Practice Paper 1

Notes

 Meaning: About new atomic clocks that might replace the old ones, how important is time? The text is fond of the old clocks but impressed with the new ones

Purpose: Inform readers about the new clocks and to discuss time in British society.

Context: Nature seems to be some kind of scientific journal, therefore readings of the text are more information-focused and less opinion wary.

Audience: The wider British public, presumably subscribers.

Authorial choices: list ways in which language is used and cite from the text, comment of effect. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The text in question for this analysis is an article from the academic journal Nature. It concerns the approaching replacement of atomic clocks, based on caesium with more accurate optical clocks, based on elements like strontium and ytterbium. The text holds a certain fondness for the atomic clock even though it is being replaced. The text opens with a few paragraphs on the importance of the UK speaking clock and the BBC Radio pips to British society. We see that the author regards these objects as culturally prominent when they describe the time signal on BBC Radio as being "affectionately know as pips"(lines 11-12) and the speaking phone as "an essential part of British life."(line 4) These clocks both derive from an atomic clock held at the NPL. This leads to a discussion on the new optical clocks and the author outlines the ways in which the optical clocks outperform the atomic ones. It's apparent from the beginning that the author is British and presumably speaking to a British audience due to the framing of the discussion from a British lens. 

    Nature is an academic journal and this has an effect on how we interpret the text. For one we can deduce that the motive behind writing this article is to inform their readers about the new optical clocks that are slowly replacing atomic ones. Since the reader is either subscribed to or has chosen to read an academic journal this is presumably of interest to the reader. The purpose of the text seems to be to inform the reader and discuss these new innovations. Given that Nature is an academic journal an appropriate language is expected. The text ranks somewhere between a magazine article and a scientific paper in terms of language. The English in the text is good and varied, with a somewhat formal register, but the discussion is relatively unconstrained and the structure can be likened to a magazine article. Especially towards the beginning and the end, the text feels less formal, when talking about how accurate they're own predictions were the author writes "The latest development in atomic timekeeping, by contrast, has arrived bang on time. Well, almost." The tone here is almost a bit cheeky and this paragraph, and indeed the article, close on a bit of a humorous note. It can be said that the language in this text is quite formal, but the tone remains quite conversational and relaxed.

    Regarding the authorial choices in the text, the text tries to keep it fairly clear and straightforward, this is seen in the way the author avoids similies and figurative speech in general. That is not to say that the text is lacking in style or that it is dry, the text merely shies away from more metaphorical features. This can probably be attributed in part to the nature of language in a scientific journal. This makes the text easier to follow as it is often a good idea to use direct and literal language when discussing science and research. With scientific texts, it's important to be able to explain the research and science in as clear a form as possible and figurative speech would only serve to confuse the reader. The text does however use some enargia, such as when it describes the accuracy of the BBC Radio pips as "a sufficient degree of accuracy for a bleary-eyed hour-late commuter who forgot to set their clock the night before." The example person is obviously made up, but very easy to imagine in one's head, this hypothetical every-person acts as a stand-in for the general public for the point that the pips are accurate enough for most Britons. 

    Overall the text uses a casual and sometimes humorous tone and a process of relating the subject to contemporary cultural life to make accessible an otherwise dry, however interesting, subject. The author displays a good understanding of how to make their text enjoyable to read while staying within the professional conventions of writing for a scientific journal. An accurate and fair discussion is able to be had about the new optical clocks, how they work, and how well they function. While still keeping the text approachable and engaging for most readers.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thoughts on Paper 1 so far...

    Regarding Paper 1 I feel pretty okay, but would still like to prepare a bit more before I'd I'm happy. Paper 1 seems relatively straightforward, although not exactly easy and I think I will be able to sufficiently prepare myself.