Exam. Theses. Discussion. Linguistics.
Oral Exams
English Linguistics
Format · Preparation · Thesis Handout
A short guide to oral examinations in seminars and oral B.A. examinations with Dr. Benjamin L. Sluckin.
A short guide to oral examinations in seminars and oral B.A. examinations with Dr. Benjamin L. Sluckin.
The oral exam is not a factual quiz, nor is it a term paper delivered aloud. It is an academic discussion. You demonstrate that you have thoroughly engaged with a topic: you can explain key concepts, develop a problem, present research hypotheses, compare competing analyses, and give a reasoned assessment of which solution works for which data or question.
This guide sets out the format of oral examinations with Dr. Benjamin L. Sluckin. It does not replace the examination regulations that apply to your programme.
Last updated: September 2026
A good exam is one in which you carry the academic discussion. I ask follow-up questions when something is unclear, when an interesting connection arises, or when the discussion stalls. The less I need to impose the structure, the better the exam goes.
Guiding principle: You give me an informed and critical overview of the topic. This includes the relevant hypotheses, the central problem, and possible solutions or open questions.
You choose two main topics. The topics should be sufficiently different from one another and clearly locatable within English linguistics. This is especially important for oral B.A. examinations: two topics must not simply be two variants of the same question.
| Model | Time structure | Suitable when ... |
|---|---|---|
| Two equally weighted topics | approx. 15 minutes + 15 minutes | both topics are similarly important and similarly well prepared. |
| Main topic + secondary topic | approx. 20 minutes + 10 minutes | one topic is to be explored in significantly greater depth. |
You open the discussion for each topic. A good opening is brief, structured, and problem-oriented. You should not begin with a list of facts, but with the question of what the topic is really about and why it needs explaining.
You introduce the topic and identify the central problem.
You present relevant hypotheses, analyses, or research positions.
You compare these positions using arguments, examples, or data.
You formulate a reasoned assessment without glossing over open problems.
Speaking confidently does not mean speaking without pause or without a single mistake. An exam is confident when you maintain the academic thread, use terminology precisely, deploy examples meaningfully, and respond to follow-up questions without losing your argumentative line.
| Stronger | Weaker |
|---|---|
| You explain why a question is problematic or theoretically relevant. | You merely reproduce definitions or seminar slides. |
| You introduce examples and show what they do for or against an analysis. | You cite examples without analysing them. |
| You compare hypotheses: Which explains what? Where do problems remain? | You present positions one after another without relating them to each other. |
| You use technical terms such as case, agreement, topic, movement, valency, projection, or information structure precisely. | You use technical terms imprecisely or merely decoratively. |
| You recognise the limits of your own account and state them objectively. | You act as if everything is settled even though the central difficulty has not been addressed. |
Please bring two copies of your thesis handout: one for you and one for me. The thesis handout is not a fully written-out exam script and not a substitute for preparation. It is a working sheet that supports the discussion.
Topic 1 and Topic 2, each with a clear heading.
3–5 theses or guiding questions per topic.
Key terms and, where relevant, one or two examples, data, or test sentences.
A short list of references with the most important titles.
A maximum of two pages in total; one page is often better.
Not useful: No continuous-prose essay, no copied-out slides, no long blocks of references, no list of keywords without a thesis. If the thesis handout does not show which academic discussion you intend to lead, it is not doing its job.
A thesis is not simply a heading but an academic claim that can be justified, situated, and critically discussed in the exam. The following example shows three possible theses on a historical topic at B.A. level.
The dental suffix of the weak preterite is probably not simply explained as a directly continued Indo-European tense suffix, but should be treated as a Germanic innovation whose source may lie in a periphrastic construction with a light verb such as do (Proto-Germanic *dōn-).
The development into an inflectional suffix can be described as a grammaticalisation process: an originally more independent verbal construction became, through reanalysis, cliticisation, and phonological reduction, a productive marker of the weak preterite. The spread of this pattern was favoured by the fact that it offered a more regular preterite formation, more easily extended to new verbs, than strong ablaut.
The origin of the dental suffix is not conclusively settled by a single explanation; the do-hypothesis must be weighed against analyses that assume older Indo-European dental suffixes, analogical spread, or mixed scenarios.
Prepare for the exam as thoroughly as you would a term paper, but with a different aim: you need not only to note down the knowledge but to make it retrievable, explainable, and ready for discussion.
Possible opening: "This topic is centrally concerned with ... The problem is that ... The research has mainly proposed the following analyses ... I would first like to show ... and then critically discuss ..."
two printed copies of your thesis handout
student ID or official photo ID
for online exams: a stable connection, camera, microphone, and the thesis handout as a file
no fully written-out answer scripts; you lead the discussion, not your script
Thesis 1: .
Thesis 2: .
Thesis 3: .
Key references: .
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Thesis 2: .
Thesis 3: .
Key references: .