Votre école organise un débat sur la question <les progrès techniques menacent-ils la vie privée?>

This question is worth 25 marks in total; 10 for correct use and variety of language, 10 for content and message and 5 for text type conventions. This means that you can get 5 marks by adapting your writing to what you’d find in a speech, for example addressing your audience with 'mes profs et mes camarades', and using rhetorical devices – so it’s not all about get the actual language part right! You should have anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour for this question in the exam, and I suggest you start with a brief plan, ensuring you write down and expand upon your initial ideas and clarify your argument so you stick to it throughout! Then introduce the issue briefly – here, it would be discussing why ‘les progrès techniques’ is a subject of debate and briefly discuss the context of the question. It would also be a good idea to establish your argument and point of view, while perhaps including phrases like ‘je vous convaincrai que les développements menaceront notre société’ to give your audience a greater indication of the direction in which you will take your speech. You could also use phrases like ‘mes adversaires croient que…’ to allude to what your opposition might say, like in a real debate! You should have enough time to discuss three key points – make sure you always provide evidence for each one, then explain how it links to the question. The IB love it when you demonstrate contextual knowledge of a francophone country so try and get some examples in! Use connectives and opinion phrases where you can to pick up those marks for language and don’t forget about your argument! After you have argued your points and used sufficient evidence and analysis to back them up, don’t forget to briefly summarise your argument in the conclusion. Use sign posts like ‘pour conclure’ or ‘tout bien considéré’ to further emphasise to the marker where your speech is going. In this context it may be useful to end on a rhetorical question with a philosophical edge to leave your audience thinking about the implications of your argument. If appropriate, you could end with a phrase like ‘merci de m’avoir invité ici aujourd’hui’ to end.