Success -

Writing
Well for
Language B
SL and HL
 Agenda:
Session 1 - 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm CET - Reading the prompt: How to
decipher the prompt and choose the correct text type to demonstrate
conceptual understanding.

Break - 3:30 pm to 3:45 pm CET

Session 2 - 3:45 pm to 5:15 pm CET Organizing and developing the

text: Tips and tricks to help your students write well on the exam.
 INTRODUCTION
Susan (Sue) Menand -
● Spanish B, Spanish ab initio, TOK teacher for the IB
Diploma Program
● Language Acquisition Spanish, Language and
Literature English, and Personal Project coordinator for
the IB Middle Years Program
● Examiner for Spanish B - Individual Oral Internal
Assessment and Paper 1 - writing since 2011
● IBDP - workshop leader for Language B, ab initio, and
TOK
● IBDP - site team visiting member
● Ok so I am really just a teacher.
 Quick Introductions!

01. 02. 03. 04.

Name Language and Where you teach Questions or
Level anything Else to
share
 Sessio
Hown 1to read and
decipher The prompt
 SL HL
30 marks 30 marks
Externally set and Externally set and
assessed assessed
1 hour and 15 1 hour and 30
minutes minutes
Based on 5 themes Based on 5 themes
250-400 words 400-600 words
Choose one out of Choose one out of
three tasks three taks.
 So how do they choose the
best Prompt? They need to
show “conceptual
Context Understanding
Purpose Audience
What is the Why am I writing Who is the
situation? What is this? What is the audience? Is this
the backstory? goal? How do I formal or informal?
What is the theme achieve my goal? What register do I
and vocabulary do I What text type do I need?
need? need?
First - Its a reading
assessment
What happens if they pick the wrong prompt?

English B guide page 35 -

Note: A response that ignores context, purpose, and audience may

receive marks of zero for Criteria B and C, even if the response has
received a high mark for criteria A.
 Where can I find the
●
●
Myprompts?
IB log in
Program Resouce Center - PRC
● Diploma Programme - DP
● Language Acquisition - Language B
● Scroll down to Assessments - right hand side
● Find English B specimen papers and markschemes
(first exams 2020) these are the original specimens
● Below this - specimen assessments in additional
languages - this is the “new”specimen from the
November 2020 exam - more languages here
 What are the Paper 1 text
●
●
types?
Guide page 22 or…
PRC - Programme Resource Center - Language B
then Assessment - middle column
● Document titled “Text Types for Paper 1 Task
Options (first assessment 2020)
● Find the list
 Text Types - Do I need to Teach all
● Advertisement
of
● Article (newspaper, magazine) them?
● Opinion column/letter to editor
● Personal Statement/cover letter
● Blog ● Proposal
● Brochure/leaflet/pamphlet ● Report (official)
● Diary/journal ● Review
● Email/letter ● Set of instructions
● Essay ● Social media posting/online forum
● Interview ● Speech/presentation/debate
● News report
 Which are the most
common? But it’s a new
world - new exam
Blog Article
Need a greeting to a group, Need: Title, author, date,
title, date, closing - I’ll neutral language
write more soon. Can have
comments

Email/letter HL-Speech SL
Need: Dear so and so -
formal or informal,
- Diary
Speech - greet a large group
- formal language, greeting
greeting, closure, date and closure. Diary like the
letter - “I”
 HL - Choice of three text
typesWrite 450for
to 600 each
Complete one task. Use an appropriate text type from the options below the
task you choose. words.
1. A famous former student of your school will visit your campus next
month. You have been asked to announce this to the school community
to raise awareness and interest. Write a text in which you describe the
famous visitor’s achievements and the purpose of their visit, and
explain why the school community should be excited about this
occasion.

Choices - 1. Opinion Column, 2. Review, 3. Speech

Which would you choose and why? Is there a wrong choice?

C - context - Theme? Vocabulary needed?
A- audience - Singular or Plural? Formal or Informal?
P - purpose - What verb tenses are needed?
 HL - Choice of three text
typesWrite 450for
to 600 each
Complete one task. Use an appropriate text type from the options below the
task you choose. words.

2. You recently watched a documentary which gave you a surprising insight

into an aspect of English-speaking culture, and you want to share your
reactions with a wider public. Write a text in which you describe the
documentary you watched, evaluate its content, and offer your own
conclusions about its quality

.Choices - 1. Opinion Column, 2. Pamphlet, 3. Review

Which would you choose and why? Is there a wrong choice?

C - context - Theme? Vocabulary needed?
A- audience - Singular or Plural? Formal or Informal?
P - purpose - What verb tenses are needed?
 HL - Choice of three text
typesWrite 450for
to 600 each
Complete one task. Use an appropriate text type from the options below the
task you choose. words.

