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 · Speech
2025 election-night victory speech
Inclusive “we”, anaphora, value-tricolons and a present-continuous slogan; a short arc from gratitude to resolve.
gratefulunifyingassuredresolute
Australian · Speech
2025 Labor campaign launch speech
A “keep building” refrain, anaphora, an us-and-them contrast, direct address and value-nouns over numbers.
upbeatunifyingcombativeoptimistic
Australian · Speech
Garma Festival address
Acknowledgement as an opening move, naming a loss briefly, a shift to concrete policy language, and anaphora.
respectfulmeasureddeterminedchastened
Australian · Speech
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 · Speech
2025 election concession speech
Understatement, first-person accountability, a directed apology, and the rhetorical weight of what is left unsaid.
ruefulaccountablegracioussubdued
Australian · Speech
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 · Speech
Address to the UN General Assembly
A “no longer… but” reframing move, balanced both-sides structure, dark imagery, and modal hedging.
measureddiplomaticgraveprincipled
Australian · Speech
Address at Parliament House, Canberra
Elevated archaic register, studied political neutrality, inclusive acknowledgement (“65,000 years”) and long periodic sentences.
formalwarmdiplomaticceremonial
Australian · Speech
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 · Opinion
“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 · Opinion
“Piggy in the middle” analysis column
An extended metaphor from a children's game, the explainer voice, rhetorical questions and dry understatement.
wryexplanatoryscepticalpointed
Australian · Opinion
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 · Opinion
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 · Editorial
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 · Visual
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 · Speech
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 · Speech
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 · Speech
Second inaugural address
Hyperbole, epochal labels (“golden age”, “Liberation Day”), before-and-after antithesis, and heavy temporal deixis.
triumphantcombativegrandioseurgent
International · Speech
Address to the UN General Assembly
Direct second-person challenge, a pun on “United Nations”, binary framing, imperative mood and moral absolutes.
insistentaccusatoryresoluteimploring
International · Speech
Opening remarks at COP29
The “ticking clock” auditory metaphor, countdown framing, litotes, a wordplay slogan and imperative verbs.
urgentadmonishingalarmedimploring
International · Speech
Dartmouth commencement address
An extended tennis analogy, aphorism (“effortless is a myth”), a counter-intuitive statistic, and self-deprecating humour.
warmwrycandidencouraging
International · Speech
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 · Speech
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 · Opinion
“Democrats Have a Better Option Than Biden”
The reluctant-messenger pose, a conversational register, scenario reasoning and visible hedging.
measuredearnestreluctantworried
International · Opinion
“Dry Run” — column on water and food
Accumulation of data, a counter-intuitive reveal, systems framing, and a named institutional failure.
urgentanalyticalexasperatedcontrolled
International · Opinion
“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 · Editorial
“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 · Editorial
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” 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” as a visual argument
A centred, fully lit, whole Earth, recognisable geography, visible weather, and a black empty surround; a companion to “Earthrise”.
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