The week before the exam, most students don’t worry about grammar first.
They worry about surprises.
The most calming thing you can do for IB Language B is remove the unknowns: what each paper looks like, how long you get, what skills the examiner actually marks, and where students quietly lose easy points. This guide walks you through the IB Language B paper format with a practical plan you can use today.
IB Language B exam format at a glance
Here’s the simple map for IB Language B:
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Paper 1: Writing (productive skills)
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Paper 2: Listening + Reading (receptive skills)
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Internal Assessment: Individual Oral (interactive skills)
If you want the bigger strategy view (timing, habits, and what to prioritize), keep this open as a companion: IB Language B Exams: Format, Timing, Strategy.
Paper 1 (Writing): what happens and what it tests
Paper 1 in IB Language B asks you to produce one written text under time pressure.
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Duration: 1h 15m (SL), 1h 30m (HL)
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Weighting: 25% (SL), 25% (HL)
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Task: choose 1 of 3 prompts
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Word count: 250-400 (SL), 450-600 (HL)
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Text types: commonly include blog, article, email/letter, speech, diary entry, report
Your job is not just “write accurately.” It’s to match purpose + audience + register while staying clearly connected to the prompt.
To make Paper 1 predictable, use RevisionDojo’s format-and-timing breakdown for writing: IB English B format and timing. The same structure logic applies across IB Language B courses.
A fast Paper 1 routine that works
Try this rhythm:
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Plan (8-10 min): decide audience/purpose, outline 3 points, list 6-10 high-yield phrases.
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Write (most of the time): execute paragraph by paragraph.
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Check (8-10 min): fix verb endings, agreements, register mistakes, and add connectors.
When you practice, get feedback fast. RevisionDojo’s Grading tools make this much easier to repeat: IB Language B HL Paper 1 Grader.
Paper 2 (Listening + Reading): what happens and how to score
Paper 2 in IB Language B tests how well you understand real language in motion: voices, accents, opinions, and text structures.
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Duration: 1h 45m (SL), 2h (HL)
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Weighting: 50% (SL), 50% (HL)
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Sections: Listening + Reading
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Questions: typically multiple choice, short answer, matching, and responses based on detail/inference
A useful rule: receptive skills reward evidence. Even when you infer, you’re inferring from clues the text gives you.
If you’re studying French, these targeted resources show the exact skills the listening section trains:
Listening and reading: the small habits that add marks
For IB Language B Paper 2, these habits usually move scores faster than “more exposure”:
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Preview questions like a detective: underline names, numbers, and negatives.
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Listen twice with roles: first play = gist; second play = confirm details.
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Stop translating word-for-word: aim for meaning, then answer precisely.
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Build a connector bank: however/therefore/despite-style words signal the answer.
To practice in a structured way, RevisionDojo’s Questionbank gives exam-style drills with feedback: Questionbank.
Internal Assessment (Individual Oral): what to expect
The IB Language B Internal Assessment is the Individual Oral, and it’s worth 25% at both levels.
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Duration: about 12-15 minutes (SL and HL)
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Focus: interactive speaking skills, fluency, accuracy, and your ability to develop ideas
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Stimulus: SL often uses a visual stimulus; HL includes deeper analysis and broader discussion (including course-linked material)
The most common problem isn’t vocabulary. It’s structure.
Train the oral like you train writing: a clear opening, a few organized points, and a confident landing.
This guide is a strong next step: Mastering Language B Oral Practice.
A simple weekly prep checklist for IB Language B
Use this to make the IB Language B format feel automatic:
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1 timed Paper 1 writing each week (rotate text types)
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2 short listening drills + review errors
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2 short reading sets focusing on inference and detail
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1 oral practice using a 3-part structure (describe, interpret, connect)
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Turn mistakes into Flashcards and revisit them
For more revision structure (especially vocabulary-by-theme), see: How to effectively revise for Language B exams.
Closing: make the format your advantage
When you know the IB Language B paper format, nerves don’t disappear, but they stop running the show.
Your next step is simple: run one timed writing, one listening drill, and one oral structure practice this week, then repeat with better feedback. RevisionDojo makes that loop realistic with Study Notes, Flashcards, AI Chat, Grading tools, Mock Exams, Predicted Papers, a Coursework Library, and Tutors when you need a human push.
For the official course overview, see the IBO Language B page. And when you’re ready to turn understanding into scores, start practicing your IB Language B papers on RevisionDojo.