Individual Oral Exam 2023

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

The nature of the task 

The Individual Oral is an assessment task you have to complete at both HL and SL in addition to the final examination papers and (for HL students only) the coursework essay. At a time designated by your teacher, you will deliver a 15 minute oral presentation; for up to 10 of those minutes you will present alone and in the last five minutes your teacher will ask you some questions.

Dates 2025

DP2 Lang Lit & Lit individual orals 7th - 14th February 

The nature of the task 

In the oral you will be expected to talk about two works that you have studied. One of them must be in translation.

In the oral you are expected to focus on a GLOBAL ISSUE. This is a topic that connects your texts with both local and global 'real world' contexts.

The oral is conducted and marked by your teacher. Their marks are then moderated externally by the IB.

IB English Literature 

Readers, Writers, Texts	Time and Space	Intertextuality
Selected poetry by Wislawa Szymborska	A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen	The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien
The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood	Macbeth William Shakespeare	On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous Ocean Vuong
Selected poetry Carol Ann Duffy	If This is a Man Primo Levi	The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald

Global Issue 

Put simply, a 'global issue' is an idea or theme presented in your text/s that has significance in the world. The IB states that it should have the following properties:

It has significance on a wide/large scale

It is transnational

Its impact is felt in everyday local contexts

An example of a global issue might be:

Money as a source of social repression in Metamorphosis and Death of a Salesman

This issue focuses on a specific topic, is not too broad and would allow for interesting development in the oral.

.

Dates 2025

DP2 Lang Lit & Lit individual orals 7th - 14th February 

IB English Language and Literature higher 

Readers, Writers, Texts	Time and Space	Intertextuality
Selected poetry by Wislawa Szymborska	A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen	The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien
The White Tiger Aravind Adiga	Othello William Shakespeare	1984 George Orwell

IB English Language and Literature higher 

Advertising Army recruitment "This is Belonging" Kamarama Advertising agency	Political cartoon Liza Donnelly Kal	Opinion columns Maureen Dowd
Photography photojournalism Philip Jones Griffith	Infographics India statistics Factly.in

Various bodies of work which are non-literary texts from the same author, but from different text types. 

Rate the word 1 to 4

1. I do not know the word, and I have never seen it before. 

2. I've heard or seen the word before, but I'm not sure what it means. 

3. I know the word and can recognise and understand it while reading, but I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it in writing or speech. 

4. I know the word well and can use it correctly in writing or speech. 

Pugnacious 

Word of the day

Pugnacious  (adj) – wanting to start an argument or fight, or expressing an argument or opinion very forcefully

Which character(s) that we have met in our literary explorations would you describe as pugnacious? 

Aaron's pugnacious nature led him to start several pub brawls each month

Goals for today 

Mock examination results 

Outline for your IO structuring the IO

Hand in proof of process 

Find your GI in the work and the BOW 

Look at the balance of the IO 

Rate the word 1 to 4

1. I do not know the word, and I have never seen it before. 

2. I've heard or seen the word before, but I'm not sure what it means. 

3. I know the word and can recognise and understand it while reading, but I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it in writing or speech. 

4. I know the word well and can use it correctly in writing or speech. 

Deferential 

Word of the day

Deferential (adj) – Showing respect for another's authority 

Which character(s) that we have met in our literary explorations would you describe as deferential? 

His deferential attitude toward her made her more confident in her ability to run company. 

Steps to Individual Oral 

1. Decide on your texts 
   
2. Choose your global issue and guiding question
   
3. Decide on your extracts and annotate hard copies
   
4. Find connections in your GI to the whole text or whole BOW
5. Organise your thinking through a graphic organiser
6. Write your bullet point list

1. Practise the IO. Time and record it. Note areas of improvement
   
2. Revise and rewrite script and bullet point list using your takeaways from above 
   
3. Rehearse and answer questions with an interlocutor
   
4. Practise
5. Perform your IO 

Language and Literature HL

We have in total 12 lessons after the Mock exams and before the IOs start on 7th Feb

Some lessons you will be working on your IO individually or as a group. 

Literature  HL

We have in total 10 lessons after the Mock exams and before the IOs start on 7th Feb

Some lessons you will be working on your IO individually or as a group. 

Annotation 

1. do not annotate with your global issue in mind, but annotate all literary, rhetorical and stylistic devices that you notice.

2. Write on the left-hand side of your extract the topics, concepts, message that is in that paragraph or section of the text. 

