IB MYP Language Acquisition – Criterion D – Writing in response to 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 D (Writing) 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): school-based tasks and, for schools entering eAssessment, 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 set trains a skill the brief’s criteria name.

Real MYP work is judged against criterion level descriptors (achievement levels 1–8), so the [1] points in the answers are a revision aid, not IB marks. Your teacher will share the task-specific clarifications. Model answers are in English, with notes on repeating tasks in your target language. All sources, people and places are fictional.

Study first with the criterion D study guide and revision notes. Also: MYP Language Acquisition hub, checklist, criteria in practice questions, proficiency phases questions.

Questions

1. (Criterion D) State the name that the brief’s eAssessment blueprint gives to the criterion D objective, and the number of marks it carries. [2]

2. (Criterion D) Read this prompt: “Your town’s youth council plans to close the skate park on weekday evenings. Write a letter to the council explaining why you disagree.” Identify the purpose, the audience, the text type and the register you should use. [4]

3. (Criterion D) Sort these connectives by function (adding, contrasting, result, example): nevertheless, consequently, moreover, for instance, although, as a result. [3]

4. (Criterion D) Rewrite this paragraph as three or fewer sentences. Use at least three connectives and one reference word.

The library is closing early on Fridays. Many students study there after school. They will have nowhere quiet to work. The council wants to save money. Students’ exam results may suffer.

[4]

5. (Criterion D) A student wrote this email to a hotel manager.

Hey! So me and my mum wanna book a room for 3 nights in July. Is there parking? Get back to me asap. Cheers, Jo

(a) Identify three features that make the register unsuitable. [3] (b) Rewrite the email in a suitable register. [3]

6. (Criterion D) Find and correct the four grammatical errors in this paragraph.

Last summer I have visited my grandmother in the countryside. She live in a small village which have only one shop. Every morning we walked to the bakery and buyed fresh bread.

[4]

7. (Criterion D) Upgrade each sentence for range. Use a different structure each time and name it.

(a) My town is nice. [2] (b) I play football. I like it. [2] (c) Tomorrow I go to the beach. [2]

8. (Criterion D) Read Source B.

Source B – original text written for Marlbridge. A leaflet from a fictional town library. Headline: “Unplug for a day”. Three icons run across the top: a book, a bicycle and a board game. Text: “Screen-Free Saturday, 14 June. Free activities, 10:00–16:00. Last year 120 families took part.” A photo shows a family laughing round a board game, with a phone left in an open drawer.

Task: write a blog post for teenagers at your school, encouraging them to take part.

(a) State the purpose and the register of the blog post, with a reason for the register. [2] (b) List three ideas from Source B that you could use, including at least one from the icons or photo. [3] (c) Write a four-paragraph plan, giving each paragraph one job. [3]

9. (Criterion D – extended) Write the blog post from Question 8 in 150–200 words. [10]

10. (Criterion D – extended) A student answered the prompt in Question 2 with this letter.

Hi council, I am writing about the skate park. I think closing it is bad. Loads of people use it. Me and my friends go there every day. It is good for exercise. It is good because we are not on our phones. It is good for making friends. Also if you close it we will just hang around the shops which is worse. Please don’t close it!! Thanks, Leo

(a) Identify two strengths. [2] (b) Identify three weaknesses, linking each to an aspect of criterion D. [3] (c) Rewrite the opening and the closing in a suitable register. [3]

Answers

1. Writing in response to multimodal texts [1]; 24 marks [1]. [2] Examiner insight: “Writing” alone names the criterion, not the blueprint objective, so it would not earn the first point.

2. Purpose: to persuade, giving reasons for disagreeing [1]. Audience: the youth council, officials [1]. Text type: a formal letter [1]. Register: formal, polite form of address throughout [1]. [4] Examiner insight: “To inform” does not earn the purpose point – “disagree” signals an argument.

3. Contrasting: nevertheless, although [1]. Result: consequently, as a result [1]. Adding: moreover; example: for instance [1]. [3] Examiner insight: Each point needs both connectives in the pair correct; although is often misplaced under “adding”.

4. Model: “The library is closing early on Fridays because the council wants to save money. However, many students study there after school, so they will have nowhere quiet to work. As a result, this decision could harm their exam results.” Cause connective (because) [1]; contrast connective (however) [1]; result connective (so or as a result) [1]; reference word (this decision) [1]. [4] Examiner insight: A connective earns credit only if it matches the logic; “Therefore, many students study there” would not count. In your target language: redo the rewrite with connectives from your own table and check word order after each.

