Language Analysis

Article repository

Practice material for the analysing-argument task — opinion pieces, editorials, letters, speeches and visuals, each with a note on form, contention and tone. Free to read and use.

Australian · SpeechAnthony Albanese · 3 May 2025

2025 election-night victory speech

Inclusive “we”, anaphora, value-tricolons and a present-continuous slogan; a short arc from gratitude to resolve.

gratefulunifyingassuredresolute
Australian · SpeechAnthony Albanese · 13 Apr 2025

2025 Labor campaign launch speech

A “keep building” refrain, anaphora, an us-and-them contrast, direct address and value-nouns over numbers.

upbeatunifyingcombativeoptimistic
Australian · SpeechAnthony Albanese · 3 Aug 2024

Garma Festival address

Acknowledgement as an opening move, naming a loss briefly, a shift to concrete policy language, and anaphora.

respectfulmeasureddeterminedchastened
Australian · SpeechAnthony Albanese · 10 Feb 2025

2025 Closing the Gap statement

The ministerial-statement form, data framing, candour about targets not on track, and a shift from symbol to delivery.

measuredcandidrespectfulresolved
Australian · SpeechPeter Dutton · 3 May 2025

2025 election concession speech

Understatement, first-person accountability, a directed apology, and the rhetorical weight of what is left unsaid.

ruefulaccountablegracioussubdued
Australian · SpeechSenator Fatima Payman · 4 Jul 2024

Statement on leaving the Labor Party

A “heavy heart… clear conscience” antithesis, the vocabulary of conscience, and a self-appointed role as “WA's voice”.

principledresolutesorrowfuldefiant
Australian · SpeechSenator Penny Wong · 27 Sep 2024

Address to the UN General Assembly

A “no longer… but” reframing move, balanced both-sides structure, dark imagery, and modal hedging.

measureddiplomaticgraveprincipled
Australian · SpeechKing Charles III · 21 Oct 2024

Address at Parliament House, Canberra

Elevated archaic register, studied political neutrality, inclusive acknowledgement (“65,000 years”) and long periodic sentences.

formalwarmdiplomaticceremonial
Australian · SpeechNeale Daniher · 25 Jan 2025

Australian of the Year acceptance speech

Anaphora (“I chose to…”), aphorism, deflected credit, a rhetorical question, and the weight of a pre-recorded voice.

resoluteplain-spokengratefulgalvanising
Australian · OpinionMichelle Grattan · The Conversation · 3 Mar 2024

“View from The Hill” on the Dunkley by-election

A question for a headline, the insider register, hedged prediction, balanced assessment and understated verdicts.

measuredanalyticaldispassionatedry
Australian · OpinionLaura Tingle · ABC · 31 Aug 2024

“Piggy in the middle” analysis column

An extended metaphor from a children's game, the explainer voice, rhetorical questions and dry understatement.

wryexplanatoryscepticalpointed
Australian · OpinionJoel Scanlan · The Conversation · Dec 2025

On Australia's under-16 social media ban

Industry jargon turned against tech, a “whack-a-mole” metaphor, a repeated key term, and a blunt closing line.

explanatoryscepticalimpatientpointed
Australian · OpinionMichelle Cull · The Conversation · 2024

On negative gearing and housing affordability

A plain-English definition, a worked dollar example, rhetorical-question signposts, and a verdict held to the end.

explanatorypatienteven-handedreasonable
Australian · EditorialThe Age · 2025 federal election

2025 federal election editorial

The unsigned institutional voice, an “on one hand… on the other” structure, concession, and a restrained final recommendation.

measuredeven-handedreluctantauthoritative
Australian · VisualParliament House, Canberra · visual analysis

Parliament House as a visual argument

How a buried form, a grassed public roof, axial symmetry and a central flag mast make a statement about Australian democracy.

dignifiedwelcomingorderlycivic
International · SpeechKamala Harris · 6 Nov 2024

2024 concession speech, Howard University

Anaphora, antithesis (“concede the election… not the fight”), a stated civic principle, and a shift to direct address for the young.

graciousprincipledconsolingdefiant
International · SpeechJoe Biden · 15 Jan 2025

Farewell address to the nation

The warning genre, an allusion to Eisenhower, the coinage “tech-industrial complex”, and plain diction carrying a stark claim.

reflectivegravewarningvaledictory
International · SpeechDonald Trump · 20 Jan 2025

Second inaugural address

Hyperbole, epochal labels (“golden age”, “Liberation Day”), before-and-after antithesis, and heavy temporal deixis.

triumphantcombativegrandioseurgent
International · SpeechVolodymyr Zelensky · 25 Sep 2024

Address to the UN General Assembly

Direct second-person challenge, a pun on “United Nations”, binary framing, imperative mood and moral absolutes.

insistentaccusatoryresoluteimploring
International · SpeechAntónio Guterres · 12 Nov 2024

Opening remarks at COP29

The “ticking clock” auditory metaphor, countdown framing, litotes, a wordplay slogan and imperative verbs.

urgentadmonishingalarmedimploring
International · SpeechRoger Federer · 9 Jun 2024

Dartmouth commencement address

An extended tennis analogy, aphorism (“effortless is a myth”), a counter-intuitive statistic, and self-deprecating humour.

warmwrycandidencouraging
International · SpeechKeir Starmer · 5 Jul 2024

First speech as Prime Minister

Defining the new approach by what it will not do, a metaphor of national weariness, courtesy to the outgoing leader, and a deliberately flat delivery.

subduedearnestchastenedresolved
International · SpeechThe King's Speech · 17 Jul 2024

2024 State Opening of Parliament

The displaced first person (“My Government will…”), anaphora bill by bill, value-nouns without detail, and nominalisation.

formalneutrallist-likeceremonial
International · OpinionEzra Klein · The New York Times · 16 Feb 2024

“Democrats Have a Better Option Than Biden”

The reluctant-messenger pose, a conversational register, scenario reasoning and visible hedging.

measuredearnestreluctantworried
International · OpinionGeorge Monbiot · The Guardian · Mar 2024

“Dry Run” — column on water and food

Accumulation of data, a counter-intuitive reveal, systems framing, and a named institutional failure.

urgentanalyticalexasperatedcontrolled
International · OpinionJeff Bezos · The Washington Post · 28 Oct 2024

“The hard truth: Americans don't trust the news media”

The “hard truth” framing, owner authority, up-front concession, data citation and pre-emptive rebuttal.

bluntbusinesslikedefensivechastening
International · EditorialNYT editorial board · 28 Jun 2024

“To Serve His Country, President Biden Should Leave the Race”

The unsigned institutional “we”, praise-then-pivot structure, rationed metaphor, and restraint deployed as gravity.

gravemeasuredreluctantauthoritative
International · EditorialThe Economist · 31 Oct 2024

Leader endorsing Kamala Harris

The unsigned house voice, faint praise, a risk frame, admitted uncertainty and a pointed line for the undecided.

detachedmeasuredwaryunenthusiastic
International · Visual“Earthrise”, Apollo 8, 1968 · visual analysis

“Earthrise” as a visual argument

A small, off-centre Earth, the dead Moon in the foreground, colour contrast, and the hopeful shape of a “rise”.

awetenderfragilelonely
International · Visual“The Blue Marble”, Apollo 17, 1972 · visual analysis

“The Blue Marble” as a visual argument

A centred, fully lit, whole Earth, recognisable geography, visible weather, and a black empty surround; a companion to “Earthrise”.

completepreciousfiniteserene

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