Sample Paper 1 Text: Product Review

Text adapted from the online magazine, GQ. January 14, 2020 (Dylan Jones)
Print Magazine Article, GQ, January 14,2020 (Dylan Jones)

Guiding Question: How does the author combine narrative elements with a product review to
make a claim about electric bicycles?

BIG IDEAS FEATURES

The author is not Making Molehills Out of Mountains Ironic idiom

a serious cyclist Time, setting,
and is shamed by Every year I go cycling with a friend of mine in the foothills of the Pyrenees. characters
Vlad is quite a serious cyclist, as he spends at least a month each summer Action verbs
Vlad, a serious
Simile, humor
cyclist, each time bombing up and down hills around Banyuls-sur-Mer, acting like a potential
parenthesis
they ride Tour De France competitor, although without the accompanying drug habit
(in Vlad’s case, it really is about the bike). On the odd occasion I follow him
Analogy
up hills, I usually look as though I’ve dressed for the beach, because I
invariably forget to bring the appropriate kit. Which means that while I
might be riding a ridiculously expensive racing bike, I’ll be wearing a Visual imagery
Hawaiian shirt, combat shorts and a pair of neon Birkenstocks – you get Tone
the picture. Vlad will scoot up the hill (though actually we always refer to it Juxtaposition of
as a mountain) as if he was just popping out for a pint of milk, while I similes
Shame at the dutifully shadow him, wheezing like a weekend triathlete.
expense of Vlad
At some point on the journey – well, at many points actually – I will have to
Contrast
dismount, push the bike for a while and get my breath back. This will usually
take until I reach the summit, where I will find Vlad doing press-ups, burpees
Sarcasm of Vlad and theatrically looking at his watch. Dialogue/sarcasm

“Took your time,” he’ll say, before getting on his bike and whizzing off again.

This year, though, my experience was somewhat different. This year I Tone shift
decided to ride an electric bike.

When I first got on the Commencal Meta Power 29 Team 2020 and started Link,
Solution to
to pedal, I didn’t notice anything at all. Vlad’s house is at the top of a steep Informational
problem writing
hill by the coast and as I freewheeled down to the town, nothing seemed in
any way out of the ordinary. But as soon as I hit the seafront and started
pedaling along the road through town, I felt a strange kind of surge, almost
Begin review + Pathos
narrative as though I was being gently pushed from behind. Which in a way I was, as Simile
Pleasure of using my Commencal literally kicked into gear. For the next three hours I Motif of time
the electric bike experienced something completely transformative; not only did it make my Key adjective
Colloquial lang
journey through the foothills a hell of a lot of easier, but I also managed to
humiliate Vlad in the process.

Functionality of My bike was one of those whose electric motor is regulated by pedaling,
the bike augmenting the rider’s input. What this means is you feel a bit like ET when Allusion

Elliott’s bike starts to fly, as you are continually rewarded for your efforts.

In the past ten years or so, the growth of e-bikes has been huge, so much so Time and trends

that there are now hundreds of reputable options, although it’s only recently
that people you know have actually started to use them.
Trends in the
product My Commencal had three modes – Eco (which I immediately labeled
Humor and
“Mimsy”), Quite Fast (at least I think it was called this) and Super Bastard information

Turbocharged – and a small selection of gears within each band. Its battery
Product info
Three modes of had five charge bars, which will easily last you for half a day’s riding, even if
the bike you spend most of that time going uphill. The Meta Power 29 (also available
Statistics and
in a Ride 2020 version for £3,880) is basically a glorified mountain bike with information

fat, 29-inch tyres and a fairly rugged constitution. The gears are simple to
(Image and
understand, it’s easy to see how much power you’re using and its designers information
pullout)
haven’t tried to disguise the fact that it’s really a lifestyle accessory.
Verbal irony, pun
Final review and Well, it might be a lifestyle accessory for some, but for me it was a lifesaver. Circular structure
connection back This year, as Vlad bent over his machine, his quads popping like chicken
Simile and visual
to lifestyle of imagery
writer and filets, I blithely overtook him, with a frozen Margarita in one hand and the
Allusion and
relationship with latest Robert Harris in the other.
absurdity
Vlad
Which leads me to my conclusion: a) people who ride proper bikes all hate Humor and
Humorous ending syntax
those who ride e-bikes; b) we don’t care.
Guiding Question: How does the author combine narrative elements with a product review to
make a claim about electric bicycles?

Be sure to check out the companion video to this document: Countdown to Paper One -
Produce Review - Close Reading. This will enable you to further understand key concepts
and develop the critical skills necessary that lead to success in IB English.