Your teacher will likely schedule specific guided sessions designed to support different stages of your HL Essay development. These sessions are crucial opportunities to receive direct guidance and address challenges.

• Research Question Workshops: These sessions focus on helping you brainstorm, refine, and finalize your research question. You'll learn the hallmarks of a strong, arguable question and get immediate feedback on your ideas.
• Text Selection & Methodology Discussions: In these sessions, you can discuss your provisional text choices, how they align with your question, and strategies for close reading and gathering evidence. Your teacher can also guide you on identifying and evaluating appropriate secondary sources.
• Outline Development & Argument Structuring: You'll work on creating detailed outlines for your essay, ensuring a logical flow of arguments and a clear connection between your analytical points and your thesis. This is a good time to discuss the integration of your literature review.
• Integrating Evidence & Analysis Clinics: These sessions might focus on best practices for quoting, paraphrasing, and, most importantly, providing in-depth analysis of your textual evidence. You'll practice moving beyond mere description to insightful interpretation.
• Academic Honesty & Referencing Workshops: Practical sessions dedicated to understanding and applying your chosen referencing style (MLA or Chicago). You'll learn how to cite different types of sources correctly and common pitfalls to avoid.

Receiving feedback on your essay drafts is perhaps the most critical component of the HL Essay journey. Your teacher will provide structured feedback at designated checkpoints. Engage with this feedback actively and strategically.

• Initial Draft Feedback (Focus on Argument & Structure):
• Thesis Clarity and Arguability: Is your thesis sharp and does it directly answer the research question?
• Argument Coherence: Does your essay present a unified argument? Are your main points logical and well-supported?
• Text Selection & Relevance: Do your chosen texts genuinely allow for a sophisticated analysis that addresses your question?
• Overall Structure: Is the introduction effective? Are body paragraphs well-organized and do they flow logically? Is the conclusion impactful?
• Depth of Analysis: Are you going beyond description to provide insightful interpretations of the text and its relation to your question?
• Integration of Sources: Are you using primary and secondary sources effectively and ethically?
• Subsequent Draft Feedback (Focus on Refinement & Rigor):
• Language and Style: Is your language precise, academic, and engaging? Are there opportunities to enhance your vocabulary or vary sentence structure?
• Clarity and Conciseness: Are there areas where your writing is unclear, verbose, or redundant?
• Evidence Integration: Are quotes and textual references seamlessly integrated and followed by thorough analysis?
• Academic Honesty & Referencing: Are all sources properly cited in-text and in your bibliography/Works Cited? Is the chosen style used consistently?
• Refinement of Argument: Have you addressed any nuances or counter-arguments effectively? Is your conclusion strong and does it offer deeper insight?
• Word Count Management: Have you effectively managed your word count, ensuring depth without exceeding limits?

How to Maximize Feedback:
- Be Prepared: Submit drafts that reflect your best effort at that stage. The more effort you put in, the more meaningful the feedback will be.
- Understand the Feedback: Read your teacher's comments carefully. If something is unclear, ask for clarification.
- Prioritize Revisions: Not all feedback can be addressed equally. Prioritize the feedback that targets the biggest weaknesses in your argument, analysis, or structure.
- Active Engagement: Don't just make changes; try to understand why the changes are necessary. This deepens your learning.
- Track Your Progress: Keep a record of the feedback you received and how you addressed it in subsequent drafts. This demonstrates your iterative process to your teacher and can be helpful for your reflection.