Comparing Two Articles On The Same Topic

Compare and contrast the two articles

The aim of this essay is to compare and contrast the two newspaper articles. The first is entitled ‘Young, bored and pregnant’, and the second is called ‘Nightmare in the playroom’. These articles shall be referred as Article one and Article two respectively. Both the articles are based about the subject of teenage pregnancy, and its role in society. The audience for both articles one and two are teenagers who are just sexually maturing or parents who will be faced with teenagers.

The author of both the articles is trying to make the point that teenage pregnancy is to blame for – as mentioned in article one – “urban Britain’s moral freefall”. They both use facts, opinions and persuasive and emotive language to get the reporters point across. My task is to compare the two articles and then contrast the two texts, writing about how the authors make use of: * Presentational Devices * Stylistic Devices * Language In addition to this, I will give my opinion of the articles, whether or not I agree with what the reporters are saying.

Both the articles use facts and opinions.

Writing Compare And Contrast Essay

However, article one is based more around fact than opinion, for example, the reporter, Burhan Wazir, introduces the first article by describing the atmosphere outside a Sheffield nightclub, and then says that “scores of teenage mothers pushed prams along the leafy streets” as if every other teenager was a teenage mother. This is obviously an exaggeration of the truth.

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It then goes on to tell the reader of the facts about teenage pregnancy figures in the UK. Using facts such as “around three in every hundred teenage women give birth” it makes it sound like it is a common problem.

Three in a hundred women are only 3 percent and as a result, this is a substantially insignificant number. Nevertheless, the article does make use of the reporters, and other people’s opinions as well as facts. Mentioned in the article are the dolls that are equipped with computer chips, to “simulate baby habits to emphasise the realities of motherhood”. The leader of this (the Tudor project) says, “Perhaps there is a failure at schooling level – maybe we need a greater emphasis on the pains of teenage conception”. This seems to be an opinion that the reporter shares with the Tudor leader.

Both of the articles, being based on the same theme are, inevitably, very similar In article two, the report is based mainly around opinion. Article two starts off by explaining the situation and then recalling past experiences of the same thing. It then goes on to make a very valid point – “The 12 year old mum-to-be from Rotherham confide in her mother, only 26 herself (a distressing but typical arithmetic in these cases) that… ” The main focus here is that the mother is only 26 years old, and therefore was only 14 years old when she gave birth herself.

The reporter, Mark Lawson calls this “a distressing but typical arithmetic”, meaning that because the mother gave birth at such an early age, it is more probable that her daughter will as well. He then goes on to say “the only remedy is for former teenage mothers to be paraded through classrooms with their children, explaining that, while babies do offer unconditional love, they demand 24 hour care in response”. The article does not make best use of presentational devices, and is much less persuasive than article one, mainly due to the fact that it has neither much fact nor opinion within it, rather anecdotes.

The language used in both articles is fairly similar, however, as I have already mentioned, article one came across to me as more persuasive, and has a better chance of influencing its readers than the second article. In article two, the subheading is “The child-parents of Yorkshire are without shame – or hope” This is just an opinion, and as a result of the wording, comes across as a generalisation, because this is a prejudiced approach towards the situation, when he is not fully informed.

In my opinion, the articles are not a true reflection of modern city life, as I have said before, the facts show an insignificant amount of teenage pregnancies compared to other problems which contribute to the moral decline of Britain today. However, the reporters are biased towards a certain opinion, and this is reflected in the articles. The writers of the articles try to convey their opinion that there is no hope or future for anyone that is born into a young family, or born in a built up ‘urban’ area. This is ridiculous because there is just as much chance of a decent future for anyone no matter where they are born.