IB MYP Language Acquisition – Multimodal texts and visual elements 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 multimodal texts and visual elements 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 eAssessment 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 the brief’s criteria name.

Each question is labelled with the criterion it trains. 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. Sources are in English; answer in your target language. All places and events are fictional.

Study first: study guide and revision notes. Also: course hub, checklist, criteria in practice questions.

Questions

Source A – original text written for Marlbridge. A poster. Top half: a photo, mid shot, of a teenager and an older man mending a bicycle wheel together; both smile and look at the wheel, not the camera. Across the top in large bold green capitals: “DON’T BIN IT. FIX IT.” Middle: three simple icons in a row – a spanner, a toaster, a T-shirt with a needle – labelled “Bikes”, “Electricals”, “Clothes”. Small text: “Eastmere Repair Café. First Saturday of every month, 10:00-13:00, Eastmere Community Hall. Free. Volunteers welcome.” Bottom corner: a red rubbish-bin icon with a line through it, next to the words “Bring something broken. Leave with something that works.”

Source B – original text written for Marlbridge. A 40-second video advert. Shot 1: long shot of a dark street; lanterns switch on one by one. Sound: a low hum of voices growing louder. Shot 2: close-ups of food sizzling on grills; steam rises. Sound: sizzling, laughter, upbeat drum music begins. Voice-over (warm, relaxed): “Friday nights on Northgate Street taste different.” Shot 3: mid shot of a stall-holder handing a bowl of noodles to a teenager; both laugh. Voice-over: “Nobody here is a stranger.” Shot 4: the music stops. Silence for two seconds. White on-screen text on black: “40 stalls. One street. Every Friday, 18:00-23:00.” Shot 5: high-angle long shot of the crowded street from above. Music returns. Voice-over: “Come hungry. Leave as a neighbour.”

1. (Criterion B) From Source A, identify one written feature, one visual feature and one spatial (layout) feature. [3]

2. (Criterion B) Name the relationship between the headline and the photo in Source A, and explain how they work together. [3]

3. (Criterion B) For the green headline and the red crossed-out bin in Source A, give the denotation and one connotation of each. [4]

4. (Criterion B) What values and attitudes does Source A convey? Support your answer with two details from the poster. [5]

5. (Criterion A) Explain how sound and image work together in Shots 1 and 2 of Source B to set the scene and the mood. [4]

6. (Criterion A) In Shot 4 of Source B the music stops and on-screen text appears.

(a) Explain the effect of the two seconds of silence. [2] (b) Explain what the on-screen text adds that the voice-over does not. [2]

7. (Criterion A) Who is the target audience of Source B? Give one piece of evidence you hear and one you see. [3]

8. (Criterion C) Plan a one- to two-minute spoken response to Source A. Your plan must follow overview – describe – interpret – personal link, and include one follow-up question you might be asked with a short answer. [6]

9. (Criterion D) Using Source A, write an informal email of 80-120 words (in your target language) to a friend, persuading them to come to the Repair Café with you. Use the information in the poster in your own words. [8]

10. (Criterion B) A student wrote this about Source A: “The picture is nice. There are two people. The words are green.” Rewrite it as a stronger answer and explain two improvements you made. [4]

11. (Criteria A and B – extended response) Compare how Source A and Source B use visual elements, together with words or sound, to persuade their audiences. Refer to at least two details from each source. [8]

Answers

1. Written: the headline “DON’T BIN IT. FIX IT.” (or the labels, or the call to action) [1]. Visual: the photo of two people mending a bicycle wheel (or the icons, or the green colour) [1]. Spatial: the headline placed across the top above the photo, or the three icons grouped in a row in the middle [1]. [3] Examiner insight: A spatial feature is about position, size or grouping; naming “the icons” alone is visual, so say where they sit.

2. Reinforce (the headline and photo say the same thing) [1]. The headline gives a command to fix things [1]; the photo shows people actually fixing a bike, so the image proves the command is possible and makes it feel friendly rather than bossy [1]. [3] Examiner insight: Naming the relationship earns little on its own; the credit comes from explaining how each mode supports the other.

3. Green headline – denotation: the headline is printed in green [1]; connotation: nature, recycling or environmental care [1]. Red crossed-out bin – denotation: a red bin icon with a line through it [1]; connotation: “no” or “stop” – throwing things away is wrong [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Keep denotation and connotation separate; a connotation given without first describing the detail can lose the description point.

4. Values: sustainability – repairing instead of throwing away [1], supported by the headline or the crossed-out bin [1]. Community and sharing skills across generations [1], supported by the teenager and older man working side by side, looking at the task, not the camera [1]. Attitude to the reader: welcoming and practical – “Free” and “Volunteers welcome” treat the reader as someone who can join in [1]. [5] Examiner insight: Each value needs its own named detail; two values with one shared piece of evidence show less than two separately supported ones.

