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"Examine the ways in which the global issue of your choice is presented through the content and form of one of the [literary] works and one of the [non-literary] bodies of work that you have studied."
15-minute oral exam focused on a Global Issue (GI)
•
10-minute presentation
•
5-minute Q&A session
Requirements for the exam:
•
Bring clean, unannotated extracts with numbered line counts
•
Provide an outline of the presentation (not graded and submitted to IB only if requested)
 Prepare a separate full script, but the outline which you have access to during IO must only contain bullet-points!
Course-specific analysis:
•
IB English Language and Literature: Analyze one literary text and one non-literary work
3.1 What is IO?
 Same grading criteria for SL and HL (HL is not graded any harshly than SL)
3.2 Assessment Criteria
A strong GI (Global Issue) must contain the following attributes:
1.
Significant impact on a wide/large scale
2.
Transnational application
3.
Impactful in everyday local contexts
“Everyday local contexts” implies timelessness, meaning that the issue demonstrates relevance in the past and present.
Potential Phrasings for the GI:
Initially phrase your GI with the provided template below and refine it as necessary.
Tips for structuring GI:
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Look for cause and effect relationships between two concepts in chosen works!
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Keep your GI concise since you will mention it repeatedly during presentation
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Your Global “Issue” must address a problem or a problematic concern that requires a solution
3.3 How do I phrase my Global Issue?
Follow these steps to choose your extracts:
1.
Read both texts and find a common global issue.
2.
Narrow down to 2-3 different extracts within your texts that relate to the global issue.
3.
Choose the extract that offers the richest literary and structural techniques, enhancing your analysis and providing deeper insights into the global issue.
Tip: Select the extract that has an important significance to your GI (not just a connection). For instance, choose a scene that demonstrates how the GI is manifested in society or a scene that suggests a solution to the GI.
For literary text extracts:
•
Novels/poems/plays: Choose up to 40 consecutive lines, but aim to cover your extract in 2 minutes. Often, selecting 25-30 lines works best.
Tip: Since you must address all chosen lines and demonstrate their relevance to your GI, do not include lines that serve no significant purposes. It is better to leave them out than to discuss them incompletely.
•
Graphic novels: Include panels up to one page.
For non-literary text extracts:
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Photographs/artworks: Select one photo/artwork
Tip: Choose a photo that has at least four techniques (stylistic devices) to analyze as students often choose images that have too little details to discuss.
•
Cartoons: Select one cartoon
3.4 How do I pick the extract?
General overview:
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You select “body of work” to explain the relevance of the GI in specific moments from other points in the work you have chosen.
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You must consider “how is the GI relevant to the work as a whole” and “what are some characteristics that the author uses (repetition, symbolism, theme) to demonstrate the relevance of your GI throughout the work.”
Steps for selecting wider work:
1.
Re-read your chosen extracts for the two works.
2.
Consider analyzing the title, different characters, motifs, moments that contrast with the extract in the body of work that relate to the global issue.
3.
Choose for 3-4 different sections in the body of work that offers a deeper and/or another insight to the global issue.
For literary text:
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Position in plot: If the extract was chosen from the resolution of the literary work, choose at least 1 moment from the exposition, and 2 others from rising action and/or climax. The same logic applies if the extract was chosen from either the exposition or climax of the work.
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Character focus: If the extract focuses on the protagonist, choose at least 1 moment that focuses on another character (showing how GI affects multiple characters in the work renders analysis more insightful).
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Authorial choice: Mention different moments from the body of work that utilizes the same authorial choice from the extract.
Tip: For instance, if you analysed the use of dialogue (among other authorial choices) involving the protagonist in your extract, select another moment from the body of work where a dialogue involving the antagonist communicates the GI.
3.5 How do I pick the Body of Work?
10 minute time allocation
Requirements
The structure (Criteria C) of your IO needs to fulfill two requirements:
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Organization and Focus
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Balance

a. Introduction

1.
State the global issue clearly. Avoid vague descriptions, and deliver 2-3 concise sentences that highlight why this global issue is both relevant and complex enough for an IO.
2.
Introduce the two texts by presenting only the essential details—author's name, publication date, text type, and source. Mention the page numbers of the extract or whether your text is from a collection if applicable. Clarify which text is literary and which is non-literary.
3.
Present your thesis statement that summarizes how each chosen work connects to your GI.
Tip: 100-150 words are often sufficient to provide the necessary details within 1 minute.

b. Extract

3.6 How should I structure my IO?
General guidelines
1.
Write within 300 words and maximum of 10 bullet points.
2.
Do not use sub-bullet points.
3.
You can bold, underline, italicize your texts or use abbreviations, notations, symbols, etc (your outline does not have to make sense to the examiner!).
4.
Keep your outline balanced like your oral. Ideally, four bullet points should be dedicated for each text (2 for extract and 2 for body of work for each text).
5.
Avoid writing full sentences as it would be a waste of word count.
Tip: Use outline as your backup though you are planning to memorize your script. Write points that you often forget or phrases to keep you on track!
Your outline is not part of the IO grade. It is submitted to IB only if requested to ensure that you followed the outline guidelines (300 words, 10 bullet points).
You cannot make any additional annotations in the outline before examination

a. Exemplar Outline

3.7 How to Prepare the IO Outline
This section gives you an opportunity to bring up ideas you couldn’t cover within the 10-minute presentation, making it vital for earning any additional marks you may have missed. Questions aren’t predetermined, and the examiner has complete freedom over the types of questions they may ask.
Examples of commonly asked questions include:
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You said…How does this work reflect the writer’s message about the GI?
Tip: Do not repeat your answer word-by-word from the presentation for questions asking for clarification. Try to add more on the spot.
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You said… Where do you see evidence of that?
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You said…Why do you think the writer uses that technique to convey the GI?
Tip: Know the strength and the nature of a particular authorial choice to argue why that technique is the most appropriate choice in a certain context.
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You said… What kind of target audience did the writer have in mind?
Tip: Though not required, you can refer to the target audience in your presentation.
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You said… How does this work reflect the context in which it was written?
Tip: Research about the context of the time period and the context of the author’s life in which the work was written to prepare for such context-type questions.
While preparing for the IO questions is essential, managing the timing of your responses is equally important to make the most out of the 5-minute period.
Here are some additional tips:
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Aim to spend 1-1.5 minutes on each response; this pacing allows you to address 4-5 questions. Keep answers concise to give the examiner more opportunities to inquire about areas in need of further support.
3.8 How to prepare for the IO Questions

a. Exemplar 1

Literary Extract:
1   Helmer. Is it my little squirrel bustling about?
5   wipes her mouth.) Come in here, Torvald, and see what I have
10 Nora. Yes, but, Torvald, this year we really can let ourselves go a
15 mayn‘t we? Just a tiny wee bit! You are going to have a big salary
20 Helmer. Nora! (Goes up to her and takes her playfully by the ear.)
25 things.
30 Nora. They? Who would bother about them? I should not know
35 and debt. We two have kept bravely on the straight road so far, and
Non-literary Extract:
3.9 IO Exemplar