How

to Prepare for your Individual Oral – Language and Literature

Stage 1 – What are you going to talk about? Do the following steps in this part in any order
you choose:

1. Pick your global issue and narrow it down to something manageable in a 10-minute
oral.

2. Pick your literary work and your non-literary text that comes from a body of work.

3. Create a guiding question about your global issue to frame your thinking for the
remaining work that must be done.

You must have your narrowed down global issue, your literary work, your non-literary text
(from a body of work) and your guiding question to frame your thinking BEFORE moving to
step 2.

Stage 2 – Find your extracts, annotate, and connect to the whole work/body of work
This is all preparatory work to get you ready to create arguments for your IO.

4. Choose your extracts.

5. Print off a copy of your extracts to annotate.

6. Annotate your extracts in depth – focus on author’s choices and effects in relation to
your global issue. If your extracts are too long, shorten them.

7. Using another piece of paper OR on the back of your annotations, find examples,
evidence, and connections to the “whole” literary work and non-literary body of
work. Write them down as you will need them later in the process.

Stage 3 – Organizing the Individual Oral + Revising Your Thoughts
8. Create an unofficial outline for your Individual Oral. Use this page to help you out.

THEN

9. Rehearse the Individual Oral with your guardian (s/he asks you questions at the
end). Record it. Be harsh/strict on yourself. Stick to the timings. Don’t ask for
feedback from your guardian. Instead, they are there to help you get used to
answering questions.

10. Evaluate, self-assess (against the criteria), and/or reflection about #9 (your 1st
rehearsal). See what went wrong. Figure out what you need to fix.

11. Come up with a list of things to revise based on your reflection and then ACTUALLY
REVISE!

© Tim Pruzinsky, InThinking 2020

www.thinkib.net/englishlanglit
www.englishalanglit-inthinking.co.uk




Stage 4 – 2nd Rehearsal and Finalizing the Process

12. Create your official IB outline – 10 bullet points only (official IB rule). We also
suggest no more than 300 words. More than that is too much.

13. Complete a 2nd rehearsal with your guardian (who asks you questions at the end like
your teacher will). ONLY USE your official IB outline and your “clean” extracts. This
is a 100% dress rehearsal. Record it.

14. Evaluate, self-assess (against the criteria), and/or reflection about #13 (your 2nd and
more official rehearsal). See what went wrong. Figure out what you need to fix.

15. Come up with a list of things to revise based on your reflection and then ACTUALLY
REVISE!

Stage 5 – Practice, practice, practice!

16. Don’t memorize your IO, but have it well-rehearsed. To get to this spot, it’s
important to practice it often. Watch how fast you talk as well. Make sure you
aren’t going at an impossible speed; the listener has to be able to follow your
argument!

Stage 6 - Final Individual Oral

17. Deliver your IO to your teacher on the day and time given. Good luck!

© Tim Pruzinsky, InThinking 2020

www.thinkib.net/englishlanglit
www.englishalanglit-inthinking.co.uk