IB Docs (2) Team
P1 HL S5 (stress)
This specimen paper offers an indication of the types of texts that could be expected on a higher level Paper 1. Although this specimen is not authorized by the IB, the texts have been selected in the spirit of the specimen papers provided by the IB:
- The level of complexity is similar to previous specimen papers
- The level of proficiency required by the students is equal to previous specimen papers
- The range of texts (when taken with P1 HL S4 (hybrids) is similar to previous papers
If you would like to practice with new, unseen texts in preparation for Paper 1, this page is a good starting point. Download this specimen Paper 1 and feel free to use it as a mock exam. Share your findings by commenting in the comment box below or sending an email to the InThinking support staff.
Contribute:Are you or your HL students willing to contribute to the InThinking Subject Site? Try writing a Paper 1 Comparative Commentary on either P1 HL S4 (hybrids) or P1 HL S5 (stress) below). Downloadables are available on both pages for you to use in an exam-style situation.
Paper 1
Analyse, compare and contrast the following two texts. Include comments on the similarities and differences between the texts and the significance of context, audience, purpose, and formal and stylistic features.
Specimen Paper 1 HLText 1
Car and Driver Magazine
May 2011
Self-righteousness in a large economy size.
Since 1997, more than two million Toyota Prius hybrids have been sold in 70 countries. Loosely translated, the Latin word prius means “ahead of the curve,” not “creep along in the passing lane” as some owners seem to believe. The U.S. is the single largest Prius market with more than a million purchased here since 2000. The Prius currently outsells 30 other U.S.-market hybrids combined.
Refuting early powertrain-complexity and battery-life scares, more than 97 percent of the Priuses produced are still on the road. Used battery packs are available from salvage yards for around $500.
Born a compact fuel-squeezer and penny-pincher, Prius advanced to the mid-size class in 2003. That second-generation model earned wide acclaim, including a spot on our 2004 10 Best list.
Toyota’s U.S. general manager, Bob Carter, has high hopes that a growing Prius family will eventually surpass the sales volumes of the Camry and Corolla cash cows. And here is the first of the basic hatchback’s descendants, the Prius V. (That’s pronounced “vee” and not “five.”)
The V badge distinguishing the second Prius arriving this fall supposedly is meant to imply “versatile,” but it might just as well be Toyota’s victory salute. A risky engineering experiment worked, the Prius badge is universally recognized as the king of gas-electrics, and the hybrid pixie dust is being sprinkled over the 2012 V and two additional Prius models arriving next year.
Instead of simply flattening the roof and enlarging the standard Prius’s hatch to create the V, Toyota engineers went the extra mile. Their all-new body fits between conventional wagons, minivans, and compact crossovers. Size-wise, it’s a Mazda 5 with no third-row seating. (Other markets will get a three-row version of the V called the Prius+ or Alpha) Unlike the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf’s lithium-ion setups, the battery pack uses cheaper but still effective nickel-metal hydride cells. Carrying a richer load of standard and optional equipment, the Prius V likely will arrive with prices ranging from $25,000 to $35,000. This is among the first vehicles to get Toyota’s new Entune infotainment system.
Text 2
Katie Fehrenbacher
Giga OM, 30 August 2012
The Indian government has announced an aggressive $4B plan to get 6 million electric and hybrid vehicles on its roads by 2020. Here are at least five hurdles I see for the plan.
The Indian government has reportedly passed a $4.13 billion plan to boost the production of electric and hybrid vehicles, with a goal to have 6 million green vehicles on its roads by 2020.
The proclamation could provide a new market for all our electric and hybrid vehicle-focused entrepreneurs looking to find new markets. However, there are at least 5 things I think you should know about this plan:
1). From 0 to 60:India’s electric car market is non-existent right now. The country has a domestic electric car maker Reva, which has struggled over the years, but which now has the support of Indian conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra, which bought the company in 2010. Where are these vehicles going to come from? Probably China, if the Chinese electric car market kicks into gear anytime soon.
2). Lofty goal:The Indian government has long made lofty proclamations like this — Indians call them aspirational, not necessarily goals that have to be met on time. The country’s solar power goal is similarly eye-openingly high. In comparison, China has a similar plan to boost electric vehicle production, but is only shooting for 500,000 electric and hybrid cars on its roads by 2015.
3). Totally different vehicle buyer:The Indian vehicle buyer fits a totally different profile than the American, European or Japanese electric car buyer. The electric car buyer in these developed markets is willing to pay a premium for an electric or hybrid car — which are generally more expensive now than their gas counterparts — for the opportunity to be at the forefront of technology and greener vehicles. Most Indians are ultra price sensitive and won’t pay extra costs for luxury or greener goods. There is a growing Indian population that are looking to pay a good deal for vehicles, but a lot of those buyers want western models and brands like SUVs and classic luxury cars. These are generalizations but you get the picture.
4). Two wheelers are a bright spot: The Indian government says a lot of these aspirational vehicles will be two-wheelers, which could have more of a chance of selling in India. But that will depend on the emergence and popularity of an electric scooter or motorcycle being produced at a very low cost, as two-wheeler buyers in India tend to be even more price sensitive. Manufacturers in China are working on these now, so we’ll see how popular these become in India.
