Essay

Analytical Objectives and Rhetorical Stance

• Primary Objective of the Assignment: The core task of the compare and contrast essay (Assignment B) is to analyze how authors convey their messages rather than evaluating or arguing about what they say. The focus remains strictly on comparative analytical breakdown rather than content argumentation.

• Rhetorical Analysis Connection: The assignment mirrors rhetorical analysis in that it requires an examination of the rhetorical situation—specifically evaluating where an article sits within its publication venue, its intended audience, and its overarching purpose. However, standard rhetorical appeals ($\text{ethos}$, $\text{pathos}$, and $\text{logos}$) are not analyzed.

• Use of Evidence: Evidence from the articles must never be used to argue a personal stance regarding the article's topic. Evidence must exclusively substantiate claims regarding the structural, stylistic, rhetorical, and contextual similarities and differences between the two texts.

• Introductory Thesis Statement: The introductory paragraph must culminate in a formal thesis statement that establishes a clear analytical claim regarding the specific similarities and differences existing between the chosen scholarly research article and the popular media article.

The Compare and Contrast Worksheet and Pre-Writing Strategy

• Worksheet Architecture: The assignment begins with a compare and contrast worksheet arranged in a Venn diagram format. This worksheet functions as mandatory pre-writing that maps directly into the drafted essay.

• Completeness Requirement: Every question on both sides of the worksheet (covering both the scholarly article and the popular media article) must be answered completely, either handwritten or typed into a word processor. Omitted questions on pre-writing worksheets commonly lead to point deductions in final submissions.

• Standard Required Worksheet Inquiries:

  • Identification of the publisher.

  • The explicit organizational mission of the publisher.

  • The target audience of the publication.

  • The real-world context driving the publication.

  • The specific purpose of the article.

• Adopting Instructional Terminology: Essay drafts must integrate the precise academic vocabulary modeled in the worksheet prompts:

  • Audience Phrasing: Write formulations such as, "The audience are general researchers or researchers interested in this topic. Secondarily, the audience might be students as well."

  • Mission Phrasing: Write formulations such as, "The mission of the organization is to [insert mission statement]."

• Drafting Conversion: Once all worksheet prompts are thoroughly investigated, responses are expanded into complete sentences, grouped logically into topical paragraphs, and revised into a cohesive essay.

Analyzing the Scholarly Research Article

• Scholarly Database vs. Publisher Distinction:

  • Databases such as PubMed function as electronic digital library shelves that house academic journals, magazines, and newspapers; PubMed is a database, not a publishing company.

  • The publication venue is the specific academic journal (for example, Antioxidants).

  • The publisher is the entity producing the journal (for example, MDPI).

  • To locate publisher data, navigate via the database link labeled "view on publisher site."

• Scholarly Target Audience: Scholarly research articles are written primarily for other researchers, academics, and field specialists. Secondarily, the audience includes university students consulting the literature for academic study.

• Locating Organizational Mission: The publishing house's institutional mission statement is identified by locating the "About" or "About Us" tab on the publisher's primary website. This statement may be directly quoted or paraphrased within the essay.

• Determining Context and Purpose in the Abstract:

  • The abstract offers an immediate summary of the study, situating both the context and the purpose at the very beginning.

  • Context Defined: Context refers to the external real-world situation, ongoing debate, or scientific conversation to which the researchers are responding. In a study on peanuts, the context begins: "Peanuts are consumed worldwide and have been linked to multiple health benefits," followed by the complication: "Processing may affect the bioavailability of peanut bioactive compounds."

  • Purpose Defined: The purpose specifies the authors' targeted goal in conducting the research, typically signaled by operative verbs such as "aim." For example: "They aim to evaluate the effects of crushing peanuts."

• Citation Metadata: Scholarly articles contain explicit publication dates, Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), and complete author lists. However, a formal APA reference page and DOIs are not required for this specific assignment.

Analyzing the Popular Media Article

• Nature and Distribution: Popular media articles are general-interest texts written for a broad public audience and accessed through commercial search engines.

• Primary Audience and Financial Model:

  • Unlike research studies supported by grants or institutional funding, popular media outlets operate for commercial profit.

  • Their primary audience consists of consumers. The primary organizational goal is selling magazines and generating commercial revenue by selling advertising space. Readers are prospective buyers of advertised products.

• Identifying Publishers and Missions:

  • If publisher information is not prominently displayed on the article webpage, a brief external web search reveals parent companies (for example, Benignaw publishing Time Magazine).

