This week we have posted a new sample HL essay and, in response to a request from one of our subscribers, this one is not as strong as many of the other examples we have previously put on the site. 

While students often want to see strong exemplars so they know what to aim for, looking at more 'middling' examples can also be instructive for teachers and students as it allows us to make comparisons to more successful essays and consider why and how some essays score higher in the different criteria.  

The new exemplar is from a student who chose to write in response to Pablo Neruda's poetry. While the chosen topic had some potential, the response was limited, particularly in terms of criterion A and the level of knowledge and understanding demonstrated.  

The new sample, and all others can be found at the page linked below.  It is important for teachers and students to look at a range of examples in order to become familiar with the expectations of this task and how student work is assessed using the criteria. While many of these samples could be described as very good, they do vary in approach, style and quality; it is important for students to see that there is not one set way of responding to these questions, and it is also useful to look at examples in terms of what they get wrong or could do better, as well as those that do a lot of things right.