IB English Lit HL exam-day guide
IB English Lit HL · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Admission ticket / candidate number
Print or download the admission materials your school or exam centre issued. Confirm with the provider how your candidate number is issued and whether a physical copy is required.
Valid photo ID
Bring the ID type your exam centre requires. Requirements vary by centre and jurisdiction; confirm with the provider which document is accepted.
Two or more black or blue pens
Essays are handwritten in most centres. Test your pens beforehand and bring spares; ink colour and pen type rules should be confirmed with the provider.
Pencils, eraser, and sharpener
Useful for annotations, planning, and any multiple-choice or short-answer sections. Check whether the provider restricts pencil cases or loose items on the desk.
Clear water bottle with label removed
Stay hydrated during long papers. Many centres require a transparent bottle with no label; confirm the centre's rules on drinks.
Analog watch
A simple watch helps you pace the timed writing. Smartwatches and phones are usually prohibited at the desk; confirm with the provider what timepieces are allowed.
Printed copies of your set texts (if permitted)
Some centres allow clean, annotated copies of prescribed texts; others provide extracts. Confirm with the provider whether you may bring your own copies and what annotations are allowed.
Light snack for between papers
If you have more than one paper in a day, bring something quick to eat during supervised breaks. Confirm break rules and where food may be consumed.
Know your seat, room, and start time
Check the venue and reporting time the day before. Arrive early; late arrival policies vary and should be confirmed with the provider.
Review the paper structure and timing
Know how many questions you must answer, whether there is a choice, and the mark allocation. This is the single best way to avoid misallocating time.
Plan your essay structure in advance
Have a mental template: introduction with a clear thesis, body paragraphs organised by idea or by text, and a conclusion that evaluates. Practise it until it is automatic.
Confirm permitted annotation and highlighting rules
Some centres allow highlighting or annotating extracts; others do not. Confirm with the provider before the exam so you are not caught out.
Plan the day
Stop learning new material. Re-read your set texts at speed, focusing on key passages, character arcs, and thematic patterns. Make a one-page summary per text: major themes, narrative techniques, and three to five flexible quotations you can use across prompts.
Do one full timed paper under exam conditions. Use the exact paper structure and time limit. Afterwards, mark it against the assessment criteria and identify your two weakest areas (e.g., thesis clarity or comparative structure).
Target your two weakest areas with focused practice. Write two or three thesis statements and outlines for unseen prompts in 10 minutes each. Do not write full essays; practise planning and structuring under time pressure.
Review your one-page summaries and quotation lists. Recite key quotations aloud or rewrite them from memory. Check the exam venue, reporting time, and what you are allowed to bring. Pack your bag with pens, ID, admission ticket, water, and any permitted texts.
Confirm with the provider any uncertain rules: whether you may bring annotated texts, what ID is accepted, and the late-arrival policy. Do not leave this to the morning.
Do a light review only. Set out clothes and materials. Aim for a full night's sleep; cramming new quotations at this stage rarely helps and often increases anxiety.
Eat a proper breakfast and arrive at the venue with time to spare. Do a five-minute warm-up: read one short poem or passage and identify its central tension. Avoid discussing the exam with others, which can raise anxiety.
Read all questions and choose your prompts deliberately. Select the question that lets you use your strongest textual knowledge, not the one that looks easiest. Draft a brief outline with your thesis and main points.
Allocate time by mark weighting. For essay papers, aim for roughly 5-10 minutes of planning per essay and leave 5 minutes at the end to proofread. Write a clear thesis in the introduction, topic sentences for each paragraph, and integrate quotations with analysis of technique and effect.
Check that you have answered the required number of questions and that your candidate number is on every page. Proofread for clarity and obvious errors. If you are running out of time, finish the current sentence and move to a conclusion rather than leaving an essay unfinished.
Rules to check
Bring the ID and admission documents required by your exam centre. Accepted ID types vary; confirm with the provider what is valid and what happens if you arrive without it.
Electronic devices, including phones and smartwatches, are typically prohibited at the desk and may need to be switched off and stored. Confirm the centre's device policy before the exam.
Breaks are usually supervised and may be limited. If you have multiple papers in one day, plan to eat and hydrate during designated breaks only. Confirm break arrangements with the provider.
You must answer the required number of questions. Check the rubric on the paper and the instructions from your centre; answering too few questions can cap your score regardless of quality.
Scoring is based on the assessment criteria for the paper, which reward clear thesis, close textual analysis, and organised argument. Familiarise yourself with the criteria and use them to guide your planning.
Late arrival may result in you not being admitted or not receiving extra time. The exact cut-off is set by the provider; confirm it in advance and plan to arrive early.
Do not communicate with other candidates during the exam or during supervised breaks. Any communication may be treated as malpractice; the provider's conduct rules apply.
If you need to leave the room for any reason, raise your hand and wait for an invigilator. Unsupervised movement is usually not permitted; confirm the centre's procedure.