Key Idea: The last stage is how you deliver the IO, how you handle the questions, and how you rehearse until it is fluent and finishes on time.
Delivery
- Speak from brief bullet notes, not a memorised script.
- Keep a steady pace, with short pauses before key points.
- Use analytical phrasing: 'This suggests...', 'The effect is...'.
Handling the discussion
- Listen — Answer the ACTUAL question, not the one you would prefer.
- Answer and develop — Give a direct answer, then extend it with the texts.
- Go deeper — Add analysis you did not reach in the prepared part.
Exemplar and practice
- The exemplar's shape: sharp issue and line of inquiry, woven analysis of two extracts, widen, conclusion with a payoff.
- Copy its moves, not its words.
- Rehearse out loud, from notes, with a timer, several times.
- Have someone ask you likely follow-up questions.
Sound like a thinker, not a reciter.
Why not a memorised script? It sounds flat and derails if you lose your place.
Is the discussion marked separately? No. It uses the same criteria A–D.
What is the worst way to answer a question? Ignoring it and repeating your prepared oral.
Why is silent reading not enough practice? It builds no spoken fluency, timing or control.