What 'life stories' covers: Life stories is part of the theme Experiences. You need vocabulary to narrate personal experiences — childhood, memorable moments, turning points, what you learned — and to give your opinion about them.
The words below are common English B vocabulary. Treat the list as a glossary: learn each term with its meaning and a synonym, then reuse them in the reading and writing sections.
- life story
- the account of the important events in a person's life
- an experience
- something that happens to you and that you learn from
- a memory
- something from the past that you remember
- childhood
- the time of your life when you are a child
- a stage of life
- a distinct period in your life, such as childhood or adolescence
- an unforgettable moment
- a moment so special you will always remember it
- an experience that shaped my life
- an event that strongly influenced who I became
- a turning point
- a moment when an important change begins
- to overcome a difficulty
- to deal successfully with a hard situation
- to learn a lesson
- to understand something useful from an experience
- to miss (someone / something)
- to feel sad because a person or thing is not with you
- to grow up / to mature
- to become older and more developed as a person
- to be proud of
- to feel pleased and satisfied about something you did
| Useful expression | What it means |
|---|---|
| I'll never forget that day. | That day made a lasting impression on me. |
| It was an experience that shaped me. | That event strongly influenced who I am. |
| I learned a lot from that stage. | That period of my life taught me a great deal. |
| At first it was hard, but in the end it was worth it. | The difficulty paid off later. |
| That moment changed the way I see life. | After it, I looked at things differently. |
Why this matters: This vocabulary turns up in every skill — a reading text telling someone's story, a listening interview about a memory, a Paper 1 diary or blog about an experience, or your oral. Reusing precise topic words is how you score Criterion A (Language).
Have something to say: Examiners reward developed ideas, not just vocabulary. Around life stories, the common debates are: whether difficult experiences make us stronger, how travel and time away change us, and what childhood memories teach us. Take a position and back it up.
Opinion phrases (use these to introduce a view)
- In my opinion… / From my point of view… — to introduce what you think
- It seems to me that… / I believe that… — a slightly softer way to give a view
- The most important thing is… — to highlight your main point
- On the one hand… on the other hand… — to weigh up two sides
- I (completely) agree that… / I'm not convinced that… — to react to an idea
The hard side of an experience
- At first you miss your home and your family.
- Making mistakes in another language is embarrassing.
- Leaving your comfort zone is really hard.
What you gain
- Overcoming a difficulty makes you stronger.
- You get to know other cultures and make new friends.
- You go home far more sure of yourself.
Link your ideas: Connectors lift your answer from a list into an argument: moreover (to add), however (to contrast), therefore (to conclude), although (to concede). Use at least two or three in any written answer.
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Read like Paper 2: Here is a short blog post — the kind of text Paper 2 (Reading) gives you. Read it once just for the general idea; don't worry about every word. Then we'll work through one exam question together.
A summer that changed my life: When I was sixteen, I spent a summer with a host family in a small coastal town. On the first day I felt completely lost, because everyone spoke so quickly that I could barely follow a single conversation.
One afternoon I took the wrong bus and ended up in a part of town I had never seen, with no phone battery left. I was about to panic when an elderly woman noticed me. She bought me a cup of tea, listened to my broken explanation and phoned my host family from her own phone. That small act of kindness changed everything. That summer I learned that a mistake can turn into your best memory, and I went home far more confident and deeply grateful.
- host family
- a family you live with for a while, often in another country
- lost
- not knowing where you are or what to do
- to take the wrong bus
- to get on a bus going somewhere you did not want
- an act of kindness
- a kind, helpful thing someone does for you
- grateful
- feeling thankful for something good someone did
IB-style task — one Paper 2 question
One question, step by step
- The question — "According to the text, what did the elderly woman do to help the writer?"
- Find it in the text. Look for "an elderly woman": "She bought me a cup of tea, listened to my broken explanation and phoned my host family from her own phone."
- The answer — She bought the writer a cup of tea and phoned the host family from her own phone. The words are right there in the text, so no outside knowledge is needed.
Reading technique: For an "according to the text" question, find the exact line that proves your answer — don't rely on memory or general knowledge.
The task: Your school blog collects students' stories. Write a blog post for other students: tell about an experience that shaped your life and explain what you learned from it.
Use an informal, friendly register. Write 250–400 words.
Blog structure — 5 steps
1
Catchy title
A title, often a question. "Remember the day everything changed?"
2
Greeting + topic
Greet the reader and say what the post is about. "Hi everyone! Today I want to tell you about…"
3
Tell the story
Narrate what happened in the past tense. "When I was sixteen, I took the wrong bus…"
4
The lesson learned
Say what you learned and how you changed. "That's how I learned the hard moments make us grow."
5
Motivating close
Finish with an encouraging line. "Dare to live your own stories!"
Title → Greeting → The story → The lesson → Close
Model: the 5 steps in action
The blog post, step by step
- Remember the day everything changed? I do — and I'll never forget it.
- Hi everyone! I'm Carmen, and today I want to tell you about an experience that shaped my whole life: the summer I spent abroad.
- At first I felt lost and homesick. I could barely follow a conversation, and one afternoon I even took the wrong bus in a town I didn't know.
- However, a kind stranger helped me, and little by little everything improved. That's how I learned something important: the hard moments are the ones that make us grow.
- In the end, I came home with precious memories and far more confidence. So dare to live your own stories — you'll be proud you did.
Why it scores: This answer hits all three Paper 1 criteria — here's what earns each one:
A — Language /12
- Range of tenses: past "I felt", "I took"; present "the hard moments make us grow"
- Connectors: "however", "so", "in the end"
- Topic vocabulary, used accurately
B — Message /12
- Task fully done: tells the story AND explains the lesson
- Ideas developed with concrete examples
C — Conceptual /6
- Blog conventions: a catchy title
- Direct address: "Hi everyone", "you'll be proud you did"
- A personal, reflective tone
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How listening is tested: Paper 2 also tests listening: you hear short clips, each played twice, and you never see the words. Read the questions first, listen for the key idea, then answer.
Here we'll use a transcript so you can practise the technique on the page. Read the questions, then find the answer in the speaker's words.
Transcript — Hugo's story: Hi, I'm Hugo. Two years ago I spent a month with a host family in another country. At first I felt very lost because I didn't speak the language and I missed my friends. However, little by little I made friends and learned a huge amount. When I went home, I felt far more confident. For me, it was the experience that has shaped me the most.
IB-style task — two listening questions
Two questions, step by step
- Q1 — Why did Hugo feel lost at first? Listen just after "at first I felt very lost because": "I didn't speak the language and I missed my friends." That is your answer.
- Q2 — How did he feel when he went home? He says it near the end: "When I went home, I felt far more confident." Answer: far more confident.
Listening technique: Read the questions before the clip plays. Each question usually points to one short part of the recording — listen for the words around it, not the whole thing.