Individual Oral practice questions.

State the number and origin of the works examined in the English A: Literature Individual Oral.

• Two works, one written originally in the language studied and one in translation
• Just one single literary work, freely and personally chosen by the individual student
• Three works, all in translation
• Two works, both in translation

Answer: Two works, one written originally in the language studied and one in translation

The IO examines extracts from two works: one originally written in the language of study and one studied in translation, linked by a global issue.

Explain what a 'global issue' must be for the Individual Oral.

• A significant topic of wide relevance that can be explored through the content and form of both extracts
• A summary of one work's plot
• A biographical fact about one author
• A single unusual or striking individual word that the student happens to have found somewhere in one extract

Answer: A significant topic of wide relevance that can be explored through the content and form of both extracts

A global issue is a broad, transnational concern (e.g. migration, power) that both works illuminate; the IO analyses how each presents it through content and form.

Determine what students are permitted to bring into the Individual Oral.

• The two clean extracts and an outline of up to 10 bullet points
• A complete, fully written-out script prepared to be read aloud word for word
• The complete texts of both works
• Nothing at all

Answer: The two clean extracts and an outline of up to 10 bullet points

Students may bring the clean-copy extracts and brief bullet-point notes (no more than 10 points); a full script to read from is not allowed.

Suggest why a well-chosen extract matters more than a longer one in the Individual Oral.

• A focused extract dense with relevant features lets the student analyse form and the global issue in depth
• A longer extract always earns more marks
• The examiner counts the number of lines analysed
• The sheer length of the chosen extract conclusively proves to the examiner that the student has read the whole complete work

Answer: A focused extract dense with relevant features lets the student analyse form and the global issue in depth

The IO rewards depth of analysis linking extract to global issue; a compact, feature-rich passage supports this better than sheer length.

Explain the risk of an oral that summarises each extract in turn rather than analysing them.

• It becomes descriptive and parallel, failing to show how form presents the global issue or to connect the works
• It automatically and always runs well under the strict fifteen-minute time limit that is set for the whole individual oral
• It is disqualified for using two works
• It cannot mention the global issue

Answer: It becomes descriptive and parallel, failing to show how form presents the global issue or to connect the works

Summary without analysis or connection stays in low bands; the IO rewards interpreting how each writer's choices present the shared global issue.

Determine the best way to open an Individual Oral so it stays focused.

• Name the global issue precisely and preview how each extract will be used to explore it
• Open by carefully reciting the entire life biography of both of the two authors, one after the other
• Read both extracts aloud in full first
• State the mark you hope to receive

Answer: Name the global issue precisely and preview how each extract will be used to explore it

A precise framing of the global issue and a roadmap for both extracts keeps the oral coherent and relevant from the outset.