Text: Press, Bill. “The big loser: The Republican Party.” The Hill. https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/538892-press-the-big-loser-the-republican-party
Before you read the “spoiler” bullet points below take a careful look at the text. Imagine it is a text you are using for your DP Language A Language and Literature assessments ( Paper 1, the individual oral, the HL essay,) and analyze it accordingly. This text would not be appropriate for Paper 2.
Paper 1: first take a careful look at criteria A and B . Then, consider how you would approach this particular text in light of the requirements of criteria A and B.
Individual oral: Start by looking at criteria A and B for the IO. There are some similarities between the criteria in the individual oral and those in Paper 1. However, the individual oral also requires students to make connections between extracts from a work and body of work. The individual oral must make connections with the global issue that the student has chosen. Consider how this text is linked to different global issues.
HL essay: The HL essay is an in-depth analysis of a non-literary body of work or a literary work the student has studied in class. Imagine this text is from a non-literary body of work and consider possible approaches you could take with the 1200-1500 word HL essay. This could include evaluating connections between this text and the seven central concepts in DP Language A Language and Literature.
Some elements of this text to consider:
- This text would might be shortened and simplified if it were to appear on a Paper 1. Websites used for Paper 1 texts often have sidebars etc. removed so that the focus of the analysis is on the main part of the text.
- The Hill is a U.S. news website that focuses mostly on U.S. political news.
- The timing of the article – not long after the Jan. 6 incident in Washington and the subsequent impeachment proceedings where critics say Republicans did not hold Trump accountable for inciting the riot.
- The fairly blunt title.
- The key points / arguments that the writer makes in his opinion editorial and how those points / arguments are made
- The photo of Mitch McConnell, a polarizing Republican politician and someone who has supported Trump repeatedly
- The quite strong language in the op-ed used to criticize the Republican party. The fourth and fifth paragraphs are particularly pointed in their attacks.
- The second to last paragraph which focuses on the opportunity Democrats have
- The strong statement at the end of the op-ed.