1. How to Write an Essay The Compare and Contrast Edition

2. What’s the point?! Social Studies Interdisciplinary Project Like it or not, you need to be a better writer! Improve your analysis skills! Improve your research skills! Become a millionaire!

3. Where to begin… Topics Do you find yourself reading Night and wanting to know more about WWII? Do you want to impress your classmates and T. Arnie when you begin learning about WWII in Social Studies? Did you even know that WWII was fought in two different theaters, the Atlantic and the Pacific?

4. Some Topics Fascism & Communism Hitler & Mussolini Mussolini & Stalin Erwin Rommel & George Patton Black Shirts (CCNN) & Brown Shirts (SA) Communist & Nazi Propaganda Schindler’s List or The Pianist & Life is Beautiful The Thin Red Line & Saving Private Ryan

5. Once you’ve got a topic… Brainstorm! The Venn Diagram Your Social Studies Book!

6. Just say NO! to Wikipedia!

9. Just say NO! to Plagiarism!

10. Plagiarism is… Theft of intellectual property! Cheating! A reason to be kicked out of university! BAD! San Jose State University, Plagiarism Tutorial

11. How to Avoid Plagiarism If it’s not your idea, cite it. Translations need to be cited! Paraphrasing needs to be cited! Quotations, obviously, need to be cited. When in doubt, cite it! Common Knowledge need not be cited.

12. I can see you did your research… Now it’s time for everyone’s favorite game…is it a good source?! Good Sources —government websites, museum websites, university websites, history nonprofit organizations, the History Channel, etc. Bad Sources  --Wikipedia, blogs,

13. Taking Good Notes Write down the source! Categorize and organize your notes. 70% Paraphrase 30% Direct Quotes

14. Creating an outline I. Introduction A. Hook B. Background Information C. THESIS STATEMENT!!!! Answers a question. In this case, how are the two topics similar and different? They have many similarities but one big difference. They are very different but have a few similarities. Etc.

15. If you want a nice body, start with a good mind! What will your paragraph structure be? Point by point? Block? It will NOT be one paragraph of similarities and one of differences!!

16. Point by Point Make a point about one subject, and then follow it with a comparable point about the other subject. II. Barack Obama’s was brought up in a middle class family while Mitt Romney grew up in a wealthy family. III. When it came to making a decision about law schools, Romney and Obama gravitated toward the same one. IV. Now both men are running for President of the United States: however, they have very different policy focuses.

17. Block Write all the information about one subject, then write parallel information about the second subject. II. Barack Obama grew up in a middle class family. III. Obama attended Harvard Law School. IV. Obama’s international policy focus during the 2012 campaign has been on dialogue with Iran. V. Mitt Romney’s childhood was one filled with wealth and luxury. VI. Like Obama, Romney also attended Harvard Law School. VIII. Mitt Romney’s current stance on Iran is that America must send a clear message to Iran that their actions will not be tolerated.

18. Outline Body Paragraphs II.Topic Sentence #1 (one idea and one idea ONLY!) A.Supporting Detail/ Example B. Supporting Detail/ Example B. Supporting Detail/ Example III.Topic Sentence #2 (one idea and one idea ONLY!) A. Supporting Detail/Example B. Supporting Detail/Example ETC.

19. Outline V. Conclusion—no new information!! A. Restate your thesis B. Summarize your main points (topic sentences)

20. Your first draft Follow your outline! Use transition words Proofread! Have a friend proofread! Have another friend proofread!

21. Transition Words To Compare—similar to, similarly, like, alike, likewise, correspondingly, resemble, to have…in common, at the same rate, as, just as, in the same manner, in the same way, by the same token, etc. To Contrast--…differed from.., nevertheless, unlike, on the other hand, although…, still, however, on the contrary, while…, yet, by contrast,, etc.

22. Proofreading SWAPS Sentence Structure Word Usage AgreementPunctuation Spelling and Capitalization

24. Second and Third Drafts Make Them Count! These count for a grade! Your third draft grade can improve by 10 points. Teacher corrections = student learning = better grades!!!

25. Grading Criteria Organization and Structure Grammar and Mechanics Vocabulary Writing Process