English A: Language & Literature

SUGGESTED OUTLINE FOR PAPER 1 – STANDARD LEVEL

INSTRUCTIONS: Flesh out the outline below in sentence/paragraph form under

each point. Your text needs to be typed in Times New Roman, size 12, and in blue
font.

INTRODUCTION – 1 extended paragraph

1. Mention text title (underline) and author’s name.

The title of the text is “Introspection for a Popstar: Just Remember Her Name.” The
author of the text is Jon Pareles, a reporter for the New York Times.
Provide some context for the text (look for textual clues).
It was published in the U.S. on the New York Times website on 26 March, 2012. The text
was published when Madonna released her new album “MDNA”, her 12th studio album.
2. Provide a 2 - sentence synopsis of the text.
The text serves to provide information about Madonna’s new album, “MDNA”. It talks
about how Madonna expresses her emotions through the songs in her album.
3. Identify the type of text, the audience, and purpose of the text. Use textual
evidence to support your points.
The text is a newspaper article, as it was published on The New York Times website, a
popular US newspaper. The target audience are pop music lovers, especially fans of
Madonna who wish to know more about her new album, “MDNA”. The main purpose of
the text is to provide the audience with insight into Madonna’s new album: the songs she
performs in her album as well as the story behind their creation. Furthermore, the text
also demonstrates how Madonna expresses her emotions through her songs.
4. Identify the main message and the theme.
The primary theme of the text is introspection. The main message that the author tries to
convey is that Madonna conveys her personal emotions through the songs in her new
album.
5. Formulate a 3-prong thesis statement that revolves around the main message
and purpose of the text. Your thesis statement MUST include tone, structural
elements, and stylistic devices.
Throughout the text, the author conveys to the audience that Madonna does some soul
searching and expresses her emotions through the songs in the new album, “MDNA”. He
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SUGGESTED OUTLINE FOR PAPER 1 – STANDARD LEVEL

manages to achieve this by shifting from a factual tone in the beginning of the text to a
more personal and introspective tone. This causes the audience to feel a personal
connection to the artist, which he conveys using a variety of stylistic elements.

BODY PARAGRAPH 1: TONE – 1 extended paragraph

1. Formulate a topic sentence that clearly states how tone shifts in the text and
how this contributes to the development of the message and purpose of
the text. [*For visual texts, clearly state the dominant tone and how it contributes
to the development of the message and purpose of the text.]
Throughout the text, the author shifts from a factual tone, talking about Madonna’s
influence in the music industry to a more introspective and personal tone, where the
audience feels a more personal connection as Madonna expresses her emotions
through her new album.
2. Provide at least 3 - 5 examples of tone shift from the beginning, the middle,
and the end of the text. Each direct quote has to be related to a critical point
and followed by line numbers. For each example, make sure you address the
diction that creates that particular tone and the effect on the
audience/mood. Consider how and why. [*For visual texts, consider how tone
is developed through particular textual features.]
In the beginning of the text, the author uses a factual as well as an awe-struck tone, and
talks about the effect Madonna has had on pop culture for the past 30 years. He uses
phrases like “Her gift for writing catchy tunes that suit her unvirtuosic voice” to emphasis
this. He talks about how at 53, Madonna is still “superstar enough”. Next, the author talks
about the release of her new album, “MDNA” in paragraph 3, emphasizing on how it
“pumps out effervescent electronic pop before making way for contentious personal
agenda”. The use of such words aims to convince the audience of how great an artist
Madonna is. The tone shifts to an introspective one, as she makes way for “contentious
personal agenda”, as she expresses personal emotion through her new music. For
instance, the author addresses this at the end of paragraph 6, mentioning that two her
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songs, “Girl Gone Wild” and “Turn Up the Radio” are quite personal to her as they
address her divorce from Guy Ritchie, in which she lost $76 million. In addition, some of
her other songs have a much darker, yet personal tone. In the song “Gang Bang” she
boasts about murder and in “I’m Addicted”, she talks about drugs such as Ecstasy. The
tone becomes even more personal in the next paragraph as the author mentions her song,
“I’m gonna be OK” in which she relates to her life as a divorced multitasking superstar.
This has a powerful impact on the audience as they feel a more personal connection to
Madonna. The next couple of paragraphs have a similar personal tone, the author talks
about Madonna admitting to mistakes and second thoughts in the song, “Best Friend”.
Once again, this enables the audience to feel closer to Madonna. The ending of the text
shifts to a reassuring tone as the author says, “Her survival instinct is her pop instinct.”
He refers back to her song, “I’m gonna be OK”, and states that she will indeed be OK.
3. Link your analysis above to the message and purpose of the text. Consider
how and why.
Overall, the awestruck tone at the beginning, which shifts to a more personal and
introspective tone, and then shifts again to a reassuring tone toward the end of the
paragraph effectively manages to convey the fact that Madonna conveys her personal
emotions through the songs in her new album.

BODY PARAGRAPH 2: STYLISTIC DEVICES – 1 extended paragraph

1. Formulate a topic sentence that clearly states the stylistic categories (i.e.
rhetorical devices, persuasive appeals, figurative language, and/or visual
elements) you`ll be focusing on and how they contribute to the development
of the message and purpose of the text.
In order to convey the main purpose of the text, the author uses a variety of stylistic devices that
develop as the text progresses. He uses a semi-formal register in order for the audience to relate
better to Madonna.
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SUGGESTED OUTLINE FOR PAPER 1 – STANDARD LEVEL

2. Provide at least 2 examples of techniques specific to each stylistic category

you mentioned above. Each direct quote has to be related to a critical
point/technique and followed by line numbers. For each example, make sure
you address the effect on the audience/mood. Consider how and why.

