1. Comparison & Contrast
The Riverside Reader

2. Introduction
Day One

3. When you come in…
Turn in your weekend essay assignment. If it needs to be stapled, please do so.
Then, discuss with the people at your table the last two or three funny movies you’ve seen. What are some of the similarities and differences among the movies you discuss. 3

4. Comparison & Contrast Background
Compare = look for similarities
Contrast = look for differences

5. Purpose
Analyze similarities & differences in a systematic, useful way that brings out significant differences
Strict comparison
Compare only things that are truly alike (actors with actors, musicians with musicians, but not actors with musicians)
Make a judgment, and finally a choice
Fanciful comparison
Set up an imaginative, illuminating comparison between two things that don’t seem at all alike
Helps clarify a complex idea
Fanciful comparison: The human heart is often compared to a pump – a fanciful and useful comparison that enables one to envision the heart at work. 5

6. Fanciful Comparison – Pitfalls
Constructing an entire essay using a fanciful comparison can quickly breakdown.
Use this method most effectively as a device for enlivening your writing and highlighting dramatic similarities.
Probably won’t be using to make judgments or recommend choices
Capture readers’ attention and show new connections

7. Audience
Think about what your readers already know and what they’re going to expect
A lot about both (two popular TV shows)
Spend a little time pointing out similarities and concentrate on making the comparison
Very little about either (Buddhism & Shintoism)
Define each, using concepts audience is familiar with, then point out important contrasts
A lot about one and a little about the other (football & rugby)
Use the known to explain the unknown
Keep the essay balanced (not 90% on Buddhism and 10% on Shintoism)

8. Strategies Divided, or subject-by-subject, pattern
Present all info on one topic before you bring in info on the other topic
Benefits: lets you present each part of essay as a satisfying whole; especially good in short essays
Drawbacks: sometimes writers slip into writing what seems like two separate essays; in long essays, writers may have trouble organizing material clearly enough to keep readers on track
Alternating, or point-by-point, pattern
Work your way through the comparison point by point, giving information first on one aspect of the topic, then on the other
Benefits: shows subjects side by side, emphasizing the points you’re comparing; good for longer essays to show many complex points to help readers see how those points match up
Drawback: if used on a simple topic in a short essay, it will sound choppy and disconnected, like a list

9. Strategies (cont’d)
COMBINE strategies to make the best of both worlds.
Guidelines:
Balance parts
Include reminders
Supply reasons

10. Read Mark Twain’s “Two Views of the River.”
Create a chart that demonstrates at least five differences in the apprentice’s and the pilot’s views of the river.
Apprentice
Pilot
Ex. The river itself
“the grace, the beauty, the poetry”
“[I] looked upon it without rapture.” 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 10

11. Answer the Questions Purpose
What does Twain think he has gained and lost by learning the river?
What does Twain accomplish by dividing the two views of the river than alternating them beneath several headings?
Audience
Which attitude – poetic or pragmatic – does Twain anticipate his readers have toward the river? Explain your answer.
How does he expect his readers to answer the questions he raises in paragraph 3?
Strategies
What sequence does Twain use to arrange the points of his comparison?
Where does Twain use transition phrases and sentences to match up the parts of his comparison?

12. Return MLK/Twain essays
Discuss prompt
Insert prompt here
Common mistakes
Writing in the 2nd person
Not using textual evidence
Misinterpreting MLK
Student Samples

13. Points to Remember
Decide whether you want the pattern of your comparison to focus on complete units (divided) or specific features (alternating).
Consider the possibility of combining the two patterns.
Determine which subject should be placed in the first position and why.
Arrange the points of your comparison in a logical, balanced, and dramatic sequence.
Make sure you introduce and clarify the reasons for making your comparison.