do Nabokov’s Speak, Memory and Proust’s Swann’s Way evoke memories of childhood?

Approach A close analysis of both works, with reference to secondary source material if appropriate, and some comparative element to the discussion

Topic The presentation of guilt in novels

Research question How important is the narrative structure to the way guilt is addressed by Bernhard Schlink in The Reader and Tim O’Brien in The Things They Carried?

Approach A close analysis of both works, with reference to secondary source material if appropriate, and some comparative element to the discussion.

Important aims ...

• the research question must be specific and sharply focused and stated clearly in the introduction of the essay. It should be formulated as a question, not a statement or proposition for discussion. 

• Avoid overly broad topics that cannot be dealt with adequately within the scope of the word limit. Similarly, too obvious a topic is unlikely to score highly in terms of criterion C.

• The introduction should state briefly why you have chosen that particular research question and what it has to offer. It should also indicate clearly how it relates to existing knowledge on that topic.

• The focus of your literary discussion should involve analysis of the text(s) in the light of the research question. You may also include the views of critics to support your arguments and points and include a critical perspective on our secondary source material.

• For categories 1 and 2 essays, appropriate sources include the i) literary text or texts that form the focus of the investigation and, ii) where appropriate, secondary sources such as published criticism on those texts.

• Avoid unduly limiting yourself by choosing texts that are not capable of sustaining a detailed in-depth literary analysis, eg some types of children’s literature or teenage fiction.

• For Category 2 essays include a brief rationale for the pairing of the texts chosen, indicating what might be gained from the comparative study being undertaken. Avoid taking an approach where the texts are dealt with in two separate discussions.

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