DP1 English Lang & Lit Semester 1 exam 

 
HL and SL: I hour, 15 minutes to hand write one essay and upload to exam.net. 
 
Select ​one​ of the following texts and write an essay analyzing it.  
 
TEXT ONE: “If violence isn’t the way to end racism in America, then what is?” opinion piece 
by Arwa Mahdawi, July 2020 
TEXT TWO: “Tub,” a PSA by Colenso BBDO for Pedigree, 2017 
 
Additional instructions:  
● Be sure to write and sign the honor pledge on page one of your written work: 
○ On my honor, I pledge that I will neither give nor receive improper assistance 
in completing this task. 
● Write your name and teacher’s name on page one. 
● Number all your pages. 

TEXT ONE: ​“If violence isn’t the way to end racism in America, then what is?” opinion piece by 
Arwa Mahdawi, July 2020 

A riot is the language of the unheard

When you are oppressed there is no acceptable way to fight against your oppression. You get
branded “unpatriotic” for ​peacefully taking a knee​ to protest against police brutality. You get
vilified for using ​boycotts as a non-violent tool of resistance​. You get called “THUGS” when,
after the murder of yet another unarmed black man by the police, you protest in the streets.
The sickening video of ​George Floyd​ being killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis,
which followed the murders of ​Ahmaud Arbery ​in Georgia and ​Breonna Taylor​ ​in Kentucky​,
has sparked ​demonstrations across America​. In Minneapolis some of the protests have
turned violent: buildings (including a police precinct) have been set on fire and a Target store
was looted. Donald Trump reacted by promising bloody reprisal, ​tweeting​: “When the looting
starts, the shooting starts.” Others have reacted with hand-wringing. There have been a lot of
cries that “violence is never the answer!” and “rioting is counter-productive!”

But if violent unrest isn’t the answer then what is? How exactly do you go about ending police
brutality and systemic racism in America? Should protesters go home and write sternly
worded letters to their representative? Should they ​emulate Madonna​ and post videos of
their kids dancing in protest? Should they peacefully take a knee? Should Americans simply
vote Trump out and vote Joe Biden in instead? You know, the guy whose 1994 crime bill
significantly contributed to mass incarceration in America? Should people patiently wait for
incremental change?

“​A riot is the language of the unheard​,” Martin Luther King Jr said in a 1967 speech that is
currently reverberating through social media for obvious reasons. “And what is it that
America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that … the promises of freedom and justice
have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more
concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality and humanity.”

That speech was 53 years ago and America still isn’t listening. The uncomfortable truth is
that, sometimes, violence is the only answer left. We like to pretend otherwise, which is why
civil rights movements are often conveniently sanitized. The women’s suffrage movement, for
example, is often celebrated as “non-violent”. It wasn’t: if went ​through a very militant phase​.
“If men use explosives and bombs for their own purpose they call it war,” the British
suffragette Christabel Pankhurst ​wrote in 1913​, “and the throwing of a bomb that destroys
other people is then described as a glorious and heroic deed. Why should a woman not make
use of the same weapons as men?”

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not glorifying violence – that’s what the president of the United
States is doing. And I’m certainly not calling for violence. I’m simply saying we must
interrogate what we call “violence” and what we call “policy.” Many of the people yelling
“violence is not the answer” about the riots in Minneapolis are the same people who
wholeheartedly support America’s endless wars. Many of the people condemning the looters
in Minneapolis are the same people who venerate billionaires. Loot a TV and you’re a
dangerous criminal; loot a country and you’re an ​enterprising capitalist​.

America has no problem with riots or looting as long as it’s the “right” people doing it. And
we’re all forced to pay for this worldview: American taxpayers have paid an average of
$8,000 each and over $2tn in total​ for the Iraq war alone, according to a January report from
the Brown University Costs of War project. Which raises the question: if violence is never the
answer, then why does America spend so much money on it? 

 
TEXT TWO: ​“Tub,” a PSA by Colenso BBDO for Pedigree, 2017

How does the creator use specific authorial choices (specific devices and language) in this visual text to
deliver a particular message?
GRADING, based on Paper 1 rubric 
below expectations (0-3)  A: Understanding and  exceeds expectations (5) 
interpretation 

  4 = ​The response demonstrates a   

thorough understanding of the 
literal meaning of the text. There 
is a convincing interpretation of 
many implications of the text. 
 
References to the text are 
relevant and support the 
candidate’s ideas.  

  B: Analysis and evaluation   

  4 = ​The response demonstrates   

an appropriate and at times 
insightful analysis of textual 
features and/or authorial choices. 
There is a good evaluation of how 
such features and/or choices 
shape meaning. 

  C: Focus and organization   

  4 = ​The presentation of ideas is   

well organized and mostly 
coherent. The analysis is 
adequately focused.  

  D: Language   

  4 = ​Language is clear and   

carefully chosen, with a good 
degree of accuracy in grammar, 
vocabulary and sentence 
construction; register and style 
are consistently appropriate to 
the task.