3. The government has proposed a housing development project in your local

national park which will result in environmental damage. You strongly object
to the project and wish to raise awareness among the local community. Write
a text describing the government’s project, explaining the negative impact it
will have and persuading the community to take action.

.Choices - 1. Email, 2. Pamphlet, 3. Speech

Which would you choose and why? Is there a wrong choice?

C - context - Theme? Vocabulary needed?
A- audience - Singular or Plural? Formal or Informal?
P - purpose - What verb tenses are needed?
So which option would you
go for? Which option did
Q2 appealing they gocandidates.
for?
The most popular option was … Q3, followed closely by Q1, with
to very few

It seems that Q3 appealed strongly to candidates because they have knowledge of

environmental issues.

Q1 referred to the known school context and allowed easy invention of why the
former student might be ‘famous’.

Q2 - why not? Possibly unfamiliarity with the text type of review, uncertainty of
how to comment on a documentary, or lack of useful knowledge of “English
speaking culture”.
 So Did they figure out the
right Task? HL
“Overall, candidates appeared to have chosen their task correctly, and at least
approached the task sensibly. There were very few cases where candidates
appeared to have failed to understand the task or to have chosen an obviously
‘inappropriate’ text type.

So.. most of them got it!

Q1 - Positive - Q1 - Challenge
second most
Candidates at ease
withpopular
content - Few candidates
effective explained clearly
explanations of “why” the
purpose of visit. community should
Requirements of be excited although
task well covered - it was implied.
appropriate semi-
formal register and
lively personal
address to audience
of peers.
Q2 - Positive -
Q2 - Challenge
least popular
Candidates showed
familiarity with tone, Possibly perceived as a
tone and format of a difficult question.
review and dealt with Comments on the
the expected elements “quality” handled less
of the message. Most effectively suggesting
included an “aspect of weaker skills in
an English speaking expressing critical
culture” that was thinking. More support
relevant and is needed with
interesting and documentary text type.
explained the “content”
of the documentary.
Q3- Positive -
Q3- Challenge
most popular
Coverage of Large range of
“negative impact” responses - most did
of environment - not describe housing
content. Sufficient development in any
with “persuading detail. Many chose the
action” - a few did “generally appropriate”
good job speech rather than the
“describing” by “fully appropriate”
imagining specific pamphlet. Were they
types of housing not familiar with
project - this scored pamphlet? Or not
highly consider audience?
 HL - So what happened? What did the
majority choose? 1, 2, or 3? Which would
you choose and Why?
Subject Guide - November 2020 -
Challenging Text Types - “It would appear
that the review (Q2) and the pamphlet (Q3)
were perceived as either difficult or
unfamiliar to many candidates. The task for
which the review was fairly obviously the
most appropriate option was the least
popular; and in Q3 many candidate chose
the ‘generally appropriate speech instead of
the obviously appropriate pamphlet.
So what did you think - was this harder or
easier than past years/sessions? What did
other teachers Think?
Subject Guide - November 2020 -
“Feedback from teachers indicated
that a large majority felt that the level
of difficulty was a little, or significantly,
more difficult when compared with the
equivalent paper last year.”
 SL - Choice of three text
tasktypes for250-400
each
Complete one task. Use an appropriate text type from the options below the
you choose. Write words.

1. You recently met a business owner who thinks that after-school

activities are more useful than lessons. You found his/her ideas
interesting and you want to share them with the other students at your
school. Write a text describing and discussing the business owner’s
ideas in more detail.

.Choices - 1. Interview, 2. Online forum posting, 3. Proposal

Which would you choose and why? Is there a wrong choice?

C - context - Theme? Vocabulary needed?
A- audience - Singular or Plural? Formal or Informal?
P - purpose - What verb tenses are needed?
 SL - Choice of three text
tasktypes for250-400
each
Complete one task. Use an appropriate text type from the options below the
you choose. Write words.

2. You have written the words for a song but you do not play a musical
instrument. Therefore, you want to find a musician with similar tastes who
can set your words to music. Write a text to explain what your song lyrics are
about and describe the type of musician you hope to work with.

.Choices - 1. Interview, 2. Leaflet, 3. Online forum posting

Which would you choose and why? Is there a wrong choice?

C - context - Theme? Vocabulary needed?
A- audience - Singular or Plural? Formal or Informal?
P - purpose - What verb tenses are needed?
 SL - Choice of three text
tasktypes for250-400
each
Complete one task. Use an appropriate text type from the options below the
you choose. Write words.

