A Comparative Discourse Analysis of Democrats and Republicans’ Policies: A Case Study of President Biden and President Trump’s Administrations

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 English language teaching, faculty of humanities, University of Maragheh, Maragheh, Iran

2 University of Maraghe, Maragheh, Iran

Abstract

The study explores the use of attitudinal evaluative resources in media discourse, focusing on CNN and Fox News articles about the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Martin and White’s Appraisal framework within Systemic Functional Linguistics, concentrating on the Attitude system, which includes affect, judgment, and appreciation, was employed for the analysis. Through a quantitative discourse analysis of eight selected articles within the time period of 2018-2023, which were selected based on purposive sampling, the research investigated how media language reflects political biases and influences public opinion. It addresses three main research questions: the frequency of affect, judgment, and appreciation resources; the dominant polarity (positive or negative) of these attitudinal evaluative resources; and the interpretations of evaluative resource patterns in JCPOA coverage. The data comprises four articles each from CNN and Fox News, centered on speeches by Presidents Biden and Trump. The findings of Chi-square data analysis delivered significant differences in JCPOA portrayal between the two news outlets, aligned with their political biases. This research emphasizes the media's role in shaping public perception and the importance of discourse analysis in education to enhance awareness and counteract power imbalances.

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Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 20 August 2026

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