Self-Directed Academy · World History · Studio 1 · Dig

Building a
Comparative Argument

Almost all of you are comparing thinkers. Here's how to make the comparison say something.
Whole-class — nearly every WH angle compares Hammurabi/Confucius/Pericles/Melian. The trap: listing.
The trap

A comparison without a point
is just a list.

"Hammurabi did this. Confucius did that." So what? A real comparison takes a side — it argues that one is more something than the other, for a reason.

The ladder — describe is where weak essays stop. Push to evaluate.
Climb the ladder
Describe

What does each thinker say? (necessary — but don't stop here)

Compare

Where do they agree, differ, overlap?

Evaluate

Which is stronger — and by what standard? This is your argument.

The key move: pick a LENS / criterion. Fairness? Order? Virtue? Power? You judge THROUGH it.
The secret ingredient

Judge through a lens.

Pick the standard you're comparing by — fairness? order? virtue? who holds power? You can't say one is "better" until you name better at what.

Structure: point-by-point beats text-by-text. Organize by IDEA, not by author.
How to organize it

Point by point —
not thinker by thinker.

Weak: a paragraph on Hammurabi, then one on Confucius. Strong: a paragraph on fairness (both thinkers), then one on power (both). Organize by idea.

Sentence frames — leave up during work time. Especially the evaluative claim frame.
Frames to steal

Compare: "Both ___ and ___ believe ___, but they differ on ___."

Lens: "Judged by ___, the stronger idea is ___."

Evaluate (your claim): "___ is more ___ than ___ because ___."

Concede + hold: "___ has a point about ___ — yet ___ still ___."

Release. They write their lens + one comparative claim in their Dig Log, then dig for evidence.
Now — in your Dig Log

Name your lens.
Write one claim.

Finish this: "Judged by ___, ___ is more ___ than ___ because ___." Then dig for the evidence that proves it.

Remember

Comparison is a tool.
Your claim is the point.

Describe just enough to make your evaluation land. Spend your words on the "so what."
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