Comparative analysis of writing styles in two authors

¶ … articles "Queering the Campus" and "Up or Down" may not address the same issues, in fact they do not even come close to discussing the same issues but there is a common ground as you would notice. Both articles deal with ambiguities of terms we commonly use. For example the author of 'Queering the campus' vents her frustration at the ambiguity of various terms connected with sexuality that she has to encounter at the campus. She understands those distinctions herself but feels that others are confused or choose not to understand clearly the distinctions that exist between various terms used interchangeably for people who do not fit into one neat category of a male or female. Similarly the author of Up and Down, is confused about the various meanings a political term can come to embrace and they way they would be used interchangeably those their dictionary meanings may be quite distinct.

The ambiguity of terms causes confusion which may actually hurt some basic human rights. This is the main argument presented by Barbarow, while William Safire doesn't take this personally and feels that confusion of terms should be cleared up in order to better understand the real issues.

This is where the difference lies. The two authors actually discuss ambiguities of terms but for two very different reasons. Safire's article is not personal opinion piece. It is informative and deals with much larger picture that encompasses politics. Barbarow's article is an opinion piece which is very personal and is meant to educate the people in order to benefit a section of the society.

Barbarow feels that since she has joined the university, she has lost her voice or presence to some extent even though she used to be a very visible and vocal person. She attributes this passivity to the ambiguity of terms that define her sexual orientation. She is a lesbian but inability of people to clearly understand what sexuality difference mean has alienated her from others. Barbarow feels that she has to fight for her presence.

Safire is concerned with much bigger and larger issues. He is simply confused with the various ways a term is used in political scenario. He starts with the term Up and Down and wonders what does it actually mean. Safire has found various examples of how this term has often been used and then goes on to explain exactly what is meant by "Up and Down."

Barbarow writes: "Awareness is a tricky thing to request. Is belligerent awareness better than passive blindness? I don't intend to choose. At Emory, I don't usually have to. Most people are confused at worst, pleasant at best, but passive on average." This is the beginning of her argument that sets the tone for the rest of the discussion. She knows that people are confused and it is this confusion that can hurt the cause of gay community.

Safire also understands how confusion might contribute to damage of a cause as he writes, "Vice President Gore used global warming in his book 'Earth in the Balance." But now that the 90's label switch has switched back, Davies of Greenpeace argues that the verb change is not only weak but also misleading: "It's really 'disruption,' and it isn't benign at all." He feels in a very objective manner that this confusion should be cleared up so we can better understand exactly what is meant by those terms that we so conveniently use interchangeably.