What is the Interactive Oral in IB English?

Combining what used to be the Individual Oral Presentation (IOP) and Individual Oral Commentary (IOC), the Interactive Oral (IO) is now the only presentation coursework component of IB English.

The IO is a short oral presentation of around ten minutes in which IB English students need to show that they can relate two texts of their choice to a global issue in a sophisticated and nuanced way.

For IB Literature students, one text will be in English, while the other will be a translated work; for IB Language and Literature students, one text will be literary and the other non-literary.

For those studying IB English—both IB Literature and IB Language and Literature—at Higher Level, the IO is weighted at 20% of a student’s total grade. For Standard Level students, whether studying Literature or Language and Literature, the Individual Oral counts towards 30% of their overall result.

What do I need for the perfect IB English IO grade?

The perfect IB English IO is all about sophisticated argumentation, analysis, and structure. After this, it’s all about formal expression and good presentation skills.

Here are a few tips to steer you in the right direction, for both IB English Literature and Lang/Lit students:

When choosing sources, make sure you choose ones you feel confident relating to a global issue.
A strong IO title will not be too broad. It will usually include the themes of your texts as well as the relevant global issue discussed throughout.
Come up with your thesis statement or line of argument before you break down exactly what you will cover in the IB English IO. This is a guiding statement that directs and relates your sources to the global issue, while also showing how the craft of each source contributes to this.
Analyse your extract alongside your thesis statement. Remember, the IB English IO is not a comparison task like Paper 2 is, even though comparison is allowed!
Plan ahead for possible questions your teacher might ask. After the presentation, your teacher will have 5 minutes to ask you questions about your topic.

How to structure the IB English IO

After you’ve settled on a thesis statement, structure for the IO is the next hurdle. To hit the top bands of the assessment criteria, the structure of your IO should be well-balanced and cohesive. Showing that you can succinctly relate the techniques in your sources to the themes and global issue is key.

When tutoring IB English students, we’ve found that it has been helpful to come up with topic sentences for each point, just as we would when writing essays.

This makes finding and filtering the strongest evidence easier too, and frames each point appropriately for interpretation and analysis.

Examples of IB English IO Titles: Strong vs. Weak

Example of a strong IB English IO title: ‘The impact of trauma on truth’

Global Issue: ‘Culture, Identity, and Community’
Sources: ‘Good Form’ from The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien and ‘Life While You Wait’ by Wislawa Szymborska

Example of a weak IB English IO tile: ‘What is the significance of Murakami’s use of metaphors and Gordimer’s use of tone in relation to global issues?’

As you may have noticed, the weak title does not specify a theme, idea, or global issue. Although stylistic techniques will be discussed in the presentation, highlighting 2 specific techniques in the title unnecessarily restricts the analysis of the IB English IO.

A strong title, like the example above, should make clear the thematic scope of the exploration and relate it to the global issue involved.

Need more help with the IB English IO?

The final hurdle for creating a great IB English IO is consolidating presentation skills, public speaking skills, and formal expression. Since students cannot read from a script and can only take in a sheet with 10 short bullet points, knowing how to articulate an argument in a clear and concise manner is usually something that requires the guidance of a tutor.

BartyED IB English tutors have helped numerous students to top grades in their IO, and with IB English in general. If you feel ready for individualised support from an experienced IB English tutor, feel free to reach out to us today!

Frequently Asked Questions

The IO (Individual Oral) is a fifteen minute examination. It is broken up into a ten minute presentation followed by a five minute question and answer session. During their presentation, students must relate two texts to a global issue of their choosing.
The IO is weighted differently depending on what level the student is studying. For Higher Level students, the IO is worth 20% of their total grade. For students taking IB English at Standard Level, the IO equals to 30% of their overall grade.
For students taking IB Literature, they must select two literary texts—one in English and one translated work. IB Language and Literature students need only select one literary text, while their second text must be non-literary, e.g. a speech, a photograph, a magazine article.
A global issue is a contemporary topic that is internationally relevant. Ideally, it should have some personal association and should relate to one of the five fields of inquiry—culture, identity and community; beliefs, values and education; politics, power and justice; art, creativity and the imagination; or science, technology and the environment.
A highly marked IO consists of a well-structured and concise analysis of the linguistic and structural techniques employed by the authors of each presented text. Students should also consider the wider work of each author in their analysis. Most importantly of all, students should relate their analysis to their chosen global issue throughout the presentation.