IB English B IA Assessment Criteria Notes

IA Assessment Criteria: Student Guide

Why the IA criteria matter

1. The Individual Oral isn’t just testing whether you memorized some fancy sentences.
2. It’s testing whether you can use the language in real time to describe, interpret, and discuss ideas. The criteria (30 marks total) are the roadmap:
   1. Criterion A (Language): Proves you’re not stuck in “basic mode”, you can vary grammar and vocab like a real speaker.
   2. Criterion B1 (Message - stimulus/extract): Shows you can move past description and actually connect ideas to culture or literature.
   3. Criterion B2 (Message - conversation): Tests if you can develop and justify opinions under pressure, not just nod and say yes.
   4. Criterion C (Interactive skills): Demonstrates that you can hold a natural conversation, listen actively, and keep things flowing.

3. In short: these criteria matter because they separate a student who “knows the language” from one who can use it confidently, critically, and spontaneously, exactly what IB is looking for.

Criterion A: Language (12 marks, both SL and HL)

1. What it means: Can you actually speak the language fluently, clearly, and flexibly?

2. Vocabulary: Is it appropriate, varied, and sometimes even idiomatic?
3. Grammar: Are you using a mix of simple and complex structures (not just “I went… I saw…”)?
4. Accuracy: Do mistakes block communication, or are they small slip-ups?
5. Pronunciation/intonation: Can the examiner understand you easily, and do you sound natural?

Criterion B1: Message - Visual stimulus (SL) / Literary extract (HL) (6 marks)

1. SL: How well do you describe, interpret, and link the visual stimulus to a course theme and target culture?
2. HL: How well do you analyse and respond to the literary extract, linking it to themes, characters, and ideas in the full work?

Criterion B2: Message - Conversation (6 marks, both SL and HL)

1. What it means: Can you hold a relevant, developed discussion based on what the examiner asks?

2. Responses should be appropriate, connected to the question, and go beyond one-liners.
3. Depth is key: show opinions, justifications, and even try to engage the examiner.

Criterion C: Interactive Skills - Communication (6 marks, both SL and HL)

1. What it means: Are you an active conversationalist or just giving short answers?

2. Comprehension: Do you understand the examiner’s questions without constant repetition?
3. Interaction: Can you keep the flow going with elaboration, examples, and follow-up points?