Models for Writers – Chapter 19 Compare and Contrast

Comparison and Contrast Comparison points out the ways that two or more people, places, or things are ALIKE Contrast points out how things are different

Two main pattern options for organizing a comparison or contrast: Subject-by-subject You first discuss the points you wish to make about the subject being compared and then discuss the corresponding points for the other. Point-by-point Your essay is organized according to the various points of comparison. Discussion alternates between what’s being compared for each point of the subject.

Subject-by-subject Subject-by-Subject Pattern Philadelphia Climate Public transportation Tourist attractions (museums, zoos, theme parks) Accommodations San Diego The subject-by-subject pattern presents a unified discussion of each city by emphasizing the cities and not the four points of comparison. Because these points are relatively few, readers should easily remember what was said about Philadelphia’s climate when you later discuss San Diego’s climate and should be able to make the appropriate connections between them.

Point-by-point Point-by-Point Pattern Installation expenses Solar Wind Efficiency Operating costs Convenience Maintenance Safety With the point-by-point pattern, the writer makes immediate comparisons between solar and wind energy so that readers can consider each similarity and difference separately.  

A good essay of comparison and contrast Tells readers something significant that they do not already know – that is, it must do more than merely point out the obvious.

Analogy A special form of comparison. When a subject is unobservable, complex, or abstract – when it is so unfamiliar that readers may have trouble understanding it – analogy can be effective. Analogies point out certain similarities between a difficult subject and a more familiar or concrete subject, helping readers to grasp the difficult subject through the comparison being made.

Analogy example: In northern New England, where I live, stone walls mark boundaries, border meadows, and march through the woods that grew up around them long ago. Flank-high, the walls are made of granite rocks stripped from fields when pastures were cleared and are used to fence in cattle. These are dry walls, made without mortar, and the stones in them, all shapes and sizes, are fitted to one another with such care that a wall, built a hundred years ago, still runs as straight and solid as it did when people cleared the land. Writing is much like wall building. The writer fits together separate chunks of meaning to make an understandable statement. Like the old Yankee wall builders, anyone who wants to write well must learn some basic skills, one at a time, to build soundly. This [essay] describes these skills and shows you how to develop them and put them together. You can learn them. Building a stone wall is not easy: It is gut-wrenching labor. Writing is not easy either. It is a complex skill, mainly because it demands a commitment of our own complicated selves. But it is worth learning how to do well — something true of any skill. Solid walls do get built, and good writing does get done. We will clear away some underbrush and get at the job.