THE INDIVIDUAL ORAL - FROM START TO FINISH

(VIDEO 2 OF 5 )

Click here to watch Video 2 of 5.

Choosing and Annotating the Extracts:

This five-video series and accompanying documents will take students through the entire
Individual Oral process. This resource is excellent for both IB English A: Literature as well as IB
English A: Language and Literature. Whether you are working at the SL or HL level, the task is
virtually the same. We recommend that students go through the entire process - including
completing their own graphic organizers - in order to do their best on the task.

Video Two explicitly teaches students how to select their extracts and effectively annotate them.

Step Five: Review your Global Issue Statement

All students should begin by reviewing their global issue statement in relation to their two texts.
Here is a sample from Dave and Andrew’s student:

“Today I’d like to discuss the field of inquiry of Power, Politics, and Justice. More
specifically, I’d like to address the perception that women are emotional or crazy,
and how this demeaning language requires women to redefine traditional
female stereotypes and seek empowerment.”

Notice how the student links to a specific Field of Inquiry for the course as well as a deep message
prominent in both the literary and non-literary work.
Step Six: Look for areas of conflict in your two texts

Now that you’ve reviewed your Global Issue, it’s time to explore your chosen texts to determine
your extracts.

Dave and Andrew’s student completed the following graphic organizers when considering
moments in the text where the global issue is present. Notice how they focused on conflicts, as
those moments often provide a window into the key themes of a text. The student also considered
how the conflicts linked to the Global Issue. Finally, the student considered how craft was used
to make the Global Issue more prominent.

Searching for the Extract - Death and the Maiden (Literary Work)

Moment in the text where Key action and/or conflict of Key authorial or directorial
the GI is present the moment moves used in expressing GI

Act 1, scene 1: Paulina hiding Gerardo demeaning her for Dialogue and Lighting
behind the curtain as Gerardo her mental instability
comes home

Act 2, scene 1: Gerardo talks
to Paulina and begs her for
Roberto’s freedom
Gerardo, accusing Paulina of The first allusion to the music
being crazy, uses her mental motif. Dramatic revelation.
state to prove she is not lucid
enough to identify her former
torturer

Act 2, scene 2 Roberto tries to convince Irony, staging,

Roberto and Gerardo discuss Gerardo that she is crazy and diction/connotation, ellipsis,
Paulina in her absence. needs medical help. apposiopeia (unfinished
sentences) tone
characterization

Act 3, scene 1: Dramatic
confession scene. Roberto
begging for mercy
Paulina and Roberto finally Lighting and powerful
confront each other. Paulina dialogue
has power despite the
accusations that she is
mentally unstable
 Searching for the Extract - Nike “Dream Crazier” Campaign (Non-Literary BoW)

Moment in the BoW when the Key action and/or conflict of Key authorial or directorial
GI is present the moment moves used in expressing GI.

Simone Biles print ad A young black American Lighting, shadows to

gymnast literary flying showcase both grace and
through the air, inverted as power
she challenges traditional
stereotypes and redefines
beauty and power for black
women.

Serena Williams print ad Serena Williams is a Lighting, shadows, body

world-famous black female posture, gaze, focus all show
athlete showing her grace and determination but grace.
power in this ad. This ad was
released shortly after a major
conflict in the US Open where
she was accused of being
emotional in a match.

Dream Crazier video ad
featuring Serena Williams
Williams narrates and
introduces historical allusions
to other famous women who
have pushed boundaries and
redefined how women are
perceived in society.
The use of montage and grainy
images shows the ongoing
historical struggle throughout
various waves of Feminism.
Music and composition are
interesting choices
throughout the ad.

Step Seven: Examine your graphic organizer and locate your extract

Now that you’ve thought deeply about the conflicts in your works in relation to the Global Issue,
it’s time to choose the most powerful aspects. Dave and Andrew recommend you select passages
that are rich not only in terms of the Global Issue, but also in terms of key authorial choices.

Based on the work from the graphic organizers, their student arrived at the following two extracts:
Literary Extract: Death and the Maiden, Act 2, scene 2, Ariel Dorfman, 1990, Pg. 43-44

1 ROBERTO: She’s mad. You’ll have to excuse me for saying this, Gerardo, but your

2 wife…

3 GERARDO: Bread?

4 ROBERTO: No thanks. (Pause.) She should be receiving some sort of psychiatric

5 treatment for—

6 GERARDO: To put it brutally, you are her therapy, Doctor.

7 He cleans Roberto’s mouth with a napkin.

8 ROBERTO: She’s going to kill me.

9 GERARDO: Unless you confess, she’ll kill you.

10 ROBERTO: But what can I confess? What can I confess if I…?

11 GERARDO: You may be aware, Doctor, that the secret police used some doctors as—

12 consultants in torture sessions…

13 ROBERTO: The medical association gradually learned of these situations, and looked

14 into them wherever possible.