  • The publication's mission statement is located under the website's "About Us" tab. For example, the mission of Time Magazine is: "Tell the stories that matter most for conversations and by context understanding to the issues and events that define our time."

• Identifying Context and Purpose:

  • Context: Popular media establishes immediate context by highlighting ongoing public curiosities or cultural debates (for example, "Nutrition experts have long debated that question: is peanut butter healthy?").

  • Purpose: The article operates with layered purposes: first, commercial imperatives (selling magazines and selling targeted peanut butter advertisements embedded within the text); second, informing the readership regarding the central debate (concluding that peanut butter is largely healthy).

Core Criteria for Comparison and Contrast

• Length and Structural Conventions:

  • Scholarly Articles: Substantially longer, adhering strictly to scientific genre conventions including abstracts, introductions, literature reviews, methods sections, results sections, and discussion/conclusion sections to demonstrate methodological credibility.

  • Popular Media Articles: Much shorter, constructed to maintain reader engagement and ensure fast consumption alongside digital advertisements.

• Charts, Graphs, and Data Visualizations:

  • Scholarly Articles: Contain numerous complex data graphs, statistical tables, and technical figures. When using them as analytical evidence in the essay, do not insert images; describe what the data visualizations convey.

  • Popular Media Articles: Contain few, if any, graphs; when present, they are simplified for effortless public interpretation.

• Imagery and Multimedia Features:

  • Scholarly Articles: Lack decorative photography, audio clips, or commercial video.

  • Popular Media Articles: Integrate vibrant photography, embedded video segments, and full audio read-aloud transcripts to maximize accessibility and reader retention.

• Advertising Presence and Editorial Independence:

  • Scholarly Articles: Completely devoid of product advertisements, ensuring research findings remain uncompromised by consumer marketing.

  • Popular Media Articles: Saturated with commercial advertisements tailored to the subject matter (e.g., peanut butter advertisements), illustrating how marketing underwrites the publication.

• Linguistic Complexity and Vocabulary:

  • Scholarly Articles: Rely on technical jargon, academic syntax, and advanced disciplinary terminology, assuming prior background knowledge from readers.

  • Popular Media Articles: Employ accessible, everyday diction pitched at low-to-moderate reading comprehension levels (spanning elementary to secondary school proficiencies) to achieve maximum accessibility.

• Authorship Conventions:

  • Scholarly Articles: Authored collaboratively by multiple credentialed investigators.

  • Popular Media Articles: Typically authored by a single journalist, credited generically to editorial staff, or published without an author attribution.

Essay Organization and Structural Models

• Length Requirement: The complete essay must be between $750$ and $900$ words in length.

• Conventional Block Format Organization:

  • Introduction: Open by introducing both articles using their full formal titles and complete author names. For texts with three or more authors, use the Latin abbreviation et al. (meaning "and others"). Conclude the introductory paragraph with a thesis statement stating the major comparative and contrasting analytical claims.

  • Body Paragraph 1 (Scholarly Focus): Systematically examine the research article across all worksheet criteria (audience, publisher mission, context, purpose, conventions). Cease using full titles and authors; refer to the work simply as "the research article."

  • Body Paragraph 2 (Popular Media Focus with Synthesis): Analyze the popular media article while directly contrasting it against the research article. Refer to it as "the popular media article" or "the media article." Use comparative transitional phrasing (e.g., "Whereas the research article is written for an audience of researchers, the popular media article is written for a wider general public…").

• Alternative Structural Models:

  • Three-Paragraph Body Model: Students may designate Body Paragraph 1 to the research article, Body Paragraph 2 to the popular media article, and dedicate Body Paragraph 3 entirely to direct comparison and synthesis.

  • Regardless of structural choice, essays must maintain a logical analytical progression and eliminate repetitive phrasing.

• Three-Part Conclusion Architecture:

  • Restatement: Rephrase the central comparative thesis statement in new language.

  • Synthesis: Concisely summarize the major points of convergence and divergence examined across the body.

  • The "So What?" Resolution: Address the broader significance of the analysis, articulating what the comparison reveals about how disparate publications satisfy diverse public and academic information needs.

APA Style and Page Formatting Specifications

• General Typographical Rules:

  • Standard $12\text{-point}$ font (such as Times New Roman).

  • Double-spaced text throughout the entire manuscript.