3. Annotate on the right-hand side of the text all literary, rhetorical and stylistic devices (or image analysis) 

4. Choose from your annotations the strongest authorial choices to support your global issue. 

Dates 2025

DP2 Lang Lit & Lit individual orals 7th - 14th February 

Upload clean extracts and bullet point list on 5th February 

Hand in 

You will hand in all your annotations and notes that you made today. 

I will digitalise them and give them back to you tomorrow. 

Proof of process is necessary in case there are questions regarding plagiarism. 

Dates 2025

DP2 Lang Lit & Lit individual orals 7th - 14th February 

Goals for today 

Consider an IO example 

Make notes on the texts 

Consider the bullet point list 

Listen to the oral 

1. What is the global issue - everyone write this down 

2. Write down what the structure of the oral is. 

3.  Note any linking words or phrases. 

4. Note any literary or rhetorical analysis terminology you hear. 

5. Count how many times a quote or reference 

to the documentary or extract is used to support the argument. 

Outline and work as a whole 

In managebac are two outlines that you can use to structure your IO. Choose which one you prefer, either because you feel it fits better with conveying your global issue or work or because you have a preference for that order of delivery. 

Complete, as much as you can at the moment, the outline you choose and upload it to the dropbox before the end of the lesson. 

Criterion A: Knowledge, understanding and interpretation (10 marks)

• To what extent does the student know both the extracts and the work/text?
  
• To what extent is the knowledge and understanding connected to the chosen global issue?
  
• How effective is the evidence used to support the ideas presented in the individual oral?
  
• 10 out of 10: Excellent! What is particularly noteworthy in this oral is the student's engagement which translates to many persuasive insights. There is no prosaic description. Everything the student says is linked to the global issue. Interpretations are sustained.
  

Criterion B: Analysis and evaluation (10 marks)

• How relevant and insightful is the analysis and evaluation?
  
• How well does the student understand the author's choices in relation to the chosen global issue?
  
• 10 0ut of 10: Analytical and evaluative. The student shows a detail appreciation of authorial choices, underpinned by frequent reference to text/extract and works. Far from mechanical, the student has a clear motivation for directing the listener's attention to a broad range of language features, discussing their implications, and supporting ideas with apposite terminology.
  

Criterion C: Focus and organisation (10 marks)

• How clear and sustained is the focus of the oral?
  
• To what extent is the oral a balanced discussion of both the literary work and the non-fiction text?
  
• How well-developed are the ideas in the oral?
  
• 10 out of 10: Sustained and developed. It's really interesting to listen to (and learn from!) the student's approach as he moves from introduction to his first work to text, transitions with clarity to his second work to text, and then concludes with an evaluative but brief period of comparison/contrast that effectively concludes his 10 minutes.  
  

Criterion D: Language (10 marks)

• How accurate is the language used?
  
• How sophisticated is the vocabulary and syntax?
  
• To what extent are elements of style used, and how effectively, to enhance the oral?
  
• 10 out of 10: One observation worth making here is the maintenance of appropriate style and register throughout. The student remains fluent and accurate in both his presentation and Q&A. He present his ideas in a compelling and convincing manner in such a way that the oral is enhanced. The student is a pleasure to listen to, and the listener may also get the sense that the student is enjoying himself too!
  

Write these notes 

What is the global issue? 

What does the student do well? 

What does the student do less well? 

What is unclear? 

What requires more detail or expansion? 

Give preliminary marks

A(10), B (10), C (10), D (10) 

IO exam example

Goals for today 

Consider an IO example 

Make notes on the texts 

Consider the bullet point list 

Grade an example 

Rate the word 1 to 4

1. I do not know the word, and I have never seen it before. 

2. I've heard or seen the word before, but I'm not sure what it means. 

3. I know the word and can recognise and understand it while reading, but I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it in writing or speech. 

4. I know the word well and can use it correctly in writing or speech. 

Frivolous 

Word of the day

Frivolous (adj) – behaving in a silly way, not taking anything seriously or an activity or object is silly or not important rather than useful or serious:

Which character(s) that we have met in our literary explorations would you describe as frivolous? 

He has a rather frivolous attitude towards money

Listen to the oral 

1. Read the extracts. Make some notes on what you expect the global issue to be and what authorial choices they may address. 

2. Look at the bullet point list. Do you think that the student will have a balanced approach? Do think the bullet point list will help them in being successful? 

3. Listen to the individual oral and grade it. Look at the points that are available in each criterion. 

Criterion A: Knowledge, understanding and interpretation (10 marks)

• How well does the candidate demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the extracts, and of the works/texts from which they were taken?
  
