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$  ) EK
Overview
1. Identities / 1.2 Beliefs and values

 Writing
Table of
contents

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
Notebook

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Glossary
Decision-making through values

Reading
assistance
Do what you love or love what you do?
Do you make your decisions based on the values you live by? You probably

do, but you may never have thought about it before!

In this section, you will write a blog post on the topic of concerns about
attending college.

Do you have a clear idea of what you want to do when you leave
school?
Is it easy to decide on a career path at a young age? Why? Why not?
What might drive your career choices? Is it your values, your passion
or practical reasons?
Should you be practical about your future choices or should you follow
your heart?

In the English B course, you will be assessed on your writing in the Paper 1
exam. In this exam, you will have 90 minutes to write one text of 450–600
words for Higher Level (HL) and 75 minutes to write one text of 250–400
words for Standard Level (SL). It is important that you read the question
carefully!

Figure 1. Blog writing.

Credit: Getty Images FG Trade

How to prepare for IB English B Writing

" Concept

These are some concepts you should take into consideration with
every text type. Different text types have different audiences,
different registers and different purposes. Let’s think about the
audience, register and purpose of a blog entry.

Audience: Who are you writing for when you write a blog
entry? When writing a blog entry, you usually have a specific
audience of people who regularly read your blog. You can
assume that the people reading your blog are interested in
the subjects you write about; they are probably subscribers to
your blog and might even receive a notification every time you
write a new blog entry.

Register: What is meant by register? Language register is the

level of formality that you will employ in your writing; this
determines the vocabulary, the structure and even some
grammatical aspects of your writing. The register for a blog is
semi-formal to informal; however, you should try not to be
very informal as this is still an academic writing task. A semi-
formal register allows you to use phrasal verbs, contractions
and some idioms; your sentences should still be longer and
more complex. An informal register allows you to use shorter,
simpler sentences, exclamatory sentences, more phrasal
verbs and idioms. Remember though, when you are writing a
blog as an IB exam task, you should still aim to have a semi-
formal register rather than an informal one.

Purpose: What is the purpose of your writing? Are you trying

to inform your audience, persuade them or merely entertain
them? A piece of writing could have more than one purpose;
for example, most blog entries aim to inform the audience
about a certain issue, while at the same time entertaining
them.

 Vocabulary

Review the vocabulary you might need for the writing

task. Do you know all the words? If you face some
difficulties with the words, check their meaning in a
dictionary.Fill in as many of the gaps in the sentences
below as you can.

1. Your life can change in a moment when you choose to

change your perspective .
Incorrect!
2. Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been an
Correct Incorrect!
inspirational figure to many women around the world.
answer: Correct
3. A few decades ago, women used to be criticised and
answer:
called unfeminine for being assertive ;
Incorrect!
fortunately, this is no longer the case in most parts of the
Correct
world.
answer:
4. ‘Should we tolerate intolerance?’ remains one of today’s
greatest dilemmas .
Incorrect!
5. If you find a career that you love, you should consider
Correct
yourself fortunate .
Incorrect!
answer:
6. It is important to acknowledge and accept the fact that
Correct
one is privileged as a first step to
Incorrect!
answer:
becoming empathetic and understanding other people’s
Correct
experiences.
answer:
perspective fortunate inspirational dilemmas

privileged assertive

Bad score

0/6

 Retry

Example blog post

You have come across an article that argues that when teenagers are
choosing their university majors, they should make their choices based only
on what they love, because that should be the guiding principle for the
career paths they follow in the future. You are not sure whether you fully
agree with this opinion, especially now you are in the process of deciding
what you want to study at university. Choose one of the text types listed
below and write a text in which you discuss your dilemma, share your point
of view with others and suggest ways in which other students facing a
dilemma similar to yours could make up their minds.

Blog Letter Diary

$ Extract

The colourful chaotic world of an IB student

By Isabel M.

Do what you love or love what you do?

May 18, 2020

1 Hi everyone! It’s been a while since I last wrote, but I’ve been

really busy with schoolwork. As you may know from my previous

posts, being an IB student isn’t the easiest! There is just so much to
do. In addition to all the internal assessments, the extended essay
and my orals, I am now in the middle of another significant dilemma.
Let me tell you a bit more of what I’m talking about!

2 The other day, I came across this article in which the author claims

that when it comes to choosing what to study, you should just do

what you love! The author was so assertive in her claim that I must
say, I was quite surprised. I am not sure I agree with her. I mean, of
course, if you are fortunate enough to choose a career that you are
good at, that you love and that is both financially and emotionally
rewarding, then lucky you! But how many of us are that lucky?
What do you think? Have you ever thought about this?

3 I realise that when adults give this advice to people my age, they

are trying to be inspirational – they are asking me to question my

purpose in life, to explore my passions and not to settle for a job
that I do not truly, genuinely love. However, I can’t help but think
that this is quite a privileged perspective that not everyone is
allowed to live by. You might be wondering exactly what I mean by
that.

