IB Diploma · session May 2027
Turkish A: Literature
Amended guide, first taught September 2024, first assessed May 2026.
Okurlar, yazarlar ve metinler
Nothing matches that.
The course in one page
The course in one page. Standard and higher level, for the amended guide, first taught September 2024, first assessed May 2026 — the guide May 2027 candidates sit.
A note on language. This guidance is written in English because that is the language of the Educerie app, but the course is taught and examined entirely in Turkish. Every paper you sit is written in Turkish, and your analysis is assessed in Turkish. Key terminology is therefore given in both languages throughout, and the practice texts are in Turkish.
Why this subject needs Educerie more than most
Turkish A: Literature has almost no free resources. There is no Turkish equivalent of the large English-language revision sites; InThinking's Turkish A section is subscription-only for teachers; and community notes are scattered and mostly for the previous guide.
What does exist, and is free and official, is the Prescribed Reading List (PRL) at ibpublishing.ibo.org/prl, which lists the Turkish authors approved for study. Educerie holds a copy of the 138 Turkish entries.
One consequence of the IB's language provision is worth knowing: Literature runs in about 55 languages, but Language and Literature runs in only 17, and Turkish is not among them. So Turkish A candidates take Literature. That is not a limitation — it is simply the shape of the course.
What the course requires you to read
- SL: at least 7 works. HL: at least 10. Cut from 9 and 13 for first assessment May 2026. The reduction applies to the Literature courses, which includes this one; Language and Literature was deliberately left alone.
- At least two works originally written in Turkish by authors from the PRL.
- At least two works in translation from the PRL — read in Turkish translation.
- The remainder are free choice, from the PRL or elsewhere.
The works in translation requirement is not administrative. Paper 2 rewards comparison across literary traditions, and a candidate who has read only Turkish works has fewer places to stand.
The three areas of exploration
| Area | Turkish | The question it asks | |
|---|---|---|---|
| RWT | Readers, writers and texts | Okurlar, yazarlar ve metinler | How does a text work, and how does it act on a reader? |
| TS | Time and space | Zaman ve mekân | How do context and culture shape meaning? |
| IN | Intertextuality | Metinlerarasılık | How do texts speak to one another? |
Assessment
| Standard level | Higher level | |
|---|---|---|
| Paper 1: guided literary analysis | 75 min, 20 marks | 135 min, 40 marks (two analyses) |
| Paper 2: comparative essay | 105 min, 25 marks | 105 min, 25 marks |
| Individual oral | internally assessed | internally assessed |
| HL essay | — | externally assessed coursework |
Educerie models the written papers only.
Paper 1 gives an unseen Turkish literary text with a guiding question (yönlendirici soru). Under the amended guide the text carries no line or paragraph numbering, from May 2026. The IB states that line citations are neither required nor rewarded, so locate by short, exact quotation.
Paper 2 is a comparative essay on two studied works, written without the texts in front of you. Memorised quotations are essential.
The criteria
| Criterion | Turkish | Out of | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Understanding and interpretation | Anlama ve yorumlama | 5 |
| B | Analysis and evaluation | Çözümleme ve değerlendirme | 5 |
| C | Focus and organisation | Odak ve düzen | 5 |
| D | Language | Dil | 5 |
Criterion B decides most grades. It is not enough to identify a device (edebî sanat). You must say what effect it produces and why that matters — ne yapıyor, not merely ne var.
Terminology you will need, in both languages
| English | Turkish |
|---|---|
| speaker / persona | anlatıcı ses, şiir kişisi |
| narrator | anlatıcı |
| point of view | bakış açısı |
| imagery | imge, imgelem |
| metaphor | eğretileme, metafor |
| simile | benzetme |
| personification | kişileştirme |
| repetition | yineleme |
| enjambment | ulantı, anjambman |
| stanza | dörtlük, kıta, bent |
| free verse | serbest nazım |
| tone | ton, eda |
| irony | ironi |
| theme | tema, izlek |
| structure | yapı, kurgu |
| turn / volta | dönüş noktası |
Educerie · written from the published IB Diploma Programme structure for Language A: Literature, amended guide, first assessment 2026, and from the IB Prescribed Reading List. Original text. Paper durations and mark totals checked against the May 2027 examination schedule. Last reviewed 5 September 2026.