Preparation and planning. 15% of the overall grade.
20 minutes of uninterrupted preparation time with the passage is given. The total individual Oral Commentary should be 15 minutes in length. You will need to conclude the commentary at 1213 minutes to provide time for any followup questions to make sure the response is as complete as possible.
Key aspects to explore:
● Where is the text from? Identify where in relation to the text it comes from, briefly summarise what is happening within that extract. ● What has happened leading up to it? What occurs as a direct consequence of it? ● Focus on the importance/significance of the passage o Plot development
o Climax/anticlimax
o Establishment of an aspect.
o Complication
o Resolution
o Turning point
● Setting – what is given in terms of the setting. Potentially more important for the drama text. Discover the setting and the relevance of it. ● Character/relationship development – interaction which provides a suggestion to the actions of the characters. ● Themes and issues – foreshadowing or pathetic fallacy. ● Style and mood ● What will you be discussing? ● Sequential or overview approach? ● The writer and the audience – word choices depending on the intended audience, separating the writer from the text and evaluating the impact the text has on the audience.
Introduction: A clear focus and persuasiveness is essential. The main focus of the introduction is to identify the successes of the passage, what the the author/narrator/speaker is trying to communicate within the theme and what proof we can use to support these ideas or concepts.
Important elements to explore within the passage, whether it is poetry, prose, essays or a dialogue from a play: S ymbols T hemes O rganization P rogression B ig Three A tmosphere D iction F igurative Language I magery
T one Symbol: Use of colours, directions, characters, weather, atmosphere etc. Explore these details, the author chose them for a reason.
Theme: Identify the themes which are present in the passage and how your interpretation relates to them.
Organization: How is the passage divided up and structured, into stanzas, paragraphs etc., why do these important divisions occur (what is the significance or what does it signify?). The relevance of the title to the passage should also be considered.
Progression: Since the passage is small, 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. These passages are chosen as they are important, most important passages reflect some sort of change, transformation, epiphany, important event or important interaction. The passage 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.
Big Three: Speaker – who is it? Are there examples of a contrast between connotation and denotation? What is the subtext of the dialogue?
Audience – Who is it? What is the intended effect of the passage on the audience? Situation – what happened, why, where, when, how?
Atmosphere: The mood of the passage and why this is important. Consider how diction, imagery and tone contribute to the overall mood of the passage – does this change at any point?
Diction: The word choices of the author, narrator or speaker uses, why have they been used? What impact do these words have on the audience? Consider whether there is a repetition of important words? Are there parts of the passage which are colloquial or formal?
Figurative Language: This connects to progression when there is a sudden shift from figurative to matteroffact language, which can lead to very effective insights about a passage.
Imagery: Essentially the five senses – what does the author describe and how do they describe it? Aural imagery is how the sounds of the words affect the listener.
Tone: Reflects the attitude of the author or narrator, which can be revealed through diction. Repetition could also convey a tone, describing things in a matter of fact or vague format also conveys tone. Consider how the tone progresses through the passage or if there are sudden or important shifts in tone.
Planning: 1. Read the extract put it into context. 2. Read it and annotate the extract – what stands out within this extract, significant aspects, style concepts or style/language. 3. Identify patterns or concepts – view the extract as a whole, is there a pattern with the structure/ is there a theme in the extract as a whole? 4. Decide what approach that we are going to follow – sequential or overview approach? 5. Look back over the initial annotation of the text, look at the analogies, diction, punctuation, sentence length, narrative technique, dramatic techniques, persuasive sound effects, rhyme, stanza division, perspective, tone, visual/stage direction, mood 6. List your thesis strands. 7. Outline your introduction – who the writer is, where it sits in the body of the text, how are you going to approach the text?