4 Let’s see. I will try to explain myself further and I will try to give

you some examples. Let’s say you do not come from a very
privileged background. Both your parents work really hard to
provide the best they can for you and your two other siblings;
however, you know that at some point in the future, your parents
might need you to support them financially.

5 You are about to graduate from high school and you have to

choose what you want to study at university. You know what you
are really passionate about: music! You see the world in musical
notes; you wake up wanting to play the guitar; you go to bed
composing tunes in your mind. That is what you want to study –
musicology. It is great that you have such a clear idea about what
you want to do. However, there is one little problem. If you end up
studying musicology, there is quite a big chance that after a few
years at university, investing both time and money, you will not be
able to find a job. You are no longer in a position to ask your parents
for help – you know they have done so much for you throughout
the years. What will you do now?

6 On the other hand, you are good at maths and physics – really

good. You’ve even got a scholarship to study mechanical

engineering at one of the most prestigious universities. You know
that with that diploma, you will certainly find a job, and not just any
job, but a fulfilling one.

7 What will you do? What will your decision be? Remember, there is

no right or wrong answer. I am only giving you this example so that

the next time someone tells you, ‘Stop worrying! Just do what you
love!’, you do not feel pressured to agree with them. Maybe you
could even tell them that you’re not sure everyone has the privilege
to do what they love and that they should be more sensitive when
they make such statements.

8 I’m glad I wrote about this, as it has also helped me to reflect on

what I really want to study next year at university.

9 What do you think? Are you currently facing a similar dilemma or

have you been in this situation before? How did you reach a
decision? Let me know in the comments below – I would love to
hear from you! I will write again soon. Bye for now!

 Activity

Read the example blog post carefully and analyse it. Answer the
questions provided below and support your answers with examples
from the text.

1. How many titles are there? Why?

Show
solution

2. Has the author included her name for the

Show
blog entry? What about the date?
solution

3. How does she start the blog? Is it

Show
acceptable to use an informal greeting?
solution

4. Does she use the first-person pronoun?

Show
Is this effective?
solution

5. What is her tone throughout the blog? Is

Show
it effective?
solution

6. Does she use paragraphs effectively?

Show
solution

7. How does she maintain the readers’

Show
attention throughout the blog?
solution

8. What is peculiar about the blog’s

Show
conclusion?
solution

HL Extension

Think about some bloggers who you follow. What topics do

they write about?

Try to find a blog entry that discusses an issue related to

beliefs and values. Share the blog entry with a classmate.
Together, try to see how many of the blog text type
conventions it includes.

 Grammar tip

Linking words help you to connect your ideas and sentences. You
should use linking words both when you are speaking and when
you are writing, whether your register is formal or informal.
Depending on what kind of register you are using, your linking
words could be different. For example, but and nonetheless are
synonyms; however, you would probably use but in conversation or
when writing in an informal register, whereas you would use
nonetheless when writing in a more formal register. You can use
linking words to give examples, add information, summarise,
contrast ideas, give a reason and give a result. Here are some
examples.

To give examples To add information

for example moreover

for instance furthermore
as an illustration additionally
namely not to mention
notably

To summarise To contrast ideas

to sum up on the other hand

briefly while
in short despite the fact that
to conclude however
in conclusion although

To give a reason To state a result

because consequently
as as a result
since therefore
for hence
due to as a consequence

 Exam tip

Things to remember about the blog as a text type

There are two distinct titles: a title for your blog as a whole
and a title for your individual post.

Try to think of a creative title for your blog as a whole – a title

that might give the reader an idea of what to expect!

Your individual blog post should have a date.

Use a personal tone – be straightforward, friendly and chatty.

Keep in mind that your readers are regular readers who know
you a little and have a faint picture of how your life looks, as
they have been following your blog for a while.

Address your readers throughout the blog post; this keeps

them engaged and also allows them to feel more involved.

You should use clear paragraphs.

The register of the blog should be semi-formal to informal.

You are advised to use personal examples and anecdotes. This

makes your post more relatable to your readers.

At the conclusion of your post, ask readers to contribute. Ask

them whether they have had similar thoughts or experiences
and ask them to share these in the comments. You can also
include the ‘like’ icon to ask readers to like your post, and the
social media icons that allow them to share your post
(Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, etc.).

Your writing practice

A few days ago, you were having a discussion with a friend about where you
would like to go to college and he told you that one of his biggest concerns
about college life was whether he would get along with his roommate. You
were surprised to find out that he was already quite worried about this issue,
but on further thought, you realised you are a bit worried about it yourself.
What if your roommate has values very different from yours? How will you
manage to share a space when you think differently about so many aspects
of life, and college life specifically?

Write a blog post of 250–400 words (SL) or 450–600 words (HL), in which
you discuss your concern and suggest ways in which other students who
have a similar concern could deal with such an issue.

Reset

 Completed

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