100+ Free IB Literature SL Practice Questions
Pass your IB Language A: Literature Standard Level exam on the first try — instant access, no signup required.
'Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country' uses an ABBA inverted syntactic pattern. The device is:
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Key Facts: IB Literature SL Exam
2026
First exams new syllabus
IB Literature subject guide
9 works
SL literary works studied
IB Literature SL guide
30%
Individual Oral weighting
IB Literature subject guide
100
Free practice questions here
OpenExamPrep
IB Literature SL is assessed via Paper 1 guided literary analysis of an unseen passage (75 min, 35%), Paper 2 comparative essay on two studied works (105 min, 35%) and a 10-minute Individual Oral (30%). The new syllabus, first examined in May 2026, asks SL students to study 9 purely literary works across three areas of exploration.
Sample IB Literature SL Practice Questions
Try these sample questions to test your IB Literature SL exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.
1An extended metaphor that runs through a poem or passage developing one elaborate, often surprising comparison is best described as a:
2A recurring symbolic image, phrase or idea throughout a literary work is called a:
3In music and literature, a 'leitmotif' refers specifically to a:
4George Orwell's Animal Farm, in which farm animals stage a revolution that mirrors the Russian Revolution, is best described as a:
5When a text refers indirectly to another work, person or event (e.g. Eliot's 'Lazarus' in Prufrock), the device is called:
6A statement that appears self-contradictory yet on reflection reveals a truth (e.g. 'I must be cruel only to be kind') is a:
7The phrase 'darkness visible' from Milton's Paradise Lost is an example of:
8The deliberate placement of two contrasting ideas, characters or images side by side to highlight their differences is called:
9'Many are called, but few are chosen' uses a balanced grammatical opposition. This is most precisely:
10'Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country' uses an ABBA inverted syntactic pattern. The device is:
About the IB Literature SL Exam
IB Language A: Literature Standard Level is a Group 1 studies in language and literature course on the new syllabus first examined in May 2026. SL students study 9 literary works (3 in translation, 3 originally in English, 3 free choice) across three areas of exploration: Readers, Writers and Texts; Time and Space; and Intertextuality: Connecting Texts. Assessment is two written papers plus an Individual Oral.
Questions
100 scored questions
Time Limit
Paper 1: 75 min, Paper 2: 105 min, plus Individual Oral
Passing Score
Grade 4 commonly used as a pass; grades 1-7 awarded (7 highest)
Exam Fee
School-set entry fee (varies by school and country) (International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO))
IB Literature SL Exam Content Outline
Literary Techniques and Analytical Concepts
Figurative language (extended metaphor, conceit, symbolism, motif, leitmotif, allegory, allusion, ambiguity, juxtaposition, paradox, oxymoron, antithesis, chiasmus, anaphora, epistrophe, polysyndeton, asyndeton, hyperbole, litotes, periphrasis, apostrophe, prosopopoeia, parataxis vs hypotaxis); sound (alliteration, sibilance, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia, cacophony, euphony); metre and scansion (iamb, trochee, dactyl, spondee, anapest); fixed forms (Petrarchan vs Shakespearean sonnet, villanelle, sestina, ode, elegy, ballad, dramatic monologue, lyric); narrative POV (first/third omniscient/limited/objective, free indirect discourse, stream of consciousness, unreliable narrator); structure (in medias res, frame narrative, analepsis, prolepsis, denouement, climax)
Genre Studies
Poetry conventions; drama (tragedy, comedy, tragicomedy, problem play; aside, soliloquy, monologue, chorus, dramatic irony, three unities); novel sub-genres (bildungsroman, gothic, magical realism, dystopia, picaresque, epistolary); short story craft; literary non-fiction including memoir
Studied Works
Plot, character, theme and contextual significance of commonly studied SL texts: Shakespeare tragedy/comedy/romance, Sophocles Antigone or Oedipus Rex, Garcia Marquez One Hundred Years of Solitude, Ibsen A Doll's House, Lahiri Interpreter of Maladies, Hosseini Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns, Camus The Stranger, Mishima The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, Achebe Things Fall Apart, Morrison Beloved or The Bluest Eye, Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby, Carol Ann Duffy poetry, Seamus Heaney poetry, Atwood The Handmaid's Tale, Lorca The House of Bernarda Alba, Chekhov The Cherry Orchard
Areas of Exploration and Key Concepts
Readers, Writers and Texts (how meaning is constructed and reconstructed); Time and Space (context of production and reception, geographical and historical setting); Intertextuality: Connecting Texts (echoes, allusions, dialogue between texts); seven IB concepts of identity, culture, creativity, communication, perspective, transformation and representation
How to Pass the IB Literature SL Exam
What You Need to Know
- Passing score: Grade 4 commonly used as a pass; grades 1-7 awarded (7 highest)
- Exam length: 100 questions
- Time limit: Paper 1: 75 min, Paper 2: 105 min, plus Individual Oral
- Exam fee: School-set entry fee (varies by school and country)
Keys to Passing
- Complete 500+ practice questions
- Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
- Focus on highest-weighted sections
- Use our AI tutor for tough concepts
IB Literature SL Study Tips from Top Performers
Frequently Asked Questions
When was the new IB Literature syllabus first examined?
The new Language A: Literature syllabus was first examined in May 2026. It organises study around three areas of exploration (Readers, Writers and Texts; Time and Space; Intertextuality) and seven concepts.
How is IB Literature SL assessed?
SL has three assessments: Paper 1 guided literary analysis of one unseen passage (75 minutes, 35%), Paper 2 comparative essay on two studied works (105 minutes, 35%) and a 10-minute Individual Oral on a global issue (30%).
What is the difference between Literature SL and Language and Literature?
Literature studies purely literary works, while Language and Literature also studies non-literary body of work (advertising, speeches, blogs, photographs, etc.). SL Literature studies 9 works compared with HL Literature's 13 works.
How many works do SL students study?
SL students study 9 literary works in total: 3 from the IB prescribed reading list in translation, 3 originally written in the language of study (English), and 3 free choice from any source.