1. INTRODUCING ONE OR SEVERAL DOCUMENTS
You first have to identify the documents you are working on. Written sources may be a treaty, an act/bill, a report, a memorandum, a speech, an essay, memoirs, a newspaper article, diplomatic correspondence… You must always begin by given the sources and explain them, that’s the first step of your oral.
What can I say ?
- This source was written/painted/drawn by…
- It was written in/ the source date back from…
- At that time…/In those days
- It was addressed to…
- This document explains…/ the article raises the problem / The issue is / The text focuses on
2. ANALYSING THE DOCUMENT
You have to explain the document and explain what it alludes to.
What can I say ?
- First/ First of all/ To begin with/ To start with
- Then/next/after that / later
- Moreover/besides/furthermore
- Finally/lastly
To describe
What can I say ?
- The author points out that/emphasizes/highlights/stresses
- The author’s thesis is…
To argue/To explain
What can I say ?
- Regarding/In view of
- There are different explanations as to why/how/what/when
- One explanation is that
- This explanation is based on…
- Of the alternative explanations I think the most likely is…
- The evidence the author gives to support the thesis is
3. INTERPRETING THE DOCUMENT
To explain the meaning of the document, you must use the knowledge you have on the topic.
What can I say ?
- To show/To illustrate/prove/reveal/explain/point out/indicate
- It’s obvious that…/It appears clearly that…/we may notice/observe that…/It may be noticed by…/All this tends to prove/show that…
4. CONCLUDING
You have to sum up the information you got from the document as well as your own conclusions. Then you may allude to what is going to happen next.
What can I say ?
- To conclude/ as a conclusion
- To sum up
- This document is very important for the understanding of the issue in that
- The author’s purpose was to…/this led to…/ It was followed by….