IB DP Language B – Conceptual understanding: audience, context, purpose, meaning and variation Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs – the IB holds copyright in its own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available through your school or the IB store.

This practice set covers the five conceptual understandings of IB Diploma Programme Language B (context, audience, purpose, meaning and variation), aligned to the IB Diploma Programme Subject Brief: Language B, first assessment 2020. The three passages touch the social organization, sharing the planet and human ingenuity themes. It suits SL and HL; at HL, use more complex language in Questions 11 and 12. It follows the IB Language B subject brief for first assessment 2020, which remains the examined course until the new syllabus is first assessed in May 2029, so it applies to the 2026, 2027 and 2028 sessions.

The passages are in English; afterwards, repeat each task on a target-language text. See the conceptual understanding study guide and the revision notes. Also: Language B course hub, printable checklist, exam preparation and Sharing the planet practice.

Questions

All three passages describe the same invented town. Original texts written for Marlbridge.

Passage A.

Linden Vale Town Council: changes to household waste collection

From 1 June, every household will receive a small brown caddy for food waste. Food waste will be collected weekly. General rubbish will be collected every two weeks instead of every week.

Food makes up a large share of what residents currently throw away. When it is buried, it produces gases that harm the environment. Collected separately, it can be turned into compost and energy.

Residents are asked to place the caddy at the kerbside by 7 a.m. on collection day. Caddies left out after 8 p.m. may be removed. A guide in six languages is available at the town library.

We recognise that this is a significant change. Questions may be sent to the council’s Waste Team.

Passage B.

Bins, bins, bins (a rant, then a confession)

So. The council has decided our rubbish is now only worth collecting every TWO weeks. Brilliant. Our family of five fills a bin in four days. Where exactly is the rest supposed to go? The garden?

I was ready to write an angry letter. Then my little brother found the new caddy in the hall and started a “food waste chart” on the fridge. Day one: banana skins, tea bags, half a pizza (not mine). By Friday the caddy was full and our big bin was… half empty.

Turns out most of our “rubbish” was food. Who knew? I still think the council could have explained it better than a leaflet nobody reads. But I’m keeping the chart.

Passage C.

Meet the caddy that talks back

Tired of forgetting collection day? The engineering club at Linden Vale High School has built a sensor that fits inside any food caddy. When the caddy is nearly full, or on the night before collection, it sends a message to your phone.

• No wiring: it runs on one small solar panel.
• Built from recycled parts.
• Free for the first 50 households to sign up.

Don’t let your leftovers win. Sign up at the school office by 20 May.

1. Name the five conceptual understandings listed in the Language B subject brief, and define “audience” and “purpose”. [3]

2. Passage A has more than one purpose. Identify two purposes and support each with a quotation. [4]

3. Passage A: find two passive or impersonal forms and explain why the writer uses this style for its audience. [3]

4. Passage A, paragraph 3: “Caddies left out after 8 p.m. may be removed.” Explain the explicit meaning and one implicit meaning of this sentence. [2]

5. Passage A: find the words that mean

(a) “put” (paragraph 3) [1] (b) “important” or “large” (paragraph 4) [1]

6. Passage B: decide whether each statement is true or false, and justify your answer with words from the text.

(a) The writer’s family produces very little rubbish. [2] (b) The writer now fully approves of the way the council introduced the change. [2]

7. Passage B: the tone changes during the text. Identify the tone at the start and at the end, with a quotation for each, and explain what causes the change. [4]

8. Passage B: identify two features that make the register informal and explain the effect of each on the reader. [4]

9. Passage C: state its purpose and audience, then explain two persuasive techniques, with a quotation for each. [6]

10. Variation. Take this sentence from Passage A: “Residents are asked to place the caddy at the kerbside by 7 a.m. on collection day.”

(a) Rewrite it as a text message from the writer of Passage B to their little brother. [1] (b) Explain two changes you made to the register. [2] (c) State one thing you must check before writing your message in your target language. [1]

11. Comparison. Passages A and B deal with the same change for different audiences. Plan a comparative answer that explains how context, audience and purpose shape the language of each text. [6]

12. Extended writing task. You are a student in Linden Vale. Plan an article for your school magazine that explains the new collection system to other students and persuades them to help at home. Then write its opening paragraph. You may use ideas from all three passages, in your own words. [8]

Answers

1. Context, audience, purpose, meaning, variation [1]. Audience: the people a text is written for, and their relationship with the writer [1]. Purpose: why the text was written, what it wants the reader to know, feel or do [1]. [3] Examiner insight: The brief names exactly these five; an incomplete or padded list loses the recall mark.

2. To inform residents of the new system [1]: “Food waste will be collected weekly.” [1] To justify the change and win support [1]: “When it is buried, it produces gases that harm the environment.” (Also accept: to reassure, “We recognise that this is a significant change.”) [1] [4] Examiner insight: The second purpose separates strong answers from weak; “to inform” fits almost any notice.

