1. Compare & Contrast Unit English II Ms. Petrauskas Fall 2013

2. Look at these two pictures & write down their similarities and differences…

3. Discussion Time!  What were the similarities?  What were the differences?

4. The Method of Compare/Contrast  We use compare/contrast methods in our daily lives:  Deciding on which Chicago baseball team to root for  Deciding whether to go to college full or only part-time  Figuring out which sport, activity, and eventually, college will be best for us  Can you think of any other ways you use compare/contrast in your daily life?

5. The Method of Compare/Contrast  A good compare/contrast essay serves a PURPOSE:  The purpose of showing each of two subjects distinctly by considering both, side by side.  The writer does not necessarily find one of the subjects better than the other.  Comparing and contrasting General Grant and General Lee – you could conclude in your essay that both men reflected strong currents of American society.  The purpose of choosing between two things.  To EVALUATE subjects, a writer shows how one is better than the other on the basis of some standard:  Which of the two short stories more convincingly captures the experience of being a teenager?  Which of the two chemical processes works better to clean waste water?  To answer these questions, the author must consider both the positive and negative sides  then, they must choose the feature that has more positive features.

6. The Process  Subjects for Comparison  Your two subjects must display a clear basis for comparison. They must have something significant in common.  “Two of kind” works best for comparisons  two Civil War generals, two short stories on the same topic, two mystery writers, two schools of political thought, two processes for cleaning waste water.  There is a special form of comparisons – an ANALOGY (which can equate two very unlike things, explaining one terms of the other).  City versus a country town – the likeness for these two must extend out from the obvious ones that people live in both places, both have streets and shops, and so forth.  You could explain how the forces in a thunderstorm can compare to armies in battle or how the human eye works by comparing it to a simple camera.

7. The Process Continued…  Basis for Comparison and Thesis:  While coming up with comparisons, make sure you limit the features of your topic:  It would be overly ambitious to compare and contrast the Russian way of life and the American way of life in five hundred words; you could not include all the important similarities and differences. Instead, NARROW your topics down  compare and contrast how day-care centers in Russia and the Unites States are both like and unlike each other.  Your basis for comparison will eventually fortify your THESIS STATEMENT (the claim you are making about the similarities and dissimilarities of two things or about one thing’s superiority over another.

8. Organization  Always make an outline before you start writing your compare/contrast essay. There are two organizational patterns:  1. Subject-by-subject – you set forth all facts about your one topic and then all facts about your other topic. Then, you summarize their similarities and differences. In your conclusion, you state what you have shown  Let’s say we are looking at Will Ferrell’s characters in Elf compared to his character in Step Brothers.  Here is what the outline would look like:  1. Buddy the Elf  Family life  Trustworthiness  Main goal in the movie  2. Brennan  Family life  Trustworthiness  Main goal in the movie  3. Summary  4. Conclusion

9.  2. Point by point - This is more workable. As you write your paper, you go through each point, talking about BOTH subjects, within the same paragraph. This is easier for your reader and will continually bring your subjects together.  Here is what the outline would look like:  1. Family Life  Buddy – His adopted dad is nice, as well as his stepmother and half- brother, but his biological dad is mean to him.  Brennan – His mom is very loving, but he is uncomfortable around his stepfather. His stepbrother is very mean to him, but changes.  2. Trustworthiness  Buddy – He is very trusting every person or animal he meets  Brennan – He is timid around new people & his biological brother  3. Main goal in the movie  Buddy – Have a family  Brennan – Have a family  4. Summary  5. Conclusion

10. Organization Continued…  For either subject-by-subject or the point-by-point scheme, your conclusion might be: Although the characters Will Ferrell portrayed in Elf and in Step Brothers were very similar, they had many differences in the way they approached their lives.  You must BALANCE the points you discuss. If you talk about Buddy’s lack of intelligence in the real world, you would also have to talk about Brennan’s lack of intelligence in the real world.

11. Flexibility  Follow your outline, but avoid the “tennis match-like qualities” so often seen in a compare/contrast essay. First you talk about Buddy, then Brennan, then Buddy, then Brennan… avoid making your reader feel like they are watching a game of tennis! Your essay does not have to be totally symmetrical.  Use Transitions or Repetitions/Restatements  1. TRANSITIONS  Tells readers where you, and they, are headed. Some indicate a shift between subjects (similarities  also, like, likewise, similarly) (differences  but, however, in contrast, instead, unlike, whereas, yet) (other transitions indicate you are moving to a new point  in addition, also, furthermore, moreover).  Example: “Magnet schools are similarly funded by public money. But they often require prospective students to pass a test or other hurdles for admission. In addition, whereas traditional public schools offer a general curriculum, magnet schools offer specialized programs.”

12. Flexibility Continued…  2. Repetition or Restatement  Use repetition or restatement of subjects and points to clarify and link sentences.  Example using the same text from the previous slide– “Magnet schools are similarly funded by public money. But they often require prospective students to pass a test or other hurdles for admission. In addition, whereas traditional public schools offer a general curriculum, magnet schools offer specialized programs.”

13. Checklist for revising a Comparison and Contrast Essay  Purpose – What is the aim of your comparison: to explain two subjects or to evaluate them? Will the purpose be clear to the reader from the start?  Subjects – Are the subjects enough alike, sharing enough features, to make comparisons worthwhile?  Thesis – Does your thesis establish a limited basis for comparison so that you have room and time to cover all the relevant similarities and differences?  Organization – Does your arrangement of material, whether subject-by-subject or point-by-point, do justice to your subjects and help readers follow the comparison?  Balance and Flexibility – Have you covered the same features of both subjects? At the same time, have you avoided a rigid back- and-forth movement that could bore or exhaust a reader?  Coherence – Have you used transitions and repetition or restatement to clarify which subjects and which points you are discussing?

14. Thank you for your attention!!!