O-Level Oral Part 2: How It Is Marked
Part 2 is 15 marks on a single scale. Unlike Part 1, there is no separate delivery mark: pronunciation is folded into the same descriptors.
The scale
Criteria: communication of perspectives, and engagement in a discussion.
| Band | Marks | Descriptors |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 13 to 15 | Offers well-considered responses with coherent and well-developed perspective(s) · Uses a wide range of well-chosen vocabulary and structures, clear pronunciation · Engages in a sustained discussion, sometimes moving beyond the prompts |
| 4 | 10 to 12 | Offers some thoughtful responses with generally well-developed perspective(s) · Uses a range of largely appropriate vocabulary and structures, generally clear pronunciation · Engages in a discussion by responding appropriately to the prompts |
| 3 | 7 to 9 | Offers perspective(s) with some development · Some attempt at using a range of vocabulary and structures, intelligible pronunciation · Engages in a discussion with some support and encouragement |
| 2 | 4 to 6 | Offers perspective(s) with simple development · Simple vocabulary and structures used mostly appropriately, some control of pronunciation · Engages in a discussion with support and encouragement |
| 1 | 1 to 3 | A slight attempt to address the topic · A few examples of simple vocabulary and structures, pronunciation is intelligible at times · A slight attempt to engage in a discussion |
| 0 | 0 | No creditable response |
The line that tells you the most
"Sometimes moving beyond the prompts." That appears in band 5 and nowhere else. Band 4 responds "appropriately to the prompts". Band 3 needs "some support and encouragement".
So the gap between a good answer and the best one is not accuracy. It is that the strongest candidate adds something that was not asked for: a case the question did not consider, a comparison, a consequence, or a reason the question itself might be the wrong one. In practice that means finishing your answer and then going one sentence further, of your own accord.
What the lower bands describe
Read bands 2 and 3 as a warning rather than a target. Both describe a candidate the examiner has to keep pulling along. If you answer in one sentence and stop, the work of continuing the conversation transfers to them, and that is what "with support and encouragement" records.
The syllabus writes "perspective(s)" throughout, and the bracketed plural is doing real work: one view, held and defended, counts. "There are advantages and disadvantages" is not a perspective. Say what you think, then complicate it yourself.
Back to Spoken interaction