Develop your analysis.

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The following Ways In activity will help you develop your analysis of the points of agreement and disagreement. You may use the sentence strategies as a jumping-off point—you can always revise them later—or you can use language of your own from the start.

Ways In

How Can I Present My Analysis of the Opposing Arguments?

Write a paragraph presenting each important point of disagreement or agreement:

  1. Summarize or paraphrase the disagreement or potential agreement.
    • [Author X] takes the position that because [In contrast/Similarly], [author Y] thinks because .
  2. Choose quotations from each writer to analyze and compare their perspectives.
    • [Author X] claims: [quotation].
    • X’s use of [quoted word or phrase] shows that [name motivating factor] is central to [her/his] way of thinking about the issue.
    • [Author Y’s] argument that [quotation], [however/also], shows that [she/he] values more highly than .
  3. Explain what you think are the different or similar motivating factors influencing the writers’ perspectives, and why you think so.
    • Whereas [author X’s] argument is based on [name motivating factor], [author Y’s] is primarily concerned with [name motivating factor].
    • Like [author X], [author Y] is primarily concerned about [motivating factor].

TEST YOUR ANALYSIS

Present to two other students the areas of agreement you have come up with:

Presenters. Briefly summarize the opposing views on the issue, and then explain the motivating factor (such as a shared value or common concern) that you think could be the basis for agreement. (You may use the sentence strategies you devised in the preceding Ways In activity to help you articulate your views, or you can use language of your own.)

Listeners. Tell the presenter whether the motivating factor seems to be a likely basis for agreement. If you have any questions, comments, or insights, share your thoughts with the presenter.