REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Trustees and Shareholders of First Trust High Income Long/Short
Fund:

In planning and performing our audit of the financial statements of First Trust
High Income Long/Short Fund (the "Fund"), as of and for the year ended October
31, 2012, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB"), we considered the Fund's internal
control over financial reporting, including controls over safeguarding
securities, as a basis for designing our auditing procedures for the purpose of
expressing our opinion on the financial statements and to comply with the
requirements of Form N-SAR, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on
the effectiveness of the Fund's internal control over financial reporting.
Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

The management of the Fund is responsible for establishing and maintaining
effective internal control over financial reporting. In fulfilling this
responsibility, estimates and judgments by management are required to assess the
expected benefits and related costs of controls. A fund's internal control over
financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance
regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of
financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles. A fund's internal control over financial reporting
includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of
records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the
transactions and dispositions of the assets of the fund; (2) provide reasonable
assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of
financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the fund are being made only
in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the fund; and
(3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of
unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of a fund's assets that could have
a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting
may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of
effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become
inadequate because of changes in conditions or that the degree of compliance
with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

A deficiency in internal control over financial reporting exists when the design
or operation of a control does not allow management or employees, in the normal
course of performing their assigned functions, to prevent or detect
misstatements on a timely basis. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a
combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such
that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the
fund's annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected
on a timely basis.

Our consideration of the Fund's internal control over financial reporting was
for the limited purpose described in the first paragraph and would not
necessarily disclose all deficiencies in internal control that might be material
weaknesses under standards established by the Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board (United States). However, we noted no deficiencies in the Fund's
internal control over financial reporting and its operation, including controls
for safeguarding securities, that we consider to be a material weakness, as
defined above, as of October 31, 2012.

This report is intended solely for the information and use of management and the
Board of Trustees of the First Trust High Income Long/Short Fund and the
Securities and Exchange Commission and is not intended to be and should not be
used by anyone other than these specified parties.

/s/ DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP

Chicago, Illinois
December 24, 2012