A Thematic Comparison identifies a specific theme that emerges during the course and discusses how two of our authors address it. Thematic Comparisons are printed documents of approximately 1,000 words.

Possible themes might be:

• The role of invention in rhetorical acts
• The division between language as a tool to transmit knowledge or a means to create it
• How technology has changed rhetorical acts
• The role of language to either create truth or report it
• Differences between oral speech and written text
• The place of the author/speaker/arguer in rhetorical acts
• How differences of sex, race, gender, or class affect rhetorical acts
• The nature and use of specific rhetorical elements (metaphor, situation, enthymeme, etc.)
• etc.

A Thematic Comparison should place the two authors' ideas about the theme in conversation, and you should make an assertive statement. This means that you will have an original thesis to prove. Do not present the authors' ideas as separate entities and simply conclude that perspectives differ. Your intended audience for this work is me and your fellow classmates (although I'll be the only one actually reading it). That means you can make particular assumptions about the background knowledge your audience has.

The resources below may be helpful:

• "Comparing and Contrasting" from UNC Chapel Hill
• "Thesis Statements: How to Write Them in Academic Essays" from Dennis Jerz's Literacy Weblog