Writing a good reflective statement is a skill. It can also be used as a tool to motivate, clarify and give focus to the further oral activity. Unfortunately, because it is not assessed, we do not always see or appreciate the their value. Even though it as an administrative task, it can also be a didactic instrument. 

In the pages on written task 1 rationale and proposal writing, it is recommended to clearly state the aims of the assignment before you set out on achieving them, revisiting them again after the assessment has been written. Similarly the reflective statement, which understandably is written after the performance, could already be initiated before the actual further oral activity takes place.

This lesson invites you to consider the advantages of drafting a reflective statement before the assessment even takes place. If you can envision what the end product will look like, then it is easier to create it.

Writing a proposal

Most likely you have come across a great range of texts during your studies of Parts 1 and 2. Various topics have been discussed and several key concepts have been explored. How does one demonstrate an understanding of the coursework in the further oral activity? After all, you can do a presentation, debate, role-playing activity or interview. With these freedoms comes the risk of doing an irrelevant activity. How does one avoid the pitfalls and score well on the criteria?

The answer lies in careful preparation and a good proposal. Answering the following questions in a proposal will help keep the further oral activity relevant and focused on the texts.

1. What learning outcome(s) do I plan to achieve?
2. How will I involve the text(s) in my activity?
3. How will I demonstrate an understanding of coursework?
4. What will be the format of my further oral activity?

Here are several proposals that students wrote. Which ones are most likely to be successful? You can rate these ideas on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 is least likely to be successful and 5 is most likely to be successful? Base your rating on both the merits of the idea and the degree to which it is thoroughly explained in the proposal. For each proposal feedback has been provided.

Further oral activity proposals

Proposals	Rating (1-5) and comments
I’m going to be a radio talk show host and interview the project manager of Google Translate (my classmate). We’re going to talk about how Google Translate works and how it will change the world of international communications.	2 - Even though this idea seems to relate to Part 1 (translation), there is no primary source on which is it based. It may be good to compare Google translations to human translations of a poem.
We are going to pretend that it’s 1980 and I am Fela Kuti from Nigeria and my classmate is Bob Marley from Jamaica. ‘Colonial Mentality’ and ‘Redemption Song’. We’ll talk about how the lyrics from our songs, ‘Colonial Mentality’ and ‘Redemption Song’, express our identity and culture.	5 - This sounds like a great idea. It's focused on two primary sources. Secondary sources on Jamaican and Nigerian Patois could be involved. And there's a focus on at least two of the learning outcomes for Part 1: 1) understanding language change, and 2) appreciating how context shapes text.
I’m going to be Barack Obama’s speechwriter, Jon Favreau, and compare the 2008 victory speech and MLK’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. I also want to talk about what it’s like to write for a black speaker, as a white man.	3- Comparative textual analysis is at the heart of this presentation, which will score well on criterion B. Inevitably, culture and context will play a role, but that's not clear from the proposal. This does not need to be a role play. Pretending to be Jon Favreau only makes it more complicated and prone to stereotyping.
I’m going to give a presentation on Indian matrimonial ads. I’ll show a few in class and talk analyze them, talking about the culture of India and their marriage customs.	4- This has good potential. How does it tie into a learning outcome? That should be made explicit. It's text driven, which is good. But it's missing a guiding question. Why are matrimonial ads interesting? Is it perhaps because they use language as a cultural code? Explain.
We’re going to have a debate on the Sapir Whorf Hypothesis, which we talked about in TOK. We’re going to look at Orwell’s essay, ‘Politics and the English Language’.	2- Orwell's essay is about how politicians use language to manipulate. It is more of a secondary source, just like information that will be found on the Sapir Whorf Hypothesis. What are the primary sources? What examples of language will be studied, where language is used to manipulate?
We’re going to work in a group of four and have a debate on ‘the UK’s best newspaper’. We’re all going to defend our UK newspaper and claim it’s the best, by talking about headlines, images, mastheads, columns.	3- The basic idea of comparing newspapers is good, but there are too many people involved. How is a newspaper defined as 'the best'? Deconstructing the layout is great. It may be good to focus on one story and how it is portrayed differently be two different papers.
We’re going to have a talk show with several guests: Tyra Banks (host of America’s Next Top Model), Jennifer Romolini (a critic), and a former participant of ANTM. We’ll talk about the effects of ANTM on young girls in America.	3 - This has potential, but both the format and the learning outcomes are not clear. ANTM is the primary source, which should be emphasized and analyzed. Who will lead the talk show?
We’re going to be two mothers, complaining about our daughters and their use of English. They are always using MSN language. We’ll talk about how technology is corrupting English.	1 - First problem is that this is a rather hypothetical situation and the roles are rather two dimensional. Could this last longer than two minutes? What is the primary source? Have the daughters written an exam paper in MSN language?

