Comparing two accounts of the same topic

0:00- [Narrator] Hey readers. I wanna talk about analyzing multiple accounts of the same topic. What does that mean? When different authors talk about the same thing, how can we understand and compare what they're trying to say about that thing? Authors like all people have their own points of view, and opinions about topics and those opinions shape and influence what they write.

0:20Here's a quick way to analyze a text for an author's point of view. Step one, identify the topic. What's the text mostly about? Step two, look for opinions and beliefs. What words does the author use to describe the topic? Or are those words positive or negative?

0:38That sort of thing. Remember, this isn't about your opinions. This is not about how you feel about the topic, it's about how the author feels about the topic. And then if you're reading two authors writing about the same topic, there's a third step, which is compare and contrast the points of view or opinions and beliefs about the topic in each text.

0:59Let's try it out with these two texts, both of them, fake diary entries I made up, but we can treat them like they're historical documents. Here's the first. Today, I found the most unusual village, one that isn't even on any map. The people who live here call it Apple Town, but I have decided to name it Jumbleport after myself.

1:19Everything about this place is strange and exciting! The village has tall wooden buildings that look like giant sails. They move when the wind blows, but I cannot figure out why. How mysterious! And here's the second. A stranger showed up in Appleton Square this morning.

1:38He was acting like he had discovered us. Weird, considering I've been to his country twice. The guy said his name was Dr. Jumbletree, he seemed nice though, ignorant. He had no idea what our windmills were for, even though I explained them many times. He kept going on about how he was off the map.

1:54So I looked at his map. It was 50 years out of date. Our town is only 20 years old. Now, let's compare the text's point of view. So what is the topic of this first text? It's about the author's trip to a village called Appletown, although he calls it Jumbleport.

2:09What's his point of view? What are his opinions? Well, let's look for the adjectives, the describing words. He calls the town unusual. He doesn't know what the wooden buildings with sails do. He thinks they're mysterious. The author's point of view is that Appletown is interesting but strange.

2:30And what about the second text? It's also about Dr. Jumbletree's visit to Appletown, but this time the author is someone who lives in Appletown. And how does the author of text two feel about Dr. Jumbletree's visit? Well, let's look at the words they use to describe Jumbletree's behavior.

2:47Acting like he discovered us. Weird. Nice, though ignorant. Ignorant means not knowing a lot about something. He had no idea, right? Kind of a negative vibe there. So this author's POV is that Appletown is not a strange place at all, it's an ordinary place. So I'll write, Appletown is ordinary, and J, Dr. Jumbletree knows nothing.

3:13And remember, this is not how I feel about Dr. Jumbletree's visit, this is how I think the author feels based on what they say and how they say it. And imagine for a moment, if you'd only read text one, how would you think of Appletown? As some mysterious place?

3:29Not on any maps, full of unexplained structures, probably. But when you add in the point of view of text two, you realize Dr. Jumbletree doesn't have all the information. You can't trust his account. It's really when you read the two texts together that you can see Dr. Jumbletree is an utter goofball, and Appletown is a pretty ordinary place.

3:53Comparing two accounts of the same topic gives us a fuller picture of that topic. When we do that, we can see how different points of view impact the same story. One person can never have all the answers, not even me. All right, you can learn anything. David, out.