Steps and Tips For Writing a Comparative Argument Analysis Essay PDF

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This is good for VCE students that need help with how to write a comparative argument analysis essay; it has good starting points and makes it less overwhelming....

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Comparative Argument Analysis Notes Reading 1. Determine the issue: a. An issue is something that causes controversy because there are at least two solutions to the problem. b. An issue statement usually begins with ‘that’, as in, ‘that Australia Day should be on a different date’ or ‘that the safe injecting rooms should be removed from Richmond’. 2.

Read the first article and make note of the following: a. Form: editorial/opinion piece/letter to the editor/blog/etc. b. Title c. Author: begin by referring to the author by full name, then by surname only. d. Publication: the newspaper/magazine/website/etc. e. Publication date

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Read the first article again and determine a ‘gut feel’, that is, an intuitive understanding of: a. The tone: i. What does the writing sound like? b. The contention: i. This won’t necessarily be at the beginning, but it might be at the end. ii. It’s the author’s overall position and should be very straightforward: in support of or against the issue. c. The arguments i. These might be several paragraphs long or even a single line. ii. Read the first and last line of a paragraph do determine whether it contains an argument. iii. Then do the same for subsequent paragraphs. d. The persuasive strategies supporting the arguments. i. Do not be tempted by obvious, standalone techniques that you may recognise such as statistics or inclusive language Read the article again and formulate a short outline of the contention and the arguments.

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Repeat steps 1 – 3 for the second article.

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If you read something that you do not understand, do not write about it. This goes for all kinds of figures of speech and arguments that you can’t quite put your finger on. It’s better if you leave it out altogether. Don’t worry, there will be plenty of other stuff to write about.

Writing 1. The introduction: a. Look at the annotated model on Compass. b. Copy the structure of this model: i. The first sentence is about the context of the issue. ii. The second sentence introduces the first author, the title of the article, the publication the article appeared, the date it appeared, and the contention. iii. The third sentence introduces the overall tone in which the author writes, the audience he is targeting, and the purpose of the article, that is, the call to action the author wants the readers to follow. iv. The fourth sentence begins with a comparative word/phrase such as: 1. Similarly, if the contentions are similar or… 2. Conversely/In contrast, if the contentions are different. v. The fifth sentence introduces the second author, the title of the article, the publication the article appeared, the date it appeared, and the contention. vi. The sixth sentence introduces the overall tone in which the author writes, the audience he is targeting, and the purpose of the article, that is, the call to action the author wants the readers to follow. vii. If you’re feeling adventurous, include an eighth sentence where you: 1. Compare the overall persuasive approaches by the two authors: a. Overall, the main difference between the articles is that author one is trying to persuade A by doing B and author two is trying to persuade X by doing Y.

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The body paragraphs: a. Determine whether you want to compare arguments, or stick to a structural analysis: i. Argument comparison means that you have already found three distinct arguments that are similar enough to compare. These would fall under broad categories such as political, social, cultural, economic, etc. ii. Structural comparison means that you will analyse the arguments made by the authors in sections of their articles. These fall into categories of beginning, middle and end. b. If you want to compare arguments, begin with one of these: i. Both authors argue that (if they make a very similar argument). ii. While both authors argue about Z, author one argues X whereas author two argues Y (if they make slightly different contentions about the same topic). c. If you want to begin with the structural comparison, begin with one of these: i. While author one begins by arguing X, author two begins by arguing Y. ii. Both authors begin by arguing Z. (Less likely.) d. Begin by writing in detail about the first article. i. When writing the contention, do not waste time elaborating on a supporting argument, that is, a detailed outline of the contention. Keep it short. ii. The next sentence, no matter which approach you have chosen, should include a direct quote from the article that outlines the argument. iii. Now you should determine the tone and the persuasive strategy. Write a sentence where the author is the ‘doer’ of the strategy, that is, the author is doing the strategy to persuade the target audience to think/do something specific about the author’s point of view on the issue. iv. If you have not established the tone or the persuasive strategy, read the paragraph again and see what words or phrases jump out at you. There will always be something. Pick one and think about why it jumped out at you. 1. Now you can write about the impact of the use of that language has on the reader. Link it back to the argument in that section of the article. e. Use a comparative word such as similarly, or conversely and… f. Write what the second article’s first argument is about. See point d.i. above.

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The image analysis should be straightforward, the meaning will simply echo one of the arguments in the article. a. If the image supports one of the arguments, you should: i. Write about it when you write about the argument itself. 1. Describe what is happening in the image. 2. Explain what that implies in the context of the issue. 3. Articulate which argument the image supports and why. b. If you are unsure which argument it supports, you should: i. Write a separate paragraph (fourth) about the image where you: 1. Describe what is happening in the image. 2. Explain what that implies in the context of the issue.  Both … and … are concerned with the role of …/ the risks posed towards… as a result of …

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(Author 1) begins by arguing that… Appealing to an audience of (audience), he/she (tone adverb) argues that… The use of (adjective) language such as ‘example quote’ has the effect of… The impact on the audience is therefore…

(Author 1’s) intention is to… Similarly/In contrast, (Author 2) begins by contending that… Appealing to an audience of (audience), he (tone adverb) argues that… The use of (adjective) language such as ‘example quote’ has the effect of… The impact on the audience is therefore… (Author 2’s) intention is to… The main similarity/difference between the two authors is that…/While (Author 1) takes a (adjective) position, (Author 2’s) position is more/less (adjective).

~ Through using terms that carry negative connotation, the writer is able to better suit their language to their purpose of emphasising the idea that … cannot possibly be used to bring about safety in local communities. ~ Emotive language is used to highlight the danger of …. This instils fear in parents with young children they desperately want to protect and appeals to their need for safety. ~ The term “scandalous”, author aims to create public outrage towards … and appeal to reader’s need for safety as vulnerable groups such as children are involved. ~ Rhetorical question aims to get readers thinking and engaged into the topic, ultimately encourage people to adopt author’s contention. ~ By changing tone to reflect … rather than …, readers are positioned to agree with … as everyone is benefitted....