Name: _________________________________________________Grade&Division: _________________

Subject: ____________________ Topic: ___________________________Date: _______________________

Comparing Arguments

For comparing arguments you must analyse two people perspective on an issue and decide
whose argument is more convincing. Your argument should consider BOTH arguments. This
means that when you write each point you should be explicitly referring (copying from the
source) to both arguments and making comparisons, NOT just focusing on one of them
throughout. You should consider the following:
• The strengths of their reasoning
• Their use of language
• Different types of evidence

Strength of reasoning Use of Language Evidence

• Logic • Tone - emotive, • Range of information and depth
• Structure exaggerated, precise • Relevance
• Balance • Clarity • Sufficiency - sample
• Claims Sources of Bias • Source - media, internet
• Date - how recent
• Local interest
• Different types of information –
• Personal values
fact, opinion, value, anecdote
• Experience
• Testimony - from experience or expert
• Economic

What do I need to do to get full marks?

Your answer should contain the following:
• 3 or more developed evaluative points.
• Each point must offer a structured evaluation of BOTH arguments and make
comparisons. Therefore every point you make you need to discuss it from the points of
view of both individuals.
• Must support your answer with quoted evidence from the source.
• A clear judgment is reached in your conclusion.
SAMPLE QUESTION:

Source 4: A television debate about globalisation

Brigita

Globalisation brings many dangers. It does not help us. My father lost his job on a farm when tractors were introduced.
He loved working outside in the fields.
Now he can only get work in a factory. He did not like this change.
Recently people have started arriving from overseas. They take our jobs and take over our shops. You
only hear foreign voices in the streets. Schools and hospitals have become overcrowded. This cannot
be right. Migration should be stopped.
We will lose our heritage and culture – our way of life is better than other people’s and must be
preserved at all costs.

Davor
I am sorry but I do not agree. Globalisation and the movement of people will bring greater wealth to
many people.
Our old jobs were hard and did not pay well. New machines from abroad have increased the number of
things we can make and therefore our profits. Wages are rising and I can now send money to support
my elderly parents who do not have a pension.
There are many new opportunities for education as the government can afford more schools and
universities. There may be some costs and change is difficult at times, but globalisation improves our
lives and takes us out of poverty.
The study by Professor Anya on migrants this year shows how they give more money to us than they
take away. The Open Borders organisation supports migration between countries. They say that the
movement of people brings workers and skills for jobs that local people cannot do.
The World Trade Organisation highlights the benefits of global trade, sharing knowledge and the
free movement of people between different countries. The International Monetary Fund encourages
cooperation between countries to support development. Globalisation brings many benefits.
PRACTISE QUESTIONS

Whose answer is more convincing Rachel or Richards?

Your answer should consider both arguments (balanced), and you should support your point of
view with their words (explicitly quote the source). You should consider the follow:
• The strength of their reasoning and evidence
• Their use of language
• Different Types of information

RACHEL: "Animal testing has contributed to many life-saving cures and

treatments. The California Biomedical Research Association states that nearly every
medical breakthrough in the last 100 years has resulted directly from research using
animals. Experiments in which dogs had their pancreases removed led directly to the
discovery of insulin, critical to saving the lives of diabetics. The polio vaccine, tested on
animals, reduced the global occurrence of the disease from 350,000 cases in 1988 to 27
cases in 2016. Animal research has also contributed to major advances in understanding
and treating conditions such as breast cancer, brain injury, childhood leukemia, cystic
fibrosis, malaria, multiple sclerosis, tuberculosis, and many others, and was instrumental
in the development of pacemakers, cardiac valve substitutes, and anesthetics. Chris
Abee, Director of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center's animal
research facility, states that "we wouldn't have a vaccine for hepatitis B without
chimpanzees," and says that the use of chimps is "our best hope" for finding a vaccine
for Hepatitis C, a disease that kills thousands of Americans annually."

RICHARD: "Animal testing is cruel and inhumane. According to Humane Society

International, animals used in experiments are commonly subjected to force feeding, forced
inhalation, food and water deprivation, prolonged periods of physical restraint, the infliction of
burns and other wounds to study the healing process, the infliction of pain to study its effects
and remedies. The Draize eye test, used by cosmetics companies to evaluate irritation caused by
shampoos and other products, involves rabbits being incapacitated in stocks with their eyelids
held open by clips, sometimes for multiple days, so they cannot blink away the products being
tested. How can we let these companies use these barbaric methods for the sole purpose of
making a profit? We must all stand up and fight these corporations as they are taking over the
world!"
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