IB Mandarin B HL cheat sheet

Paper 1 (writing): choose one of two prompts tied to a theme; produce 450–600 characters (SL) or 450–600 characters for HL with additional complexity; register and text type are assessed separately from language.

Text types carry fixed conventions: 个人邮件 needs greeting + closing + sign-off; 博客 has a title, first-person voice, and reader address; 演讲稿 uses 各位老师、同学 and rhetorical questions; 报道 uses third person and a headline.

Identity vocabulary clusters: 身份、认同、归属感、自我认知、刻板印象、偏见、性别角色、代际差异、文化传承、多元身份.

Register markers: formal = 您、敬请、谨此、贵校; informal = 你、咱们、特别、超级; mixing registers within one text costs marks under the 语域 criterion.

Paper 2 (listening/reading): HL tasks include multiple-choice, matching, gap-fill, and short answer; answers must be in the language of the question and within the word limit.

For 描述性 writing, use 感官细节 (sight, sound, smell) plus one 比喻 or 拟人 per paragraph; abstract statements alone do not demonstrate descriptive range.

Identity prompt decision rule: if the prompt names an audience (e.g. 校刊读者), the text type and register are fixed by that audience, not by personal preference.

Common identity essay angle: 家庭期望 vs 个人选择 - contrast 父母的期待 with 自己的兴趣, then resolve with a concrete example.

Narrative structure for 记叙文: 时间顺序 with clear 起因、经过、高潮、结果; past markers include 当时、后来、从那以后、记得有一次.

Aspect markers: 过 = indefinite past experience; 了 = completed action; 正在/在 = ongoing; 着 = continuing state. Choosing the wrong marker changes meaning and is penalized in accuracy.

Time expressions precede the verb or open the sentence: 去年夏天、上个月、小时候、第一次…的时候; never place them after the object.

Travel/experience vocabulary: 经历、体验、难忘、印象深刻、挑战、适应、克服、收获、成长、志愿者、交换生、寄宿家庭.

Paper 1 HL requires 450–600 characters for the writing task; exceeding by more than ~10% risks losing the 连贯性 and task-fulfilment marks through digression.

Cohesion devices to vary: 首先/接着/随后/与此同时/最终; 因为…所以; 虽然…但是; 不仅…而且; 不但…还.

Reflective ending pattern: state what changed - 这次经历让我明白… - rather than summarizing events already narrated.

Reading inference rule: when a question asks 作者的感受, the answer is rarely a literal word from the text; look for 反问句, 比喻, or contrastive 但是 clauses.

Debate/argument text type (议论文) structure: 观点 → 论据1 → 论据2 → 反驳对方 → 结论; each 论据 needs a concrete example or statistic, not a restated claim.

Ingenuity vocabulary: 创新、发明、创造力、科技、人工智能、专利、突破、传统工艺、非物质文化遗产、设计、可持续.

Connectors for argument: 一方面…另一方面; 然而; 因此; 总之; 不仅如此; 相比之下; 由此可见.

Passive voice (被/由/受到) is frequent in science and process descriptions: 这项技术被广泛应用于…; 该工艺由手工完成.

Comparison structures: 与…相比、不如、越来越、越…越…、A 比 B 更…; use them to evaluate old vs new technology.

HL Paper 2 reading often tests 词义猜测: infer an unfamiliar compound from its characters (e.g. 专+利 = patent) rather than from context alone.

Balanced conclusion rule: acknowledge a limitation (然而，这项技术也带来…) before the final position; one-sided essays score lower on 论证 depth.

Traditional craft terms: 刺绣、陶瓷、木雕、剪纸、传承人、手艺; pair each with a modernization example (e.g. 电商销售、短视频传播).

Formal letter/email conventions: 尊敬的…先生/女士 opening, 此致敬礼 closing; 申请信 states purpose in sentence one and qualifications in the body.

Social vocabulary: 社区、家庭结构、教育制度、社会阶层、志愿者组织、养老、就业、城乡差距、政策、福利.

Report (报道) style: headline + 导语 answering 何时、何地、何人、何事 + body with quotes; third person, no 我.

Cause–effect chains: 由于…导致…; 随着…的变化…; 这反映出…; avoid stacking more than two 因为 in one sentence.

HL Paper 1 may ask for a 建议信 or 倡议书: 倡议书 uses 呼吁语 (让我们…), a target audience, and a concrete action list.

Numbers and comparison: 百分比、增长、下降、超过、接近、翻倍; state the base when comparing (从…增加到…).

Politeness/indirectness in Chinese requests: 能否、是否可以、麻烦您、希望您能 - direct imperatives read as rude in formal contexts.

Education-system terms: 高考、义务教育、课外辅导、素质教育、升学率; use them precisely, as mistranslation weakens the argument.

Environment vocabulary: 气候变化、碳排放、可再生资源、污染、垃圾回收、生物多样性、可持续发展、环保意识.

Causal/conditional patterns for policy arguments: 如果…就…; 只有…才…; 除非…否则…; 为了…我们应该….

Data description: 上升/下降趋势、占比、人均、总量; distinguish 总量 from 人均 when citing statistics.

Global vs local framing: 全球性问题 vs 本地行动; strong answers link a worldwide issue to a concrete community measure.

Paper 2 listening distractors often reverse a cause: the speaker mentions 汽车 as a cause, then says 主要原因是工厂排放 - track the final attribution.

Solutions language: 减少使用、推广、立法限制、提高公众意识、投资清洁能源; each solution should name an actor (政府/企业/个人).

Formal written style avoids 很 + adjective stacking; prefer 十分、极为、显著 for degree in reports and proposals.

HL oral (individual oral) links a stimulus to a theme and a Chinese-speaking culture; prepare one environment example with a specific place and measure.

