IB MYP Language Acquisition – Criterion B – Reading written multimodal texts 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 Criterion B – Reading for IB MYP Language Acquisition, aligned to the International Baccalaureate Organization, Middle Years Programme Subject Brief – Language acquisition, from 2020 (first eAssessment May 2023/November 2023). It suits MYP years 4 and 5 (no SL/HL split) and the on-screen examination from the May 2023 and November 2023 sessions onwards. MYP has no prescribed content list; schools design their own units, and this page trains a skill named by one of the brief’s four criteria.

Every question trains Criterion B. Real MYP work is judged against criterion level descriptors (achievement levels 1-8), so the [1] points below are a revision aid, not IB marks. The texts are in English; to practise in your target language, answer in that language, or ask your teacher for a similar text. All people, places and data are fictional.

Study first: Criterion B study guide and revision notes. Also: course hub, checklist, proficiency phases practice.

Questions

Source A – original text written for Marlbridge (school webpage)

Plastic-Free Fortnight: the results are in! Two weeks ago, our Eco Committee asked everyone at Greenhill School (fictional) to leave single-use bottles at home. We were not sure anyone would listen. We were wrong. [bar chart, “Single-use bottles in canteen bins”: week before 480; week 1 300; week 2 120. The week 2 bar is bright green; the others are grey.] Four new refill stations joined the two by the sports hall, so nobody was ever far from free water. In our survey of 200 students, 150 said they will keep using a refillable bottle. Not everyone is convinced. Some Year 11 students told us that refill queues at lunchtime made them late for clubs. We hear you: two more stations are planned for next term. [photo: smiling students filling bottles at a station; caption: “Queue? What queue? Week 2, Tuesday lunchtime”] [button: “Join the Eco Committee”]

Source B – original text written for Marlbridge (school magazine column)

Look up – by Tomas R., Year 10 [large pull quote in the margin, in italics: “I had been missing the best part of my day.”] [photo: the view from a bus window of a river at sunrise] For three years, my bus journey was forty minutes of scrolling. I could tell you every video my friends had shared, but not the name of a single street we passed. Then my phone broke. For a week I had nothing to do but look out of the window. I noticed that the river turns gold on clear mornings. I noticed that the same elderly man waves at the bus from his garden every day. On Thursday, I waved back. My phone is fixed now. I still use it – I am not a hero. But on the way to school, it stays in my bag. Try it for one journey. The worst that can happen is that you are bored for forty minutes.

Source C – original text written for Marlbridge (library leaflet)

[logo: an open book with a speech bubble] Westmere Library Homework Club (fictional) Stuck on your homework? You don’t have to be. [three columns, each with an icon: laptop – “Free computers and printing”; person with a question mark – “Volunteer tutors for maths, science and languages”; cup – “Quiet room with free drinking water”] When: Tuesday to Thursday, 16:00-18:00; Saturday, 10:00-12:30. Who: ages 11-16. Just turn up with your library card. [small print at the bottom] Printing is limited to 10 pages per visit. Food is not allowed in the quiet room.

1. (Criterion B) Source A. Copy the sentence that shows the Eco Committee had doubts before the campaign. [1]

2. (Criterion B) Source A. Use the bar chart to state the number of bottles in week 2, and calculate the percentage fall from the week before the campaign to week 2. [2]

3. (Criterion B) Source A. True or false? Justify each answer with words from the text.

(a) The school had no refill stations before the campaign. [2] (b) Every student supported the campaign. [2] (c) The school plans to add more refill stations. [2]

4. (Criterion B) Source A. Explain how the colours in the bar chart support the writer’s message. [2]

5. (Criterion B) Source A. Explain how the photo and its caption present a different view from the Year 11 students’ complaint, and suggest why the writer included them. [4]

6. (Criterion B) Source B.

(a) State the main idea of the column in your own words. [2] (b) Give two details that support it. [2]

7. (Criterion B) Source B. Find the phrase that shows the writer does not think he has done anything special. [1]

8. (Criterion B) Source B. Explain the effect of the pull quote, including its size and position. [3]

9. (Criterion B) Source B. Identify the purpose of the column and the writer’s attitude to phones. Support each with evidence. [4]

10. (Criterion B) Source C. Copy and complete the table.

Item	Information
Days the club meets	…
Total opening hours per week	…
Age range	…
What you must bring	…

[4]

11. (Criterion B, extended) Compare how Source A and Source C use visual and spatial features to achieve their purposes for their audiences. [8]

Answers

1. “We were not sure anyone would listen.” [1] [1] Examiner insight: “Copy the sentence” means the exact sentence; adding the next sentence (“We were wrong.”) or paraphrasing loses the point.

