1. Comparison/Contrast Organization

2. To compare/contrast, you need
Items to be compared, contrasted: should be of same class
Chocolate ice cream with different brands of chocolate ice cream, not with vanilla ice cream, etc
Bases of comparison: what characteristics will you use to compare and contrast

3. Example: comparing vanilla wafers
Comparison of Nabisco, Keebler, W Family:
Bases of comparison:
Appearance
Texture
Taste
Price
Conclusion—really where your thesis will be—answering the question, which would you buy and why, on the basis of all you presented:
Though Nabisco scored highest in appearance and Keebler scored highest in taste and texture, I would buy Western Family because of the difference in price.

4. Organization: by item compared
Western Family
Appearance
Texture
Taste
Price
Keebler
Nabisco

5. Organization: by basis of comparison
Note: arranged by brand from lowest score to highest score (order of importance)
Appearance
Western Family
Keebler
Nabisco
Texture
Taste
Price
Western Family and Keebler (same price, but because Keebler on sale)

6. What your paper needs to include:
Introduction:
introduce the product you chose and why it is important/why you chose it.
List brands and bases of comparison you chose and why you think they are important. Use background information from the brands’ websites, if appropriate and you want to use them.

7. The body of your paper: What you found out in your product testing
Numerical value (“Western family scored a 2.4 in appearance….”)
Explanation of that number—what does it mean? (…, which is about half way between fair and good.”)
Explanation of WHY you think the product earned that score ( “W Family earned the lowest score in appearance probably because it looked rough, almost pitted, and dark, not very appealing compared to the other two brands.”

8. Your conclusion should include:
Overall scores and what you think they mean:
“The Nabisco scored 3.7, almost an excellent, the highest overall score, because of the wafer’s attractive yellowish appearance and sweet, vanilla taste.”
Your thesis: which product would you buy, with some explanation:
“Though the Nabisco wafers scored the highest, I would buy the Western Family if I were using the cookies in a recipe because their taste is not that different, though their price is much cheaper than Nabisco’s.”