Paper 1 Sample Response (Aspen Trees)

In our everyday lives, we pass by trees so often we rarely give them a second thought. This is very different however for Beth Dodd, a local naturalist from Woodland Park, Colorado. This article written for “The Mountain Jackpot News” by Beth Dodd in February of 2015 describes the “bud burst,” the process by which trees regain their leaves suddenly in spring. This descriptive and informative text is aimed at those living near Colorado, who are English speaking and have an interest in plants, notably aspen trees. Throughout this article, Dodd employs both an emotive and factual tone to allow readers to appreciate Aspen trees in the way the author does.

                  Firstly, Dodd uses a tone of admiration to reveal the beauty of aspen trees. This is first seen when Dodd cites that its leaves “glow in the sun.”  This description creates vivid imagery of leaves bathed in sunlight, which is an ethereal and almost heaven-like image. The readers are able to imagine these leaves, as it is a simple image and one that they have almost certainly seen but never fully appreciated. Dodd then further describes the leaves as “precious” and “brilliant green.”  Dodd’s use of these positive and tender words reveal her admiration of the leaves and their beauty. Then, Dodd personifies the leaves by noticing their “bright color and dancing movements,” to create an image of beautiful and glowing aspen trees.  The human-like movements given to the leaves by Dodd emphasises her admiration for the Aspen trees, by seeing them as beings capable of human movement. Also, the repetition of brilliance is seen again in Dodd’s description of the leaves, which adds to the beauty of the trees.

                  Next, Dodd uses an academic tone to inform the readers of the complex biological mechanisms behind the aspen trees. The use of scientific language such as Dodd’s repeated mention of the word “chlorophyll” serves to enlighten readers on the fascinating science behind trees: Chlorophyll is a green pigment that is found in chloroplasts to help them photosynthesise. Furthermore, the process of photosynthesis, described by Dodd as “absorb[ing] sunlight and help[ing] transform it into sugars” is yet again use of scientific and academic words to describe the fascinating way in which aspen trees make their own food. As humans can’t make their own food from sunlight, Dodd’s mention of this makes reader’s develop a sense of wonder for the aspen trees, as the scientific process seem like a superpower. Additionally, Dodd mentions a “surge of hormones” and “enzymes,” both add to the academic language used in this article.  Both enzymes and hormones are also found in the human body, and hence Dodd connects readers to the aspen trees by highlighting the biological molecules which they have in common. Therefore, Dodd’s academic tone commands respect for the Aspen trees and informs them that the trees are much more complex than what meets the eye.

                  In addition to using a scientific tone, Dodd also employs a factual tone to allow readers to appreciate the human-like nature of aspen trees. The factual and logical tone is made evident when Dodd explains that the trees “ruthlessly sever them” (indicating their leaves in winter) in order to “avoid death by starvation or dehydration.”  This logical tone set up by Dodd’s sentence structure of an action followed by a consequence allows readers to understand that the aspen trees are, in fact, smart. The trees choose to get rid of their leaves in order to survive, just like humans make choices to avoid death. Dodd’s tone makes this fact seem logical, creating the impression that trees are also sentient and logical beings like humans. Hence, through her tone, Dodd allows readers to appreciate another side of the aspen trees and help readers realise that both humans and aspen trees have the same ultimate goal: survival.

                  Finally, Dodd constructs a soft and nurturing tone to mirror the nurturing characteristics of aspen trees. Dodd explains that the fallen leaves of the tress “nourish the forest in future years.” The word “nourish” gives the Aspen trees mother-like characteristics, creating the impression that the trees are nurturing and helpful to the rest of the forest.  Dodd constructs a soft tone from these types of words and phrases. Furthermore, Dodd writes how the fallen leaves “protect the roots of many other plants,” which again demonstrates how the aspen trees are nurturing and is evidence of Dodd’s soft and wholesome tone. Moreover, Dodd explains how animals in winter “eat the nutritious bark.”  Dodd’s use of the word “nutritious” conveys her use of a nurturing tone, delineating how aspen trees are selfless in that they are sustaining the forest either by providing food or protection for other organisms.

                  To conclude, Dodd employs both an emotive (admiring and soft) tone and factual (academic, scientific and logical) tone in order to aid readers in their own appreciation of the aspen trees. Throughout the article, Dodd’s tone allowed readers to understand the beauty of the trees and also connect with the trees on a scientific and personal level. At the beginning of the article, readers may not have understood Dodd’s fascination with these trees or indeed may have found it strange. However, after reading it, readers discover there is so much more to aspen trees than what meets the eye and next time they come across them, they should “stop and smell the aspen trees” to appreciate them as Dodd does.

Word count: 904