frbleus1-8, Exercise 1: Knysna 2010

Model answer (check the details):

Documented: France qualified through a play-off in which Henry handled the ball; it drew 0-0 with Uruguay, lost 2-0 to Mexico and lost 2-1 to South Africa and went out; Nicolas Anelka was sent home after an incident with Raymond Domenech; the squad refused to train and a statement was issued; the federation's president resigned; the federation banned several players for different lengths of time (check each).

Disputed: the exact words used by Anelka (reports differ on what he said and how it reached the press); who led the strike and how far it was a decision of the whole squad; how far the coach's tactics, the divisions in the squad and the federation's preparation each contributed.

Opinion: that the squad was "spoiled", that the press caused the crisis, that the coach was solely to blame, or that the episode showed something about French society.

Method: build the account from the federation's official decisions and reports, then add the testimony of participants and journalists, labelling each source as an interested account.

Care: avoid attributing motives to named people beyond what they said or did on record.