Comparison and Contrast

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Comparison and Contrast

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Warming-up activities

• Growing up in a small town or growing up in a
  large city.
• Working for large companies or running your own
  businesses.
• Comparing your hometown and your university town.
  
• Comparing Autumn and Spring.

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I-1 What is Comparison and Contrast?
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• Comparison To identify similarities between two
  persons, places, things, or ideas.
• Contrast To identify differences between two
  persons, places, things, or ideas.

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• In the narrowest sense, comparison shows how two
  or more things are similar, and contrast shows
  how they are different.
• In most writing situation, however, you use the
  two related process of comparison and contrast to
  consider both similarities and differences.

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• The method of development in which the writer
  examines the similarities and/or differences
  between persons, objects, or ideas to support a
  point.

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• Please finish the following question
• day/lightnight/?

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• A special form of comparison, called analogy,
  looks for similarities between two essentially
  dissimilar things. With analogy (eg.
  day/lightnight/darkness) you explain one thing
  by comparing it to a second thing that is more
  familiar than the first.

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I-2 Features
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• a. A way of thinking that we use unconsciously to
  make decisions.
• b. It has these three types (Handout paper NO.1)

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I-3 How to recognize a Compare and Contrast essay
(Handout paper No.2)

• I-3 (A) by using the instruction words
• (directly similarities and differences
  differences)
• I-3 (B) by using the context
• (indirectly the MOD is required)

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II. Why do writers use comparison?

• II-1Using Comparison and Contrast
• II-2 Establishing a Basis of Comparison
• II-3 Selecting Points for Discussion
• II-4 Formulating a Thesis Statement

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• To show that things which appear similar are
  really different
• To show that things which appear different are
  really similar
• To evaluate
• To explain the unfamiliar in terms of the
  familiar

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• II-1 Using Comparison and Contrast
• assignment suggests
• suits the purpose
• certain key words and phrases
• Sometimes you may not even need such key phrases.
  
• e.g. Which of the two Adamses, John or Sameul,
  had the greater influence on the timing and
  course of the American Revolution?

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• II-2 Establishing a Basis of Comparison
• Without a common element, there would be no basis
  for analysis--- that is, no basis of comparison.
• Exercise
• Please establish a basis of comparison for cats
  and dogs.

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• III-3 Selecting Points for Discussion
• Make sure that you treat the same, or at least
  similar, elements for each subject you discuss.
• e.g. If you were going to compare and contrast
  two novels, you might consider what elements in
  both works?

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• Suggested answer
• Novel A Novel B
  
• Major characters Major characters
  
• Minor characters Minor characters
• Themes Themes

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• II-4 Formulating a Thesis Statement
• This thesis establishes the significance of the
  comparison or contrast and perhaps the relative
  merits of the items discussed.
• Please create a thesis statement about autumn and
  spring.

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• Suggested answer
• Although there is exquisite beauty in the seasons
  of autumn and spring, there are also distinctions
  which allow each season to stand on its own.

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• Filling in the blanks
• As in other kinds of essays, your thesis
  statement should tell______. It should mention
  ______but also indicate______. Your thesis should
  also indicate______. In addition, it may
  list______.

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• As in other kinds of essays, your thesis
  statement should tell your readers what to expect
  in your essay. It should mention not only the
  subjects to be compared and contrasted but also
  indicate whether you will make about them. Your
  thesis should also indicate whether you will
  concentrate on similarities or differences or
  whether you will balance the two. In addition, it
  may list the points of comparison and contrast in
  the order in which they are discussed in the
  essay.

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• The structure of your thesis sentence can help to
  show the focus of your essay.
• e.g. (Handout No.3)

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III Structuring a Comparison-And-Contrast Essay

• a. Point by point
• b. Block
• c. Mixed

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• Using Subject-by-Subject Comparison (The divided
  pattern/ block arrangement)
• Do the following example
• Introdution Thesis statement---Despite the fact
  that doctors and nurses perform distinctly
  different tasks at a hospital, their functions
  overlap when they interact with patients.

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Suggested answer

• Doctor's functions
• Point 1 Teaching patients
• Point 2 Assessing patients
• Point3 Dispensing medication
• Nurse's function
• Point 1 Teaching patients
• Point 2 Assessing patients
• Point3 Dispensing medication
• Conclusion Restatement of thesis

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• Topic sentence (X vs. Y)
• X
• Point1
• Point 2
• Point 3
• Y
• Point1
• Point 2
• Point 3
• Concluding sentence

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• Using Point-by point Comparison (alternating
  pattern)
• Do the following exercise
• Introduction Thesis statement---Melville's
  Mody-Dick has more fully developed characters and
  more complex themes than does London's The Sea
  Wolf.

