The Quick and Dirty Guide to the IB A2 Oral Commentary
Criteria A: Content.
You need to focus on 4 different aspects for content: context, theme, characterization, and style. You need to address all aspects, particularly stylistic aspects, addressing how this works together to show the author’s purpose. The purpose of the oral commentary is to show critical thinking about a text you already know well, and you are showing your knowledge of that text. Incredibly important for your success is that you have to discuss how the author creates effects with the language s/he uses (in the form of stylistic/figurative language).
Criteria B: Organization.
Your score depends on three things: your introduction (addressing the context of the quote), your close analysis of the text (addressing theme, characterization and style) going in order of the text without jumping around, and a short conclusion mentioning any other aspects. Find and organise your arguments and build your commentary around your ideas, but still go in order when doing your commentary (referring to the text with lines numbers).
Criteria C: Language.
When planning your oral commentary, be particularly careful about criteria C issues (language). Be aware of word order, as well as using higher-level vocabulary. Higher-level vocabulary (more complex) will help your score. Avoid unclear vague words like ‘things’ since this shows you don’t have the words to express yourself. When speaking, be sure to have key words written next to the text to avoid long pauses if you are searching for words, and always avoid informal/slang language.
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The BEST way to tackle a passage:
1. Read the guiding questions before you start. This will help you focus on certain aspects of the text (this is my way of hinting to you what you should be looking for). THEN, read through the passage.
2. Organize your commentary as follows:
Introduction:
o Introduce yourself (first and last name) and identify your candidate number and session (May 2012)
o Identify the text and author, length (‘the text consists of # paragraphs of # lines’ for example) and identify the type of text (prose/poetry, dialogue/description).
o Describe the type of language used (formal, informal)
o Explore the importance of this text excerpt in relation to the work as a whole (themes, characterization, conflict). What happened directly before this excerpt?
Text Analysis Commentary:
Announce that ‘the passage starts off with X’ and analyze for theme, character, and stylistic features all at the same time. Don’t skip around. Focus on how the stylistic features work to create effects, talking about the evolution of the language through the passage. Some things to keep in mind:
o Stylistic features
Discuss words and phrases that seem important, create an image, indicate symbols or foreshadow events. Talk about the characters, the theme, tone, the author’s style and use of time. Identify and discuss:
· Key words · Structure
· Lines - Choice of words · Sounds
· Images (is any particular feeling created?) · Repetitions · Symbols
o Content (plot) Talk about what happens, when and why. What conflict is presented?
o Narrative voice Who is the speaker? What effect does the narrative voice create? (understanding, closeness, insight in the problems of the narrator, etc)
o Atmosphere, mood What is the mood? What atmosphere does the writer create? Could be mysterious, romantic, witty, etc.
o Does the writer use irony, humour?
o Are there any contrasts and what is the effect of these?
Conclusion: You can also
- Address the author’s strengths and weaknesses.
- Discuss underlying or universal values.
- Mention anything else you find important (that you forgot)
Preparation Time (20 minutes):
1. Read, analyze, and mark up the passage
Ø Use a highlighter and make notes in the margins (This is a time to practice techniques for doing a lot of language analysis in a very short amount of time).
Ø Make sure you prepare to discuss the narrative and stylistic elements as they reinforce or reveal the theme(s), character developments, etc.
Ø 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” (English for the IB Diploma Handbook).
2. Develop your analysis. Use the guiding questions if you find them helpful to focus your response, but by no means must you respond to them. In general, guiding questions encourage you to look at aspects such as:
Ø Presentation & role of characters
Ø Presentation of relationships
Ø Theme(s)
Ø Use of language
Ø Significance of the extract to the development of the plot or text as a whole
Ø The effects created by the structure, style, and techniques employed by the
Ø writer
3. Create a written outline/notes for your argument on a separate sheet of paper.
Acronyms for Success:
SOAPS!
STOP!!
FIST!!!
As you pick through the passage try to figure our why it is important, and why your teacher thought it was a passage that you could spend 12-13 minutes rambling on and on about. To do so, make sure you know the following acronyms
Subject
Occasion
Audience
Purpose
Speaker
Symbol: Colors, directions, animals, stars, weather, planets, etc. It is not a waste of time to make a list of the important symbols in every work, and come to some general conclusions as to how the authors use these things to create meaning. To paraphrase the entire book How to Read Literature like a Professor, serpents are never just snakes, yellow is never just an ugly paint color for your car, west is never just the opposite of east, and rain is never just something that makes things cold and wet. The author chose these details for a reason so figure out why and include this in your response.
Theme: You should be able to identify this for each text. Remember, theme is never just one word, and is always a complete sentence (S+V)
Organization: Ask yourself how the passage is divided and structured: into stanzas, paragraphs, lines, sentences, punctuation (dash, hyphens, commas, colons, ellipses, semi-colons, periods, question and exclamation marks, or important omissions of these), and ask yourself where the important divisions occur. You should also consider how the title relates to the passage, and if it is important to include this in your commentary.
Progression: Since you only have a small passage, it is important to investigate the progression of the passage itself. This could include how the tone shifts or develops, how characters develop, how the actions develop, etc. These passages are chosen because they are important; most important passages reflect some sort of change, transformation, epiphany, important event, important interaction, so the progression is almost always important. In addition to this, the passages should be connected and compared in some way to the work as a whole, in order to show why this particular passage is important or meaningful.
