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[Sandwich]

Tips for the A1 Individual Oral Commentary (IOC)

1. Find out how your teacher wants to play it...
Okay very technically speaking the rules re: the IOC state that you should be presented with a series of envelopes each containing an extract totally unknown to you from any one of the texts/poems etc. you have studied. However, quite a large percentage of IB schools seem to be into alternative versions of the rules, including some where they will let you choose which texts they'll use and even the odd school where they let you choose your extract. Clearly if your teacher is going to let you select which novel you want to get, you're in with an advantage (and can save yourself memorising the plot lines of 4 novels in the bargain), so make sure you know how they want to play it and make the most of whatever you get!

2. Know the chronology of your texts
Assuming that your school hasn't let you choose the extract, you should find you have no idea what you're going to be given until you receive it. The good news is that your teachers are supposed to, according to the IB criteria, select an extract of significance within the novel. The bad news is that it's not always very obvious whereabouts in the novel this is, and you will be expected to put the extract into context. Consequently a reasonably large proportion of your preparation time should actually be dedicated to re-reading the whole text(s) and making sure you're quite clear about what events happen when. For some books this is easy, but for others with very skippy timelines (we all know the sort I mean...) it's really hard, so make sure you put your effort into the right places!

3. Familiarise yourself with the author's style
An excellent way to prepare for your IOC is to familiarise yourself with the sorts of literary features and themes most common within a text So a good idea for your preparation is to flick through and look very closely at the author's styles for various things and make sure you're aware of a few key instances where the style is used. As an example (because I realise that's not the greatest explanation), Jane Austen always introduces characters with a few key descriptive words which cause the reader to form a view of a character usually before hearing them speak or seeing them do anything. So, knowing that this is one aspect of her style and that it's possible an introduction or description of a character might pop up in my IOC, I would make sure I was aware of at least one key instance of this happening so I could knowingly refer to it in my IOC.
Be sure to look at all aspects of writing style so you literally know enough about the general way the author writes that you can say something about almost any page in the book/poem etc.! You always want to show good knowledge of the novel/poems as a whole body.

4. Use your preparation time wisely
You should be given 20 minutes to prepare for the exam and during this time it is imperative that you make the most of it. The number one key thing is not to panic. Panic = wasting precious minutes. It's better to finish early and idle around than panic for 5 minutes and spend the next 15 writing frantically. Ideally, unless you're such a chilled person that you have no nerves, it's a good idea to have a plan of attack. I personally suggest the most simple which is to go through the extract line by line after reading through it once or twice.
The important thing is that you remember you probably only have enough time to make notes once, so the first notes you make will probably be the exact same ones you use 20 minutes later. There's no writing up into neat! Going through the extract underlining things is therefore not necessarily going to be that helpful if, once you're on the spot, you can't remember/read your own hand writing as to why exactly you underlined it. So make sure that all the points you make are in a format which will be easy for you to understand in the actual thing. Also, although you only have a short period of time, as I mentioned before it's important to put things into context and match them up with other parts of the novel and other parts of the extract, so if you spot the same thing happening twice within your extract, link them up in such a way that you'll remember to mention both at once as you go through it. This makes your commentary seem a lot more structured than it otherwise would with only 20 minutes to prepare!

5. Imagine it's on paper and structure it
Literally imagine that your essay is being written by you rather than spoken by you. What do you need in every essay? Introduction, main body, conclusion. Don't forget to include an introduction (including that all -important putting the extract in context chronologically) and also a conclusion. I strongly suggest you bullet point the contents of these rather than making them up on the spot because nerves can do terrible things when it comes to mind blanks, and the beginning and ending of presentations are both extremely important for the overall impact. You can do a great job but have a terrible ending and it's the lame ending which sticks in people's minds.

6. Don't fail to show outside knowledge!
Reading through the extract and find yourself remembering a related fact/incident as you read? SAY IT! It's really important that you make the context (and your excellent knowledge of it) very clear, So if you remember something related, pop it in. Think that something a character does is reflective of something they do later/earlier/their general behaviour? Mention the other event as well. Don't waste loads of time on it, keep all these outside points reasonably succinct, but whatever you do don't overlook them or fail to mention them.

7. Set yourself up to achieve fluency via knowing how you work
Just like with the IOP, you want to appear extremely competent and fluent. Generally when in a state of panic, the only way to achieve this (besides obviously making sure you know what you're talking about!) is to make excellent notes so when panic strikes, you can stay on track. I'd strongly suggest you practice going through an extract that you pick at random and making notes on it prior to the actual thing. Then try imagining what you'd say based on the notes you've made yourself after 20 minutes. If the notes you've made aren't enough to stop you blanking, re-consider the way in which you make notes.

And finally, take a chill pill because really it's not that hard. IGNORE THE TAPE RECORDER!!

Hopefully those're all helpful hints. Please feel free to post some of your own and I'll edit them into this thread with some credit, or if you have constructive comments to make on the tips already up there, those are also welcome!

