Individual oral

Duration: 15 minutes (10 minutes: student individual oral; 5 minutes: teacher

questions)
Weighting: 30% for SL, 20% for HL

The nature of the task

The individual oral addresses the following prompt:
Examine the ways in which the global issue of your choice is presented through the content and
form of one of the works and one of the texts that you have studied.

Explanation of the task

The individual oral is based on the exploration the student has carried out in the learner
portfolio. During this exploration process, the student will have investigated a series of non-
literary texts and literary works and a variety of global issues. In the lead up to the individual
oral, the student must make a decision about which global issue and which text and work will
be explored in the task. One work and one non-literary text must be selected. An extract of no
more than 40 lines should be selected from each which is representative of the presence of the
global issue in it. In forms or text types where the number of lines may not be applicable,
teachers should be guided by the volume of text that can be discussed in sufficient depth in the
time available.

Selection of text, work and extracts

The work and text selected must have a clear connection with the global issue. The individual
oral should be a well-supported argument about the ways in which both represent and explore
the global issue. Students must select two extracts, one from the text and one from the work,
that clearly show significant moments when this global issue is being focused on. Normally
these extracts should not exceed 40 lines or present an unmanageable amount of material to
be analysed. As the student brings unannotated copies of these extracts to the individual oral,
extracts which are too lengthy may hinder their ability to effectively expand the discussion to
the text or work as a whole. An extract may be a complete text in itself, for example a whole
poem or an advertisement.

If the extract is from a literary text which is part of a larger work studied, such as a short story,
or if it is a complete text which is part of a work studied, such as a poem, students should
discuss relevant aspects of the broader work as a whole in their individual oral.

If the extract is a complete non-literary text, students should discuss relevant aspects of the
broader body of work of the author of the text. In the case of a photograph, for example, the
broader discussion should refer to other photographs by the same photographer. If identifying
the single author of a non-literary text is not possible, students should use an ampler definition
of authorship to broaden their discussion of the global issue. In the case of an advertisement,
for example, students could refer to the other advertisements or commercials belonging to the
same campaign, to other campaigns of the same brand or to other work produced by the
advertising agency. In the case of an article, students could refer either to other articles by the
same author or to the general editorial line of the medium in which the article was published.
In cases such as the latter two, students should make explicit what constitutes their definition
of authorship.

The extracts are meant to help students focus their responses, remove the need to learn
quotations and enable them to explore more precise issues, such as style, specific devices and
other distinct techniques used by authors to present the global issue. The choice of extracts
should show the student’s understanding of the relevance of the part to the whole and enable
coverage of larger and smaller choices made by the writers to shape their perspectives on the
global issue.

Determining the global issue

A global issue incorporates the following three properties:
 It has significance on a wide/large scale.
 It is transnational.
 Its impact is felt in everyday local contexts.

Students may look to one or more of the following fields of inquiry for guidance on how to
decide on a global issue to focus their orals on. These topics are not exhaustive and are
intended as helpful starting points for students to generate ideas and derive a more specific
global issue on which to base their individual oral. It should also be noted that there is the
potential for significant overlap between the areas.

Culture, identity and community

Students might focus on the way in which texts explore aspects of family, class, race, ethnicity,
nationality, religion, gender and sexuality, and the way these impact on individuals and
societies. They might also focus on issues concerning migration, colonialism and nationalism.

Beliefs, values and education

Students might focus on the way in which texts explore the beliefs and values nurtured in
particular societies and the ways they shape individuals, communities and educational systems.
They might also explore the tensions that arise when there are conflicts of beliefs and values,
and ethics.

Politics, power and justice

Students might focus on the ways in which texts explore aspects of rights and responsibilities,
the workings and structures of governments and institutions. They might also investigate
hierarchies of power, the distribution of wealth and resources, the limits of justice and the law,
equality and inequality, human rights and peace and conflict.

Art, creativity and the imagination

Students might focus on the ways in which texts explore aspects of aesthetic inspiration,
creation, craft, and beauty. They might also focus on the shaping and challenging of perceptions
through art, and the function, value and effects of art in society.

Science, technology and the environment

Students might focus on the ways in which texts explore the relationship between humans and
the environment and the implications of technology and media for society. They might also
consider the idea of scientific development and progress.

