Comparison

and
Contrast
(Main Topic: Modes of
Paragraph Development)

A Comparison or Contrast essay is an essay in which you either compare

something or contrast something. A comparison essay is an essay in which you
emphasize the similarities, and a contrast essay is an essay in which you emphasize
the differences. We use comparison and contrast thinking when deciding which
university to attend, which smartphone to buy, or whether to vacation at home or
abroad.
When comparing or contrasting something, writers have two classic
organizational patterns from which to choose. One is called block arrangement of
ideas; the other is called point-by-point or alternating arrangement of ideas. Suppose
you are interested in showing the differences between vacationing in the mountains and
vacationing at the beach. You will then write a contrast essay. One way to arrange your
material is to use the block arrangement which is to write about vacationing in the
mountains in one paragraph and vacationing at the beach in the next. If you mention a
particular point in the mountains paragraph, you must mention the same point in the
beach paragraph, and in the same order. The following outline shows this block
organization. The first paragraph (the introduction) is followed by the mountains
paragraph, then the beach paragraph, then the conclusion. The fully developed essay is
just four paragraphs.

Block Organization in Four Paragraphs

I.

Introduction: Get your reader's attention and state your purpose which is to
discuss the differences between vacationing in the mountains or at the beach.

II.

Vacationing in the Mountains, (A) the climate, (B) the types of activities, and (C)
the location.

III.

Vacation at the Beach, (A) the climate, (B) the types of activities, and (C) the
location.

IV.

Conclusion: Summarize your ideas and leave the reader with a good impression.

A second way to organize this material is to discuss a particular point about

vacationing in the mountains and then immediately to discuss the same point about
vacationing at the beach. This is called point-by-point or alternating arrangement. An
outline of this organization follows.

Point-by-Point Organization in Five Paragraphs

I.

Introduction: Get your reader's attention and state your purpose which is to
discuss three differences between vacationing in the mountains or vacationing at
the beach which are the climate, the types of activities, and the location.

II.

The first difference between vacationing at the beach or in the mountains is the
climate.

III.

The second difference between vacationing at the beach or in the mountains is the
type of activities.

IV.

The third difference between vacationing at the beach or in the mountains is the
location.

V.

Conclusion: Summarize your ideas and leave the reader with a good impression.

Prepared by:
Carmela Joy S. Dela Cruz
BSGE-I

Denotative and
Connotative
Meaning of Words
(Main Topic: Developing Reading Skills)

Denotative
If you look up the word "thin" in the thesaurus, you will be treated with a variety of
synonyms to replace it. You will see that "thin" refers to a body type. It may mean
"slender," "slim," "delicate," "emaciated," "fragile," "gaunt," "lean," "skinny," "small," or
"wasted." All of these words are dictionary meanings of "thin"; so strictly speaking, you
can interchange "thin" with any of these words in a given sentence. For example, if you
say, "My sister is thin," you can change it into "My sister is slim," or "My sister is
wasted." It would all mean the same thing, if you only consider the denotative meaning
of the words.

Connotative
Once you consider the connotations of the synonyms of the word "thin," you
realize that most of the words cannot be used in the specified context of the sentence.
Saying, "My sister is slim," is drastically different from, "My sister is wasted," although
both words are synonyms of the word "thin." "Slim" evokes a positive body image, while
"wasted" means that the person is undernourished, which is why she is "thin." You
should be careful of the connotations of words since they can entirely give new
meanings to words that you have otherwise thought of as synonyms.
Based on the examples above, it is important to consider both the denotative and
connotative meaning of words. As a writer, it is hard to achieve the connotative meaning
of a word when you don't know its denotation in the first place. Familiarize yourself with
both denotations and connotations of different words. These do not only come in handy
when it comes to poetry, but in all kinds of writing as well.

Prepared by:
Jennica Mae M. Maquinto
BSFT-I

Paraphrasing
and
Summarizing
(Main Topic: Reading
Technics)

In contrast to quoting directly, by summarizing or paraphrasing an author's ideas

you are able to present your interpretation of an author's ideas and to integrate them
more fully into the structure of your writing.
Paraphrasing is generally used when you wish to refer to sentences or phrases
in the source text. It is particularly useful when you are dealing with facts and
definitions. Paraphrasing involves rewriting a short section from the source text in
different words whilst keeping the same meaning.
Summarizing is generally used when you wish to refer to ideas contained in a
long text. Summarizing enables you to reduce the author's ideas to key points in an
outline of the discussion or argument by omitting unnecessary details and examples.
Whether you summarise or paraphrase, you will still need to include a reference
citing the source of the ideas you have referred to.

A Process for Paraphrasing and Summarizing

Many students find the following process useful for summarizing and
paraphrasing information.
Read the text carefully - you may need to read the text several times, and check
the meaning of terms you do not understand in a dictionary.
Identify and underline the key words and main ideas in the text, and write these
ideas down.
Consider these points as a whole and your purpose for using this information in
relation to the structure of your assignment. You may be able to group the ideas
under your own headings, and arrange them in a different sequence to the
original text.
Think about the attitude of the author, i.e. critical, supportive, certain, uncertain.
Think about appropriate reporting verbs you could use to describe this attitude.
Think of words or phrases which mean roughly the same as those in the original
text. Remember, if the key words are specialized vocabulary for the subject, they
do not need to be changed. (see Using synonyms below.)
Using your notes from the above steps, draft your summary or paraphrase.
When you have finished your draft reread the original text and compare it to your
paraphrase or summary. You can then check that you have retained the meaning
and attitude of the original text.

Prepared by:
Jennica Mae M. Maquinto
BSFT-I