Is the following a phrase or a clause? If it is a clause, indicate if it is independent or dependent. Since I was Il years old

Pretty sure it's a dependent clause. It's not a complete sentence and it doesn't complete the thought (since it doesn't explain why it matters that the person is eleven years old). Hope this helps!

you may need to add a question, yeah?

compare & contrast informative essay/speech

when speaking or writing for the sole purpose of providing information in order to give audience members a good basis for making a decision, you would present an informative speech or essay.   because you wouldn’t want to be persuading the audience by arguing for one type of exercise over the other, you wouldn’t choose a persuasive/argumentative technique.   to fairly, and without bias, present information about the pros and cons of each type exercise, a compare/contrast, informative speech/essay would be the best bet.