Paper 1 Question 2
The piece of text that I read was a letter written by Richard Branson, an entrepreneur who is focusing on informing the audience about happiness and how we can bring ourselves happiness in an easier way. This writing is written in the first person and is an informal piece of writing that is meant to inspire the audience.
Taking a closer look at the form in this piece, we can see that this is intended to be read by anyone interested in the art of happiness, which is why he uses the term, “stranger,” to address his audience. This gives the audience the illusion that he actually is having a conversation with you throughout the entire letter. I feel like this is an effective way to address your audience and keep them engaged more and keep them interested in the entire piece.
Looking at the structure of the letter, we can see that the author used a variety of short and simple paragraphs in the writing. An example of this is in the beginning when he states, “Dear Stranger.” Another example of this is in the concluding sentence when he gives the reader happy regards about the text. This keeps it entertaining and makes the audience feel more involved with the text.
Richard did an excellent job of portraying to the reader how he achieved his goal of gaining happiness. He shows the reader that money does not buy happiness and instead of that, he is wealthy because he is happy. It is something that you have to think about in reverse in order to achieve. He states, “So many people get caught up in doing what they think will make them happy but, in my opinion, this is where they fail. Happiness is not about doing, it’s about being.” Branson talks about all three tenses that include the present, past, and the future specifically how living every moment to the fullest will make your future better.
The author also used rhetorical devices notably pathos in order to make the article much stronger. He tells the reader why it is important to be happy and that would show the emotion that they can feel throughout the entire letter. There also could be a case made that there was kairos in the sense that he brings up the past, present, and future and that you can change your future by living your best time in the present.
Something else that the author brings up on multiple occasions is imagery, he does this for the audience to be able to visualize happiness. A quote from the text states, “It’s looking up at the stars and dreaming of seeing them up close one day.” He uses this to show the reader that you need to visualize your dreams in order to see them and it’s all about visualizing and knowing that you will accomplish something that you desire so much.
I also liked how Richard talked about how it was ok to feel stressed, scared, or sad. Life is about living to fight through your fears and work up the courage to fight through those fears and find the light at the end of the tunnel. He does this to show you that nobody in life should live up to perfection and that you need to see failure to achieve success. Furthermore, being happy can make your life a whole lot easier and Branson is a great example of that as a successful person. This is filled with a bunch of wise advice that can inspire the reader no matter what situation they are in life. He perfectly executed this letter and it even gave me some knowledge that I needed but never knew I needed.
To start, you had a very good opening paragraph that shows your clear understanding of the text. You also mention things like ‘first person’ and ‘inspire the audience’. You also make very good references to the audience throughout the entire response. You also show an effective reference to characteristic features. For example, you quote ‘Dear strange’ when talking about the structure of the text. Again, with every paragraph, you do a very good job relating your points back to the audience. Your analysis was very detailed and effectively structured. One point that I would make is that you included a very long quote in your fourth paragraph. I would suggest using ellipsis instead. You also briefly suggest the three tenses in the same paragraph. Instead, I think it would be much better if you were to make this an entirely separate paragraph and expand upon it much more. I really like how you bring up pathos and how it makes the article ‘much stronger’. However, it was very generally mentioned and needs to be explained much more; preferably with textual evidence. I think in your concluding paragraph, you speak too much about the content of the text rather than the form, structure, and language and how this is used effectively by the author. Referring to ‘the author’ as Branson would also be better as it would show your greater understanding of the text.
ReplyDeleteFor AO1, I will be giving you 3 marks. You show a very clear understanding of the text with your references to meaning, context, and audience. You also make clear references to characteristic features.
For AO3, I will give you 13 marks. Your analysis was very detailed as you describe each of your points well. However, I think you could have explained in regards to your specific examples. You also chose an effective selection of elements of form, structure, and language. You show a detailed awareness of the writer’s stylistic choices and how this relates back to the audience.
Therefore, your overall score is 16/25. Good job!