IB Spanish B HL key terms

The central point a text or recording is built around. In reading and listening tasks you must separate it from supporting details, examples and asides, because questions often test whether you identified the overall message rather than one isolated fact.

A supporting point that explains, illustrates or qualifies the main idea. Recognising secondary ideas helps you answer detail questions and avoids mistaking an example for the writer's overall position.

A conclusion you draw from clues in the text that are not stated directly, such as tone, word choice or what the writer leaves out. Inference questions require evidence from the text, not personal opinion.

A real-world text type such as a news article, blog post, leaflet, review or interview, rather than material written for learners. Authentic texts carry cultural references, idioms and informal structures that you must interpret in context.

Restating a phrase or sentence in different words while keeping the meaning. Exam questions usually paraphrase the text, so matching exact words between question and text is often a trap.

The reason a text or speaker communicates: to inform, persuade, warn, entertain, complain or instruct. Identifying the purpose guides your reading speed and helps you reject answers that fit the topic but not the intent.

The attitude or effect the writer aims to create, for example irony, criticism, sympathy or urgency. It is often conveyed through adjectives, modality and rhetorical questions rather than stated outright.

The emotional colour of a text or utterance, such as neutral, sarcastic, nostalgic or indignant. Tone is signalled by vocabulary, punctuation and intensifiers, and it frequently appears in multiple-choice questions about attitude.

A word or phrase that links ideas and shows their logical relationship, for example sin embargo, por lo tanto, además, no obstante. Connectives reveal contrast, cause, consequence or addition and are essential for following an argument.

The logical organisation of ideas so that the whole text makes sense as a unit, with a clear progression from introduction to conclusion. Coherence concerns meaning and structure rather than surface linking words.

The way sentences are tied together through pronouns, synonyms, ellipsis and connectors so the text reads as a continuous whole. Tracking reference words such as este, aquel or ello prevents misreading who or what is meant.

A pronoun or demonstrative that points back to something already mentioned, as in the word ello referring to a previous clause. Resolving these references is a common reading skill tested in gap-fill and matching tasks.

A word in the question or text that carries the essential meaning needed to locate the answer. Skimming for key words and their synonyms speeds up scanning in long authentic texts.

A listening strategy in which you filter a recording for specific information such as a date, price or name while ignoring everything else. It is used when the task asks for discrete details rather than overall meaning.

Listening for the overall gist of a recording before attending to details. It helps you predict content, identify the speaker's stance and orient yourself during the first hearing of a text.

Writing brief keywords, symbols and abbreviations while listening so you can answer questions afterwards. Effective notes capture names, numbers, opinions and contrasts rather than full sentences.

A spoken phrase that organises what a speaker says, such as por un lado, en fin, es decir, de todas formas. These markers signal a change of topic, a summary or a reformulation and help you follow the structure of speech.

A filler expression used in spontaneous speech, such as o sea, pues, bueno or ¿sabes? It carries little meaning but signals hesitation or keeps the floor, and recognising it prevents you from treating it as content.

Informal spoken language used among friends or in relaxed settings, with contractions, slang and incomplete sentences. Interviews and podcasts often mix colloquial and formal registers, and you must identify which is being used.

A regional form of Spanish differing in pronunciation, vocabulary or grammar, such as rioplatense voseo or Caribbean consonant dropping. Authentic recordings may feature these varieties, so exposure to different accents is essential.

The rise and fall of pitch in speech that conveys meaning, emotion and sentence type. In listening tasks, intonation can turn a statement into a question or reveal surprise, doubt or irony.

A letter written to an institution or person in authority, using formal register, a greeting such as Estimado señor, a clear statement of purpose, developed paragraphs and a conventional closing. It is a frequent task 1 text type.

A written text presenting the author's view on a current issue for a general readership, usually with a headline, an engaging opening, argued paragraphs and a conclusion. It requires a clear stance supported by reasons and examples.

A short critical text evaluating a book, film, restaurant or event, combining description with judgement and a recommendation. It balances summary with opinion and uses evaluative vocabulary.

A conventional phrase used to open or close formal correspondence, such as Estimado señor or Le saluda atentamente. Using the appropriate formula shows control of register and text conventions.

A text that defends a position through reasoning, evidence and counter-argument. It typically states a thesis, develops arguments with connectors of cause and consequence, and closes with a conclusion that reaffirms the stance.

The position or central claim a discursive text defends, usually stated in the introduction. A clear thesis guides the whole text and lets the reader follow how each paragraph supports it.

An opposing view that a writer acknowledges and then refutes or qualifies. Including a counter-argument and a rebuttal strengthens a discursive text and demonstrates higher-level critical thinking.

The final section of a written text that draws ideas together, restates the position and may offer a recommendation or prediction. It should not introduce a wholly new argument.

A linking expression that admits a contrasting point, such as aunque, a pesar de, si bien or no obstante. Concessive connectors let you acknowledge an opposing view while maintaining your argument.

A passage from a literary work studied during the course, used as the basis for the individual oral. You must summarise its content, analyse themes, characters and style, and connect it to the wider work.

The close examination of how a literary text creates meaning through structure, imagery, narrative voice, characterisation and style. In the oral it should go beyond plot summary to interpret the author's choices.

A recurring idea explored in a literary work, such as identity, migration, power or love. Themes are usually implied through events and imagery rather than stated, and identifying them is central to the oral discussion.

A figure in a literary text whose actions, speech and development carry meaning. Discussing motivation, relationships and change in a character shows depth of interpretation in the oral.

The voice that tells a story, which may be first person, third person omniscient or limited. The choice of narrator shapes the reader's access to information and is a productive point for literary analysis.

A deliberate language device such as metaphor, simile, repetition, irony or symbolism used to create effect. Naming the device and explaining its effect on meaning or tone earns credit in literary analysis.

Language appropriate to official, academic or professional contexts, avoiding slang and contractions and using full forms, impersonal constructions and polite address. It is required in formal letters and reports and contrasted with colloquial speech.

The level of formality and the style of language suited to a situation and audience. Adjusting register to the task, whether a blog for peers or a letter to a newspaper, is explicitly assessed in written production.

A word with a similar meaning to another, used to vary vocabulary and to paraphrase. In reading and listening, answers often use synonyms rather than the exact words of the text.

A Spanish verb mood used for wishes, doubt, emotion, impersonal statements and after certain conjunctions. Accurate use of present and imperfect subjunctive in complex sentences is a marker of grammatical range.

The matching of verb tenses across clauses according to meaning and sequence, for example shifting to imperfect subjunctive after a past-tense main verb. Consistent tense sequencing keeps a narrative or argument clear.

A verb construction made of an auxiliary plus infinitive, gerund or participle, such as ir a hacer, estar haciendo or acabar de llegar. Periphrases express nuance of aspect, obligation or duration and enrich written accuracy.

An unstressed object pronoun such as me, lo, le, se or nos that attaches to or precedes a verb. Correct placement and choice of direct or indirect pronoun, including leísmo avoidance, is a frequent accuracy point.