Reflective statements

A good proposal can be turned into a reflective statement with some fine tuning. Below you see four sample statements all written on the same further oral activity (FOA HL S1). Although all of these statements would 'pass' for administrative purposes, some comment more thoroughly on the learning process than others.

Rank the following four statements in order from best to worst. The only criterion you are looking for is the degree to which the reflective statement gives you insight into the learning process.

Four reflective statements

Reflective statement	Ranking and comments
I wanted to talk about the environment and show two public service announcements that ran on MTV. I presented my opinion of these two short films in front of the class. I thought it was a good presentation because I enjoyed it and I talked about what we discussed in class.	#4 - This is the worst of the reflective statements, because it fails to describe what went into the presentation and why the student enjoyed giving it. It's not clear what was discussed in class and what the aims of the presentation were.
I wanted to show how film is used in the MTV ‘Switch’ campaign to persuade young people to care more about global warming. Specifically, I focused on the use of camera, sound, lighting, mis-en-scene and language in two public service announcements that ran on MTV in 2008. Through a careful analysis of these devices, I showed how the target audience may have been affected to think differently about the environment. For example in ‘Save the Trees’ I pointed out that the waste bin is filmed at eye level, which is different from the common bird’s eye perspective that we have of this object. This new perspective, together with a close up of a leaf falling from a plant, forces the audience to think about the effects of throwing away paper. Furthermore, to give my presentation some intellectual depth, I introduced several important concepts, such as juxtaposition and allegory, which we learned in class. All in all, I believe my analysis of these two films was insightful.	#1 - This is the best of the four reflective statements because it elaborates on the effects of language on its target audience. The statement even describes a few details of the presentation, giving the example of the bin that was filmed at eye level and mentioning the concepts of juxtaposition and allegory. This offers insight into the learning process.
In class we studied the language of film as a medium. I found this really interesting and wanted to show everyone that I understood it well. So I decided to apply this knowledge to two short films, ‘Save the Trees’ and ‘Brad and Earth’, which were part of an MTV campaign on the environment. I think the films really make you think about the environment. The class seemed to like the presentation.	#3 - This reflective statement does not offer much information. Statements like "The class seemed to like the presentation" are rather flat and do not say much. It's good that she says classroom knowledge has been applied to these films in the presentation. It's also good that she says that the MTV campaign makes you think about the environment. How do they make you think about the environment?
The further oral activity gave me the opportunity to demonstrate my understanding of film. In class we studied the language of this medium, focusing on camera use, light sound and mis-en-scene. I applied these terms to two short films, ‘Save the Trees’ and ‘Brad and Earth’, which were public service announcements for the environment that ran on MTV. I wanted to explore the effects of these devices on this young audience. All in all I believe my presentation was a success, because I applied my knowledge of this medium to these two films.	#2 - This is a good reflective statement because the student states a clear aim: to demonstrate an understanding of film as a persuasive medium. The basic elements of the presentation are included, and it states that she talked about the effects of these stylistic devices on a young (MTV) audience. It doesn't, however, say how it achieved this by giving examples.