COMFTF-05 PPT - Comparison and Contrast

COMFTF-05
Comparison and
Contrast
Dr. David F. Maas

Comparison and Contrast
 Similarities an Differences
 Two places
 Two persons
 Two Ideas
 Two Situations resemble or differ from
each other.
 Differs from the analogy
 Comparison is literal/not figurative
 Oranges are compared to oranges rather
than the sun to gold.
Generally the writer recognizes three kinds
of purposes for which the comparison and
contrast may be made:
 Present information about one item relating it to another item
which our audience is familiar.
 United States Congress
 British or Canadian Parliament
 Israeli Knesset
 Knowledge of American Congress helps understand
unfamiliar characteristics of the British Parliament
 Domestic hog
 Arkansas razorback
 South American Peccary
 Inform about both items treating them in relationship to
some unifying principle applying to both
 Two novels: Conrad: The Secret Sharer /Baldwin:
Go Tell It On The Mountain.
 Unifying Principle:
 Theme
 Plot
 Imagery
 Character,etc.
 Compare and contrast two items for
purpose of informing about general
principle.
 Christianity and Buddhism
 Christianity and Islam
 Belief in Deity
 A. Islam
 B. Christianity

 Belief in Afterlife
 A. Islam
 B. Christianity


 Approach to God
 A. Islam
 B. Christianity

 Beliefs about punishment and retribution
 A. Islam
 B. Christianity
 Common ground between things
contrasted
 What they have in common
 How they differ.
 Four Ways of Presenting Material Using
 Fully present one item
 Fully present other
 Make continuous references to points of
comparison and contrast.
 If 2 points fairly obvious (Pharisee and Publican)
 Simple A/B pattern
 In the second pattern, we present a part of
one item and then a part of the second in
relation to the corresponding part of the first
item, until we have touched on all the
relevant parts. This method is most useful
when a great many details are involved.

 Communism/Capitalism
 A1/B1
 A2/B2
 A3/B3
 A4/B4
 . We may present one item fully, and then, in
presenting the second, refer, part by part, to the first
item which has been fully developed. In the Bruce
Catton story Grant and Lee, this method of
organization seems to predominate:
 A/
 B1
 B2
 B3
 B4
 . In the fourth method, when general principles re
involved, the writer can move from a statement of
principle to the process of comparison and contrast,
or reversing the method, move through the process
toward the principle. In Catton’s story, paragraphs
14 and 15 illustrate this process.
 X
 A/B
 Y
 A/B
 Z
 A/B
 Four Guides for Writing a Paragraph of Comparison
 Select as subjects for comparison two or more members
of the same general class. If your purpose is to explain
something unfamiliar, compare it to a well-known thing
of its kind.
 Example: Well known - U. S. Congress
 Less knows - British Parliament

 Select for specific comparisons the main features (the
main unifying principles) which the two subjects have in
common:
 A. Number of Houses
 U.S. - 2 Senate / House of Representatives
 British - 2 House of Lords / House of Commons
 B. Membership
 U.S. Senate: Geographical Region
 House of Representatives: Population Density
 British: House of Lords: Nobility
 House of Commons: Population Density
 C. Number of Parties - generally 2

major ones:
 U.S. Republican / Democrat
 British: Conservative / Labor
 It is to the writer’s advantage to integrate
the discussion by comparing the features
one by one. Don’t describe the British
Parliament as one topic and the U.S.
Congress as another topic.
 Point out any characteristics that are
unique in one or the other of the subjects
being compared. For example, in the
House of Lords, the members (aristocrats)
receive the appointments for life, but they
do not have the power that the U.S. Senate
has.
 4. Select the arrangement that will provide the
highest degree of coherence and the most appropriate
emphasis. Common alternatives include:
 A. Grouping together the features that have the
greatest similarities.
 B. Then grouping those which have the greatest
differences.
 C. Reversing A and B.
 D. Discussing those features in
climatic order (from greatest to the least or
from least to the greatest) regardless of the
amount of resemblance or difference.
 Possible Topics for Comparison/Contrast
Essay
 Magna Carta/Constitution
 Catholicism/Protestantism
 Two People you know
 Poor relatives/Rich relatives
 Jack Uptight/Joe Downloose
 Schools for Men (or Women) only/Coed
Schools
 A student’s life at home and in a dormitory
 My mother’s temperament / my father’s
temperament
 Nicotine/Alcohol
 Liberal Arts Education/Scientific Education
 Comparison/Contrast Guidelines & Lesson
Plan
 Keep in mind that with a
Comparison/Contrast essay you may either
focus on comparing your chosen topic,
contrasting them, or both. The choice is
yours.
 (17) Comparison/Contrast essays can
answer several questions.
• Is X better than Y?
• How are X and Y similar or alike?
• How are X and Y different?
• How are X and Y both similar and
different?
 Be sure your essay attempts to answer the
above four questions. It is a good idea to
summarily express the answer to the
questions of your choice as your thesis
statement.
 Keep These Points in Mind
 • Only similar items can be compared or contrasted.
 • The Comparison/Contrast must rest on a clear definite basis
which his best expressed in the thesis.
 • The Comparison/Contrast must show likenesses and difference in
order to make a point.
 • Both parts of comparison contrast receive roughly equal
treatment-within and among the separate points.
• The comparison/contrast must be supported
and clarified through examples.
• The comparison/contrast must follow either
a block or point-by-point pattern. The key is to
be consistent with the pattern of development.
• With Point-by-Point Pattern of
Development, you have the choice of each point
being a separate paragraph or having each
compared/contrasted point combined into a
paragraph
• With the Block Pattern of
Development, again each separate point
may be its own paragraph, or all of the
points on each side of the
comparison/contrast may be a single
paragraph.
 Comparison/Contrast Planning Sheet
 1. What two items are being compared
and contrasted in this paper?
 2. Who is the audience for this paper?
 3. List three to five similarities and three
to five differences in the two items being
compared and contrasted.
 Similarities:
 •
 •
 •
 •
 Differences
 •
 •
 •
 •



 4. Write down the order in which the
similarities and differences will be
discussed.
 5. Choose one of the two basic
outlining patterns which follows
 Comparison/Contrast Outlining Formats

 Block Format

 I. Introduction (Introduce to your audience the
two subjects being discussed in this piece, giving
any necessary description of the items. Include in
your introduction the bases of comparison/contrast
(the unifying principle) by which the items will be
analyzed.
 II. Body
 A. Subject 1
 1. Point A
 2. Point B
 3. Point C
B. Subject 2
 1. Point A
 2. Point B
 3. Point C

 III. Conclusion (The conclusion
comments on the findings of the analysis,
summarizing the main points and
sometimes insinuating the writer’s bias
based on the findings.)
 Alternating Block (Point-by-Point)
 I. Introduction (Sam as Block Style)
 II. Body
 A. Point A
 1. Subject A
 2. Subject B
 B. Point B
 1. Subject A
 2. Subject B
 C. Point C
 1. Subject A
 2. Subject B

 III. Conclusion (Same as Block Style)


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COMFTF-05

Dr. David F. Maas

 C. Number of Parties - generally 2

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