Also check out... http://teach.beavert...entarytips.html which has some useful hints & tips - I'd especially recommend having a look at the "Parting Shots" section at the end. This is probably as close as you can get to having an insight into the way they actually apply the (somewhat vague seeming) marking criteria.

[Tilia]

find some general points in each work that you can talk about. For instance, in Miss Julie there is the naturalism, the three units (one room, 24 hours, a straightforward plot), the power shift between them, the fact that they speak in prose, etc. all these things are possible to fit into a IOC, regardless of what extract you get (almost).

Speak slowly. Don't get stressed and that to talk fast, it's not a good idea. You don't want to give the teacher extra time to ask nasty questions.

If the teacher allows you a timer, have one.

Don't forget to state obvious things, such as what kind of work it is. If you get a play, make sure you tell that it is a play.

Most important. State why this is significant for the work as a whole and put it in context with the rest! Returning to Miss Julie, one can say that this extract is important because it shows how the power has shifted from Julie to Jean, it's a crucial turning point.

And lastly, I just want to stress the importance of practice orals before the real one.

[Drake Glau]

Another tip, though this might not pertain to everyone, our teachers wouldn't tell us anything about the extracts (we tried ) all they said is that whatever they picked would have loads to talk about to make it easier for us. Keep this in mind when you're reading your works and you might be able to find certain points in the work where you begin to think that that part of the work could possibly be an extract later, so study it. Hamlet for example, the to be or not to be soliloquy, super important turning point, loaded with lit features to discuss the effects of, there's probably good chance it ends up as an IOC choice.

Another practice thing you could do after finding these passages you think are important, or might show up for the IOC, is to get you a copy of the 40 lines (it is a 40 line passage right? Thought I read/heard that somewhere) and then give yourself 20min and see what you get. Or heck, just do a 20min prep time with any 40 line passage, it's good practice to utilizing your prep time as efficiently as possible.

[ibisgh3y]

One way to improve your unseen is to look at the unseen text the most unbiased way as possible, after you get the idea about the poem/prose, then be as biased as possible about the poet !. This is one great advice as being biased too early makes you wrong interpret the text easily.

[laryxle]

Also make up a general plan of attack for each of the four texts. I don't know if every school does this, but for my Group 2 texts we had one play, one non-fiction work (essays), one novel and one set of poetry. For each text I would make a general structure; e.g. for the essays, I would remember the thesis of each essay, and then structure the commentary around how the extract from the essay argued for the thesis of the whole essay. Obviously the plan would be different for each text type.

Also, if you have poetry, then it is pretty easy to narrow it down to about 4 or 5 poems; it won't be any of the short ones, or the ones that don't have a lot of content/depth/themes. Then, after narrowing it down, do a practice on each poem. Also, for poems you are expected to show an understanding of how the poem fits into the poet's body of work, so for each poem link the themes in it to other poems, e.g. for Emily ****inson you could say this poem is about death, much like poem B and poem C.

A good understanding of novels and plays is imo the most important aspect of preparation for these texts for the IOC; if you know where the extract is in the story, and how it fits into the story/themes around it, then you are pretty much set for the IOC. For plays, write down all the major events in each Act into an easy to remember list. Some novels will come already set in parts, others won't, so it is a bit harder to do this for novels, but hopefully it won't be an annoying novel in which time shifts around a lot.

Lastly, look at the marking criteria! Structure is 10/30 marks for the IOC and is imo the hardest criteria out of the four. Your commentary needs a good structure, the rest of the criteria will come easily with a good structure. So practice writing a good structure.

[Drake Glau]

ibisgh3y, on Nov 07, 2010 - 07:29, said:

One way to improve your unseen is to look at the unseen text the most unbiased way as possible, after you get the idea about the poem/prose, then be as biased as possible about the poet !. This is one great advice as being biased too early makes you wrong interpret the text easily.

I don't see how you can "wrongly" interpret any text. We don't know why the author wrote what he did so all we can do is make a convincing argument. Throw it out there if theres some good evidence, just remember to keep it in context with the book, focusing on the passage and the passage only for all interpretation will lead to stuff being pulled out of context. Can't call Hamlet a murderous psychopath because of one passage

Edited by Drake, Nov 08, 2010 - 00:49.

[Austin Glau]

1. Contextualizing


How does this poem fit into the poet’s style and body of works?  



2) Discussion/Analysis/Argument    
Your focus:  State the poet’s purpose /central point as clearly as possible- include speaker and audience.  See topics
Then begin a discussion of how the poet’s use of all poetic features (CONCEIT), his style/structure to support his central point/purpose.  

Tips on structuring your commentary:  (How you talk about central points/themes/characterization, etc. being supported by structure and language features.)

1) First, Do what feels natural for you; Trust your instincts; Go with the flow
2) Generally:



a)  A commentary on Frost and Shakespeare that is organized by the structure of the poem or the soliloquy is effective.    
But I have heard excellent commentaries structured around themes or effective language features (bringing structure in of course)—this would not be linear.

b)  Prose commentaries are usually most effective when not structured linearly.

If the second tip doesn’t resonate with you that is FINE. Do the first- organize your commentary based on what feels right when the extract is in front of you.