3. Your school, which is in an English-speaking country, is planning to offer

beginners English classes to help new overseas students settle into school
life. Your school principal has asked all English B students to recommend
useful topics for these lessons. Write a text offering your ideas for such
lessons and explaining why they would be helpful to the new students.

.Choices - 1. Leaflet, 2. Letter, 3. Proposal

Which would you choose and why? Is there a wrong choice?

C - context - Theme? Vocabulary needed?
A- audience - Singular or Plural? Formal or Informal?
P - purpose - What verb tenses are needed?
 SL - So what happened? What did the
majority choose? 1, 2, or 3? Which would
you choose and Why?
Subject Guide - November 2020 -
Challenging Text Types -
Q1 - second most popular
Q2 - least popular
Q3 - most popular
SL Q1 - Positive - Q1 - Challenge
second most
Students chose the
mostpopular
appropriate text Some students
type of an interview. lacked an interview
Content wise - title or strayed from
candidates focused on correct register of
“after school activities” addressing a formal
Most students provided audience.
an in depth analysis of
viewpoints with
concrete examples and
supporting details.
SL Q2 - Positive - Q2 - Challenge
Least popular
Those that did
produced “excellent Wondering if it is
online postings”. the least popular
Most chose the because students
most “appropriate are unfamiliar with
text type. The this text type. IB
majority provided reminds us this text
good supporting type is on the
details and creative required list. “Text
ideas. types for Paper 1
task options (first
assessment 2020)”
document.
SL Q3 - Positive - Q1 - Challenge
Most Popular Content wise - students
Candidates had well did not clearly link t how
developed ideas the lessons would help
with concrete students settle into school
examples and life. Majority of students
detailed opted for the ‘letter’ only
explanations appropriate when student
‘sometimes based clearly indicated the
on writer’s own reason for writing to the
experience’. principal. Some that
chose proposal were
informal instead of formal
or lacked title
So what did you think - was this harder or
easier than past years/sessions? What did
other teachers Think?
Subject Guide - November 2020 - “The
difficulty of the paper was deemed
appropriate by approximately 63% of the
teachers who completed the Teacher
Feedback form, and 60% considered it a
little more difficult than compared to last
year. Clarity of wording and the
presentation of the paper were considered
very good by the majority of teachers.”
What was challenging for the candidates
regarding the questions?
Subject Guide - November 2020 - “In many
cases, intellectual responses were
produced with coherent and relevant ideas
expressed clearly, but they lacked the
lucid explanations and supporting details
to award the top of the range of marks.
That was particularly observed in scripts
attempting Q1 and Q3. What’s more, many
candidates failed to address or cover the
two aspects mentions in the 3 tasks,
which resulted in marking those scripts
down on message.”
IN what aspects of the questions were the
candidates well prepared?
Subject Guide - November 2020 -
“Conceptual understanding: The majority
of students revealed very good awareness
of context, audience, and purpose, which
was reflected in their choice of an
appropriate text type and the use of
register and tone. Even in Task 3 where
the ‘proposal’ is the appropriate text type,
students who chose the ‘letter’ managed
to successfully set a context reflecting the
purpose of recommending ideas to the
school principal which was permissible”
 Ok - they chose a text type
CAP and a Text - now what?Sprinkle and
Organize!! Spice
Map out context, message, List a few complex
audience - label grammar phrases or
idiomatic expressions- more
on this later

Text Type Transition words

What do they need for each Prewrite a list of a few on
text type? the paper to make sure to
use.

Outline
Organize the old fashioned
way with main idea,
paragraph 1, 2, 3 with main
ideas for each.
Proofreading
checklist
Reminders to check: subject verb
agreement, noun adjective
agreement, and include a variety
of tenses.
 Step 1: Put on Your thinking
Cap!
Context: Theme? Vocabulary needed?

Audience: Singular or Plural? Formal or Informal?

Purpose: What verb tenses are needed?

 Step 2 - Organize Ideas
Organize ideas with main idea - thesis - what am I trying to say?
Paragraphs with main ideas
Supporting details for each paragraph - concrete ideas - Proper Nouns always stand out to
examiners
List: transition words, proofreading goals - what do they need to remember to check? Can be
individualized - Mary needs noun/adjective agreement - John needs to remember not to
repeat vocabulary words too often and check his verb endings.
Memorized phrases of advanced grammar?
 SL and HL - Communicative
elements
SL - 2 communicative elements or
tasks they need to complete for
the message: Your school, which is
in an English-speaking country, is
planning to offer beginners English
classes to help new overseas
students settle into school life. Your
school principal has asked all
English B students to recommend
useful topics for these lessons.
Write a text offering your ideas for
such lessons and explaining why
they would be helpful to the new
students.
HL - 3 communicative elements or tasks
they need to complete for the message:
The government has proposed a
housing development project in your
local national park which will result in
environmental damage. You strongly
object to the project and wish to raise
awareness among the local community.
Write a text describing the government’s
project, explaining the negative impact it
will have and persuading the community
to take action.
 It’s all about the command
Terms!
Students need to understand the key command terms in order to correctly answer the test.
By teaching them this vocabulary before the test they will be better prepared! - page 75
Language B guide with definitions. Make a quizlet set!

