What the exam asks
Whether you write one guided analysis in 1 hour 15 minutes (SL) or two separate analyses in 2 hours 15 minutes (HL), the examiner marks each essay out of 20 using four criteria: Criterion A (Understanding and interpretation), Criterion B (Analysis and evaluation), Criterion C (Focus and organization) and Criterion D (Language).
Examiners use best-fit marking. They do not count up errors or tick off a quota of devices; instead, they match the overall quality of your essay to a level descriptor from 1 to 5 for each criterion. The top level (5 marks) does not require perfection, nor does it require you to spot every tiny detail in the passage. It requires a persuasive reading of the text’s literal and implied meanings, sustained evaluation of how and how well the creator’s choices work for the target audience, a tight conceptual structure driven by a thesis, and fluent academic English.
Core ideas
The four criteria decoded: Level 3 vs Level 5
Many candidates get stuck at about 12 or 13 out of 20 (mostly 3s) because their essays are accurate and sensible, but safe. To reach 17–20 out of 20 (mostly 4s and 5s), you must understand what moves each criterion from the middle level (3 marks) to the top level (5 marks). As a rough estimate only, a score in that range is usually at the standard of a 7, but grade boundaries are set again every session and your final grade combines all your assessment components.
| Criterion | Assessment Objective | Level 3: Satisfactory (3 marks) | Level 5: Excellent (5 marks) | The bridge from 3 to 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A: Understanding and interpretation (5 marks) | AO1: Know, understand and interpret | Accurate grasp of the literal meaning (who, what, to whom) and main purpose; conclusions are generally supported by references. | Perceptive understanding of literal meaning and insightful interpretation of subtleties and larger implications; persuasive, well-chosen references. | Read between the lines: uncover the text’s unstated assumptions, ideological framing, or mixed motives, and quote brief, exact details. |
| B: Analysis and evaluation (5 marks) | AO2: Analyse and evaluate | Explains how textual features and/or authorial choices shape meaning, though sometimes descriptive or lacking depth. | Insightful and convincing analysis of how features and choices shape meaning, with very good evaluation of how well they work. | Judge why a choice is effective for the specific audience and how different modes (such as image and text) reinforce or complicate one another. |
| C: Focus and organization (5 marks) | AO3: Communicate | Adequate organization that is mostly easy to follow, but only some focus on the guiding question (or chosen technical focus); paragraphs may follow a checklist of devices. | Effective organization that is coherent from start to finish, and a sustained, clear focus; ideas develop logically with smooth transitions. | Group paragraphs by conceptual ideas or shifts in strategy rather than by isolated features, tying every paragraph back to your thesis. |
| D: Language (5 marks) | AO3: Communicate | Clear and mostly accurate English; appropriate register (the right level of formality) with some precise terminology. | Very clear, precise and well-chosen language with very few errors; varied sentence structures and a register that suits a formal analysis. | Use active analytical verbs, weave short quotations into your own grammar, and use technical terms only where they sharpen your point. |