“Rather than having imbalanced paragraph lengths, body paragraphs can be structure by:
Different appeals and techniques
Positioning of different players
Chronological shifts in arguments”
Is each of the body paragraph talk about all the three comparative articles or just one paragraph talk about one article?
Could you explain further regards to the three dot points you made?
Basically you shouldn't have one paragraph per article. Because at the end of the year you won't get three news articles with visuals, you'll get something like a transcript of a speech with 'embedded visuals' (like a power point slide) or maybe a blog post with a few comments. There will always be some visual element you have to analyse, but don't rely on there being three/four separate texts.
Secondly, your paragraph lengths will be 'imbalanced.' Take the 2011 Exam for example: one blog post, three (I think
) comments from the public, and two photos. You can't just write one paragraph on the blog, one on each comment, then one on each picture. The blog post made up at least 75% of the information, so it should be about 75% of your focus in the essay. You can't have one super long paragraph on the blog, then some three or four liners on the brief comments.
Thirdly, it limits your analysis. Part of the task is to
compare and contrast persuasive devices and appeals, which you can't do if you're dealing with each separately. You don't have to talk about all three in every paragraph, just make sure you have a point of comparison for each text somewhere in your essay.
How can I group the techniques used in each articles?
What does the word 'player' means in LA?
There is no official requirement, from VCAA or teachers, though some advocate their own personal preference. My recommendation is that you structure by 'key players'. (Some schools call these 'stakeholders' or 'involved parties,' whatever.) These are the main people/groups/things/ideas that are involved in the issue. For example, pretend you're analysing a news story about the government making mathematics mandatory for Year 12. The players would be: the government, the schools/teachers/community, the students, and mathematics itself. Remember- the 'players' don't have to be people. They can be objects, places, ideas, proposals, roads, countries, the media... pretty much anything.
Once you've identified the main players and grouped them into 3 or 4 categories, then you have to work out what each author is trying to say about these players, or what they want us to think about them. For example, we might have one article with the contention: 'Maths is a waste of time for students who know they don't need it, the government shouldn't be intervening.' This author therefore wants us to view the government as meddlesome, annoying, and a hindrance to education. Whereas the children are intelligent people who are capable of making their own decisions. And maths is an unnecessary 'waste of time.'
Then there's a second article that contends: 'Maths is vital for children to open their minds, and can further their careers. The government is doing the right thing by giving children the best possible education.' In this case, the government are a force for good, the children are too young and naive to know better, and maths is a very important part of our mental development.
So your first paragraph might deal with how the two authors deal with school children, and why one might chose to portray them as impressionable innocents and the other might suggest they are mature young adults. Then you might talk about mathematics in the next paragraph, and how the authors position it. Then the government, etc. etc.
If there is a visual, how can I analyse it in my LA piece? My teacher asked me to write in 7 steps: discuss the background info; object/subject; expressions; surroundings; dialogue; colour and response-the intended effect on readers. I did try it and I ended up having a long paragraph just for the visual.
It depends on the visual, but this seems like a pretty safe formula. Sometimes the colour won't be important, or the surroundings won't need discussing, so you don't have to go into detail about all 7. As a general rule, try to work out the contention of the image, and what players are involved, then you should be able to incorporate it in with your other paragraphs, rather than dealing with it separately.
Maybe check with your teacher and see if you can get some practice essays, and note their different structures.
Also: DISCLAIMER, like I said earlier, this isn't foolproof, it's not a perfect approach that will work every time. You should have some other options, even if it is just 'chronological shifts in argument' or going through each piece in order, since you might get something tricky with only one player, or with 20 different ones
Hope that helps