Paper 1, Question 1 (with Hor, again)

 1A) 

Tuesday, April 19th, 2022

Dear President Macron,

I write to you today in regards to the recent internet division that has resulted from the public knowledge of the fire at Notre-Dame compared to the more recent catastrophe that is in the Amazon Rainforest. It should be noted that the two sides on this online division both have valid points. I write to you today with the intent of informing you on the issues that have been raised.

In mid-April 2019, a piece of French history was scarred. Within just 3 minutes of the flame, most of the world had already been informed.

However, for about 3 weeks, the Amazon rainforest, often referred to as ‘the lungs of the Earth,’ has been in flames. More than 20% of Earth’s oxygen is produced by the Amazon rainforest.

Some have said they would rather see Notre-Dame burn down if it meant protection for the Amazon rainforest. This rationale comes with the idea that there is no point in preserving history if the future of the Earth will just fade away.

Mr. President, I do not wish to downplay either catastrophe. Please take into consideration what I have told you. The Amazon needs everyone’s help.

Kindest regards,

Hor

1B)

When compared to the news report on the fire in Notre-Dame and the wildfires in the Amazon rainforest, my letter to the President of France is fairly similar in terms of structure and language. Where they differ most, however, is in the form of both pieces.

With regards to the structure of the news report, it can be said that the paragraphs are short and brief. Inside the paragraphs are brief sentences as well. Organization in the news report is seen as well, as ideas flow chronologically from the beginning to the end. This can be seen as the report begins by discussing the fire at the Notre-Dame, but then transitions into a discussion of the fires in the Amazon rainforest that have not received the same ‘cry for help’ as the one at the Notre-Dame. The author of the news report also includes opinions of others as a way to strengthen their side. Because of this, it can be said that the author of the news report likely leans in favor of the idea that the fires in the Amazon rainforest should receive more attention than the fire at the Notre-Dame. However, it should be noted that the report itself does not seem to be much more one sided than the other.

The structure that can be seen in my letter to the French President follows a similar pattern. I begin my letter by discussing the fire at the Notre-Dame, and then transition into making the president aware of the fires in the Amazon. My letter features the same information that the news report features. I chose to structure the letter in a similar way so that the French President would be able to easily follow if he were to be reading the letter simultaneously to the news report.

The language seen between both texts is similar as well. The news report is more of an informative/opinionated piece that has a purpose to report the news. Language in the news report can be considered semi-formal, as it formally addresses the issues and its concerns. My letter is more of an informative/persuasive piece that has a purpose of calling the French President to action. Similar language can be seen in my letter, though it is important to note that being that it is a letter to someone of a higher status, it is written more formally as a way to show respect. With that being said, I still delivered the message that I wanted to, and the language between the two pieces is not much different than the other.

It should be made aware that the tone of the news report is also similar to the tone of my letter. As previously stated, my letter is more of a call to action. In the news report, though the author doesn’t explicitly call anyone to action, it can be inferred that the news report was written with the same intent. Being that the news report featured important information on the burning in the Amazon rainforest, it can be concluded that the author likely wanted to see action taken to resolve the issue. Because of this, it seems that the author is passionate about the issue. When writing my letter, I wanted to convey to the French President that the issue was a grave issue that needed to be addressed, but also wanted to remain respectful of who I was addressing the letter to.

The only major difference between the two pieces is the form of the two. As stated previously, the news report is one that is more informative and slightly opinionated. It follows a chronological and linear structure, and addresses the issue at hand. My letter is written to be informative and persuasive, and follows a chronological order as well. Beginning with the date, followed by who it is addressed to, my letter is different from the news report - which begins with a title.