• To what extent does the candidate make use of knowledge and understanding of the extracts and the works/texts to draw conclusions in relation to the global issue
  
• 
  
• 9 out of 10 
• How well are ideas supported by references to the extracts, and to the works/texts?The student shows a perceptive knowledge and understanding throughout, exploring how mental illness is misdiagnosed and misunderstood within both works, and the limits of empathy. As well as exploring each extract intelligently, she links effectively to the broader works - to two other poems of Szymborska which address the theme of loss, and she also discusses Grace’s response to accusations of madness and experiences of poverty at other points in the text, as well as Atwood’s greater intent of showing the ambiguity of Grace’s situation and point of view.
  

Criterion B: Analysis and evaluation (10 marks)

• How well does the candidate use his or her knowledge and understanding of each of the extracts and their associated works/texts to analyse and evaluate the ways in which authorial choices present the global issue?
• 
  

• 8 out of 10 
• The analysis and evaluation is consistently relevant and often insightful, with a good variety of authorial choices connected to the global issue.   

Criterion C: Focus and organisation (10 marks)

• How well does the candidate deliver a structured, well-balanced and focused oral?
  
• How well does the candidate connect ideas in a cohesive manner?
• 
  
• 8 out of 10

While the introduction and transitions between ideas could have been signposted more clearly, overall the oral is purposeful, coherent, and balanced. 

Criterion D: Language (10 marks)

• How clear, accurate and effective is the language?
  
• 
  
• 9 out of 10
• The student is a very clear and accurate speaker, and there were no noticeable errors. Her delivery showed an engagement with the materials as her register shifted to indicate her views on the way the characters were being treated. Her delivery was poised in both the oral and question session. 

Goals for today 

Practice IO with timings 

Phrases for linking 

Example Q & A questions 

Example Q&A questions 

• What stance does each text take on the global issue? How is this apparent in the way that they are written?

• Has either text changed your opinion about the global issue? Why/why not?

• Do you find either text challenging or confronting in the way it presents the global issue? Why/why not?

• Is there an accepted reading of how the text presents the global issue? Are there convincing alternative readings?

• Which elements of the extract are typical of the author/the text as a whole?

• Which of the author’s choices in this extract do you find most effective/powerful/interesting in relation to the global issue?

Goals for today 

Listen and grade an exemplar 

Take a timed practice 

Reflect and improve your IO 

Criterion A: Knowledge, understanding and interpretation (10 marks)

• How well does the candidate demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the extracts, and of the works/texts from which they were taken?
  
• To what extent does the candidate make use of knowledge and understanding of the extracts and the works/texts to draw conclusions in relation to the global issue
  
• 
  
• 8 out of 10: There is good knowledge and understanding shown in the oral with a sustained interpretation of the global issue (identity - what it means to be a father in times of war). There are relevant references to the text/work that support the arguments being made. It is not yet excellent though as a persuasive interpretation isn't accomplished because more work with the evidence was needed.  

Criterion B: Analysis and evaluation (10 marks)

• How well does the candidate use his or her knowledge and understanding of each of the extracts and their associated works/texts to analyse and evaluate the ways in which authorial choices present the global issue?
• 
  

• 7 out of 10: The analysis and evaluation of the extracts and text/work are relevant and at times insightful. The student does a better job with the poster than the play. But the authorial choices, especially as it concerns Macbeth, are only identified and reasonably understood in relation to the global issue (there needs to be much more depth here). In the question and answer portion, the candidate is clearly in the 7-8 band based on his responses to the questions.   

Criterion C: Focus and organisation (10 marks)

• How well does the candidate deliver a structured, well-balanced and focused oral?
  
• How well does the candidate connect ideas in a cohesive manner?
• 
  
• 9 out of 10: The oral maintains a clear and sustained focus on the task. It is well-balanced, easy to follow, logical, convincing, and well-organized. There is a clear balance between discussing the extract and connecting it to the whole work.   

Criterion D: Language (10 marks)

• How accurate is the language used? 
• How sophisticated is the vocabulary and syntax?
• To what extent are elements of style used, and how effectively, to enhance the oral?
• 
  
• 9 out of 10: The elements of style are very appropriate in this oral. There's clear engagement in his voice. It is not memorised, but at the same time, the listener can tell that the candidate is well-prepared. The language is very clear and accurate and any errors (especially the occasional, clearly accidental slip-ups with names in Macbeth) do not hinder communication.