IB Oral Commentary
AP/IB English 12
Mz. K
General Information:
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15% of the Language A1 diploma requirements
Preparation time = 20 minutes
Recording time = 10 – 15 minutes
Candidates are provided with an extract for
commentary from one of the Part II works:
Hamlet or Baldwin essays and poetry of Donne
 Guiding questions will be provided by the
teacher
 The commentary is recorded and externally
evaluated/assessed
What IB Says About Commentary:
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“Commentary” refers to a close detailed analysis
of writing, showing an understanding of both
what is said and how it is said. It requires
students to demonstrate close detailed
knowledge and appreciation of: (1) elements
such as subject matter and theme, (2) the
means (literary and style technique) by which
these elements are explored and presented, and
(3) the effects of such exploration, or
presentation, for the development of the work as
a whole, and for the reader’s understanding
Basically, you should be able to:
 Demonstrate
thorough knowledge and
understanding of the works studied
 Distinguish details and elements that are
significant to the overall purpose of the
work from those that are not
 Deduce meaning and make valid
interpretations from relevant textual
material
 Discern,
where appropriate, the writer’s
particular view(s) or attitude(s) toward the
issues he/she raises, explores or alludes
to
 Appreciate the role played by language
and style (including diction, imagery,
symbols, tone, sound, and sentence
structure) in achieving the writer’s purpose
 Understand and discuss how, and to what
purpose, elements such as characters,
events, situations, and settings are
created and to what effect
 Discuss
the use of relevant literary
techniques in a manner that shows
understanding of how they create and
develop meaning in the text
 Become aware of the ways in which
writers use the features of particular
genres for effect
 Compare and contrast in effective ways
 Make consistent and effective use of the
most persuasive textual evidence to
illustrate claims
 Offer
individual insights and independent
perspectives on the works studied
 Appreciate as fully as possible the close
relationship between form and content
WHEW!
How to Prepare for the IOC:
Step I:
 Read
the passage/poem carefully three
times:
1. silently, for first impression of total effect
2. aloud—noting shifts of pattern, thought,
voice, tone, flow
3. again, to reinforce or adjust first
impression
Step 2:
 Establish
how this extract fits into the
larger work: what is this excerpt doing on
its own? In the whole?
 Ask yourself: why did the
teacher/examiner choose this passage?
Step 3:
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Go through CLOSE READING questions:
WHO is speaking?
TO WHOM?
WHAT? WHY? (Situation, purpose)
HOW? (tone, style)
PATTERNS? (structure, form)
TENSION? (contrasts, conflicts, ironies)
SO WHAT? (dominant effect)
STOP BAD FIT
Symbol
Theme
Organization
Progression
Big 3 (speaker, audience, situation)
Atmosphere
Diction
Figurative language
Imagery
Tone
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Dramatic context: how does the passage build
on the existing dramatic tension?
Unresolved questions: what don’t you
understand the passage or its context?
Personal response: what part of the passage
stands out to you?
How is the passage structured?
What are the most significant patterns?
What are the most significant stylistic devices?
Is the passage consistent throughout? Is there
anything unresolved?
 If
you were to explain the excerpt to a
friend, what would you say? Keep it simple
but include everything that your
consideration of the passage has revealed
to be important.
Step 4:
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Compose and be ready to deliver the
commentary: make notes and organize the
structure of the commentary
 Look again at the SO WHAT and taking this
dominant effect as your thesis, select relevant
details of evidence to support your argument
and to include in your commentary
 Be sure to include no detail without relating it to
its specific effect and place it in the whole
 Organize
your commentary in any way
that suits your argument, but let the
passage or poem guide you to the shaping
of your commentary
Caveats:
 There
is not one formula
 This is an exploration and not a “Watch
me, Mom!” display of all you know
 Don’t forget that the characters are
fictional; the writer is/was not—therefore
focus on authorial intent and literary
features and techniques used to achieve
that intent
Guiding Questions:
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The purpose of the guiding questions is to offer
candidates a starting point for organizing the
commentary
 They will help you explore such aspects as
the presentation & role of characters
relationships
themes
use of language
significance of the extract to the
development of the larger work
effects of structure, style, technique
 Guiding
questions should not:
refer to fine detail, or any particular
interpretation of the extract
restrict the candidate’s ability to explore
independently all significant aspects
dealt with in the extract
Types of Guiding Questions:
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In what ways do you think this extract defines
the role of X, a character in the extract? What do
you think the extract reveals about X’s state of
mind?
 What is established in this opening passage? By
what means has this been achieved?
 To what extent is our perception of the
relationship between X and Y developed in this
passage?
 What is the primary significance of this
passage?
 Which
literary/stylistic techniques are used
and to what effect?
 What are the effects of the dominant
images in this extract?
 What are the dominant themes in this
extract?
Delivery and Subsequent
Discussion:
 Candidates
will be allowed to deliver their
commentaries without interruption
 Teachers may not distract candidates or
attempt to rearrange their commentaries
 Teachers will only intervene if a candidate
panics and needs positive encouragement
or if he/she is off target or is finding it
difficult to continue
 Teachers
may engage in a discussion with
candidates to probe further into their
knowledge and understanding of the work
or topic
 Teachers may inquire about a candidate’s
understanding of specific words, phrases,
and allusions
 Teachers must be satisfied with the
candidate’s understanding of the
relationship between the extract and the
whole work
Criterion:
 Knowledge
and interpretation of extract of
work(s)
 Interpretation and personal response--5
 Presentation (organization)
 Use of language
 Each category worth up to a score of 5
Some tips:
Hamlet, don’t forget about dramatic
features as well as poetic/stylistic devices;
for Donne, remember poetic/stylistic
devices, structure; for Baldwin, remember
SOLLIDD
 Refer to specific line numbers in your
analysis
 Avoid a colloquial/informal tone
 For
More tips:
 Stay
within the context of the passage:
“You must not be tempted to discuss
everything you know about the whole text.
Your commentary must focus on the
specific extract that you are given for
discussion. You should relate it to the
work only where relevant—for example, to
establish context, or discuss its
importance to the work as a whole” (IB
Handbook)
More tips:
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Avoid doing a line by line analysis
Organize your commentary by idea, not in the order of
the extract
For Hamlet, remember to go beyond just translating. For
example, if you are doing “to be or not to be,” you need
to go past just saying, “in this extract, Hamlet is debating
whether or not he should commit suicide. He doesn’t
know if he should exist or not exist.” A way to extend
beyond a translation is to do just what you do for
everything else you read: analyze technique. Example:
“Shakespeare highlights Hamlet’s unbalanced mental
state by incorporating many examples of antithesis into
this soliloquy. The most obvious of these is ‘to be or not
to be’ in line 1” (and then develop from there).
Final thought:
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Relax! I know; it’s hard to actually relax after reading
this looooooong list of tips and listening t Mz. K drone on
and on about it. But remember how capable you actually
are. It’s good to feel some nerves, but remember that at
the end of the day, it’s only a test. While your IOC is an
important part of IB English, your score will not define
your life or who you are. The process is more important
than the end result. Simply going through an
assessment like this will make you a better
communicator and more interesting person. Remember
that not all rewards in life come in the form of a grade.