2. Week 2: 120 bottles [1]. Fall = (480 − 120) ÷ 480 × 100 = 75% [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Divide by the original value (480), not the new one; 360 ÷ 120 gives 300%, a common slip when reading charts.

3. (a) False [1] – “Four new refill stations joined the two by the sports hall” [1]. (b) False [1] – “Not everyone is convinced” [1]. (c) True [1] – “two more stations are planned for next term” [1]. Examiner insight: The justification must be the words that prove the choice; “True” with no quotation, or a quotation that proves nothing, earns only half.

4. Week 2 is bright green while the other bars are grey, so the eye goes straight to the lowest figure [1]. Green links to the environment, so the colour marks week 2 as the success the webpage celebrates [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Describing the colours is not enough; each point needs a link to the message.

5. The Year 11 students say lunchtime queues made them late [1]. The photo shows smiling students at a station, and “Queue? What queue?” jokes that there was no queue, so the page plays down the complaint [1]. The caption names week 2 on a Tuesday lunchtime, the busy time the complaint is about, to answer it directly [1]. The writer wants the campaign to look successful and to recruit members (“Join the Eco Committee”), so a positive image serves that purpose [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Perspective questions reward spotting that visuals can argue; say whose view the image supports and why the writer chose it.

6. (a) Putting his phone away on the bus made the writer notice the world around him [1], and he now recommends it to readers [1]. (b) Any two of: he noticed the river turns gold on clear mornings; he noticed a man who waves at the bus every day, and waved back; he used to know every video but no street names. First detail [1]; second detail [1]. Examiner insight: “In your own words” means rephrasing; copying the pull quote as the main idea shows location, not understanding.

7. “I am not a hero” [1]. [1] Examiner insight: Give only the phrase asked for; copying the whole sentence including “I still use it” makes it unclear which words answer the question.

8. The quote is large and set apart in the margin, so it is read before the column itself [1]. It gives the main message in one line and makes readers curious about what the “best part” is [1]. The italics make it feel personal, like the writer’s own thought, which suits a first-person column [1]. [3] Examiner insight: A pull quote is a convention; name it and explain what its position does, rather than only repeating its words.

9. Purpose: to persuade readers to try a journey without their phone [1], shown by the command “Try it for one journey” [1]. Attitude: balanced, not anti-phone [1] – “I still use it – I am not a hero” shows he thinks phones are fine in their place [1]. [4] Examiner insight: A label alone (“persuasive”, “negative”) earns little; each label needs a quotation, and a one-sided label here misreads the writer.

10. Days: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday [1]. Hours: 3 × 2 + 2.5 = 8.5 hours [1]. Ages: 11-16 [1]. Bring: a library card [1]. [4] Examiner insight: “Tuesday to Thursday” includes Wednesday; listing only the named days is a common slip in information transfer.

11. Source A:

• Purpose: to report results and recruit members [1].
• The chart gives quick visual evidence of the fall, with week 2 highlighted in green [1].
• The photo of smiling students and the joking caption build a positive image [1].
• The button at the end turns reading into action (“Join”) [1].

Source C:

• Purpose: to inform young people about the club and encourage them to come [1].
• Three columns with icons let readers see the services at a glance [1].
• Bold labels “When” and “Who” make practical details easy to find [1].

Comparison: A uses visuals as evidence and persuasion; C uses layout for quick scanning. C puts rules in small print so the welcome comes first [1]. [8] Examiner insight: Comparison questions need both texts and a linking judgement; two separate descriptions with no “whereas” or “both” usually stay in the lower bands.

Where marks are usually lost

• Using the new value as the base for a percentage change read from a chart.
• True/false answers with no quotation, or a quotation that does not prove the choice.
• Describing colours, photos or layout without saying what they add to the message.
• Copying extra words when a single sentence or phrase is asked for.
• Treating a caption as neutral when it takes a side.
• Labelling purpose or attitude with no evidence.
• Missing a range such as “Tuesday to Thursday” in information transfer.
• Writing about one text only in a comparison question.

Next steps

• Criterion B revision notes
• Criterion B study guide
• IB MYP Language Acquisition course hub
• Printable MYP Language Acquisition checklist
• All free 10-minute diagnostics
• Book a free trial class

Official syllabus

International Baccalaureate Organization, Middle Years Programme Subject Brief – Language acquisition, from 2020 (first eAssessment May 2023/November 2023), published by the IB. The brief names Criterion B: Reading and lists “comprehending written multimodal texts” for 24 marks in the on-screen examination. All texts and questions here are original.