In the beginning, the author uses a more formal register, as he talks about how Madonna
“perseveres, calculates, reconfigures, strives and endures.” He then uses imagery to show
Madonna’s character as “the wounded, tough gal.” He uses metaphors to refer to her
voice and gift for writing catchy tunes. In addition, the author also uses descriptive words
such as “thumping” and “unvirtuosic” to emphasize on Madonna’s style of music. As the
text progresses, the author appeals to self-indulgence, as he talks about Madonna’s
personal emotions being expressed through her songs. Furthermore, the author conveys
this feeling of personal emotion to the audience through anecdotes. He explains to the
audience the purpose behind the creation of her songs. In addition, as the text develops,
the author also uses antithesis. For instance, he uses the words, “good girl/bad girl” to
contrast between her two different personalities. In the song, “I’m a Sinner,” she
proclaims “I’m a sinner/ I like it that way, Ah-whoo-hoo!”, after which she then begins to
singing about saints, assigning them tasks as if they were kitchen staff. This shows the
audience the conflicts Madonna faces, makes them feel closer to her. Towards the end of
the text, the author uses a more casual register in order for the audience to relate better to
Madonna as well as feel a stronger connection.

3. Link your analysis to the message and purpose of the text. Consider how and
why.
To summarize, the author uses a variety of stylistic elements. He uses a formal register,
which then shifts to a more casual register as the text progresses, as well as the appeal to
self-indulgence, which effectively conveys that Madonna expresses her emotions through
her songs, and creates a more personal connection to her audience.
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BODY PARAGRAPH 3: STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS – 1 extended paragraph

1. Formulate a topic sentence that clearly identifies the overall structure of the
text and states how structural elements contribute to the development of the
message and purpose of the text.
The overall structure of the text is about the sequence of events and personal experiences
that Madonna encounters, which leads to the creation of her new album.

2. Address structure as a whole. Provide at least 3 examples of structural

elements. For each example, make sure you address the effect on the
audience. Consider how and why.
The structure of the text is that of a news article. The author uses paragraphing to
introduce each new idea that develops throughout the text, with 4-6 lines per paragraph.
This helps make sure that each idea is conveyed clearly and concisely, so that the
paragraphs are to the point. The lead paragraph introduces the main topic as well as the
context of the article. It talks about Madonna as a pop star and sets the scene for the
entire text. The author then offers an explanation to the ideas introduced, as well as
evidence and additional information. For instance, Paragraph 8 first introduces an idea,
i.e. the use of a dark tone to show Madonna’s personal emotion. The author first talks
about the song Madonna uses to associate with her emotion, i.e. “I’m gonna be OK.” And
then talks about the details of the lyrics and how they reflect on her” life of a divorced
multitasking superstar”. Another structural element that is often used by the author
throughout the text is sentence fragments. He uses this mostly while providing evidence
of lyrics that reflect on Madonna’s emotions. For instance, the author uses the phrase,
“shallow, effective club fodder-with blippy stereo-hopping synthesizers and generic titles
like ‘Girl Gone Wild’ and ‘Turn Up the Radio’-” to emphasize on the main points that the
author is trying to make. This causes the reader to focus more on certain words that
convey a particular message, which makes the author relate better to the text. At the very
end of the text, the author also mentions their name, the publication, the title as well as
the publish date of the text, which adds ethos or credibility to the text.
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SUGGESTED OUTLINE FOR PAPER 1 – STANDARD LEVEL

3. Link your analysis to the message and purpose of the text. Consider how and
why.
Overall, the text follows the structure of a newspaper article. Using clear and concise
paragraphs that provide evidence for each idea, the author is able to convey the main
purpose of the text effectively to the reader. In addition, the sentence fragments help
emphasize certain points that the author feels conveys the message to the audience. The
referencing at the bottom also helps the reader identify the source of the publication,
adding credibility to the text as well as enabling the audience to trust the author.

CONCLUSION – 1 paragraph

1. Summarize the main critical points in the essay (1 or 2 sentences)

To conclude, the text which is written in the form of a news article talks about Madonna’s new
album, “MDNA.” The author talks about how Madonna does some introspection and expresses
her emotions through her song lyrics.
2. Make some links to the context of the text.
The text was published in the U.S. on the New York Times website on 26 March, 2012 when
Madonna released her new album “MDNA”, her 12th studio album. Using the text, the author
was able to promote Madonna’s new album for her, as well as create a personal connection with
the audience to make her more relatable.
3. Provide some insight in relation to the theme, message, and purpose of the
text.
The primary theme of the text is introspection and the main purpose is to provide the audience
with insight into Madonna’s new album: the songs she performs in her album as well as the story
behind their creation. Furthermore, the text also demonstrates how Madonna expresses her
emotions through her songs. The author effectively manages to achieve this throughout his text
in a number of ways. First, the author talks about how Madonna is already a superstar in the pop
music industry. He then transitions to talk about the songs in her new album, and how she did
some soul searching to come up with the album. Towards the ending of the text, the author refers
back to Madonna’s song, “I’m gonna be O.K.” He reassures the audience that she is indeed
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going to be O.K. after she shares her emotions with her audience to feel a close personal
connection, linking perfectly to the theme and the main message that he wishes to convey.