5). Power grid problem:If the recent blackouts are any indicator, India has some real problems with its power grid. If the country adds millions of vehicles plugging into the power grid, that’s going to add an even greater strain on it. If the Indian government is serious about plugging in vehicles to its grid, it needs to invest in the grid simultaneously, as well.
Text 3
Text 4
Arthur Yap
1974
of course your work comes first.
after that you may go for a walk,
visit friends but, all the same,
it is always correct to ask
before you do anything else.
so if you say: please may i jump
off the ledge? and go on to add
this work is really killing,
you will be told: start jumping.
no one is in any way
narrow-minded anymore these days.
it is that everyone likes to know
these things way beforehand.
but if you state: i’m going now,
jumping off the ledge
most probably they will say nothing,
thinking should it legally, morally,
departmentally be yes/no/perhaps,
or if it’s not too late:
why don’t you come along? we shall bring
this matter up to a higher level
Marking notes
After chief examiners mark the first few Paper 1 commentaries in an exam session, other examiners are sent marking notes. These are not intended to be exhaustive lists of points dictated to examiners. Rather marking notes are suggestions of points that students may raise. Examiners are encouraged to award students for mentioning these points or other appropriate points that students raise in their commentaries. Examiners are discouraged from deducting points for an absence of these points. Or, in the words of the IB:
The notes to examiners are intended only as guidelines to assist marking. They are not offered as an exhaustive and fixed set of responses or approaches to which all answers must rigidly adhere. Good ideas or angles not offered here should be acknowledged and rewarded as appropriate. Similarly, answers which do not include all the ideas or approaches suggested here should not be so heavily penalized as to distort appreciation of individuality
Specimen Paper 1 HL marking notes
Section A
An adequate to good analysis will:
- notice that both texts express the authors’ personal opinions through their biased choice of words, i.e. ‘risky engineering’, ‘victory salute’ in Text 1 or ‘lofty proclamations’ in Text 2
- notice that both text types, despite their persuasive nature, also inform the reader on recent news, be it the arrival of Toyota’s new Prius or India’s plan to support entrepreneurs in the hybrid/electric car industry
- comment on the use of statistics and monetary amounts in both texts, which serve to give readers a sense of culture and context
- comment on the effects of the stylistic features, which may influence readers’ perceptions of Toyota and India, for better or worse
- contrast the differences between the readers of both of these texts; Text 1 targets a car savvy audience that understands jargon such as ‘hatchback‘ or ‘lithium-ion set ups’, while Text 2 targets those who are interested in India’s ability and ambitions to ‘go green’.
A good to excellent analysis may also:
- comment on implicit and explicit assumptions made about people who drive hybrid and/or electric vehicles in the United States and India, comparing and contrasting cultural values, noting that car-owners in India want less economical, American cars, while Americans increasingly want economical, environmentally-friendly cars such as the Prius (which may be considered ironical)
- comment on the use of an idiomatic and conversational tone in both texts, where one uses parenthesis to explain “(“That’s pronounced “vee” and not “five.”),” and the other uses rhetorical questions, such as “Where are these vehicles going to come from?”
- comment on the contexts of the authors; whereas the author of Text 1 may write a regular column on new cars for Car and Driver Magazine, the author of Text 2 may write a regular column on India in general.
Section B
An adequate to good analysis will:
- comment on the theme of suicide as a result of work-related stress
- comment on the use of figurative language in both texts, i.e. ‘smother me with a pillow’ and ‘work is killing’, which are not intended to be taken literally by other characters within the texts
- note that both text types, though artistic in nature with fictional characters, are very different in structure and purpose; whereas Text 3 is a comic strip with only three panels, intended for quick comic relief in a daily newspaper, Text 4 is a poem intended for longer consideration, as it comments on cultural values of an office environment
- comment on the different points of view of each text, where the reader feels like an outsider observing office life in Text 3 and is included (through the use of the second-person pronoun ‘you’) actively in Text 4
A good to excellent analysis may also:
- show an appreciation for how Text 4, in a rather literary way, comments on the darker conflict between individualism and collectivism, while Text 3, in a rather light-hearted way, simply comments on office life
- comment on the absence of capital letters, punctuation and structured verse in Text 4, which the reader may consider deceptively simple for such a serious topic, compared to a simple and minimalistic style of drawing in Text 3, which may be considered as truly simple by the reader
- compare misunderstandings within the texts, where warning signals of suicide and cries for help are not acknowledged or taken seriously by unsympathetic colleagues, i.e. ‘I think she was kidding’ and ‘most probably they will say nothing.’
Sample response
Sample P1 HL S5.1In text 3 this topic is revealed through a 3-block cartoon strip which features dialogue from 3 characters: Alice, the female manager, ‘Dilbert’, a man supposedly her colleague, and another male office worker.
We assume this ‘Dilbert’ cartoon to have been one of many among Scott Adams’ collection on the website www.dilbert.com, probably dedicated to many of his satirical cartoons. This cartoon strip probably a well-known brand in North America and its audience will therefore be familiar with Adam’s work.