15 GERARDO: She is convinced that you are the doctor who… And unless you have a

16 way of denying it…

17 ROBERTO: How could I deny it? I’d have to change my voice to prove that this is not

18 my voice—if it’s only my voice which damns me, there’s no other evidence, nothing

19 that—

20 GERARDO: And your skin. She mentioned your skin.

21 ROBERTO: My skin?

22 GERARDO: And your smell.

23 ROBERTO: Fantasies of a diseased mind. She could have latched onto any man who

24 came through that door…

25 GERARDO: Unfortunately, you came through that door.

 Non-Literary Extract: Dream Crazier, Weiden + Kennedy, Nike, 2018

1 if we show emotion we're called dramatic

2 if we want to play against men we're nuts

3 and if we dream of equal-opportunity

4 delusional

5 when we stand for something we're unhinged (Screenshot 1)

6 when we're too good there's

7 something wrong with us

8 and if we get

9 angry we're hysterical irrational or

10 just being crazy

11 but a woman running a marathon was crazy

12 a woman boxing was crazy a woman

13 dunking crazy coaching an NBA team crazy

14 a woman competing in a good job changing

15 her sport

16 landing a double cork 1080 or winning 23

17 Grand Slams having a baby and then

18 coming back for more (Screenshot 2)

19 crazy crazy crazy and crazy

20 so if they want to call you crazy

21 fine

22 show em what crazy can do

Screenshot 1 (0:23): Sue Bird

Screenshot 2 (1:02): Serena Williams

While, at present, there are no formal requirements from the IB in terms of how to format
extracts, the student has presented the work in a clear and easy to understand format. Any
teacher and examiner could easily follow this work while listening to the student deliver the
assessment.

Step Eight: Use graphic organizers to identify how authorial choices reinforce the global issue

After you have chosen your extracts, it is time to carefully examine your selections and identify
key textual references and stylistic choices that help to bring the Global Issue to the forefront of
your Individual Oral.

Dave and Andrew recommend the three-draft approach to close reading. In short:

1. Read without a pen. Enjoy the sound and flow of the work.
2. Read slowly and write down big ideas and questions in the margins. Make connections to
the Global Issue.
3. Identify key textual references and authorial choices that support the Global Issue.

The student produced the following chart for the literary extract after completing a close reading
with the three-draft approach:

Extract Annotations - Death and the Maiden (Literary Work)

Textual references Features Authorial/audience relationship

“She’s mad” Diction, connotation, The audience understands Paulina’s ideas,

characterization although rooted in truth, are being dismissed as
crazy

“You are the therapy Irony, denotation and The audience sees Roberto comparing Gerardo to
doctor.” connotation of a therapist, implying that Gerardo’s role is to be a
“therapy doctor” caretaker for his mentally unstable wife

“...” Ellipsis, The audience witnesses Gerardo’s hesitation as he

characterization carefully suggests that Paulina is not crazy.
Rather, the pausing illustrates G’s belief that
maybe Roberto is guilty of a crime.

“door” Symbol, motif, stage Why Paulina was to make peace with her
directions experience and “close the door” on this chapter of
her life, Roberto has just come through the door,
forcing her to confront her torturer and address
her past.
 “Voice” and “skin” Symbols, imagery The audience can almost feel the shivers down
(tactile and olfactory) Paulina’s spine as she reminisces about the touch
and smell of her torturer and oppressors.

The student produced the following chart for the non- literary extract after completing a close
reading with the three-draft approach:

Extract Annotations - Nike “Dream Crazier” Campaign (Non-Literary BoW)

Textual reference Features Author/Audience Relationship

“Dramatic, delusional, Lexical cluster, The viewer is bombarded by words with

dramatic, unhinged” synonyms negative connotation to reinforce the idea
that women are stereotyped unfairly with
emotional language

“Sue Bird” symbolism Along with Serena Willimas, the viewer is

motivated by the courage and power of
these women and begin to see the word
“crazy” redefined

Half court line symbolism Viewers understand the subtle nuances

and boundaries between “crazy” and
“powerful”

Serena Williams shot at Facial features, mid Viewers see powerful women being
1:02 shot, foreground vs redefined. Crazy now equals empowered
background,
symbolism of
motherhood

Your Turn!

Use this handout to work through a similar process when YOU begin to consider your text
selection for the Individual Oral. Dave and Andrew’s students have used this method successfully
to arrive at interesting and insightful Global Issue statements. We’re hopeful you will too!