In selecting the global issue for their oral, students must be careful not simply to select from
the broad fields of inquiry above, but to determine a specific issue for discussion that can be
reasonably explored in a 10 minute oral. The global issue chosen for consideration should be
significant on a wide scale, be transnational in nature, and be an issue that has an impact felt in
everyday local contexts. The issue should be clearly evidenced in the extracts or texts chosen.

For example, within the field of culture, identity and community, the theme of gender in itself
might be unsuitably broad for an individual oral. A student interested in this theme might
explore instead how gender bias manifests itself in different contexts; how this can be
evidenced in many ways in texts of different sorts; how different authorial choices will
determine what is meant by gender bias; whether bias should be viewed positively or
negatively, allowing the students to evaluate the writer’s choices and the impact they might
have on the different readers’ or viewers’ understanding.

The oral itself will only be concerned with the aspects of the global issue relevant to the two
texts chosen. The student should ensure the oral offers a balanced approach, giving
approximately equal attention to both texts. Thus, it is important that the student selects
extracts/texts that offer equally sufficient material for the discussion.

The learner portfolio and the individual oral

The learner portfolio is not specifically assessed but it is an important place for students to
explore and reflect upon their works in relation to global issues.
In relation to the preparation of the individual oral, the learner portfolio provides an
opportunity for students to:

 keep an ongoing record of the different global issues that could be related to each of
the texts they read
 explore links that could be established between different texts on the basis of common
global issues they address
 explore how key passages in the texts they have studied represent different or similar
perspectives on one global issue through both form and content
 trace the evolution of their thinking and planning in connection with the global issue
and how its cultural value, its definition and application to the texts they read have
changed through their inquiry
  reflect on the challenges that the internal assessment poses for them as individual
learners.

Conduct of the individual oral

Students have the flexibility to use any of the texts from their course of study up until the time
of the assessment. It should be remembered that texts chosen for the individual oral cannot
then be used for any other assessment component. Students should select their own oral
topics. Teachers should monitor and guide students in their selection of viable global issues,
relevant texts and effective choice of extracts, but they should not suggest topics to students
nor tell them what to do. Though teachers play a critical role in helping students prepare, this
must be a student inspired and created oral.

The oral may be conducted at any time after a significant number of the texts have been
studied in the course. All of the texts used for the oral need to be featured as part of the
teaching of the course. It is recommended that the oral takes place either in the last part of the
first year or the first part of the second year.

The place and time of the oral is chosen by the teacher. Teachers may conduct all the orals on
one day or over several days. Students must be given adequate notice of when the oral will take
place. Schools will be provided with a form for students to create an outline of their oral.
Students should prepare this in advance as it will provide them with a springboard for their
oral. Students should not read the outline as a prepared script. The form gives students a
maximum of 10 bullet points to help provide structure to their oral. Individual bullet points
must not be excessively long. Schools will be required to keep all copies of the outline form
until after the results are issued. In order to determine authenticity of student performance,
schools may be required to submit these forms to IB.

Copies of the extracts chosen by the student must be provided to the teacher for approval at
least one week before the individual oral assessment takes place. Teachers will have their own
copies of the extracts during the assessment and these may help the teacher frame suitable
questions for the student.

The oral itself will only be concerned with the aspects of the global issue relevant to the two
texts chosen. The student should ensure the oral offers a balanced approach, giving
approximately equal attention to both texts. Thus, it is important that the student selects
extracts/texts that offer equally sufficient material for the discussion.

The extracts must be clean, unmarked copies; the student may only take the extracts and the
outline into the room where the individual oral assessment will take place.

The individual oral takes place between the student and teacher. The teacher asks questions to
probe further into the student’s knowledge and understanding of the extracts/texts and their
analysis of the choices made by the authors in relation to the global issue chosen. In the case of
less confident students, teachers must encourage them to give them the opportunity to expand
on unsubstantiated or inadequate statements.

The individual oral lasts 10 minutes, followed by 5 minutes of questions by the teacher.
The individual oral is internally assessed and externally moderated by the IB. Audio recordings
of the oral, together with the relevant extracts, are required for the purpose of moderation. To
this end, all materials and recordings must be clearly and accurately assembled and kept. Care
must also be taken to provide a suitably quiet environment for the recordings.