What 'social engagement' covers: Social engagement sits in the theme Social organization. You need vocabulary to talk about volunteering, helping your community, and getting involved in local projects and charities.
How to use this list
- Give your opinion about why this matters.
- These are common English B words. Treat the list as a glossary.
- Learn each term with its meaning and a synonym.
- Reuse the terms in the reading and writing sections.
- volunteering
- giving your time to help others without being paid
- a volunteer
- a person who helps for free, by choice
- a charity / an NGO
- an organisation that helps people or causes, not for profit
- the community
- the group of people who live in the same area or share an interest
- a (good) cause
- an aim or project worth supporting, e.g. helping the homeless
- to get involved (in)
- to start taking an active part in an activity or project
- to make a difference
- to have a real, positive effect on a situation or people
- to fundraise / a fundraiser
- to collect money for a cause / an event held to collect money
- to give back (to)
- to do something good for a community that has helped you
- a donation — to donate
- money or goods given to help — to give them
- to raise awareness
- to help more people learn about an issue or cause
- rewarding
- giving a strong feeling of satisfaction, even without pay
- to be worth it
- to be good enough or useful enough to justify the effort
| Useful expression | What it means |
|---|---|
| I volunteer at a local charity. | I help an organisation in my area for free. |
| I want to give something back. | I want to help the community that helped me. |
| It really makes a difference. | It has a real, positive effect on people. |
| I got involved through a friend. | A friend introduced me to the activity or project. |
| It's hard work, but it's rewarding. | It takes effort, but it feels satisfying. |
Why this matters: This vocabulary turns up in every skill — a reading text about a charity, a listening clip about a community project, a Paper 1 blog asking people to volunteer, or your oral. Reusing precise topic words is how you score Criterion A (Language).
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Have something to say: Examiners reward developed ideas, not just vocabulary. Take a position and back it up.
Common debates on social engagement
- Should volunteering be encouraged (or even required) at school?
- Do young people do enough for their community?
- Is it better to donate money or to give your time?
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
Why young people sometimes don't engage
- They feel too busy with school and exams.
- They think one person can't make a difference.
- They don't know how or where to get started.
Why getting involved is worth it
- It makes a real difference to your community.
- It's rewarding and you make new friends.
- It builds useful skills and confidence.
Volunteering
- At home or abroad: the hardest moment, what you learned
- Applying to volunteer at a big event
- A class project for a local charity
Raising support
- Asking a business to sponsor a project
- Petitions and peaceful protests
- Introducing a speaker who helps others
Everyday kindness
- Helping a stranger who needs it
- Welcoming refugees and newcomers
- Small actions that add up
- to get involved (in)
- to take part actively in something
- a petition
- a document many people sign to ask an authority to change something
- to sponsor
- to give money to support a project or event
- humanitarian (work)
- work that helps people who are suffering, for example after a disaster
- disadvantaged
- having fewer chances in life, for example because of poverty
- to make a difference
- to have a good effect on a situation or on people
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.
My summer at the community garden (part 1): Last summer I joined a neighbourhood project to turn an abandoned plot of land into a community garden. At first I was nervous, because I knew almost no one there.
My summer at the community garden (part 2)
But soon everything changed. Every Saturday, neighbours of all ages met up to plant vegetables and look after the garden together. I realised that volunteering doesn't only help the area — it also brings people closer.
My summer at the community garden (part 3)
Now I give a few hours a month to the garden, and I've made friends I never would have expected. Nobody pays me anything, but I've learned that getting involved in your community is genuinely worth it.
- an abandoned plot of land
- a piece of ground that no one uses or looks after
- to look after
- to take care of someone or something
- to realise
- to become aware of something you hadn't noticed
- to bring people closer
- to make people feel more connected to each other
- worth it
- good or useful enough to justify the time and effort
IB-style task — one Paper 2 question
One question, step by step
- The question — "According to the text, how often does the writer go to the garden now?"
- Find it in the text. Look for the word "Now": "Now I give a few hours a month to the garden."
- The answer — A few hours a month. 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 is launching a volunteering week, and you help to build a community garden. Write a speech for the school assembly: describe the project and encourage students to get involved.
Write 250–400 words.
Speech structure — 5 steps
1
Greet the audience
Speak to the people in the room. "Good morning, everyone."
2
Introduce yourself and the topic
Say who you are and what you will talk about. "I'm Maya from Year 11, and I'm here to talk about…"
3
Two or three arguments
Signpost them so listeners can follow. "First, it gave my free time a real purpose…"
4
Call to action
Tell the audience what to do. "Give it a go this month."
5
Close and thank
End with a strong line and thanks. "Thank you for listening."
Greeting → Topic → Arguments → Call to action → Thanks
Model: the 5 steps in ~100 words
The speech, step by step
- Good morning, everyone.
- I'm Maya from Year 11, and I'm here to talk about the project that changed my year: our community garden.
- I used to spend my weekends scrolling on my phone. Then I joined the garden team. First, it gave my free time a real purpose. Second, I met people of all ages from our neighbourhood. And finally, every vegetable we grow goes to the local food bank.
- So find a cause you care about, start small — just two hours a month — and bring a friend. Give it a go this month.
- You won't regret it. Thank you for listening.
Why it works: A strong speech does this for each of the three Paper 1 criteria:
A — Language /12
- Range of tenses: past "I used to spend", "I joined", present "we grow", imperatives
- Signposting connectors: "first", "second", "finally", "so"
- Topic vocabulary: community garden, food bank, get involved
B — Message /12
- Task fully done: describes the project AND encourages students
- Three reasons, each with a detail
C — Conceptual /6
- Speech conventions: greets the audience, thanks them at the end
- Signposted points the audience can follow
- A call to action: "Give it a go this month"
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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.
How to answer — 3 steps
1
Read the questions first
Do this before the clip plays.
2
Listen for the key idea
Focus on the part each question points to.
3
Then answer
Use what the speaker actually says.
Questions → Key idea → Answer
Practise on the page: 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 — Elena's homework club (part 1): Hi, I'm Elena and I coordinate a homework club for younger children at our public library. Each volunteer only comes one afternoon a week, so anyone can take part. The club is free for families, because the library lends us the room and a local bookshop donates books and pencils.
Transcript — Elena's homework club (part 2)
To find new volunteers, we visit secondary schools and put up posters in the town centre. The best part is when a child who used to hate reading asks to borrow a book.
IB-style task — two listening questions
Two questions, step by step
- Q1 — How much time does each volunteer give? Listen just after "Each volunteer": "Each volunteer only comes one afternoon a week." That is your answer.
- Q2 — How does the club find new volunteers? She says it near the end: "To find new volunteers, we visit secondary schools and put up posters in the town centre." Answer: school visits and posters in the town centre.
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.