The IOP

My experience with the IOP

The IB English course is very demanding, but very interesting at the same time. Finally done with my IOP, I will use this entry as a means of reflecting a little bit about this whole new experience.

In this entry I will by describing my experience with the IB’s Internal Oral Presentation, or most commonly known by my fellow ‘IBers’, the IOP. Just to give a little background about this assessment, the IOP is an internally assessed task, designated as a way for students to show their creative, artistic and dramatic side, while at the same time showing an interesting approach to analysis to a particular work, discussing how writers use specific techniques to convey theme. In order to start preparing an IOP, the student must start with a selection of topic, which range from Cultural Setting of Work, Thematic Focus, Characterization, Techniques and Style, an Authors attitude to particular works and an Interpreation of a work. Moreover, there is also a selection of possible activities, including structured dicussions, oral exposes and Role Plays.

In this quarter we prepared two IOP’s; the first one was merely focused on George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, and was really an introduction and practice with this assessment, whereas the second one was of free choice, where we got the chance to choose what we really wanted to do and which novel to analyse. For both occassions, it was very difficult picking a specific topic, and without any previous knowledge and experience with this type of activity, it was particularly tricky how to start preparing it and even how to approach it. For me it was also very challenging since I am not very good with public speaking, therefore I was somehow ‘forced’ into doing the oral expose since the other choices were more demanding in this sense, although I am very interested in drama.

Looking back, I think the IOP gave me more experience with public speaking and also an opportunity to look at the novels in ways I found very interesting and liked a lot, thus made more enthusiast when preparing it, specially the second presentation, in which I described how Margaret Atwood portrays the Subjugation and Dehumanization of women in The Handmaid's Tale, through the use of symbolism, imagery, diction and metaphors. 

I do regret however, not having the somehow bravery of doing a role play, since it would have really allowed me as a student to explore another way of approaching a novel. Nevertheless presenting my ideas in an oral expose gave me more security and confidence.

Overall, the IOP has proven to be a very challenging activity, but gave me important experience for the course and program, and maybe even for the future.