3. Any two quotations: “Residents are asked”, “Caddies left out after 8 p.m. may be removed”, “Questions may be sent”, “Food waste will be collected” [1] [1]. The impersonal style suits an authority addressing the public: the rules sound objective and blame no individual [1]. [3] Examiner insight: Link the feature to the audience; spotting passives without saying why they suit this reader earns only the identification marks.

4. Explicit: caddies must be taken in by 8 p.m. or the council may take them away [1]. Implicit: the council expects some caddies to be left out; “may” warns without promising [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Mark an inference as an inference (“this suggests”); stating it as fact looks like misreading.

5. (a) “place” [1] (b) “significant” [1] Examiner insight: Give only the matching word; copying the whole sentence does not show that you have found it.

6. (a) False [1]: “Our family of five fills a bin in four days.” [1] (b) False [1]: “the council could have explained it better than a leaflet nobody reads” [1] Examiner insight: Quote only the words that decide the answer; a correct “False” without a justification proves nothing.

7. At the start the tone is sarcastic and angry [1]: “Brilliant.” after complaining that the bin is collected every “TWO weeks” [1]. At the end it is amused and grudgingly positive: “Who knew?” and “But I’m keeping the chart.” [1] The change comes from the brother’s chart, which shows that most of the family’s “rubbish” was food, as the title’s “a rant, then a confession” signals [1]. [4] Examiner insight: A shift question needs both ends and the turning point.

8. Any two of these features, each with a quotation and an effect:

• Fragments: “So.” and “The garden?” sound like speech, so the reader feels spoken to.
• Rhetorical question: “Where exactly is the rest supposed to go?” invites readers to share the frustration.
• Bracketed aside: “(not mine)” is a joke that builds a bond with readers. Features with quotations [1] [1]; effects [1] [1]. [4] Examiner insight: “It is informal because it uses informal language” is circular; name the feature, quote it, then give its effect.

9. Purpose: to persuade households to sign up for the sensor [1]. Audience: Linden Vale households with the new caddy [1]. Technique 1: an opening question that names a problem, “Tired of forgetting collection day?” [1], so readers recognise themselves [1]. Technique 2: urgency and a limited offer, “Free for the first 50 households” and “by 20 May” [1], so readers act now (also accept: bulleted benefits; “Don’t let your leftovers win”) [1]. [6] Examiner insight: “It persuades the reader” repeats the purpose; explain how, for this audience.

10. (a) For example: “Caddy out by 7 tomorrow, OK? Don’t forget!” [1] (b) Changed “Residents are asked” (impersonal) to a direct instruction to one person [1]; swapped official words (“place”, “kerbside”) for everyday ones [1]. (c) Any one: the informal form of “you” (such as tu, tú, du); how an informal command is formed; natural abbreviations or greetings for a message [1]. [4] Examiner insight: A rewrite must change the register throughout; one formal word left in (“kerbside”) shows the shift is incomplete.

11. Indicative points. The real exam is marked holistically against the IB criteria, not point by point. Context: A is an official notice before the change; B is a personal blog after living with it [1]. Audience: A addresses residents as strangers; B, readers like the writer [1]. Purpose: A informs and justifies; B entertains and reflects [1]. Register: formal in A (“Residents are asked”); informal in B (“Who knew?”) [1]. Tone: neutral in A; sarcastic turning to amused in B [1]. Structure: A and B compared within each paragraph [1]. [6] Examiner insight: Weaving the comparison (“whereas A…, B…”) into every paragraph beats two separate descriptions.

12. Indicative points. The real Paper 1 is marked holistically against the IB criteria, not point by point. Article conventions: a headline [1]. An opening that hooks students, such as a question [1]. Clear explanation of the system: weekly food waste, rubbish every two weeks [1]. The reason, in own words: buried food harms the environment [1]. Persuasion aimed at students: small, specific actions at home [1]. Acknowledges a concern, such as the full bin, and answers it [1]. Semi-formal register for peers: direct address, no slang [1]. A closing call to action [1]. [8]

Model opening (original, in English): “What is really in your bin? One Linden Vale family found that most of their ‘rubbish’ was food. From June, food waste in our town goes in its own caddy and is collected every week, while the big bin is emptied only every two weeks. It sounds like a hassle. It is actually easy to help.”

Examiner insight: An article for classmates written like the council notice misses the task even if every fact is right.

Where marks are usually lost

• Naming a register or tone with no quotation to prove it.
• Giving one purpose when the text clearly has two.
• Treating an inference as a stated fact.
• True/false answers with the right decision but no justification.
• Rewrites that change some words but leave the old register in place.
• Comparisons written as two separate descriptions.

Next steps

• Recap with the conceptual understanding revision notes.
• Reread the conceptual understanding study guide and its worked examples.
• Browse the Language B course hub.
• Tick off the printable checklist.
• Try all free 10-minute diagnostics.
• Book a free trial class.

Official syllabus

International Baccalaureate Organization, Diploma Programme Subject Brief, Language B, first assessment 2020 (2018). The five conceptual understandings and the HL Paper 1 demands referred to here come from its curriculum model and assessment outline.