About the IA
Practice Flashcards
Individual Oral (IO)
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All Flashcards in Topic 7.1
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7.1.114 cards
Individual Oral (IO)
your one-to-one spoken assessment with your teacher — the IA for English B
visual stimulus
the photo/image you talk about, linked to one of the five themes
the five themes
Identities, Experiences, Human ingenuity, Social organisation, Sharing the planet
supervised preparation
the ~15 minutes you get alone to plan, with short notes only
the presentation
Part 1 — you speak about the image for about 3–4 minutes
the conversation
Part 2 — the teacher asks you questions for about 4–5 minutes
to interpret an image
to say what it means or suggests, beyond what you literally see
to relate to a theme
to connect the image to a course theme and say why
How long is supervised preparation?
About 15 minutes — and you may use short notes only, never a full script.
How long is each spoken part?
Presentation ~3–4 minutes; conversation ~4–5 minutes.
What order should the presentation follow?
Describe → interpret → relate to a theme → opinion → invite the conversation.
How is the IO marked?
Out of 30: A Language /12, B Message /12, C Interactive & receptive /6.
How do you avoid a one-word answer?
Add a reason ("because…"), an example ("for example…") or an opinion ("in my opinion…").
Where do Message (B) marks really come from?
Interpreting the image and linking it to a theme — not from describing every object.
7.1.214 cards
Out of how many marks is the Individual Oral?
30 marks, across three criteria (A, B and C).
Criterion A — Language
Marks for the range and accuracy of your English: vocabulary, grammar, structures and clear pronunciation (/12).
Criterion B — Message
Marks for relevant, developed ideas linked to the stimulus and the theme (/12).
Criterion C — Interactive & receptive skills
Marks for understanding the teacher, responding, and keeping the conversation going (/6).
How many marks is Criterion C worth?
/6 — the lowest-weighted criterion, but it still counts.
to develop an idea
to expand a point with reasons, examples or detail, not just state it
to interpret the stimulus
to say what an image means or suggests, not only what it shows
to sustain a conversation
to keep the exchange going — answering fully and asking back
range vs accuracy (Criterion A)
Range = how varied your language is; accuracy = how correct it is. You need both.
Describe vs interpret
Describing = what you see; interpreting = what it means or suggests (the Message marks).
Which criterion rewards developed ideas linked to the theme?
Criterion B — Message (/12).
Which criterion rewards keeping the conversation going?
Criterion C — Interactive & receptive skills (/6).
One easy way to earn Criterion C marks
End an answer with a genuine question back to the teacher.
Why aim at all three criteria from the start?
Half the marks come from Message (B) and Interaction (C), not just Language (A).
Topic 7.1 study notes
Full notes & explanations for About the IA
English B exam skills
Paper structures, command terms & tips
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