English A: Language & Literature SL
Global issues in literary and non-literary texts — Individual Oral
- 1.
Read the following original extract: 'The factory had taken his father's hearing, slowly, over twenty years, the way the sea takes a coastline — not all at once, but in a way that leaves nothing to give back.' (a) Identify the global issue most clearly raised by this extract. (b) Justify your choice with specific reference to the language used.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 2.
Marking analysis: A learner attempts the following task: “Read the following original extract: 'The factory had taken his father's hearing, slowly, over twenty years, the way the sea takes a coastline — not all at once, but in a way that leaves nothing to give back.' (a) Identify the global issue most clearly raised by this extract. (b) Justify your choice with specific reference to the language used.” Their response addresses only this point: “Identifies a global issue such as workers' rights, industrial/occupational health, or the human cost of industrialization.” Evaluate the response against the complete 3-mark task. Identify what earns credit and state every additional requirement needed for full marks.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 3.
Read the following original extract: 'They had crossed three borders by the time the youngest asked, for the first time, where home was. No one answered. No one knew anymore.' Identify the global issue raised, and explain how the final two short sentences contribute to the reader's understanding of this issue.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 4.
Marking analysis: A learner attempts the following task: “Read the following original extract: 'They had crossed three borders by the time the youngest asked, for the first time, where home was. No one answered. No one knew anymore.' Identify the global issue raised, and explain how the final two short sentences contribute to the reader's understanding of this issue.” Their response addresses only this point: “Identifies a global issue such as displacement, migration, or the loss of identity/belonging caused by forced movement.” Evaluate the response against the complete 3-mark task. Identify what earns credit and state every additional requirement needed for full marks.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 5.
Read the following original extract from a speech: 'We measure progress in skyscrapers and stock prices, but never in the number of children who can still name the birds that used to live here.' Identify the global issue raised, and explain the rhetorical effect of contrasting 'skyscrapers and stock prices' with 'children who can still name the birds'.
[4 marks] · no calculator - 6.
Marking analysis: A learner attempts the following task: “Read the following original extract from a speech: 'We measure progress in skyscrapers and stock prices, but never in the number of children who can still name the birds that used to live here.' Identify the global issue raised, and explain the rhetorical effect of contrasting 'skyscrapers and stock prices' with 'children who can still name the birds'.” Their response addresses only this point: “Identifies a global issue such as environmental degradation/biodiversity loss, or the tension between economic development and environmental sustainability.” Evaluate the response against the complete 4-mark task. Identify what earns credit and state every additional requirement needed for full marks.
[4 marks] · no calculator - 7.
Explain why, when preparing for the Individual Oral, a student should choose a specific, narrow global issue (such as 'the erosion of workers' rights under automation') rather than a broad topic (such as 'technology').
[2 marks] · no calculator - 8.
Marking analysis: A learner attempts the following task: “Explain why, when preparing for the Individual Oral, a student should choose a specific, narrow global issue (such as 'the erosion of workers' rights under automation') rather than a broad topic (such as 'technology').” Their response addresses only this point: “Explains that a broad topic like 'technology' is too general to analyse meaningfully within the time constraints of the oral, and does not point to a specific debatable issue or stance.” Evaluate the response against the complete 2-mark task. Identify what earns credit and state every additional requirement needed for full marks.
[2 marks] · no calculator - 9.
Read the following original extract: 'The hospital waiting room had one working chair for every four patients, and a sign — freshly painted — that read WELCOME.' Identify the global issue raised, and explain the ironic effect created by pairing the detail about the chairs with the freshly painted welcome sign.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 10.
Marking analysis: A learner attempts the following task: “Read the following original extract: 'The hospital waiting room had one working chair for every four patients, and a sign — freshly painted — that read WELCOME.' Identify the global issue raised, and explain the ironic effect created by pairing the detail about the chairs with the freshly painted welcome sign.” Their response addresses only this point: “Identifies a global issue such as inequality in access to healthcare, or the gap between institutional appearance and institutional reality.” Evaluate the response against the complete 3-mark task. Identify what earns credit and state every additional requirement needed for full marks.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 11.
Read the original extract: 'The village library had become a phone repair shop; the old books were sold by weight.' Identify a global issue raised and explain how the detail 'sold by weight' supports it.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 12.
Marking analysis: A learner attempts the following task: “Read the original extract: 'The village library had become a phone repair shop; the old books were sold by weight.' Identify a global issue raised and explain how the detail 'sold by weight' supports it.” Their response addresses only this point: “Identifies a global issue such as the loss of cultural heritage and access to education through technology-driven change.” Evaluate the response against the complete 3-mark task. Identify what earns credit and state every additional requirement needed for full marks.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 13.
Read the original extract: 'The advert asked for strong candidates, and the interviewer's gaze slid past Leila to the man behind her.' Identify the global issue and explain how the language conveys it.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 14.