5. (a) Any three: greeting “Hey!” [1]; slang such as “wanna”, “asap”, “Cheers” [1]; “me and my mum” as subject [1]; the blunt command “Get back to me”. [3] (b) Model: “Dear Sir or Madam, I would like to book a room for my mother and me for three nights in July. Could you please tell me whether the hotel has parking? I look forward to hearing from you. Yours faithfully, Jo Brennan” Formal greeting and sign-off [1]; full sentences, no slang [1]; polite request (“Could you please…”) [1]. [3] Examiner insight: Changing only the greeting and sign-off is not enough; the requests must also become polite for full credit. In your target language: use the polite form of “you” (vous, usted, Sie) and a conventional formal closing.

6. “have visited” → visited (finished past time, “last summer”) [1]; “live” → lives (third person singular) [1]; “have” → has (agrees with “village”) [1]; “buyed” → bought (irregular past) [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Each point needs the error found and corrected; underlining “buyed” without writing “bought” earns nothing. In your target language: write a paragraph with four errors from your error list and swap with a partner.

7. (a) “My town, which sits beside a river, is a pleasant place to live.” Relative clause named and used correctly [1]; meaning kept with a more precise adjective [1]. [2] (b) “I play football every weekend because it keeps me fit and I enjoy being part of a team.” Reason clause with because named and used correctly [1]; two linked reasons added [1]. [2] (c) “If the weather is good tomorrow, I will go to the beach with my cousins.” Conditional sentence named and used correctly [1]; future tense corrected from “I go” [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Three sentences all upgraded with because show one structure, so only one structure point is earned.

8. (a) Purpose: to persuade teenagers to take part [1]. Register: informal or neutral, because the readers are your peers [1]. [2] (b) Any three, at least one visual: free, 10:00–16:00 on 14 June [1]; 120 families took part last year [1]; the icons (reading, cycling, board games) or the photo (a family together, phone put away) [1]. [3] (c) Model plan: 1 – hook with a question about screen time and state that you are going; 2 – what happens (free, times, activities from the icons) [1]; 3 – why it is worth it, using last year’s numbers and the photo [1]; 4 – answer the worry about missing messages and end with a call to action [1]. [3] Examiner insight: The paragraph 4 point needs the objection and the call to action; a plan ending on facts leaves the persuasion unfinished.

9. Model answer (about 170 words):

Unplug and actually live a little

Be honest: how many hours did you spend on your phone yesterday? If you’re anything like me, the answer is “too many”. That’s why I’m signing up for Screen-Free Saturday on 14 June – and I think you should too.

First, it’s completely free. The library is running activities from ten until four, so you won’t be bored. You could read that book you keep promising to start, go for a bike ride or challenge your friends to a board game.

Second, it’s not just for little kids. Last year, 120 families joined in. The photo on the leaflet says it all: a family laughing round a table while a phone sits forgotten in a drawer.

Of course, you might worry about missing messages. However, your friends will survive one day without you – or, even better, bring them along.

So put your phone away, grab a friend and see what happens. Who knows? You might enjoy it. Leave a comment below if you’re coming!

Indicative points: title and direct address to the reader [1]; persuasive purpose clear in the opening [1]; informal register, controlled and consistent [1]; stimulus facts in own words [1]; a visual element used [1]; one job per paragraph [1]; connectives (First, Second, However, So) [1]; an objection answered [1]; range, such as a conditional and varied sentence types [1]; call to action and invitation to comment [1]. [10] Examiner insight: Copying “Free activities, 10:00–16:00” straight from the leaflet does not earn the stimulus point; reword the facts. In your target language: keep the plan, use the familiar “you” for teenage readers, and include one conditional and one past-tense sentence.

10. (a) Any two: purpose and opinion clear from the start [1]; relevant reasons (exercise, time off phones, friendship) [1]; a consequence of closure (hanging around the shops). [2] (b) Register unsuited to a council (“Hi council”, “Loads”, “!!”) [1]; organisation: no paragraphs [1]; range and cohesion: “It is good” three times, few connectives [1]. [3] (c) Opening: “Dear Members of the Youth Council,” [1] “I am writing to express my disagreement with the plan to close the skate park on weekday evenings.” [1] Closing: “I would be grateful if you would reconsider this decision. Yours faithfully, Leo Martin” [1]. [3] Examiner insight: Each weakness must name an aspect (register, organisation, range); “it is not very good” earns no point.

Where marks are usually lost

• Describing the topic when the prompt asks you to argue.
• Formal register for peers, or informal for an official, because the audience was not decoded.
• Register drift in greetings, sign-offs or requests.
• Lifting stimulus phrases word for word.
• Ignoring the icons or photo in a multimodal stimulus.
• Connectives that do not match the logic.
• Repeating one structure (“It is good…”) instead of showing range.
• Basic verb errors that a final check would catch.

Next steps

• Criterion D revision notes
• Criterion D study guide
• eAssessment exam preparation
• 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). These questions follow the brief’s description of criterion D and its eAssessment blueprint.