IB Diploma English A: Literature HL · Individual Oral
Mini-Lesson
Individual Oral
The Individual Oral (IO) is a supervised 10-minute prepared talk followed by 5 minutes of examiner questions. You examine how a global issue of your choice is presented, through content and form, in two of the literary works you have studied.
One work must be originally written in the language of the course and one must be a work in translation.
You bring a short extract (around 40 lines) from each work as a springboard to the whole works.
Worth 20% of the HL grade, assessed against four criteria out of 40.
Work through each screen, answer the questions as you go and collect ⭐ stars. Any named work appears only as a swappable, illustrative example — the IB reading lists are chosen by your school and rotate, so this lesson teaches the skills and ideas, never a set text. Press Start when you are ready.
The task
The fixed task
The task is fixed. The official prompt runs, in effect:
Examine the ways in which the global issue of your choice is presented through the content and form of two of the works you have studied.illustrative wording — always use the current prompt supplied by your teacher
Everything you say must serve that sentence: a global issue, two works, and attention to both content and form.
Quick check
Is it a global issue?
?Which is a genuine global issue suitable for the IO?
Global issue
What makes an issue global
A global issue is not any topic. IB says it should have three properties.
Wide significance — it matters to many people, not just to one plot.
Transnational impact — it reaches across borders and cultures.
Local relevance — it is felt in everyday, specific lived experience.
Too narrow: the fate of one character. Too broad: war. Just right: how propaganda reshapes private conscience — wide, transnational, and grounded in specifics you can analyse.
Quick check
Reaching the top band
?Which IO approach reaches the top bands?
Fields of inquiry
The five fields of inquiry
To find and frame an issue, IB gives five fields of inquiry — broad areas, not issues themselves.
Culture, identity and community
Beliefs, values and education
Politics, power and justice
Art, creativity and the imagination
Science, technology and the environment
Remember the distinction: a field is a global area; you must narrow it to a specific global issue, and then to a precise line of inquiry.
Quick check
Using the extracts
?The two 40-line extracts should be used as:
Sort it
Match the issue to its field of inquiry
Tap a global issue, then the field of inquiry that frames it.
⚖️ Politics, power & justice
🤝 Culture, identity & community
🌱 Science, technology & environment
Line of inquiry
The line of inquiry
The line of inquiry is the precise, arguable focus you carve from a broad issue — the difference between wandering and arguing.
Issue: how power silences dissent. Line of inquiry: how both works use the form of the interrupted or unfinished utterance to enact political silencing.
A good line of inquiry names a claim you can prove from the extracts, and points at form, not just content.
Quick check
Which field?
?A student’s global issue is the ethics of controlling human life through biotechnology. Which field of inquiry frames it best?
Extracts
Extracts as springboards
The extracts are springboards, not the whole task.
Analyse each extract closely — this is where your form analysis earns marks.
Then reach outward to how the global issue plays across the whole work.
A common failure is to stay trapped inside the 40 lines and never connect them to the larger work or the issue.
Balance the two works: roughly equal time and depth. An IO that is 80% one work and 20% the other is penalised on focus and organisation.
Quick check
A good line of inquiry
?Which is a well-formed line of inquiry rather than a vague theme?
Match it
Match the IO term to its meaning
Tap an item on the left, then its pair on the right.
The term
What it means
Content and form
Content and form together
Content and form together is the phrase to tattoo on your hand.
Content — what the work says about the issue: character, event, idea.
Form — how the craft delivers it: structure, imagery, voice, genre, staging, sound.
Why examiners insist on form: anyone can summarise a theme. Only a literature student can show how the writing constructs that theme. Form analysis is what separates the top bands from the rest.
Quick check
The two works
?The IO’s two-work requirement is that:
Criteria
The four assessment criteria
Know the four assessment criteria (10 marks each, 40 total).
A — Knowledge, understanding and interpretation: of the works and the global issue.
B — Analysis and evaluation: of the writers’ choices and form.
C — Focus and organisation: a balanced, structured, coherent talk.
D — Language: clear, accurate, appropriate academic register.
Quick check
Strong IO thesis
?Which opening states the strongest IO thesis?
Craft
Preparation and delivery
Preparation and delivery.
Prepare ten bullet points only — no full script may be read.
Rehearse to hit 10 minutes; leave the examiner room to ask real questions.
Structure clearly: issue and line of inquiry → work one (content and form) → work two (content and form) → synthesis.
Choose an issue you can see in the form of both extracts — not one you must force on.
Do not double-dip: works you use for the IO cannot be reused in Paper 2 or the HL essay. Plan your thirteen works across the whole assessment set.
Recap
The big ideas to take away
The task: a 10-minute oral (+5 min questions) on a global issue across TWO works — content and form
Two works: one originally in the language, one in translation; a ~40-line extract from each
Global issue: wide significance + transnational impact + local relevance
Five fields of inquiry: broad AREAS — narrow to an issue, then to a line of inquiry
Extracts are springboards — analyse form closely, then reach out to the whole works
Criteria: A understanding · B analysis of form · C focus & balance · D language (40 marks)
No double-dipping: IO works cannot reappear in Paper 2 or the HL essay
The IO rewards one thing above all: showing how the writing itself carries the issue. Press Finish to see your score.
🏆
Mini-lesson complete!
⭐⭐⭐
You have worked through the Individual Oral for IB Diploma English A: Literature (HL). 🎉
Your stars: 0 / 0
Next: test yourself in the Evaluate stage Confidence Quiz, then lock it in with Verify.
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