[Bhagyashree]

How to structure commentary on a play?We are suppose to do 'The Merchant of Venice.

[kim luffy]

Bhagyashree, on Dec 09, 2011 - 09:17, said:

How to structure commentary on a play?We are suppose to do 'The Merchant of Venice.

Well first you state from what scene the particular extract has come from and give a brief description of where the scene comes from. That would be your introduction.
In a play, don't go line by line but if you think you can do it then go ahead.
You must talk about the themes, tone and mood in that extract because that will earn you a lot of points. Also talk about the diction used. Character realization should also be mentioned because that's also important. You also have to talk about preceding and exceeding events which is again important.
As for the conclusion just sum up how the particular extract is important and without it, how it would affect the rest of the play.
It seems pretty simple but it's really hard to remember to use lol. All the best

Edited by kim luffy, Dec 09, 2011 - 10:07.

[Renske Snoeks]

How do you correctly structure your oral? Do you use the guiding questions, or is there another way? Also if you are not sure where the extract is in the general story plot, what should you do...?

[Sandwich]

Renske Snoeks, on Dec 13, 2011 - 10:14, said:

How do you correctly structure your oral? Do you use the guiding questions, or is there another way? Also if you are not sure where the extract is in the general story plot, what should you do...?

Just as with the main commentary essay, you have the option of structuring either by theme or chronologically, depending on what you prefer. As there's a serious time pressure in terms of preparing the essay, I would personally recommend chronologically. You will probably end up using all your prep time reading through it and making notes on what you want to say, picking stuff out etc. - whether you'll have time to then sort it into themes and come up with some structure that way is for you to decide!
Re: the guiding questions, I think you can choose to use those as structure or just mention them within what you say. Again it's your choice, there's no right or wrong answer, provided you do have SOME structure of one kind or another and you do attempt to address the guiding questions to some extent (unless you're in HL).

If you don't know where the extract is then you haven't revised enough. So revise more.

Should this happen in the actual thing, you will want to salvage the situation as much as possible. You should have some idea - at the very least, beginning, middle or end. Try and put it in as much context as you're certain of, but the main thing is NOT to say something incorrect. If you're 80% sure it's from the beginning but actually you have a sneaky feeling it could have been a similar chapter at the end... try to explain its significance without saying "this is from the beginning of the book" and your teacher raising their eyebrows in surprise at your mistake. Once you've revealed that you're not even sure where the extract is from, all the rest of your contextual information is devalued. Most books you can usually have a decent idea, it's bad luck if you get an extract which is totally impossible to place (or you've done a horrible book for chronology).

[ro_1293x]

Preparing for poetry make me want to cry because despite how well I seem to come up with ideas during a class discussion once my teacher has pointed us in the right direction, unless I have memorized every idea ever stated about a poem during a class, I just don't know how to start.

Any tips for preparation? I'm not too worried about the book because our teacher let us hint, strongly, at which texts we'd prefer and I happened to really understand mine from the first discussion and we've studied each important excerpt. But with 20 or so poems to know I'm not so confident

Edited by ro_1293x, Jan 31, 2012 - 10:23.

[Leah Sampson]

It sounds so simple now (the basic outline of how to present our IOC's) but then as soon as you get up there it's like you know nothing. We've started practicing for our commentaries recently and my goodness I am not looking forward to the final one.

Edited by Leah Sampson, Jan 29, 2012 - 16:39.

[BJD]

I will soon have my IOC I am not nervous however I WANT a 7 do you have any tips to get the high end 5 marks, because there is one thing of showing very good knowledge but how do I jump to the next step?

[ellie94]

There's two methods that I use to plan what I'm going to say. If you use these well, there's not much chance of getting stuck for something to say!!!

• I use the SCASI framework (Style, Character, Action, Setting, Images/Imagery), and talk through one at a time, trying to make links between them. This can be good for your introduction (ie: The author's style, and the lack of action creates a certain image/tone...)
  
• Also think of STOP BAD FIT. This stands for: Symbol, Themes, Organisation, Progression... Big Three (Speaker, Audience, Situation), Atmosphere, Diction... Figurative language, Imagery, Tone.

Hope this helps you!!!

[Wide Eyed Wanderer]

A tip for the introduction : Right after you state what your extract is, contextualize. State where in the storyline it falls, what happens before and what follows, and more importantly, why the extract is so important in context of the work. Other than just contextualizing in terms of the story, also place it within the author's other work "This extract from the poem 'Lady Lazarus' deals with the theme of death which is a common feature in the works of Sylvia Plath" or even within other works of the same genre or time period, "this ___, like other works fromf the neoclassical period, dealt with self awareness".
This helps show the examiner that you've actually understood not just the work by itself, but placed it in the society that it springs from.

[Wide Eyed Wanderer]

Oh and also, if you suddenly remember a point in the middle, like you've finished talking about diction and are now talking about literary devices, and suddenly remember an important point or example, DO NOT PUT IT IN! You will lose points for structure! Instead, continue with your original plan. Most often, your teacher will pry out the answer from you at the end. If your teacher doesn't, it wasn't probably as important as you thought it was