Paper 1 (writing): choose one of two prompts tied to a theme; produce 450–600 characters (SL) or 450–600 characters for HL with additional complexity; register and text type are assessed separately from language.

Text types carry fixed conventions: 个人邮件 needs greeting + closing + sign-off; 博客 has a title, first-person voice, and reader address; 演讲稿 uses 各位老师、同学 and rhetorical questions; 报道 uses third person and a headline.

Identity vocabulary clusters: 身份、认同、归属感、自我认知、刻板印象、偏见、性别角色、代际差异、文化传承、多元身份.

Register markers: formal = 您、敬请、谨此、贵校; informal = 你、咱们、特别、超级; mixing registers within one text costs marks under the 语域 criterion.

Paper 2 (listening/reading): HL tasks include multiple-choice, matching, gap-fill, and short answer; answers must be in the language of the question and within the word limit.

For 描述性 writing, use 感官细节 (sight, sound, smell) plus one 比喻 or 拟人 per paragraph; abstract statements alone do not demonstrate descriptive range.

Identity prompt decision rule: if the prompt names an audience (e.g. 校刊读者), the text type and register are fixed by that audience, not by personal preference.

Common identity essay angle: 家庭期望 vs 个人选择 - contrast 父母的期待 with 自己的兴趣, then resolve with a concrete example.

Narrative structure for 记叙文: 时间顺序 with clear 起因、经过、高潮、结果; past markers include 当时、后来、从那以后、记得有一次.

Aspect markers: 过 = indefinite past experience; 了 = completed action; 正在/在 = ongoing; 着 = continuing state. Choosing the wrong marker changes meaning and is penalized in accuracy.

Time expressions precede the verb or open the sentence: 去年夏天、上个月、小时候、第一次…的时候; never place them after the object.

Travel/experience vocabulary: 经历、体验、难忘、印象深刻、挑战、适应、克服、收获、成长、志愿者、交换生、寄宿家庭.

Paper 1 HL requires 450–600 characters for the writing task; exceeding by more than ~10% risks losing the 连贯性 and task-fulfilment marks through digression.

Cohesion devices to vary: 首先/接着/随后/与此同时/最终; 因为…所以; 虽然…但是; 不仅…而且; 不但…还.

Reflective ending pattern: state what changed - 这次经历让我明白… - rather than summarizing events already narrated.

Reading inference rule: when a question asks 作者的感受, the answer is rarely a literal word from the text; look for 反问句, 比喻, or contrastive 但是 clauses.

Debate/argument text type (议论文) structure: 观点 → 论据1 → 论据2 → 反驳对方 → 结论; each 论据 needs a concrete example or statistic, not a restated claim.

Ingenuity vocabulary: 创新、发明、创造力、科技、人工智能、专利、突破、传统工艺、非物质文化遗产、设计、可持续.

Connectors for argument: 一方面…另一方面; 然而; 因此; 总之; 不仅如此; 相比之下; 由此可见.

Passive voice (被/由/受到) is frequent in science and process descriptions: 这项技术被广泛应用于…; 该工艺由手工完成.

Comparison structures: 与…相比、不如、越来越、越…越…、A 比 B 更…; use them to evaluate old vs new technology.

HL Paper 2 reading often tests 词义猜测: infer an unfamiliar compound from its characters (e.g. 专+利 = patent) rather than from context alone.

Balanced conclusion rule: acknowledge a limitation (然而，这项技术也带来…) before the final position; one-sided essays score lower on 论证 depth.

Traditional craft terms: 刺绣、陶瓷、木雕、剪纸、传承人、手艺; pair each with a modernization example (e.g. 电商销售、短视频传播).

Formal letter/email conventions: 尊敬的…先生/女士 opening, 此致敬礼 closing; 申请信 states purpose in sentence one and qualifications in the body.

Social vocabulary: 社区、家庭结构、教育制度、社会阶层、志愿者组织、养老、就业、城乡差距、政策、福利.

Report (报道) style: headline + 导语 answering 何时、何地、何人、何事 + body with quotes; third person, no 我.

Cause–effect chains: 由于…导致…; 随着…的变化…; 这反映出…; avoid stacking more than two 因为 in one sentence.

HL Paper 1 may ask for a 建议信 or 倡议书: 倡议书 uses 呼吁语 (让我们…), a target audience, and a concrete action list.

Numbers and comparison: 百分比、增长、下降、超过、接近、翻倍; state the base when comparing (从…增加到…).

Politeness/indirectness in Chinese requests: 能否、是否可以、麻烦您、希望您能 - direct imperatives read as rude in formal contexts.

Education-system terms: 高考、义务教育、课外辅导、素质教育、升学率; use them precisely, as mistranslation weakens the argument.

Environment vocabulary: 气候变化、碳排放、可再生资源、污染、垃圾回收、生物多样性、可持续发展、环保意识.

Causal/conditional patterns for policy arguments: 如果…就…; 只有…才…; 除非…否则…; 为了…我们应该….

Data description: 上升/下降趋势、占比、人均、总量; distinguish 总量 from 人均 when citing statistics.

Global vs local framing: 全球性问题 vs 本地行动; strong answers link a worldwide issue to a concrete community measure.

Paper 2 listening distractors often reverse a cause: the speaker mentions 汽车 as a cause, then says 主要原因是工厂排放 - track the final attribution.

Solutions language: 减少使用、推广、立法限制、提高公众意识、投资清洁能源; each solution should name an actor (政府/企业/个人).

Formal written style avoids 很 + adjective stacking; prefer 十分、极为、显著 for degree in reports and proposals.

HL oral (individual oral) links a stimulus to a theme and a Chinese-speaking culture; prepare one environment example with a specific place and measure.