Empower p 57.Oral Mediation

Tips
- READ the instructions well: What's my role? To whom do I need to talk to? What about? Why? To what effect? How? What is the context?...
- Identify and select the relevant information.
- Use your own words, paraphrase (do not just read the text you are given), expand the information (explain, comment, clarify), connect ideas (compare and contrast, exemplify, relate to what you know), talk about the intentions, nuances and connotations of the text.
- Take into account the audience you are talking to and the context and adapt the discourse appropriately: formal / informal.


Useful language

Introduction

To start with, I would like to...

To begin with, it must be said that..

 The purpose of this comment is to...

Sequencing  

Firstly, .../In the first place, ... / To begin with, …To start with, I should point out that ...

Secondly,.../A second area to consider is …

Another point to remember is ...
Last but not least, I would like to add that...

Useful language to describe a chart:
 
This chart illustrates how...
This chart compares...
The results that are shown in the chart are...
As can be seen from these results, ...
According to this chart, 
From the data in the above chart, it is apparent that ...
We can see on this chart how... 
The chart indicates that...
The chart represents...
The information given in the chart...
The percentage of people who... is shown on the chart.  
The chart shows quite clearly the impact of...  

Useful language to comment on a quotation:

This is a  verbatim /vɜːˈbeɪtɪm/  (word-for-word) quotation from a recent speech by the prime minister 
This illustrative quotation is taken from ‘Hamlet’.  
This word-for-word quotation comes from "The Name of the Rose"
Here is a literary /ˈlɪtərəri/ quotation from a poem by Keats.
According to this famous quotation,... 
In the above quotation we can interpret that...
Part of this quotation makes reference to...
Based on this quotation we can draw the following conclusion about the author/ the times we are living...
The author offers this learned /ˈlɜːnɪd/ quotation as evidence of his life experience.
Such a relevant quotation demands a contextual analysis of the time when it was written.

Embedded /ɪmˈbedɪd/ in this quotation there is a direct reference to the education system. 
This quotation shows/ illustrates
This quotation addresses the issue of...
This quotation describes perfectly the effects of...
This quotation supports the idea that...
This quotation refers to...
This quotation reflects on the differences between 
I would like to take issue with (disagree) this quotation because...

Useful language to comment on a text

The purpose of this passage is to analyse...  
The author with this story tries to describe/ examine/ show...
This short text shows.. 
This extract obviously contains/ includes a metaphor for something bigger.  
The theme of this brief excerpt /ˈeksɜːpt/ is...
This short story conveys emotion/​an idea/​an impression/​a sense of… 
This influential text fully engages the reader.
This story fails to engage the reader.
This well-known passage seizes/​captures/​grips the (reader’s) imagination.
This famous passage introduces/​develops the idea/​the theme of...
This inspiring text illustrates...  
The subject-matter of this text is fairly well balanced and is clearly and skilfully presented.  
I would now like to move on to discuss the use of metaphor in this text. 

The writer explores different aspects of human nature.

The writer experiments in terms of ambitions and motivation.

The author of the story seems to believe that...

According to the author/story...

As far as the author is concerned,...

The motivation/intention of the author is to make the reader aware of...   
It could be argued that this story epitomises the impact of capitalism on a woman.   
epitomise: epitomize something to be a perfect example of something.   
The story is a good illustration of how capitalism can exert a strong influence on our minds.
It's a story strongly reminiscent of  my adolescence, when I used to be carried away by the sales and offers.  
reminiscent of somebody/something: reminding you of somebody/something 
Her experiences resonate powerfully with readers, living, as many do, in a similar situation.  
resonate (with somebody/something) to remind somebody of something; to be similar to what somebody thinks or believes. 

 
Useful language to comment on an infographic:

A good infographic is worth a thousand words
This infographic illustrates how...
This infographic compares...
As can be seen in this infographic, ...
According to this infographic, 
From what is shown in the above infographic, it is apparent that ...
We can see on this infographic how... 
The infographic indicates that...
The infographic shows...
The information given in the infographic...
The percentage of people who... is shown on the infographic.  
The infographic shows quite clearly the impact of...  
This illustrative infographic shows how...
In the above infographic we can interpret that... 
Based on this infographic we can draw the following conclusions about how we are living our lives...
Embedded /ɪmˈbedɪd/ in this infographic there is a direct reference to the education system.
This infographic addresses the issue of...
This infographic describes perfectly the effects of...
This infographic supports the idea that...
This infographic refers to...
This infographic reflects on the differences between...
I would like to take issue with (disagree) this infographic because...
The purpose of this infographic is to analyse... 
This infographic examines...
This infographic contains/ includes...
This infographic conveys an idea/​an impression/​a sense of…
This infographic has seized/​captured/​gripped my imagination. 
This infographic introduces/​develops the idea/​the theme of... 
This inspiring infographic illustrates...   
The subject-matter of this infographic is fairly well balanced and is clearly and skilfully presented. 
The writer of this compelling infographic explores different aspects of human nature.

The writer experiments in terms of ambitions and motivation.

The author of the infographic seems to believe that...

According to the author...

As far as the author is concerned,...