On the other hand, ‘Statement’ is a 21 line poem which has a loose or non-existent structure, similarly written by a man, Arthur Yap.
The topic, the working environment, is evident in both texts but is revealed through diverse techniques. Text 3 is a visual text and the drawings allow the reader to recognize men and women wearing suits and ties, holding coffee and paperwork as well as an outdated computer; all these clues are, presumably universal for an office.
However, the spelling of the word ‘favor’ allows the reader to understand the North American author and thus Western context of the cartoon. Similarly, the word ‘manager’ signifies the working environment, and the viewers appreciate the adult audience of the text.
The poem, titled ‘Statement’ is first of all structurally different to the cartoon, and with no capitals and a stanza of five lines followed by another of 16 to emphasise the theme.
While in the Dilbert cartoon we are introduced to characters (the short, bald, coffee-carrying man we assume to be ‘Dilbert’, the character who the cartoons and website revolve around), in the poem the author is directly confronting us with his ‘statement’ or collection of feelings about the burden of a career and the priorities or confinements within a typical working environment.
Commencing with “of course your work comes first” the reader is launched into the poet’s stream of consciousness, but the rhetorical questions such as “so if you say please may i jump off a ledge?” and the direct personal pronouns ‘you’ and ‘i’ have the effect that the author is conversing directly with the reader.
The language in both texts is essentially American and the cartoon especially uses two expressions, “smother me with a pillow” and “see if she puts up a struggle” which may be confusing to non-Western readers.
Likewise , the poet cleverly uses the ironic double entendre “we shall take this matter up to a higher level” which means both the senior positions in the career hierarchy as well as the height of the ‘ledge’, the jumping point.
Not only do both texts bring up similar topics for discussion but both share a common stance. Text 3 and 4 highlight the pressures of an office career and the societal rules or manners which must be adhered to , meanwhile, also hinting at the tense and topical underlying issue: work-related suicides. While the manager Alice in the cartoon ironically asks for her head to be “smothered” with a “pillow”, the poet in ‘statement’ hints at the frequency and therefore normality of work-related suicide “jumping off the ledge” because “this work is really killing” and the fellow not “narrow-minded” employees who will advise you to “start jumping”. The poet implies that the manners in society require someone to announce their suicide shown by “it is always correct to ask before you do anything” and “everyone likes to know these things way before hand”. Yap likewise insinuates how the world is so “open-minded these days” that there will be no discrimination whatsoever towards the ‘suicider’, in fact it is so increasingly common that the decision can be distinguished into categories: “legally, morally, departmentally…yes/no/perhaps.” This further underlines how a job or an office career can influence and affect a person’s mind frame and moral decisions.
We have established that the language in Text 4 is direct; however, it is also informal and colloquial. The poet’s choice of vocabulary, including “really killing”, “these days”, “way beforehand” and “all the same” renders the poet, and therefore the poem, more believable and trustworthy. Furthermore, it also emphasizes the normality of these events, as if they were an everyday occurrence, and the direct manner that the poet uses to approach the topic gives the poem a straight-forward, down-to-earth, no-frills tone.
Interestingly, the final block of the cartoon adds complexities to the scenario when Dilbert says, “I’ll see if she puts up a struggle,” obviously not understanding how Alice “was kidding” about smothering him “with a pillow” to relieve her from her stresses and pressures as a manager.
Despite this, the cartoon is on the whole simpler to appreciate compared to the poem. The poem’s title “statement” is vague and rather ambiguous, and the incorrect grammar (the absence of capital letters) confuses and challenges the reader. Although the poem adopts and benefits from a believable tone, the reader nonetheless questions the poet’s choice of structure, form and technique. However, readers can later infer that the poet perhaps prefers to be completely free in his expression of poetry, not succumbing to the restrictions and constrictions of a structured poem, and how due to the stringent regulations of a working environment, the only way for the poet to be truly free is through pen and paper.
In summary, we can understand that despite a similar topic, and a common stance, the techniques employed by the authors provided two diverse perspectives each one reflected by his use of stylistic features, vocabulary, format and tone. The differing mediums portrayed differing messages for differing audiences with a different purpose.Examiner's comments
Before you read the examiner's comments assess the sample work using the assessment criteria for Paper 1. Then compare your marks to those below.
Criterion A - Understanding and comparison of the texts - 5 marks
The analysis should show and understanding of the similarities and differences between the texts. There needs to be a clear understanding of the target audience, the purpose and the context (where possible) of the text. The comparative analysis must be supported by relevant examples from the texts.
Criterion B - Understanding of the use and effects of stylistic features - 5 marks
The comparative analysis should show an understanding of how various stylistic features, such as tone, style and structure, are used to construct meaning. The analysis should comment on the effects that these features have on their target audience.
Criterion C - Organization and development - 5 marks
The analysis must be well-balanced, meaning that it treats both texts equally. Furthermore, it must be well-structured, coherent and organized.
Criterion D - Language - 5 marks
The language of the comparative analysis must be clear and accurate. It should be appropriate, meaning it contains formal sentence structure, good choice of words and effective terminology.
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