IB Diploma Programme Language B – Social organization 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 Social organization, the fourth of the five prescribed themes of IB Diploma Programme Language B, at SL and HL. 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; repeat each task on a target-language text with your teacher.

Learn the theme first with the Social organization study guide and the revision notes. Course links: Language B hub · printable checklist.

Questions

1. State the two possible questions the subject brief gives for Social organization, and name the optional recommended topic that best fits a text about a new law on cycling helmets. [3]

Passage A — notice (original text written for Marlbridge)

Hollins Row Community Garden: rules for plot holders

The garden is run by its members for its members. These rules were agreed at the annual meeting in March and apply to all 40 plots.

1. Plot holders must attend at least two of the four shared work days each year.
2. Children are welcome but must be supervised by an adult at all times.
3. Bonfires are not permitted under any circumstances.
4. Members may share surplus produce on the stall by the gate. Selling it is not allowed.
5. You do not have to grow vegetables: flowers and herbs are equally welcome.
6. A plot left untended for eight weeks will be offered to the next person on the waiting list, unless the holder has informed the committee of illness or absence.

Every member has one vote at the annual meeting.

2. Answer briefly, using Passage A.

(a) When were the rules agreed? [1] (b) How many shared work days must a plot holder attend each year? [1] (c) Who decides the rules of the garden? [1]

3. For each rule, state whether it expresses obligation, absence of obligation, permission or prohibition.

(a) Rule 3 [1] (b) The first sentence of rule 4 [1] (c) Rule 5 [1]

4. Decide whether each statement is true or false, and justify your answer with a short quotation from Passage A.

(a) Members can sell vegetables they do not need at the gate. [2] (b) A plot holder who tells the committee she is ill will not lose her plot after eight weeks. [2]

5. Identify two features of formal or impersonal language in Passage A and explain the effect of each. [4]

Passage B — school magazine opinion piece (original text written for Marlbridge)

Volunteering by order? Yes, please

From next year, every student at our school will have to complete twenty hours of community service before the end of Year 12. Some of my classmates are furious. “Helping is only real if you choose it,” one told me. I understand the argument, but I disagree.

Last spring I spent my Saturday mornings sorting tins at the food bank on Mill Street. I went because my brother needed a lift there, not because I was a saint. Yet by June I knew the names of half the volunteers and had changed my mind about who uses a food bank.

A reason that had nothing to do with generosity got me through the door. What kept me there was the people. A rule could do the same for others. Schools already require us to learn algebra, whether we like it or not; learning how our own town works seems at least as important.

Of course, the hours must be flexible. Students who care for a relative or work at weekends should be able to count that time. A rule that ignores their lives would teach the opposite of what it intends.

6. Answer briefly, using Passage B.

(a) How many hours of community service will each student have to complete? [1] (b) Why did the writer first go to the food bank? [1]

7. State the writer’s position on compulsory community service and explain how the writer supports it. Use quotations. [4]

Passage C — radio transcript (original text written for Marlbridge)

Have someone read this aloud once; answer without looking.

PRESENTER: Today we’re talking to Tomás, 19, who works at Green Door, a café owned by the people who work in it.

TOMÁS: That’s right. There are eleven of us, and each of us owns an equal share. There’s no manager. Every Monday we meet for an hour before opening and decide the week’s rota together.

PRESENTER: Doesn’t that take forever?

TOMÁS: At first, yes. My first meeting lasted almost three hours because we couldn’t agree about the new menu. Now we vote if we haven’t agreed after twenty minutes. The hardest part for me was learning to say what I thought. In my last job I just did what I was told.

PRESENTER: And would you go back to that?

TOMÁS: Honestly? Some days I miss having someone else decide. But here, when something goes right, the credit is ours.

8. Answer briefly, using Passage C.

(a) How many people own the café? [1] (b) When is the week’s rota decided? [1] (c) What happens if the group has not agreed after twenty minutes? [1]

9. Explain how Green Door shows people who “organize themselves” rather than being organized, and identify one difficulty Tomás mentions. [3]

10. Paper 1-style writing task. Choose one of these three tasks, linked to Passage B. Write a plan and the opening paragraph.

• A formal letter to your head teacher about how the new community-service rule should work.
• An article for a local newspaper on whether young people should have more say in local decisions.
• A speech to younger students introducing the community-service programme.

[10]

11. Individual oral preparation (SL). Your stimulus is a photograph of a public meeting in a town hall: a teenager speaks at a microphone while adults sit in rows, and a banner above the stage reads “Have your say: new bus routes” in the target language. Plan the presentation you would give, linked to Social organization. [6]

Answers

1. “What is the individual’s role in the community?” [1] “What role do rules and regulations play in the formation of a society?” [1] The topic is law and order. [1] Examiner insight: A close paraphrase of a possible question is enough; an optional topic in its place earns nothing.

