English 3 - Pre-Writing: Compare Contrast

Getting Ready to Pre-Write

The next step in this lesson is the Pre-Writing step.

Refer to the information below to prepare for the pre-writing step.

You can make a copy of the graphic organizer below and fill it in with notes about each of the editorials you've chosen. Your notes from this worksheet can be submitted for the next step in this lesson. It will also help you organize your ideas in compare/contrast format.

Here is the Prompt:

Health care costs* in the United States are on the rise. Some people say that a universal health care system would bring costs down and increase access to care. Others say it would be too expensive and would reduce the quality of care. Use your school's databases to find one editorial from each of the argument. An editorial is an opinion article written by a professional with an authority on the topic. Editorials can be written by a member of the publication's editorial board or a professional from within the field. Look for reputable websites and sources to conduct your research. Then, write a five-paragraph essay in which you compare and contrast each author's argument in terms of objectivity and the types of evidence presented. Evaluate and explain how the sources use effective evidence to support their claims. Refer to use of appeals to audience, validity of claims and logic, and other rhetorical elements in your comparison. Cite the resources you used in your essay to avoid plagiarism.

*NOTE: You do not need to use the topic of universal health care for the two articles you choose. You may choose a different topic about which two authors have written opposing arguments. It is just important that they are opposing arguments about the same topic.

Graphic Organizer 1 (recommended)

Use details from your notes on this organizer to submit for the upcoming Pre-Writing step for this essay.

You can grab a copy of this organizer in our Google Classroom in the "Essay Planning Assignments" area.

Evaluating Two Sources Graphic Organizer

Here is a completed example of the graphic organizer above.

For reference, the articles used for this example are linked below.

Article #1 (Pro): LINK

Article #2 (Con): LINK

Graphic Organizer 2

You saw this graphic organizer in the first lesson of our course, and now it's yours to use if you'd like! This option opens in Google Slides, but you'll need your own copy to add text boxes and to take notes each author's writing.

You can grab a copy of this graphic organizer in our Google Classroom in the Essay Planning Assignments category.

Who Argued Better?

Your Assignment

To prepare for the Pre-Writing assignment in the next step, choose one of the sentences below that tells me how the information above helped you organize your ideas, then paste that sentence into the submission box in Edgenuity.

I will use a graphic organizer to gather details from each of the editorials and to make a decision which editorial presents the stronger argument.
I will use a graphic organizer to organize my ideas and identify strengths and weaknesses of each editorial.

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