5. Shot 1: the lanterns switching on in a dark street show the market opening as night falls [1], and the growing hum of voices tells you a crowd is arriving [1]. Shot 2: close-ups of sizzling food plus the sound of sizzling appeal to taste and smell [1]; the upbeat drums and laughter set a lively, happy mood that matches the warm voice-over [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Criterion A tasks reward linking what is heard to what is seen at the same moment; describing only the soundtrack misses half the text.

6. (a) The sudden silence breaks the rhythm and grabs attention [1], so the viewer focuses on the text that appears next [1]. (b) The on-screen text gives practical facts the voice-over leaves out – number of stalls, place, day and times [1] – and it stays on screen so the viewer can remember or note them [1]. Examiner insight: Explain the effect on the viewer; “there is silence” only restates the source.

7. Audience: young people and families or anyone local looking for a social night out [1]. Heard: “Nobody here is a stranger” / “Leave as a neighbour” suggests people new to the area or wanting to meet others [1]. Seen: a teenager being served and laughing in Shot 3 [1]. [3] Examiner insight: The question asks for one heard and one seen detail; two seen details earn only one of the evidence points.

8. Overview: a poster advertising a free monthly repair café [1]. Describe: a photo of a teenager and older man mending a bike, the green headline, three icons [1]. Interpret: the poster promotes repairing over throwing away [1] and presents it as friendly and social [1]. Personal link: an honest opinion or experience, for example a broken item you would bring [1]. Follow-up: e.g. “Would you volunteer?” – a short reasoned answer such as “Yes, because I can fix bikes and it helps the environment” [1]. [6] Examiner insight: Speaking is interactive; a plan that stops at description leaves you nothing to say when the teacher asks “why?”

9. Model (English, to be written in the target language):

Hi Sam, are you free on the first Saturday of the month? There’s a Repair Café at the community hall from ten until one. You can bring broken bikes, electrical things or clothes, and volunteers help you fix them. It’s free! My toaster stopped working last week, so I’m taking it. You could bring your bike – the chain keeps falling off, doesn’t it? It would be better than throwing things away, and we might learn something. Afterwards we could get lunch. Let me know! See you, Alex

Creditworthy points: informal greeting and sign-off suited to a friend [1]; email conventions (opening, clear purpose, closing) [1]; date/time and place given in own words [1]; what can be repaired, rephrased not copied [1]; “free” or “volunteers help” included [1]; a persuasive reason addressed to the friend [1]; a personal example or suggestion [1]; within 80-120 words with a consistent informal register [1]. [8] Examiner insight: Criterion D rewards language suited to audience and purpose; copying “Bring something broken. Leave with something that works.” word for word shows little of your own language.

10. Stronger version: “The photo shows a teenager and an older man mending a bike together. Because they smile at the wheel, not the camera, repairing looks relaxed and shared, which supports the headline ‘Don’t bin it. Fix it.’” [1] [1]. Improvement 1: replaced the vague “nice” with precise description of what is shown [1]. Improvement 2: linked the image to the headline and explained the effect, instead of listing features [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Words like “nice” or “good” carry no interpretation; replace them with an effect on the reader.

11. Source A uses a still photo of two people repairing together to show community [1], and reinforces it with the headline, so the persuasion is direct and instructional [1]. Its icons give fast, language-light information about what can be repaired [1]. Source B uses a sequence of shots and sound – lanterns and a growing hum – to build anticipation over time [1]. Its close-ups of food plus sizzling sounds persuade through the senses [1]. Both sources show a young person with someone else to present the event as welcoming [1]. Difference: A persuades mainly through a practical, environmental message; B through atmosphere and emotion, then gives facts in on-screen text [1]. Conclusion: judgement of which is more persuasive for its audience, with a reason [1]. [8] Examiner insight: Comparison questions reward points that link the two sources; two separate descriptions with no “both” or “whereas” show less analysis.

Where marks are usually lost

• Answering reading questions about a poster using only its written words.
• Naming a feature (“close-up”, “icon”) without explaining its effect.
• Giving connotations with no described detail before them.
• In listening, noting the voice-over but not what was on screen at that moment.
• In writing, copying phrases from the stimulus instead of rephrasing.
• In speaking, describing for the whole time and never interpreting or giving an opinion.
• In comparisons, writing about each source separately with no linking words.

Next steps

• Revision notes
• Study guide
• eAssessment exam preparation
• Course hub
• Printable 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 International Baccalaureate Organization, 2020.