How scary is the literature IOP?

[kpatel27]

I'm a junior, and my IOP is coming up this December... I have no idea what the purpose of the IOP is, and I was wondering if it really affects your overall IB score? Do you guys have any tips on how to do well? 

[Sofia.]

Yes, it definitely affects your overall grade. And you've definitely posted this in the wrong forum... So here's a link to an awesome post by Sandwich, explaining the IOP: http://www.ibsurvival.com/topic/9498-tips-for-a1-individual-oral-presentation/

[Guest Sonia]

Ohh I hated doing my IOP! That's also because I was kinda bad at literature and my teacher was pretty mean so I felt pretty unsupported...
Basically, you're analyzing sth in the same way you would in an essay, but it's oral... So you just make a thesis, find supporting quotes etc and analyze. My teacher told us to have no notes, but we could have a presentation to go along with our IOP as long as it didn't seem like 'we were trying to remember what to say by staring at a slide too long'

The IOP is 15% of your IB grade overall so it's great if you do well. If you're already good at analyzing things then you would already be doing well to some extent. But because it is an oral presentation, I would advise you to learn your points by heart, practice A LOT and make a nice powerpoint, cause it makes your presentation more engaging and clear. Also, be confident to answer the questions the teacher asks at the end - don't panic, take 3 seconds to think about it and then answer nicely. Try not to answer by repeating sth you have already said. The point of the questions is that the teacher needs more depth for some things you said, so by repeating things, you're not going any deeper. 

Overall, just calm down I guess... and practice! seriously, - practice!!!