This paper will compare and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of Dominique Clément’s “The October Crisis of 1970: Human rights abuses under the War Measures Act”, and Ross Lambertson’s “The Black, Brown, White and Red Blues: The Beating of Clarence Clemons”. Both articles are rich with facts and explore fascinating issues in Canadian human rights history. That being said, this paper will argue that Clément’s article is superior. Clément’s article is better organized with clearer diction and style, and has stronger and more straightforward support for his argument than Lambertson’s article does.
Both articles discuss violations of human rights in late twentieth-century Canada. Clément, an associate professor at the University of Alberta, …show more content…
In academic articles, a clear abstract and introduction allows readers to anticipate how the article will read. A clear introduction also helps with organization, making reading the article easier. Clément’s article begins with an abstract that gives a brief but clear outline of the paper as well as the thesis. In the introduction of the article itself, he gives a concise overview of the October Crisis and what the FLQ was, restates the thesis given in the abstract, and goes into a more detailed outline of what he plans to argue in his paper (Clément 160-161). Clément effectively stays true to the outline throughout the paper. Lambertson, on the other hand, begins his article in a more vague manner. There is no abstract, and the first three pages discuss general facts on human rights history in Canada. While somewhat related to the thesis, beginning the article with such a broad scope makes it difficult to discern what the paper will eventually argue. His thesis comes on the fourth page, and the introduction ends without as clear of an outline as Clément’s introduction (Lambertson …show more content…
He argues that the Clarence Clemons case reveals how the West Coast created its human rights community that was similar yet different from Ontario’s. He also argues that ideology and class divided early activists, leading to a weakened ability to fight against racial discrimination together (Lambertson 758). Despite this stimulating argument, the way the support is organized and articulated weakens the argument. The argument is further weakened by loosely related sub-arguments and facts. The first of these is the first three pages of the article discussed above, in which the author gives a broader-than-necessary overview of human rights history in Canada. Another instance is when he argues that the Clemons case may have been about sex and gender as well as class and race near the end of the article (Lambertson 772-773); while this may be true and is an interesting argument, it does not contribute to Lambertson 's
Both articles discuss violations of human rights in late twentieth-century Canada. Clément, an associate professor at the University of Alberta, …show more content…
In academic articles, a clear abstract and introduction allows readers to anticipate how the article will read. A clear introduction also helps with organization, making reading the article easier. Clément’s article begins with an abstract that gives a brief but clear outline of the paper as well as the thesis. In the introduction of the article itself, he gives a concise overview of the October Crisis and what the FLQ was, restates the thesis given in the abstract, and goes into a more detailed outline of what he plans to argue in his paper (Clément 160-161). Clément effectively stays true to the outline throughout the paper. Lambertson, on the other hand, begins his article in a more vague manner. There is no abstract, and the first three pages discuss general facts on human rights history in Canada. While somewhat related to the thesis, beginning the article with such a broad scope makes it difficult to discern what the paper will eventually argue. His thesis comes on the fourth page, and the introduction ends without as clear of an outline as Clément’s introduction (Lambertson …show more content…
He argues that the Clarence Clemons case reveals how the West Coast created its human rights community that was similar yet different from Ontario’s. He also argues that ideology and class divided early activists, leading to a weakened ability to fight against racial discrimination together (Lambertson 758). Despite this stimulating argument, the way the support is organized and articulated weakens the argument. The argument is further weakened by loosely related sub-arguments and facts. The first of these is the first three pages of the article discussed above, in which the author gives a broader-than-necessary overview of human rights history in Canada. Another instance is when he argues that the Clemons case may have been about sex and gender as well as class and race near the end of the article (Lambertson 772-773); while this may be true and is an interesting argument, it does not contribute to Lambertson 's