Figurative Language: In a forty-line passage, even non-poetry needs to be analyzed using our “poetic” terms (metaphor, symbolism, alliteration, synecdoche). This connects to progression when there is a sudden shift from figurative to matter-of-fact language, which can lead to very effective insights about a passage.
Imagery: The simplest way to think about imagery is to consider your five senses. What does the author describe, and how does he describe it? Aural imagery is how the sounds of the words affect the listener. Figurative language such as assonance, consonance, alliteration, onomatopoeia, etc. All those terms used to identify how sounds help create meaning. There can also be visual imagery, physical imagery, or even imagery that appeals to your sense of taste or smell.
Style: Sure, you should know the text type and the conventions of that text type (when is a novel different from a novella?), but also what makes one novel different from another? What is the general appearance of this particular text type with this particular author and this particular subject that makes it unique?
Tone: Tone usually reflects the attitude of the speaker, author, or narrator, which is revealed through diction. Some tone words: pessimistic, light-hearted, flippant, fearful. Some non-tone words (words that are vague and confusing): symbolic, important, meaningful, bright. I could go on and on. Think of poems. Repetition can convey a tone. So can being vague or describing things matter-of-factly. Tone is fun (mildly-sarcastic). Also consider if and how the tone progresses through the passage, or if there are sudden or important shifts in tone.
IB Oral Commentary: Name______
Feedback and Grading Rubric
Text______
A. Knowledge/Understanding / C. Presentation_____thorough explanation of topic (5 pts)
_____precise knowledge of work in context of the presentation’s purpose (5 pts) / _____structure is focused, coherent(4 pts)
_____response is effective, persuasive (3 pts)
_____parts of response flow together (3 pts)
B. Interpretation of Work/
Personal Response / D. Use of Language
____valid and convincing interpretation of work (personal response) (3 pts)
_____excellent critical analysis of literary features of passage (3 pts)
_____topic is supported by precise references (2 pts)
_____critical thinking and originality (2 pts) / ___appropriate literary terms (4 pts)
_____clear, precise speech (3 pts)
___effective register and style (3 pts)
Total: ______/40 Time:
You can use these passages from “Lord of the Flies” as practice. You should create an outline of an oral commentary following the guidelines in this handout.
Passage #1:
Simon stayed where he was, a small brown image, concealed by the leaves. Even if he shut his eyes the sow's head still remained like an after-image. The half-shut eyes were dim with the infinite cynicism of adult life. They assured Simon that everything was a bad business.
"I know that."
Simon discovered that he had spoken aloud. He opened his eyes quickly and there was the head grinning amusedly in the strange daylight, ignoring the flies, the spilled guts, even ignoring the indignity of being spiked on a stick.
He looked away, licking his dry lips.
A gift for the beast. Might not the beast come for it? The head, he thought, appeared to agree with him. Run away, said the head silently, go back to the others. It was a joke really—why should you bother? You were just wrong, that's all. A little headache, something you ate, perhaps. Go back, child, said the head silently.
Simon looked up, feeling the weight of his wet hair, and gazed at the sky. Up there, for once, were clouds, great bulging towers that sprouted away over the island, grey and cream and copper-colored. The clouds were sitting on the land; they squeezed, produced moment by moment this close, tormenting heat. Even the butterflies deserted the open space where the obscene thing grinned and dripped. Simon lowered his head, carefully keeping his eyes shut, then sheltered them with his hand. There were no shadows under the trees but everywhere a pearly stillness, so that what was real seemed illusive and without definition. The pile of guts was a black blob of flies that buzzed like a saw. After a while these flies found Simon. Gorged, they alighted by his runnels of sweat and drank. They tickled under his nostrils and played leap-frog on his thighs. They were black and iridescent green and without number; and in front of Simon, the Lord of the Flies hung on his stick and grinned. At last Simon gave up and looked back; saw the white teeth and dim eyes, the blood — and his gaze was held by that ancient, inescapable recognition. In Simon's right temple, a pulse began to beat on the brain.
Passage #2:
He jumped down from the terrace. The sand was thick over his black shoes and the heat hit him. He became conscious of the weight of clothes, kicked his shoes off fiercely and ripped off each stocking with its elastic garter in a single movement. Then he leapt back on the terrace, pulled off his shirt, and stood there among the skull-like coconuts with green shadows from the palms and the forest sliding over his skin. He undid the snake-clasp of his belt, lugged off his shorts and pants, and stood there naked, looking at the dazzling beach and the water.
He was old enough, twelve years and a few months, to have lost the prominent tummy of childhood and not yet old enough for adolescence to have made him awkward. You could see now that he might make a boxer, as far as width and heaviness of shoulders went, but there was a mildness about his mouth and eyes that proclaimed no devil. He patted the palm trunk softly, and, forced at last to believe in the reality of the island laughed delightedly again and stood on his head. He turned neatly on to his feet, jumped down to the beach, knelt and swept a double armful of sand into a pile against his chest. Then he sat back and looked at the water with bright, excited eyes.