Individual oral commentary and discussion (part 2—detailed study) Choice of works for part 2

All works must be chosen from the prescribed list of authors (PLA) for the language being studied. Each work must be from a different literary genre (two genres at SL and three genres at HL).

At HL one of the genres studied must be poetry.

The revised lists are based on the language A1 prescribed book lists (PBLs) but with two changesthat may affect teachers.

The PLA for all languages is a list of authors, not specific titles.

The PLA is not divided into part 2 and part 3. Instead, authors are listed alphabetically under literary genres.

It is the teacher’s responsibility to ensure that, as well as meeting other requirements, the works chosen have sufficient complexity of style and content suited to close analysis.

The internal assessment task

Part 2 is assessed orally and marked internally. There is a distinct difference between the formal oral tasks required of students at SL and at HL. The following tables give an overview of the differences in the criteria

Standard level

Criterion Marks

AKnowledge and understanding of the extract 10

BAppreciation of the writer’s choices 10

COrganization and presentation 5

DLanguage 5

Total 30

Higher level

Criterion Marks

AKnowledge and understanding of the poem 5

BAppreciation of the writer’s choices 5

COrganization and presentation of the commentary 5

DKnowledge and understanding of the work used in the discussion 5

EResponse to the discussion questions 5

FLanguage 5

Total 30

The individual oral commentary

SL and HL students are both required to undertake an individual oral commentary that involves presenting a formal literary analysis on an extract from one of the works studied in part 2. For SLstudents the 10-minute oral commentary is the whole of their part 2 assessment. For HL students,the 10-minute oral commentary is immediately followed by a 10-minute guided discussion on one of the other part 2 works.

Selecting extracts

The suggested length is 20–30 lines. Students only have around 10 minutes for their commentary—and around two minutes of this will be taken up with subsequent questions—so it is important that the extract is not overly long. An “extract” may also be a complete poem. A poem with fewerthan 20–30 lines may be entirely acceptable, providing it is of sufficient complexity. Timing for the preparation (20 minutes) begins once the extract has been selected.

Extracts should be rich in detail and significance and give students every opportunity to show their:

knowledge and understanding of the work

ability to analyse language, structure, technique and style.

The extracts should also be of a similar level of difficulty and different from those used for classroom practice.

It is highly advisable to number the lines in each extract. The most commonly used numbering system is to number every fifth line. This gives students a handy way of referring to the text to support their analysis, and it helps IB moderators to follow the student’s commentary more easily.

Number of extracts

It is essential that students do not know in advance which extract they are likely to get for their oral commentary. Please see the “Internal assessment” sections for SL and HL in the Language A: literature guide (February 2011), which give the acceptable minimum number of different extracts to use in relation to the number of students in the class.

Guiding questions

The purpose of the guiding questions is to point students towards significant features of the extract. Questions should not give too much information to the student because this would make it difficult for the student to show their independent understanding.

Generic guiding questions are given in the subject guide, and some more are listed here. However, teachers are urged to provide guiding questions that are specifically suited to the extract, which could mean creating their own questions, or adapting the generic questions. It is also highly advisable to provide one question to elicit knowledge and understanding and the

other question to elicit analysis of the writer’s choices. This will help students to meet the requirements of the descriptors.

Students are not obliged to respond to the guiding questions, which are there as prompts. Any of the following questions may be used for SL students. For HL students, only the poetry questions are relevant.

Prose: Novel and short story

How does the extract show the attitudes and emotions of the central character(s)?

In what ways does the use of language reveal underlying tensions?

How is the significance of the setting of the work revealed in the extract?

How are the central ideas of the work conveyed through the extract?

In what ways does the extract foreshadow subsequent developments in the work?

How is the extract pivotal to the structure of the plot?

Prose other than fiction

How does the point of view influence our attitude to the ideas being conveyed in the extract?

In what ways is the extract central to the work as a whole?

How is diction used to influence the reader?

How is a strong sense of place conveyed in the extract?

In what ways are rhythm and balance important elements in conveying the writer’s point of view?

What does the extract reveal of the writer’s attitude towards the subject matter?

Poetry

What use has the writer made of repetition to convey meaning and/or emotional effects?

How does the use of a persona contribute to the dramatic force of the poem?

How is symbolism used to convey meaning?

In what ways does the final line/stanza change your understanding of the poem as a whole?

In what ways does the poet use repetition to underline key ideas?

How is rhythm used to complement the thought and feeling of the poem?

Drama

How are gesture and action used to convey the state of mind of the character(s)?

How is language used to show contrasts between the characters?

In what ways does the extract show or hint at developing conflict in the play?

How does the extract reveal the time and place of the action in the play?

What does the extract reveal of the relationship between X and Y?

In what ways is the extract significant in revealing a key idea of the play?

Conducting the individual oral commentary

Note: The oral commentary may only be conducted once for each student.

