2022 Paper 1 Sample Response 2 (Climate Change)

Guiding question: Explore how the writer develops their argument about the seriousness of climate change

Text 1, titled “Effects of global warming” is an article published by National Geographic, entailing the causes and effects of climate change in the modern day. Climate change is a growingly concerning global issue that details how extreme weather changes are occurring since the industrial revolution, and how humans are responsible for it and its effects. The National Geographic is an online magazine that reports on natural phenomena ranging from the sciences to the humanities. Targeted at nature enthusiasts and environmental activists, the author explicitly attempts to inform the audience of the effects of climate change, while implicitly persuading the audience of its seriousness and the necessity for action. The author argues that climate change is extremely harmful and in urgent need of human remediation. The author develops this argument that through describing how widespread the current effects are, and by illustrating the dangers climate change has yet to bring.

Firstly, the author portrays the widespread, devastating effects of climate change in order to demonstrate how urgent the issue is. The sub-heading of the article reads “The signs of global warming are everywhere,” explicitly stating that this is a worldwide issue. The subheading then reads “...and are more complex than just rising temperatures.” By stating there is more to climate change than the reader might be aware of, the author creates a suspenseful and ominous atmosphere. This atmosphere leaves the reader wondering how urgent and complex of an issue global warming really is, and are worried by their lack of knowledge of these “signs.” This directly links to the writer’s implicit purpose, as the reader is currently drawn to the urgency of climate change. Furthermore, the title affirms the target audience, environmental activists, but it also appeals to a general or mass audience of readers who would get hooked by the suspense surrounding this environmental issue.

The author expounds on this ominous atmosphere by explaining how the effects of climate change are happening right now. They write “...the impacts of climate change aren’t waiting for some far-flung future – the effects of global warming are appearing right now.” The author expresses their derision at public belief that climate change is a distant problem by saying “far-flung future” with incredulity. They correct this misconception by claiming that the effects are immediately “apparent,” thus demonstrating how climate change is an urgent problem. Towards the end of the article, the author uses an image of a large iceberg with a hole in the middle, with the caption “...Climate change has accelerated the rate of ice loss across the continent.” The hole in the picture has light shining through it, suggesting the sun’s rays and increased temperature have caused it to melt, describing the issue at hand. By using words and phrases such as “accelerated,” and “across the continent,” the author portrays how fast climate change is affecting vast areas of the globe. The author demonstrates the urgency of the problem by using the image, sub-heading and first paragraph. In doing so, they achieve their explicit purpose by informing the reader of the ice loss as a current effect of climate change.

Moreover, the author describes in great detail, the future effects of climate change to portray it as an urgent devastating issue. They begin by stating “Sea levels are expected to rise between 6 and 32 inches [...] or higher by the end of the century.” Considering how large of an impact can occur within just 80 years, the average lifespan of a human. This implies that the reader could live to witness the devastating effects of climate change, if efforts are not made to prevent it. This persuades the audience that the issue is extremely serious, achieving the implicit purpose and developing the writer’s argument.

The author continues to develop this list of effects by writing “Floods and droughts will become more common.  Large parts of the US, for example, face a higher risk of decades-long ‘megadroughts’ by 2100.” Considering National Geographic is based in the US, a large portion of their consumer base is likely to be shook by this news as they are from the US. The author creates concern by claiming these are “megadroughts,” implying they are of a scale unlike anything seen before, thus having more destructive potential. The author successfully develops his argument that climate change is a serious issue, with urgent devastating potential.

The author also highlights the resurgence of past disasters, such as the “Zika virus.” This virus resulted in millions of deaths worldwide, and required a collective global effort to mostly eradicate it. If climate change were not mitigated, years of progress would go down the drain: the exact opposite of reviving past disasters!  The author successfully develops his argument that climate change is urgent and devastating.

The author develops their argument that climate change is both urgent and serious by amplifying structural features such as the subtitles and images, and describing future effects of climate change. Ultimately, the writer achieves their explicit purpose as they set out to inform the reader of climate change’s effects, and they did so. They also successfully convince the reader of its dangers and action needs to be taken in order to mitigate these impacts. Climate change is a global phenomenon and requires global cooperation and understanding to solve it. It is important to do so for the sake of future generations.

Word count: 893