Key Idea: You have 20 minutes with your extract before the oral. Present it in four short steps, then link it to the whole work, a theme and the real world.
Presenting the extract
- Place — Where the extract sits in the work.
- Happens — The plot, in the Präsens: {{Tim kommt nach Hause.|Tim comes home.}}
- People — Describe a character, don't just name them: {{wirkt …, weil …|seems …, because …}}
- Quote — A few words, not four lines.
From the extract to themes & culture
- Extract → work → world: link the page to the book, the book to a theme and a real fact.
- Infer the theme from a detail; never just name it.
- One theme, one fact you are sure of.
- End Part 1 with {{Ich frage mich, ob …|I wonder whether …}}
About one minute on place and plot; spend the rest of your time on what the extract means.
Which tense do you use for the plot? The Präsens.
How do you show a theme? Point to a detail in the extract that shows it.
How do you finish Part 1? With an open question about the extract.
How many facts do you need? Just one, and it must be correct.