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TK/PPD
Presentation planning document
Session: May 2016
Title of presentation: Loaded Language in Knowledge Acquisition
CANDIDATE SECTION
Candidate responses on this form must be limited to a maximum of 500 words. It is not permitted to exceed the two sides of the
candidate section.
Describe your real life situation:
We recently came across a speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which he blamed the Mufti, a
Palestinian religious leader for inspiring Hitler’s “Final Solution”, which entailed the extermination of Jews. The language in
this speech was emotionally charged, and presented the occurrence using aggressive diction. At one point in his speech,
Netanyahu began to describe a conversation between Hitler and the Palestinian Mufti, in which the latter encouraged
“burning” Jews. Not only does his word choice elicit quite an emotional and upsetting sentiment, but the entire occurrence
has actually been debunked by numerous historians. His speech was filled with several examples of emotive and
aggressive diction as he attempted to rewrite a historical event through his revisionist interpretation.
State your central knowledge question (this must be expressed as a question):
What is the role of loaded language in the acquisition of knowledge in history and natural sciences?
Explain the connection between your real life situation and your knowledge question:
+ In our real life situation, prime minister Netanyahu employed loaded language while blaming the Palestinian religious
leader Mufti in his revisionist interpretation of the Holocaust. His tone and word choice portrayed the Mufti in a negative
light. This made us inquire about the role of loaded language in the acquisition of knowledge and how such provocative
language often hinders the acquisition of knowledge.
+ History:To delve into our KQ deeper, we considered another RLS regarding the portrayal of former Communist leader
Mao Zedong in Chinese government-issued textbooks. Articles we came across described how the textbooks used loaded
and misleading phrases in reference to China under Mao’s leadership, such as “democratic”, "peace" and "harmonious".
In this case, national pride and inflammatory language dictate a one sided interpretation of China’s past; thus, it hinders to
some extent the acquisition of knowledge by painting a biased picture that masks certain lamentable realities.
+ Nat Science: Another RLS we looked at was research done related to the use of positive language in scientific studies.
The research suggested that from 1974 to 2014, the frequency of positive words like "unprecedented," "amazing,"
"groundbreaking," and "promising" in titles or abstracts of scientific papers increased from 2 percent to 18 percent.
Science today is competitive, “so researchers may feel the need to hype up their work with more attention-grabbing
language in order to stand out", seem successful or to garner public support and gain funding. Since scientific studies
contribute to the shared knowledge base of natural sciences, the implications of using excessively positive, loaded
language could negatively impact new scientific investigations arising from such biased research papers; thus adversely
affecting not only the acquisition of knowledge, but also the development of knowledge in the natural sciences.
Please turn over
International Baccalaureate
TK/PPD (page 2)
Outline how you intend to develop your presentation, with respect to perspectives, subsidiary knowledge questions,
arguments, etc. Responses below can be presented in continuous prose or as bullet points:
+ RLS: Israeli PM blames Palestinian Leader for the Holocaust
+ This led us to our KQ: What is the role of loaded language in the acquisition of knowledge?
+ Define loaded language: words and phrases that usually have intense emotional implications and aim to evoke either
positive or negative reactions because of their connotations.
+ HISTORY RLS: Loaded language in Chinese government textbooks that praised Mao
+ RLS: The use of loaded language in Jung Chang’s interpretation of Mao Zedong’s leadership. The idea of subjectivity
plays a large role in the creation and acquisition of knowledge in history. We often view subjectivity as a negative concept,
however, when it comes to the study of history, subjectivity can help create a personal connection.
+ Does loaded language promote or hinder the acquisition of knowledge?
On one hand, loaded language can be harmful because it creates false impressions of the past, which could augment
problems in the present or future. On the other hand, it can create a personal connection and help us understand the
emotions and sentiment of an era.
+ What is the role of loaded language in NATURAL SCIENCE?
+ RLS: Positive language often used to hype scientific research and the value of drugs and medical treatments, which is
detrimental to science as an AOK. Science is supposed to be completely objective → loaded language negates this
purpose. Loaded language can also be used to create a negative tone in science.
+ RLS: Conference at UCL about climate change had dramatized, negative loaded language. On one hand, it can raise
awareness and draw attention to the issues. However, it still defies the purpose of science, which is to be accurate and
subjective.
+ Conclusion: Loaded language is generally detrimental in science, and ambivalent for history.
Show how your conclusions have significance for your real life situation and to others:
The purpose of science is to accurately and objectively explain the natural world. Loaded language, which adds a
subjective dimension, detracts from this purpose of scientific knowledge. It is generally detrimental to the acquisition of
knowledge because it can mislead, manipulate and create false hope. Going back to the examples of using exceedingly
positive diction and over-hyping drugs, using emotionally charged phrases defies the purpose of natural sciences and
should therefore not be used when describing scientific occurrences.
However, in history, the role of loaded language has both negative and positive implications. On one hand, loaded
language can be used in order to manipulate opinions of the past, which has harmful implications. In the case of
Netanyahu’s depiction of Palestine as the reason behind the Holocaust, the repercussions of using loaded language are
severe as it might fuel tensions between the the nations and create even more hatred and conflict. Furthermore, by using
loaded language in Chinese textbooks, the government is indoctrinating their youth to benefit themselves. However,
sometimes loaded language in history can have a more useful role, allowing for a deeper acquisition of historical
knowledge. As seen in Jung Chang’s extremely personal narrative, the use of loaded language allows the reader to gain a
great deal of insight into her life, and by extension, the lives of the millions who lived through Mao’s regime. While her book
is biased, being able to see the situation from her point of view can be beneficial because it allows us to grasp the situation
from a perspective that differs from our own.
It’s important to keep in mind that the purpose of history is different from science, and thus the acquisition of knowledge is
these areas is affected differently by the use of loaded language.
Please turn over
International Baccalaureate
TK/PPD (page 3)
TEACHER SECTION
Enter your mark (0-10) for this presentation: 9
Provide comments to support your assessment of the presentation:
The presentation is focused on a specified RLS connected to a well-defined KQ. The KQ is then explored using History
and Nat Science as two separate fields of investigation. Other insightful topical RLS are brought forward and effectively
used to demonstrate the role of loaded language in the two AOKs, with a sophisticated comparison of the aims and
characteristic of said AOKs. The significance of the outcomes of the analysis are shown in relation to the various RLS
used, as well as the AOKS explored.
This presentation was made in a group of two students.