DP Lang&Lit Portfolio Reflection

Throughout the two years in IB diploma Language and Literature class, we have studied a lot of different types of texts and learned how to analyze them. Some of the pieces that we studied were non-literature and some were literature pieces. My favourite non-literature piece was the 13th documentary, along with the MLK Jr Letter/Speech. This was very interesting because I felt I learned a lot about writing when analyzing these pieces. The way that the words and texts were manipulated and placed influenced how the audiences think. For example, in the documentary 13th, growing numbers of the prison population were used to mark the chapters and years of that era. This showed the audience the drastic increase in the prison population over short periods of time. Also, the graphics were utilized to enhance the logos and statistics.
My favourite literature pieces were Kindred and Never Let Me go. These novels felt like reading a movie. The use of imagery made the story feel very realistic. The novels had conventions of realism whether it’s relating to the modern society and our future, like in Never Let Me Go. Or, Kindred, it included historical details that made the story feel very real.

The skill I will be taking with me to university is the analysis of different types of work. In the past two years, we’ve looked at so many different types of texts and pieces. It helped me learn the way to analyze these works and really take pieces of knowledge from the pieces and use that to improve my own work. A big part of analyzing work is identifying its rationale and its significance on a global scale. This was not very easy at all times but this ultimately helps because we can identify the significance of that piece and understand it from a certain perspective.

The global issue that resonated with me the most from the past units over the last two years was inequality. We’ve explored numerous different cases such as racism in history and racism in the modern world; discrimination from the history still existing in the modern world; etc. This resonated with me the most because the past two years the equality movements have really gained their voice, and it felt like we were learning about what is happening in our everyday lives as well. Also, being from a diverse country, Canada, some of the cases of racism are suppressed by the largely magnified society of diversity. Even though it might not be on the same scale as events happening in the United States like the murder of George Floyd, every case of racism happening is on the same scale of discrimination.