IB English A Lang & Lit The Essay Notes

IB English Language and Literature Paper 1 Exemplar

Making It Real

1. To fully understand the purpose behind each detail in the Dettol campaign, it’s essential to consider both the author’s intentions and the audience’s mindset.
2. Reader context:
   1. It’s 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. You’re stuck at home, constantly reminded of hygiene guidelines, feeling mentally drained, and maybe even rethinking your job or routine.
   2. A reader encounters a bold, engaging Dettol advertisement in a social media feed or on a billboard. It is bright, witty, and oddly empowering. It does not just sell disinfectant, it taps into that social and emotional context.
3. From this setup, the creator of the ad would be asking:
   1. Identify which audience is most likely to feel disillusioned with traditional work routines and responsive to messages of empowerment or change.
   2. Explain how Dettol’s campaign attracts attention and resonates with people navigating pandemic stress and remote work.
   3. Analyse how the ad feels motivational, personal, and relevant so that Dettol becomes associated not just with hygiene, but also with optimism, control, and daily empowerment.

Pre-planning (Dettol Advertisement)

1. Before beginning your annotation or analysis, clarify the foundational elements of the text:
2. Text Type: Advertisement (Print and Digital Campaign)
3. Overall Purpose:
   1. To promote Dettol as more than a hygiene product, positioning it as a symbol of empowerment, optimism, and leadership during the pandemic.
   2. The campaign aims to reinforce brand identity, encourage brand loyalty, and ultimately increase sales by connecting emotionally with readers navigating remote work and public health concerns.

Target Audience(s)

1. Working adults (especially those working from home during the pandemic)
   1. These are individuals frustrated with conventional work structures and looking for purpose, routine, or motivation during uncertain times.
      (This is the primary audience for the text.)
2. Health-conscious individuals
   1. Those already interested in cleanliness and hygiene during the pandemic and who are likely to purchase disinfectant products regularly.
3. Everyday consumers affected by COVID-related changes
   1. This includes middle-class individuals across Britain dealing with lockdown fatigue, seeking some control or reassurance in their daily routines.
4. The typical demographic includes middle to lower-middle class individuals in the UK, many of whom are either working from home, unemployed, or facing personal or professional uncertainty during 2020.

Exemplar Plan: Dettol Campaign (2020)

Structure:

Each paragraph is based on a distinct idea that supports the overall thesis.

Thesis

The Dettol campaign reimagines a hygiene product as a symbol of empowerment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through colloquial tone, irony, motivational rhetoric, and deliberate visual design, the campaign appeals to lower to middle-class Britons working from home, ultimately strengthening Dettol’s identity as a socially aware and essential brand.

Bird’s Eye View