Marking analysis: A learner attempts the following task: “Read the original extract: 'The advert asked for strong candidates, and the interviewer's gaze slid past Leila to the man behind her.' Identify the global issue and explain how the language conveys it.” Their response addresses only this point: “Identifies gender discrimination in employment.” Evaluate the response against the complete 3-mark task. Identify what earns credit and state every additional requirement needed for full marks.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 15.
Read the original extract: 'The farmers measured the year in missed rains.' Identify the global issue and explain the effect of this unit of measurement.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 16.
Marking analysis: A learner attempts the following task: “Read the original extract: 'The farmers measured the year in missed rains.' Identify the global issue and explain the effect of this unit of measurement.” Their response addresses only this point: “Identifies climate change, drought and threats to farming livelihoods.” Evaluate the response against the complete 3-mark task. Identify what earns credit and state every additional requirement needed for full marks.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 17.
Read the original extract: 'Every doorway in the city now had an eye, and no one remembered agreeing to it.' Identify the global issue and explain how the final clause shapes the reader's response.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 18.
Marking analysis: A learner attempts the following task: “Read the original extract: 'Every doorway in the city now had an eye, and no one remembered agreeing to it.' Identify the global issue and explain how the final clause shapes the reader's response.” Their response addresses only this point: “Identifies surveillance and loss of privacy and consent.” Evaluate the response against the complete 3-mark task. Identify what earns credit and state every additional requirement needed for full marks.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 19.
Read the original extract: 'Their balcony garden fed three families; the hotel's rooftop pool held more water than the village used in a month.' Identify the global issue and explain how the structure of the sentence creates its effect.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 20.
Marking analysis: A learner attempts the following task: “Read the original extract: 'Their balcony garden fed three families; the hotel's rooftop pool held more water than the village used in a month.' Identify the global issue and explain how the structure of the sentence creates its effect.” Their response addresses only this point: “Identifies inequality in access to resources such as water and food.” Evaluate the response against the complete 3-mark task. Identify what earns credit and state every additional requirement needed for full marks.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 21.
Read the original extract: 'Grandmother's words had no translation, so the children simply stopped asking.' Identify the global issue and explain what 'simply stopped asking' implies.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 22.
Marking analysis: A learner attempts the following task: “Read the original extract: 'Grandmother's words had no translation, so the children simply stopped asking.' Identify the global issue and explain what 'simply stopped asking' implies.” Their response addresses only this point: “Identifies language loss and the erosion of cultural identity across generations.” Evaluate the response against the complete 3-mark task. Identify what earns credit and state every additional requirement needed for full marks.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 23.
Read the original extract: 'The shirt cost less than the bus ride home, and somewhere a girl had sewn it for less than that.' Identify the global issue and explain how the comparison builds the critique.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 24.
Marking analysis: A learner attempts the following task: “Read the original extract: 'The shirt cost less than the bus ride home, and somewhere a girl had sewn it for less than that.' Identify the global issue and explain how the comparison builds the critique.” Their response addresses only this point: “Identifies exploitative labour and the hidden human cost of cheap consumer goods.” Evaluate the response against the complete 3-mark task. Identify what earns credit and state every additional requirement needed for full marks.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 25.
Explain why identifying a global issue in a text requires evidence from the writer's language and not just a statement of the topic.
[2 marks] · no calculator - 26.
Marking analysis: A learner attempts the following task: “Explain why identifying a global issue in a text requires evidence from the writer's language and not just a statement of the topic.” Their response addresses only this point: “Explains that naming a topic (e.g. 'inequality') is only a label, and does not show how this text presents or judges it.” Evaluate the response against the complete 2-mark task. Identify what earns credit and state every additional requirement needed for full marks.
[2 marks] · no calculator - 27.
Explain why the choice of extract matters when preparing the Individual Oral, and state one quality of a strong extract.
[2 marks] · no calculator - 28.
Marking analysis: A learner attempts the following task: “Explain why the choice of extract matters when preparing the Individual Oral, and state one quality of a strong extract.” Their response addresses only this point: “Explains that the extract must contain rich language and ideas that clearly connect to the global issue, giving enough to analyse in the time available.” Evaluate the response against the complete 2-mark task. Identify what earns credit and state every additional requirement needed for full marks.
[2 marks] · no calculator - 29.
Read the original extract: 'The post was shared four thousand times before anyone checked whether the flood had happened at all.' Identify the global issue and explain how the sentence structure reinforces it.
[3 marks] · no calculator - 30.
Marking analysis: A learner attempts the following task: “Read the original extract: 'The post was shared four thousand times before anyone checked whether the flood had happened at all.' Identify the global issue and explain how the sentence structure reinforces it.” Their response addresses only this point: “Identifies misinformation and the speed of false information on social media.” Evaluate the response against the complete 3-mark task. Identify what earns credit and state every additional requirement needed for full marks.
[3 marks] · no calculator