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Suggested answer

• Minor characters
• Book 1 The Sea Wolf
• Book 2 Moby-Dick
• Major characters
• Book 1 The Sea Wolf
• Book 2 Moby-Dick
• Themes
• Book 1 The Sea Wolf
• Book 2 Moby-Dick
• Conclusion Restatement of thesis

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• Topic sentence (X vs. Y)
• X and Y (Point 1)
• X
• gt Special detail
• Y
• X and Y (Point 2)
• X
• gt Special detail
• Y
• X and Y (Point 3)
• X
• gt Special detail
• Y
• Concluding Sentence

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Questions

• 1 As to the longer and more complicated essays,
  and the short and uncomplicated essays, which
  pattern is more suitable?
• 2 When you write a point-by-point comparison, it
  is easy to fall into a monotonous, back-and
  forth movement between points, how to avoid this
  problem?

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Suggested answers to Q1

• Subject-by-subject comparisons are most
  appropriate for short, uncomplicated papers. In
  longer papers, where many points are made about
  each subject, this organizational pattern puts
  too many demands on your readers, requiring them
  to keep track of all your points throughout your
  paper. In addition, because of the length of each
  section, your paper may seem less like a unified,
  coherent whole than like two separate essays
  weakly connected by a transitional phrase.

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• Point-by point comparisons are especially useful
  for longer, more complicated essays where you
  discuss a number of different points. (If you
  treat only one or two points of comparison, then
  you should consider a subject-by subject
  organization.) In the point-by point pattern
  readers can easily follow comparisons or
  contrasts and do not have to wait several
  paragraphs to find out the differences between
  Moby-Dick and The Sea Wolf or to remember on page
  six what was said on page three.

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Suggested answers to Q2

• Nevertheless, it is easy to fall into a
  monotonous, back-and forth movement between
  points when you write a point-by point
  comparison. To avoid this problem, use clear
  transitions, and vary sentence structure as you
  move from point to point.

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IV. How does the thesis pattern for comparison
and contrast go?

• One possibility A look at ____ (objects of
  comparison) in terms of ___ (the points of
  comparison) shows that ___ (general finding)
• Another possibility Looking at ___ (object A)
  and ___ (object B) shows that although they seem
  ___ (similar/different), they really are ___
  (different/similar).

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V. How can readers and writers recognize
comparison when they see it?

• Look for these items. If most of them are there,
  its highly likely that the text is a comparison.

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• a. Look for objects being compared
• b. Identify the points of comparison
• c. Find the purpose for the comparison
• d. Discern the structural pattern
• e. Look for these transitions

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Transition Signals for Comparison and Contrast

• Comparison connectors
• likewise, similarly, in like manner, in the
  same way, i.e., ("id est" means "that is") note
  the comma, just as, by the same token, as, too,
  again, thus, the same, the same as, also, both, X
  is similar to Y in that (they)..., and,X and Y
  are similar in that (they)..., Like X, Y
  verb..., in like manner, both, like, One way in
  which X is similar to Y is (that)..., neither, in
  addition, as well as, Another way in which X is
  similar to Y is (that)..., just as so

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• Contrast Connectors
• but, yet , however, on the contrary, on the
  other hand, nevertheless, nonetheless, although
  , even though ,despite, in spite of, not, rather
  than, conversely, to the contrary, by contrast,
  in contrast, contrasting (to), unless, although,
  whereas, unlike, while, another difference,
  unlike, conversely

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VI. How does one write a comparison essay?
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• Follow these steps being especially careful to
  observe the rules in boldface below.
• a. Observe people and life and cultivate the
  habit of looking for fruitful comparisons.
• b. Be sure that the objects are in the same class
  so that there is a clear basis for the
  comparison.

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• c. Before writing, note the details briefly in
  the blocks.
• d. Decide whether a block or point by point
  organization works best for the purpose selected.
• e. Be sure to tell what one learns from making
  the comparison.

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VII. There are several important points to
remember when writing a comparison or contrast
essay.

• 1. Know what organizational style you are using.
• 2. State your organization.
• 3. Keep your audience in mind.
• 4. Say what you want to say.

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Assignments

• College English Wrings with Readings
• 1 Read Comparison and Contrast on p 262-264.
• 2 Read Student Essays to Consider on p264-266 and
  do QUESTIONS on p266-268.
• 3 Read Developing a Comparison and Contrast Essay
  on p268-271.
• 4 Read A professional Essay to Consider on page
  271 and do QUESTIONS on p275-276.
• 5 Prepare Division and Classification on p301-317.

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• Extra-curriculum Activities (Next Period Duty
  Report)
• 6 Have a two-minute oral paragraph presentation
  in class using the comparison and Contrast method
  of development. (The paragraph should be of at
  least eight sentences with a topic sentence------
  three supporting sentences and each with their
  own respective detail sentence------and a
  conclusion.) ???,???