What are the first steps to writing a text-based debate.

There are a few simple steps to structure and start off your text based analysis that secure you future points. Start off by thoroughly reading the given text. At this point it can already be helpful to figure out the core argument that comes to mind first. Then, start by . identifying basics such as authors name and birthplace, what style of text you are reading, when it was published and so on. Use this to already make a few assumptions such as what political period was the text written in. Moving on, analyse the language of the text. What perspective is being written from? Is it poetic or to the point? Annotate and identify key adjectives, grammatical styles and so on.
All these steps can be extremely helpful before diving in to the actual content and arguments of the writer and help you more deeply understand the text.