Q Comparison and contrast are two everyday thought processes. When we compare two things, we show how they are similar; when we contrast two things, we show how they are different. We might compare and/or contrast two brand-name products (for example, Nike versus Adidas running shoes), two television shows, two instructors, two jobs, two friends, or two courses of action we could take in a given situation. The purpose of comparing or contrasting is to understand each of the two things more clearly and, at times, to make judgments about them. In this module, you will be asked to read and possibly write an essay that compares and/ or contrasts. First, however, you must learn the two common methods of developing a comparison or contrast paragraph. Read the two paragraphs that follow and try to explain the difference in the two methods of development. LOOKING AT COMPARISON CONTRAST PARAGRAPH FORMAT: Read the two paragraphs that follow and try to explain the difference in the two methods of development. Paragraphs to Consider Paragraph 1: My Senior Prom My senior prom was nothing like what I expected it to be. From the start of my senior year, I had pictured putting on a sleek silvery slip dress that my aunt would make and that would cost more than $500 in any store. No one else would have a gown as attractive as mine. I imagined my boyfriend coming to the door with a lovely deep-red corsage, and I pictured myself happily inhaling its perfume all evening long. I saw us setting off for the evening in his brother’s BMW convertible. We would make a flourish as we swept in and out of a series of parties before the prom. Our evening would be capped by a delicious shrimp dinner at the prom and by dancing close together into the early morning hours. The prom was held on May 15, 2005, at the Pony Club on Black Horse Pike. However, because of an illness in her family, my aunt had no time to finish my gown and I had to buy the only dress I could find in my size at such short notice. Not only was it ugly, but it was my least favorite color, pink. My corsage of red roses looked terrible on my pink gown, and I do not remember its having any scent. My boyfriend’s brother was out of town, and I stepped outside and saw the stripped-down Chevy that he used at the races on weekends. We went to one party where I drank a lot of wine that made me sleepy and upset my stomach. After we arrived at the prom, I did not have much more to eat than a roll and some celery sticks. Worst of all, we left early without dancing because my boyfriend and I had had a fight several days before, and at the time we did not really want to be with each other. Paragraph 2: Keys to College Success College is very different from high school, and in order to succeed, students should practice good organizational skills that aren’t commonly needed in high school. First of all, instead of going to class every day, students may attend college classes only one day a week, three days a week, or even at night. With this flexibility, students need to schedule blocks of study time in order to make sure they are getting their work done on time because it can be very tempting not to study until the last minute. In high school, students are in class for at least six hours a day, and teachers often schedule time in class to work on assignments. Conversely, in college, students may spend as little as two hours a day in class, and professors rarely allow in-class time to work on assignments. In high school, students may need to spend an hour or two each evening on homework, but in college, students are expected to work on homework for at least two hours for each hour they are in class. High school teachers and college professors have very different attitudes toward students’ social lives. High school teachers often accommodate students’ activities like Prom, sports, and school plays by assigning less homework, so students can participate in the activities. On the other hand, college professors aren’t concerned about activities outside of the classroom; regardless of students’ schedules, they must complete the assignments on time. Finally, in high school, teachers don’t always use syllabi with course schedules, and they spend a lot of time reminding students about due dates. College professors, however, hand out the syllabi at the beginning of the semester and expect students to complete the assignments by the due dates with few or no reminders. Students who are new to college may find it difficult at first, but with good organization and planning, students can succeed. Complete this comment: The difference in the methods of contrast in the two paragraphs is that: ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Compare your answer with the following explanation of the two methods of development used in comparison or contrast paragraphs. Methods of Development There two paragraphs show examples of the two common methods, or formats, of development in a comparison and/or contrast paper. One format presents the details one side at a time (subject by subject). The other presents the details point by point. Each format is explained next. Subject by Subject Look at the outline of “My Senior Prom”: Topic sentence: My senior prom was nothing like what I had expected it to be. A. Expectations (first half of paragraph) 1. Dress (expensive, silver) 2. Corsage (deep red, fragrant) 3. Car (BMW convertible) 4. Parties (many) 5. Dinner (shrimp) 6. Dancing (all night) B. Reality (second half of paragraph) 1. Dress (ugly, pink) 2. Corsage (wrong color, no scent) 3. Car (stripped-down Chevy) 4. Parties (only one) 5. Dinner (roll and celery) 6. Dancing (none because of quarrel) When you use the subject by subject method, follow the same order of points of contrast or comparison for each side, as in the outline above. For example, both the first half of the paragraph and the second half begin with the same idea: what dress would be worn. Then both sides go on to the corsage, the car, and so on. Point by Point Now look at the outline of “Keys to Success in College”: Topic sentence: College is very different from high school, and in order to succeed students should practice good organizational skills that aren’t commonly needed in high school. A. Class schedules 1. High school students go to school every day. 2. College students have varied schedules. 3. High school students go to school at least six hours a day. 4. College students may be in class as little as two hours a day. B. Homework 1. High school students may have only an hour or two of homework. 2. College students need to spend at least two hours on homework for each hour of class. C. Attitudes toward social activities 1. High school teachers accommodate student activities by adjusting assignments and homework. 