Analyse
Demonstrate
Discuss
Examine
Explain
Evaluate
Identify
Outline
Present
State
 It’s all about Time
Management - What do you
tell your students?
HL - read HL - write SL read time SL - Write
time
1 hour 30 - read prompt, Writetime
time 30 to 40 1 hour 15 minutes total - Time
30 minutes - proofread -
choose text type, organize minutes? - proofread - read prompt, choose text agreement, variety of
and map out - 20 minutes? agreement, tense variety, type, organize - 20 minutes? tenses, transition words-
transition words - rest of rest of time?
time
 Ok so now they
wrote
How DoitI ...
or does an
IB examiner score it?
 Criteria A -
Criterion A: Language How successfully does the candidate command written
language?
• To what extent is the vocabulary appropriate and varied?
• To what extent are the grammatical structures varied?
• To what extent does the accuracy of the language contribute to effective
communication?
 Criteria A -
Varied vocabulary - not overly repetitive with words, a variety of phrases for the
theme, good use of transition words, idiomatic expressions - such as ‘in other words’
depends on the audience and register - do no need phrases like “a bird in the hand is
worth 2 in the bush”
Varied grammar - a variety of verb tenses - more tenses for HL - SL present tense is
basic grammar - avoid these errors - advanced grammar more past, future, subjunctive,
preterite, imperfect - can teach phrases of advanced grammar
Accuracy - how does accuracy influence communication - gray area here - can
the student be understood by the reader. This depends on the error. Common errors are
noun/adjective agreement, Syntax, Morphology (verb endings). Example of a spelling
error that gives a different word - “estoy embarazada” instead of “tengo verguenza”
 Criteria B -
Criterion B: Message To what extent does the candidate fulfill the task?
• How relevant are the ideas to the task?
• To what extent are ideas developed?
• To what extent do the clarity and organization of ideas contribute to the successful
delivery of the message?
 Criteria - B
Relevant ideas to the task - Are they answering the task and the prompt correctly?
Did they understand the prompt enough to be able to hit all the parts of the task?
Developed ideas - Here they are looking for concrete exampels and details that
support the ideas.
Clarity and organization contribute to successful delivery - This is where the
outline helps and paragraphs! IB examiners love paragraphs! Subtitles are also helpful
depending on the text type. Clarity - how well written is it and easy to understand?
My MYP rule of thumb for Language and Literature:
1. Only one and or but in a sentence (or transition word)
2. Don’t make a sentence longer than 2 lines total.
3. Don’t repeat transition words in the same paragraph.
 Criteria c -
Criterion C: Conceptual understanding To what extent does the candidate
demonstrate conceptual understanding?
• To what extent is the choice of text type appropriate to the task?
• To what extent are register and tone appropriate to the context, purpose and
audience of the task?
• To what extent does the response incorporate the conventions of the chosen text
type?
 Criteria - C

Appropriate Text Type - Did the pick the “most appropriate” text type? Or did they pick the
tangentially related text type? Or the text type that is not appropriate at all?
Register and Tone appropriate for context, audience, and purpose? -comes back to
prewrite/outline. Is it formal or informal? Singular or plural? Did they stay consistent. Did they
say “hey guys” when it should be “my esteemed colleagues”?
Conventions of the text type - more liberal that you would think - best idea - go through
markschemes to double check - more next….
 Conventions of Text Type -
some samples
Article/Essay - Title, Date, Author - by so and so - sounds like an article - neutral tone - well organized ideas,
introduction and conclusion or closure to article
Pamphlet/Leaflet/Brochure - Informational text - Large title of Organization and idea or cause, subtitles
organizing ideas, more contact information - email or website for more information
Email/Letter - Date, Dear so and so, opening -how are you? I am writing to you because… Depends on
formal or informal, closure: thank you for your time, Sign off - Cordially/Sincerely or I’ll write more soon!
Love, or hugs - sign name
Blog - similar to letter, but can include commentaries. Should have - “hi everyone” writing to group
Speech - similar to the blog - hi everyone - depends on formal and informal - opening and closing - well
organized
Interview - Date, title, name then speech what they say, questions and answers, depends on fomal and
informal
 Questions???? FAQ
1. So do I need to have my students draw pictures or make it look like a blog with things like
“links, archive, etc” at the top? - No
2. Which text types are the most common? In the past I would say blog, email, and article. But the
specimens show us differently.
3. Can I teach them memorized phrases to insert into the writing? Will this help? - In short, yes.
4. What happens if they write too much? - The examiner can stop reading after the word limit
5. What happens if they write too little? This will impact criteria B for sure.
6. Others?...
So what does the examiner see?