Essentials

A quiet room for conducting the oral and a nearby room for the 20-minute preparation period

Supervision during the preparation time (for HL students, the preparation time is for the commentary, not for the discussion)

Good-quality recording equipment, preferably digital

A method of providing the student with an extract so that neither the teacher nor the student knows which extract is being selected (it is recommended that the teacher places each extract separately in a blank envelope and allows each student to choose their own envelope)

Clean copies of extracts with contextual information removed and with lines numbered (the title of a poem can remain)

During the oral commentary

The student must be allowed to talk without interruption for up to 8 minutes.

Subsequent questions must be put to the student. These should give the student an opportunity to cover aspects they have missed (or have handled incompletely) in their commentary.

If a student does not manage to speak for the full 8 minutes, 10 minutes should still be used, withthe teacher asking questions.

The focus of the task is detailed comment on the extract, not the whole work. Some contextualization is important to show understanding of how the extract is related to the work as a whole, but the main part of the commentary should be detailed literary analysis of the extract itself.

Following the oral commentary

Where more than one teacher is conducting and marking the orals it is essential that time is spenton standardization before final marks are awarded.

The mark submitted for each student is an average of the mark awarded for the two internal assessment tasks. When these marks are submitted, students will be selected randomly by the IB,and the recordings of their individual oral commentaries (and HL discussions) must be sent in formoderation, complete with the extract used and Form 1/IARF, which itemizes the marks awardedfor both tasks.

The HL discussion

Choice of work for discussion

HL students study three works in part 2. The oral commentary is based on poetry, so the discussion must be based on one of the other two works. In order to ensure full coverage of the

part 2 works, it is essential that students do not know on which work the discussion will be baseduntil after they have completed their oral commentary.

Conduct of the discussion

The teacher’s role is to give the student every chance to show his or her ability to engage in an independent literary discussion. The ideal is an authentic literary exchange between the teacher and student, but prepared questions will be needed to get the discussion started.

The questions are likely to be related directly to the work under discussion, so the examples given here (and in the subject guide) are intended to show the types of questions that should prompt an independent response from the student. Prose: Novel and short story

To what extent do you feel the writer is trying to persuade you to think about an issue or idea in a particular way?

How well do you think the writer handles the transition between one time and another?

Which character do you feel the writer relates to most closely? What makes you think that?

What sort of techniques does the writer use to get you interested in the story and the characters? Do you think they are successful?

Choose one part of the novel that you found particularly challenging, exciting or moving. What do you think prompted that response?

Drama

Do you think the writer is particularly sympathetic towards one of the characters? What makes you think that?

How well do you think the writer manages to use the stage to establish a strong sense of setting?

What is your opinion about the closure in the last section of the play? Do you find it satisfying or frustrating?

What do you feel is the central conflict in the play? How important are the underlying reasons for the conflict?

How clearly is the writer able to convey a meaningful idea while keeping an audience entertained?

Prose other than fiction

In what ways does the writing produce a strong sense of the author?

Do you feel that the style of writing is well matched to the ideas that the writer is trying to convey?

How well does the work organize the events or ideas? Is there an effective division withinand between sections?

What aspect of the work do you find most convincing?

Can you identify some of the features of the writer’s technique that you find to be particularly effective?

Are there some ideas or opinions put forward in the writing that you feel particularly sympathetic or antagonistic towards? What do you think prompted such a strong reaction?

As indicated by the level descriptors for this section of the assessment task, the aim of the discussion is to give students an opportunity to show their knowledge and understanding of a second part 2 work and to demonstrate their ability to engage in independent critical literary discussion. For example, to attain full marks in criterion D: knowledge and understanding of the work used in the discussion, the student needs to show “excellent knowledge and understanding of the content and the implications of the work discussed”. For criterion E: response to the discussion questions, the student is required to give “persuasive and independent responses to thediscussion questions”.

Essentials

The discussion lasts for 10 minutes and must follow the oral commentary with no break in the recording.

The discussion must be based on one of the two works other than poetry studied in part 2.

The student must not know beforehand which “other work” is going to be chosen.

The discussion should be allowed to develop as naturally as possible, although the teacher needs to ensure that it stays focused on the nominated work and prompts the student to explore implications and to give personal evaluation.

Marking the individual oral commentaries (and HL discussion)

There are separate criteria for the SL individual oral commentary and for the HL individual oral commentary and discussion. Teachers are required to use these criteria to mark the students’ work. Every commentary must be recorded; these recordings are used not only as possible samples for the IB moderator, but also to help the teacher establish the correct level descriptors, and for internal moderation.

Using the assessment criteria

Please note the following changes from language A1.

At SL criteria A and B (knowledge and understanding of the extract, and appreciation of the writer’s choices) are weighted, being worth 10 marks each, compared with 5 marks for presentation and language.

At HL the six criteria are each worth 5 marks.

SL (criterion D) and HL (criterion F) language descriptors are the same.

The marks for the commentary and the presentation are added together and then divided by two, and these are submitted to the IB. At that point the school will be asked to send a randomly selected sample of recordings for external moderation. Marks for the oral presentation are moderated through those provided for the oral commentary.

Form 1/IARF must be completed for each of the students whose commentary samples are selected. This form can be downloaded and includes space for the teacher’s comments in support

of the marks awarded for both the presentation and the commentary. These are sent to the IB along with the recordings and the extracts.