2. College professors expect students to meet assignment deadlines regardless of extracurricular activities. D. Syllabus and deadline reminders 1. High school teachers don’t always use syllabi with schedules and they remind students of due dates. 2. College professors hand out syllabi with due dates at the beginning of the semester and rarely remind students of the deadlines. The outline shows how the two experiences are contrasted point by point. First, the writer contrasts the schedule differences between high school and college. Next, the writer contrasts the homework differences between high school and college. Then the writer contrasts the attitudes between high school teachers and college professors. Finally, the writer contrasts how teachers and college professors tell students about due dates. When you begin a comparison or contrast paper, you should decide right away which format you are going to use: subject by subject or point by point. An outline is an essential step in helping you decide which format will be more workable for your topic. Keep in mind, however, that an outline is just a guide, not a permanent commitment. If you later feel that you’ve chosen the wrong format, you can reshape your outline to the other format. Activity: Complete the partial outlines provided for the two paragraphs that follow. Paragraph 1: Reorganization Summary Report for Smith Family In order to instill a sense of calm inside the main floor of the Smith home, the team from Organize It! reorganized, discarded, and repurposed items within the home. Before the reorganization took place, the owners’ home was confined, dark, and crowded. The kitchen counters were covered with appliances and nonperishable food items. Many of the drawers were stuffed and didn’t close properly. Several cupboards contained both food items and dishes. The living room had two couches, three chairs, and four tables crammed around a large television. The floor space of the living room was eaten up by toys, DVDs, and books. The dining room contained a table and four chairs, but all surface space, including the floor, was covered in toys, projects, and outdated mail. The final room of the main floor, the bathroom, was overfilled with towels, soap products, and toilet paper. After the organization team worked for three days, the differences were obvious. Many of the appliances in the kitchen were no longer working, so they were properly discarded, opening space on the counters. Cupboards were organized by purpose—food was with food, dishes with dishes, and glasses with glasses. Organization was created in the drawers by using dividers and baskets. Nonworking and duplicate items were discarded and multiple items were sorted; some were kept and others were donated. Similar organization occurred in the living and dining areas. All items were pulled out of the rooms and then sorted into keep, donate, and discard. The furniture in the living room was rearranged to provide more space, and a specific area was set aside for a play area. Toys were sorted and stored in large baskets to provide easy access and easy cleanup. DVDs and books were organized and put into a new bookcase. One of the tables from the living room was repurposed into a desk in the dining room. On this desk, several baskets were placed to help the owner organize mail and keep track of bills. The bathroom went through a similar process as all items were removed; only necessary items like spare rolls of toilet paper and a couple of extra hand towels were put back. Afterward, the team demonstrated how the owners could work to maintain the new sense of calm on the main level and create the same sense of calm on the upper levels. Topic sentence: In order to instill a sense of calm inside the main floor of the Smith home, the team from Organize It! reorganized, discarded, and repurposed items within the home. 1. Before the reorganization 1. ________________________________________________________________________ 2. ________________________________________________________________________ 3. ________________________________________________________________________ 4. ________________________________________________________________________ 2. After the reorganization 1. ________________________________________________________________________ 2. ________________________________________________________________________ 3. ________________________________________________________________________ 4. ________________________________________________________________________ Complete the following statement: Paragraph 1 uses the _________________________________method of development. Paragraph 2: Good and Bad Horror Movies A good horror movie is easily distinguishable from a bad one. A good horror movie, first of all, has both male and female victims. Both sexes suffer terrible fates at the hands of monsters and maniacs. Therefore, everyone in the audience has a chance to identify with the victim. Bad horror movies, on the other hand, tend to concentrate on women, especially half-dressed ones. These movies are obviously prejudiced against half the human race. Second, a good horror movie inspires compassion for its characters. For example, the audience will feel sympathy for the victims in the horror classics about the Wolfman, played by Lon Chaney, Jr., and also for the Wolfman himself, who is shown to be a sad victim of fate. In contrast, a bad horror movie encourages feelings of aggression and violence in viewers. For instance, in the Halloween films, the murders are seen from the murderer’s point of view. The effect is that the audience stalks the victims along with the killer and feels the same thrill he does. Finally, every good horror movie has a sense of humor. In Alien, as a crew member is coughing and choking just before the horrible thing bursts out of his chest, a colleague chides him, “The food ain’t that bad, man.” Humor provides relief from the horror and makes the characters more human. A bad horror movie, though, is humorless and boring. One murder is piled on top of another, and the characters are just cardboard figures. Bad horror movies may provide cheap thrills, but the good ones touch our emotions and live forever. Topic sentence: A good horror movie is easily distinguished from a bad one. A. Kinds of victims 1. ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. ______________________________________________________________________________ B. Effect on audience 1. ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. ______________________________________________________________________________ C. Tone 1. ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. ______________________________________________________________________________ Complete the following statement: Paragraph 2 uses the ______________________________________ method of development.