The motivation/intention of the author is to make the reader aware of...   
It could be argued that this infographic epitomises the impact of capitalism on us.   
epitomise: epitomize something to be a perfect example of something.   
The infographic is a good illustration of how capitalism can exert a strong influence on our minds.
It's an infographic strongly reminiscent of  my childhood. 

reminiscent of somebody/something: reminding you of somebody/something 
This infographic resonates powerfully with readers, living, as many do, in a similar situation.  
resonate (with somebody/something) to remind somebody of something; to be similar to what somebody thinks or believes. 


 
Useful language to comment on a picture: 


This picture illustrates how...
This picture compares...
This picture shows...
As can be seen in this picture, ...
According to this picture, 
From what is shown in the above picture, it is apparent that ...
We can see on this picture how...
The picture represents...
The information given in the picture...
The issue of people who... is shown in the picture.  
The picture shows quite clearly the impact of... 
This illustrative picture shows how...
In the above picture we can interpret that... 
Based on this picture we can draw the following conclusions about how we are living our lives...
Embedded /ɪmˈbedɪd/ in this picture there is a direct reference to the education system.
This lovely picture addresses the issue of...
This wonderful picture describes perfectly the effects of...
This picture supports the idea that...
This picture refers to...
This picture reflects on the differences between...
I would like to take issue with (disagree) this picture because...
The purpose of this picture is to analyse... 
This picture examines...
This picture contains/ includes...
This picture conveys an idea/​an impression/​a sense of…
This picture has seized/​captured/​gripped my imagination. 
This picture introduces/​develops the idea/​the theme of... 
This inspiring picture illustrates/ depicts...   
The subject-matter of this excellent picture is fairly well balanced and is clearly and skilfully presented. 
The author of this compelling picture explores different aspects of human nature.

The artist experiments in terms of ambitions and motivation.

The author of this superb picture seems to believe that...

According to the author...

As far as the author is concerned,...

The motivation/intention of the author is to make the viewer aware of...   
It could be argued that this picture epitomises the impact of capitalism on us.   
epitomise: epitomize something to be a perfect example of something.   
This stunning picture is a good illustration of how capitalism can exert a strong influence on our minds.
It's a picture strongly reminiscent of  my childhood. 

reminiscent of somebody/something: reminding you of somebody/something 
This picture resonates powerfully with viewers, living, as many do, in a similar situation.  
resonate (with somebody/something) to remind somebody of something; to be similar to what somebody thinks or believes. 
The photograph manages to capture the excitement of the occasion. 
The painter's depiction of the horror of war may win her a worldwide reputation.

Opinion

Personally I feel that ... Let me explain why.
As I see it, … The reason is ...
It seems to me that… This is because ...

I would argue that for the following reasons:...

I feel very strongly that ...

I am convinced that ...

I am inclined to believe that...

I am of the opinion that ...

The reasons why I believe that prisons should be more about rehabilitation are as follows...

I think it is true that ...
I shudder to think...

• shudder: to shake because you are cold or frightened, or because of a strong feeling. E.g. Just thinking about the accident makes me shudder. Shudder to do something: I shudder to think how much this is all going to cost (= I don't want to think about it because it is too unpleasant).

In my view, ...

It is questionable whether …
It beggars belief how a person can ever learn to be more humane without any models of good behaviour.
It is true that ... On the other hand, ...

While nobody can deny that ... , I would like to point out that …
At first sight ....,but in fact ...

Although it is true that... , we must  take into account that...

It could be argued that … However, I would like to point out that ...

Despite all the arguments, I still feel that ...

It may be true that ... . However, ...

In no way would I agree that...

Surely it is completely unacceptable that...Nevertheless,...

I am sure you will agree that…

Surely you must agree that…

I was extremely impressed by…

What is particularly spectacular/interesting is…

I would like to stress that...

It should be noted that...

It is worth bearing in mind that... 

I was rather disappointed by…

My overall impression was that …

On the whole, it appears/seems that ...

In general,…

Generally speaking,…  Broadly speaking,  

Strangely,… 

Surprisingly,… 

Evidently,…

Indeed,…  In fact,… 

Admittedly, 

Admittedly: /ədˈmɪtɪdli/ used when you are accepting that something is true. Sp. cierto es que, ciertamente.

Presumably,...
Presumably: /prɪˈzjuːməbli/ used to say that you think that something is probably true. Sp. Supuestamente

 

While some prisoners ... , others may....

A major problem is that ...

We must take into account the fact that ....

It goes without saying that ...

Needless to say,

Without a shadow of a doubt...

I can speak from experience when I say that  

The government should take action to prevent and resolve

The action taken to deal with these issues leaves a lot to be desired.

A prison system that focus on rehabilitation can make a difference.

It is also up to politicians to tackle these issues

Paraphrasing 
In other words,  

Or, to put it another way, ...

What I mean by that is that  ... 

Engaging the reader
Have you ever wondered what/how/why...

What would your life be like if...? 
What would you do if...?
Are you one of those people who ...

Isn't it extraordinary how/that...? 
Imagine if/ what...
Suppose that ...

Let us suppose, for example, that...

Addition
In addition...
What is more...
Besides...
Moreover...
Furthermore...
In addition to being...

Conclusion
All things considered, I believe that ... 

All in all, I think that ...

On balance, it seems to me that...

To finish with, I would like to say that...

Finally, ...

To sum up, I believe that ...

In conclusion, her actions suggest that ...