Overview
The best global issue for the IB English A Individual Oral is specific, genuinely global, and traceable through the technique of both your works. The IO asks you to examine how a global issue is presented through the content and form of the works you have studied — so the issue you pick decides how much you have to analyse. This post gives example global issues by field of inquiry and shows how to pair them with works and extracts. For the full method, see the [IB English A IA guide](/blog/ib-english-a-ia-guide).
What makes a strong global issue
This section covers What makes a strong global issue — what IB examiners reward most often in past papers and coursework.
- Global — significant beyond one text, place, or character.
- Specific — narrow it to a sharp angle: not "identity" but "how migration reshapes identity".
- Rooted in form — you can show it through authorial choices (imagery, structure, tone, genre), not just plot.
- Balanced across both works — each work gives you real, comparable material.
Example global issues by field of inquiry
The IB groups global issues into fields of inquiry. Use these as starting points and make each one specific to your own works.
Culture, identity and community
- How belonging is granted or denied to outsiders.
- How migration or displacement reshapes identity.
- How family or tradition constrains individual freedom.
Beliefs, values and education
- How power shapes what counts as "truth".
- How education liberates or controls.
- How guilt and conscience are represented.
Politics, power and justice
- The cost of political silence or complicity.
- How the powerless resist, and at what price.
- How systems dehumanise individuals.
Art, creativity and the imagination
- How storytelling preserves or distorts memory.
- How art responds to trauma or censorship.
Science, technology and the environment
- How technology reshapes human relationships.
- How humans are represented in relation to nature.
How to pick your issue and extracts
For the IB Diploma Programme, work backwards from your texts: list the big concerns each work actually explores; find one concern both share; make it specific; then choose an extract from each where the writer's choices *construct* that issue densely enough to fill five minutes of analysis per work. If an extract is mostly plot, pick a richer one.
Practising on MarkScheme
Draft two or three candidate global issues, test which gives you the most to analyse, then rehearse. Use the free [English A Literature](/ib/courses/english-a-literature-hl) or [Language & Literature](/ib/courses/english-a-lang-lit-hl) lessons for close-reading practice, work [English A past papers](/ib/past-papers/english-a-literature-hl) for Paper 1 and 2, and [get an essay marked](/mark) against IB criteria.
Frequently asked questions
This section covers Frequently asked questions — what IB examiners reward most often in past papers and coursework.
How specific should the global issue be?
Specific enough to trace clearly through both works, broad enough to matter globally. "How political silence enables injustice" works; bare "politics" does not.
Can both works explore the same issue differently?
Yes — that contrast is ideal. Comparing how each work presents the same issue through different choices gives you strong analytical material.
Where do I find good extracts?
Choose passages dense in technique and tied tightly to your issue, one from each work. See the IB English A IA guide for how to structure the analysis.