  • Default $1\text{-inch}$ margins on all four sides.

  • First-line paragraph indents set precisely to $\frac{1}{2}\text{-inch}$ (achieved with a single press of the Tab key).

• Required Sections: Standard APA manuscripts feature four sections, but this assignment requires only two: the Student Title Page and the Main Body. An abstract and a formal reference list are excluded.

• Student Title Page Layout:

  • Vertical Placement: Title begins $3\text{ to }4$ double-spaced lines down from the top page margin.

  • Title Styling: Centered and bolded, capitalized in standard title case.

  • Spacing: Exactly one double-spaced blank line between the title and the student's name.

  • Author Identification: Student full name, centered.

  • Institutional Affiliation: Academic department followed by the college name (e.g., Volunteer State Community College), centered.

  • Course Information: Course number and course title, centered.

  • Instructor Name: Professor's formal name, centered.

  • Date: Due date of the assignment, centered.

• Main Body Page Setup:

  • Begins on a new page directly following the title page.

  • The paper's complete title is repeated on the very first line of the body page, centered and bolded.

  • Introductory text begins immediately on the next double-spaced line with standard $\frac{1}{2}\text{-inch}$ paragraph indentation.

  • No parenthetical in-text citations are required for this specific assignment.

Learning Commons Resources and Sample Essay Breakdown

• Accessing Online Support: Resources are housed at volstate.edu by selecting the Library tab, navigating to the Learning Commons section, and selecting the Writing and Formatting area.

• Reference Aids: Formatting links provide direct access to the Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) and instructional video resources for APA mechanics.

• Analysis of Assignment B Sample Paper:

  • Sample Thesis Statement: "However, despite having two different tone, styles, and target audiences, the articles are ultimately interested in the effects of vegetarian and vegan diets."

  • Comparative Transition Markers: Effective essays incorporate sophisticated transitional indicators of contrast, such as "on the other hand," "conversely," and "whereas."

  • Sample Concluding Statement ("So What?" Resolution): "It's important to consider these various sources of information because they address different needs and preferences."

  • Formatting Caveat: In the sample document, the title on the title page is placed slightly too high; students must ensure their title is positioned $3\text{ to }4$ double-spaced lines down.

Submission Workflow and Requirements

• Submission Sequence:

  1. Draft the initial compare and contrast essay.

  2. Submit the working rough draft to the Learning Commons Essay Review Dropbox inside the course eLearn shell prior to the designated initial due date.

  3. Acknowledge tutor feedback received through the review dropbox (or schedule an in-person or virtual appointment with a Learning Commons writing tutor).

  4. Revise the draft based on tutor commentary.

  5. Submit the final package to the instructor's assignment dropbox.

• Components of the Final Instructor Submission: The final course submission requires three separate items:

  • The tutor feedback document provided by the Learning Commons.

  • The fully completed Compare and Contrast Worksheet (Venn diagram).

  • The finalized, revised essay ($750\text{ to }900$ words).

• Rubric as a Checklist: Students must review the assignment grading rubric systematically prior to final submission to confirm that every content and stylistic expectation has been addressed.

Questions and Discussion

• Question: Must the chosen scholarly article be published in a journal found specifically on PubMed?

  • Response: No. The research article does not have to come from PubMed. While PubMed is an excellent repository for health and nutrition topics, scholarly articles can be sourced from other academic databases, provided they are peer-reviewed research.

• Question: Are students writing about the content as a research essay, or comparing similarities and differences?

  • Response: Students write a single compare and contrast essay analyzing the similarities and differences in how the two articles present information, rather than writing a research paper on the subject matter itself. The completed worksheet must accompany the essay.

• Question: What is the purpose usually listed in a PubMed research article compared to a popular media article?

  • Response: A scholarly article's purpose is scientific and tailored to its specific inquiry (located directly in the abstract using phrases like "aim to evaluate…"). A popular media article's primary purpose is commercial (selling subscriptions, magazines, and advertisements), alongside its secondary communicative aim to inform the public on a general topic.

• Question: Are in-text citations required in the essay?

  • Response: No in-text citations are required for this specific assignment under this instructor's guidelines.

• Question: What specific files go to the Learning Commons versus the instructor?

  • Response: The rough draft goes into the Learning Commons Essay Review Dropbox. The revised essay, the tutor feedback form, and the completed compare and contrast worksheet are submitted to the instructor's course dropbox.