2. (a) At the annual meeting in March. [1] (b) At least two (of the four). [1] (c) The members, who agree them at the annual meeting (one vote each). [1] Examiner insight: For (b), “two” without “at least” turns a minimum into an exact number.

3. (a) Prohibition. [1] (b) Permission. [1] (c) Absence of obligation. [1] Examiner insight: Rule 5 is the trap: “do not have to” is not a ban.

4. (a) False [1] — “Selling it is not allowed.” [1] (b) True [1] — “unless the holder has informed the committee of illness or absence”. [1] Examiner insight: The justification must prove the answer; for (b), quoting the rule without its “unless” clause proves the opposite.

5. Model answer (two features, each identified and explained):

• Passive “were agreed at the annual meeting” [1]: presents the rules as a shared decision of the group, not one person’s orders. [1]
• Absolute phrase “under any circumstances” [1]: leaves no room for exceptions, which shows how seriously the group treats the ban on bonfires. [1]

Also creditworthy: third-person subjects (“Plot holders must attend”), which apply each rule equally to every member. Examiner insight: The explanation mark needs the effect in this text; “the passive is formal” is only a label.

6. (a) Twenty. [1] (b) Because the writer’s brother needed a lift there (not out of generosity). [1] Examiner insight: “To help people” is wrong for (b): answer from the text, not from what seems likely.

7. Position: the writer supports the rule, with conditions: “I understand the argument, but I disagree.” [1] Personal experience: going for a practical reason still led to real involvement, “What kept me there was the people.” [1] Comparison with other school requirements: “Schools already require us to learn algebra, whether we like it or not.” [1] Concession: “the hours must be flexible”, so the rule does not ignore students who care for a relative or work. [1] Examiner insight: Strong answers name each strategy (experience, comparison, concession) before quoting; weak answers string quotations together.

8. (a) Eleven. [1] (b) Every Monday, in an hour before opening. [1] (c) They vote. [1] Examiner insight: “Three hours” is a distractor: it was his first meeting, not the current system.

9. The workers own equal shares and there is no manager: “There’s no manager.” [1] They make decisions together, meeting weekly and voting if they cannot agree. [1] Difficulty: long meetings at first, learning to say what he thought, or sometimes missing having someone else decide (any one). [1] Examiner insight: “Explain” needs the link to the guiding principle; facts about the café alone earn only part of the marks.

10. The real Paper 1 is marked holistically against the IB criteria, not point by point. These points are indicative; any valid equivalent earns the point.

Model plan for the formal letter:

Formal "you" throughout; set opening and closing formulas
1. Who I am; why I am writing (the new 20-hour rule)
2. Support for the aim: what volunteering can teach
3. Concern: students with caring duties or weekend jobs
4. Proposal: count caring and paid work; spread hours over two years
5. Hypothetical: if the rule were flexible, more students would…
6. Polite request for a meeting with the student council; closing formula

Model opening: “Dear Mrs Okafor, I am writing on behalf of the student council about the new community-service requirement. We support its aim, but would like to suggest how it could work for every student.”

Indicative points: text-type conventions (formal opening and closing) [1]; formal “you” kept throughout [1]; purpose stated in the first paragraph [1]; clear audience awareness [1]; logical paragraphing [1]; the other side acknowledged [1]; a concrete proposal [1]; polite request forms [1]; accurate rule language (must, may, don’t have to) [1]; links to a possible question on the individual’s role or on rules [1]. Examiner insight: Strong responses keep the formal register to the last line; a friendly sign-off on a formal letter loses the sense of audience.

11. Indicative points (the real oral is assessed holistically against criteria your teacher will share): a brief description: the meeting, the speaker, the banner [1]; a link to Social organization, e.g. community or social engagement [1]; the direction: a council organizing a consultation, and a citizen choosing to take part [1]; the individual’s role: why a young person’s view on bus routes matters [1]; the role of rules: who makes the final decision and how [1]; a specific cultural comparison from the target-language culture [1]. Examiner insight: Strong orals describe briefly and interpret at length; describing every person in the photograph is not discussion.

Where marks are usually lost

• Treating “don’t have to” as a ban, or “must not” as optional.
• Dropping a limiting word (at least, only, unless) from a short answer.
• Justifying true/false with a quotation that does not prove the point.
• Labelling a feature (“passive”, “formal”) without explaining its effect in the text.
• Crediting the writer with a view that belongs to someone quoted.
• Mixing formal and informal register in a letter to an institution.

Next steps

• Social organization revision notes
• Social organization study guide
• Language B course hub
• Printable Language B checklist
• 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). Possible questions and component details are taken from its content outline and assessment model.