Senior English | Individual Presentation (Paper 4 Part A): a Tutor Prep Guide

Senior English | Individual Presentation (Paper 4 Part A): a Tutor Prep Guide | Four points that fit two minutes

2026-11-06

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Secondary English

Students open with “I think it is very important”, start repeating at forty seconds and stop before the two minutes are up. The problem is not vocabulary; it is the absence of a skeleton and of time control.

Objectives — Students will be able to: (1) build a 4-point PREP skeleton in the 5 minutes of preparation using only 60 keywords; (2) spread the talk across 30-second slots so two minutes finishes on time with no dead air; (3) replace “um” and repetition with two rescue lines so fluency marks hold.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
PREP	What the four letters stand for	Point, Reason, Example, Point
Topic sentence	What the first sentence of a point must do	State the point, not the background
Linkers	Two for concession, two for examples	although and while; for instance and such as

02 Lesson flow (60 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-6 min	Diagnostic	60-second talk, count fillers and repeats (target under 6 a minute)	Record and listen back
6-16 min	PREP skeleton	5 minutes of prep, 60 keywords, four lines	Write four lines
16-28 min	Time allocation	120 seconds over 4 points is 30 seconds a slot	Time one run
28-40 min	Development and rescue	Examples need a person, a place, a number; rescue with a rephrase	Drill two rescues
40-50 min	Closer and marks	12 marks across three criteria, 9 is the working target	Self-assess the three
50-60 min	Exit check	Three questions answered live	Work independently

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: PREP: two minutes only fits four points, so write four lines first

Preparation is 5 minutes (300 seconds). A full script cannot be written in that time, so write four keyword lines instead, one per point.
Every point follows the same order: Point in one sentence, Reason with because or since, Example in one or two sentences with concrete detail, then half a sentence back to the point.
4 points at 30 seconds each is exactly 120 seconds. If the topic only supports three points, give each forty seconds rather than forcing a fourth.

Ask the student: how many points will you make, and what is the example for each?

Scene 2: Timing: control slots, not feelings

250 words in 120 seconds is a normal pace at 125 words a minute. Students usually burn half the time on point two because the example grows into a story.
Write the seconds beside each line (15, 30, 30, 30, 15) and watch the clock during practice; anything past thirty-five seconds gets cut.
The opening takes fifteen seconds and does two things only: restate the topic keywords and state a position. Skip the “nowadays, with the development of society” warm-up.

Ask the student: how long did point two take? Anything past thirty-five seconds gets cut.

Scene 3: Rescue lines and the closer: replace dead air with structure

Three rescue sentences: “Let me put that another way.” / “Take my school as an example.” / “That is exactly why I believe…”
The target is under three fillers a minute; 12 fillers across the talk is enough to drag the fluency mark down.
The closing fifteen seconds restates the position and adds one concession. Never open a fifth point at the end.

Ask the student: which rescue line will you use when you stall?

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Open topic	Should school start later?	Position, two reasons, one rebuttal, restate	Four points in two minutes
Describe and explain	A person you admire	Person, two concrete events, influence	Name and year in the detail
Problem and solution	Reduce food waste at school	Scale of the problem, two solutions, cost	One cost sentence each
Follow-up question	One examiner question	Answer the position, add one reason, 10-15 seconds	Do not exceed twenty seconds

Sanity check (teach this): Sanity check: 120 seconds at 125 words a minute gives 250 words, and S5 students normally produce 240 to 260 in two minutes. 4 points at 30 seconds plus fifteen seconds opening and fifteen closing accounts for the full two minutes. 12 marks across 3 criteria at 4 each, with 9 as the working target, matches a typical school mock; 12 fillers is the diagnostic ceiling, and exceeding it points to fluency rather than content.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
Three PREP skeletons	One open, one describe, one problem-solution	Are four lines there, each with an example
Two timed runs	Phone timer at 120 seconds	Overrun, and did point two pass forty seconds
Rescue drill	Pause three seconds mid-talk	Was a structure line used instead of “um”

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
Memorising a script	Reading it out, flat tone, eyes down	One stumble breaks a memorised script. Hold four keyword lines and build sentences live, so attention stays on the examiner.
Turning the example into a story	Spending fifty seconds on a trip	An example proves the reason: one person, one event, one result, twenty seconds at most.
A long warm-up	“Nowadays, technology develops very fast…”	Two minutes has no room for background. The first sentence restates the topic and states a position.
Opening a new point at the close	Adding a fifth reason in the last ten seconds	The close restates and concedes. A new point cannot be developed and makes the structure look loose.

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

Secondary English chapter index — Speaking and writing chapters side by side
Prep guide master index — Compare with the group discussion chapter
Redo this chapter — Two timed runs (items 1 and 3) plus one rescue drill

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
How many words fit 120 seconds	About 250 at 125 words a minute	Answering “the more the better” means pace is uncontrolled
What does PREP stand for	Point, Reason, Example, Point	Dropping the example sends you back to act one
What is the first rescue line	“Let me put that another way.”	Answering “um” sends you back to act three

09 Tutor FAQ

My student is weak — can they still do four points?

Cut to three points at forty seconds each and require a personal example. Four half-points score worse than three complete ones.

Does accent affect the mark?

Not directly. Marks come from communication, organisation, vocabulary and fluency; clarity is enough, and imitating a British or American accent is unnecessary.

Can they think in Chinese and translate?

In preparation, yes. In practice, speak English directly: translation creates the mid-sentence pauses that cost fluency marks.

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A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.