Examiners see one paper at a time and they mark

with a variety of tools. They write comments on
criteria A, B, and C justifying why they gave the
score that they did according to the rubric. Every
10 papers they have one seed or pre marked
paper - they can be off by no more than 2 points
total.

CREDITS:
This presentation template was created by Slidesgo,
including icons by Flaticon, and infographics & images
by Freepik.
Please keep this slide for attribution.
 Important Dos!
1. Label the correct text type and choice - You picked Task 2 and then said
it was a letter
2. Insert advanced grammar and transition words
3. Make Paragraphs!
4. Use all or the majority of the time allotted
5. Instruct students how to read the questions carefully and choose the
most appropriate text type.
6. Make sure that students have practiced all the text types from “Text
types for Paper 1 task options (first assessment 2020”)
7. Ensure students plan and organize their writing
8. Identify language weaknesses for each student and help them to
correct.
 Important Dos! Continued
1. Encourage students to read all parts of the text - when it says two
aspects they need to address Both!
2. Encourage legible handwriting. Good handwriting is like wearing nice
clothes!
3. Stay in the word limit!
 Donts!
1. Identify the name of the school or the name of the student
2. Mislabel the task choice! - this is bad, very very bad
3. Write too little or not enough
4. Pick a task for the text type if they aren’t familiar with the theme/topic
being addressed.
5. Write one giant paragraph
6. Write in your own voice - you can lie “I went to Madrid last summer! We
ate paella and it was awesome!” says me who sat on my couch all
summer.
One word - ok 2 - Subject
Reports!!
● My IB log in

● Program Resource Center - PRC

● Diploma Programme - DP

● Language Acquisition - Language B/ab initio

● Under assessment - Subject Reports - 20 languages!

So where can I find samples
● My IB log in

● Program Resouce Center - PRC

● Diploma Programme - DP

● Language Acquisition - Language B/ab initio

● Language B - Teacher Support Material - TSM

● Examples - page 24

● Want to read?
Tips for Teaching
writing
● Write more, write often
● Article of the Week - Kelly Gallagher
http://www.kellygallagher.org/article-of-the-week
● One article each week - news source - different text types
● Look up and define - (you decide) 15 words, 20 words
● Highlight different verb tenses - preterite - yellow, etc - whatever you are
working on
● Write 2-3 questions you have
● Write a 5 sentence summary
● Reading/Writing then discussion at the end of the week!
 Resources - Practices - Share on
wiki or padlet
Spanish - Spanish Project www.spanishproject.org
Antonio Luna - https://www.antonioluna.org/p/spanish-b.html
All - IB Documents - https://ibdocuments.com/
Teachers Pay Teachers - www.teacherspayteachers.com
Tes - www.tes.com
Free exam papers - www.freeexampapers.com
Kids ask on - www.reddit.com
 You are so good at this!
You should be doing this!
How?
https://www.ibo.org/jobs-and-careers/become-an-assessment-ib
-educator/become-an-ib-examiner/

Google - how do I become a IB examiner

I can tell you more about the process
 So what is the pay and more
info?
Language B HL PAPER ONE 8.80
Language B HL PAPER TWO (Reading) 6.00
Language B HL PAPER TWO (Listening) 3.80
Language B SL PAPER ONE 8.20
Language B SL PAPER TWO (Reading) 6.00
Language B SL PAPER TWO (Listening) 3.80
Language ab initio SL PAPER ONE 7.40
Language ab initio SL PAPER TWO (Reading) 6.00
Language ab initio SL PAPER TWO (Listening) 3.80

Usually begins one week after May exams and then you have approximately 4
weeks to mark what you say you will mark - min 80 - max 200
 What about IA’s
Language B HL/SL INTERNAL ASSESSMENT (ORAL) 16.20
Language ab initio SL INTERNAL ASSESSMENT (ORAL) 16.20

● Begins around April 3rd - read training materials and marking samples, 5
each - then 5 practice papers in RM Assessor and then 4 qualifiers, if you
pass then move on to mark if not then you get another 4 qualifiers if you fail
. thank you