examining similarities and differences... from reading to writing in f. scott fitzgerald’s story...
TRANSCRIPT
Examining similarities and differences . . .
From Reading to Writing In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s
story “Winter Dreams,” the narrator observes
“Dexter Green’s father owned the second best
grocery-store in Black Bear—the best one was
‘The Hub,’ patronized by the wealthy people from
Sherry Island.”
Comparison-and-Contrast
Essay
Examining similarities and differences . . .
The comparisons in this passage help readers
understand more about Dexter’s life. You can use
comparison and contrast any time you want to
analyze the similarities and differences between
objects, people, experiences, or effects.
Comparison-and-Contrast
Essay
B a s i c s i n a B o x
Comparison-and-Contrast Essay at a Glance
RUBRIC Standards for Writing
A successful comparison-and-contrast essay should
• identify the subjects being compared
• establish a clear reason for the comparison
• include both similarities and differences and support them with specific examples and details
• follow a clear organizational pattern
• use transitional words and phrases to make the relationships among ideas clear
• summarize the comparison in the conclusion
• Identifies the subjects being compared
• Tells the purpose for the comparison
ConclusionRestates the main
idea or draws a conclusion
Subject A
Only
Subject B
Only
Both Subjects
Body
Explains similarities and differences
Introduction
1 Prewriting
Resemblances are the shadows of
differences. Different people see
different similarities and differences.
Vladimir Nabokov, Russian novelist
Resemblances are the shadows of
differences. Different people see
different similarities and differences.
Vladimir Nabokov, Russian novelist
Writing Your Comparison-and-Contrast Essay
Do you have a choice or decision to make?
Do you want to convince someone that one thing is better than another?
Think about why you might want to compare two things.
1 Prewriting
Writing Your Comparison-and-Contrast Essay
Planning Your Comparison-and-Contrast Essay
1. Decide what features you will compare or contrast. Think about the main idea of the essay. Focus on similarities and differences that are important to this main idea.
2. Choose an organizational pattern. There are two basic patterns for organizing comparisons: subject-by-subject and feature-by-feature.
Planning Your Comparison-and-Contrast Essay
Subject-by-Subject Feature-by-Feature
IntroductionSubject A
Feature 1Feature 2
Subject BFeature 1Feature 2
Conclusion
IntroductionFeature 1
Subject ASubject B
Feature 2Subject ASubject BConclusion
Writing Your Comparison-and-Contrast Essay
2 Drafting
Begin writing by identifying the subjects you are comparing. As you write your draft,
Create a lively introduction.
Stick to the organizational pattern you choose.
Give the most specific and interesting examples and details to support your comparisons.
Writing Your Comparison-and-Contrast Essay
2 Drafting
Use transitional words and phrases, such as both, similarly, but, instead, in contrast, and however, to indicate similarities and differences.
Write a conclusion or brief summarizing paragraph.
3 Revising
Target Skill PARALLEL CONSTRUCTIONWriters often use parallel construction, or parallelism, to emphasize similarities and differences. They repeat similar grammatical structures or sentence patterns to link similar or contrasting ideas. The key is to make sure the repeated sentence elements are the same.
Writing Your Comparison-and-Contrast Essay
Target Skill MODIFIERS Use comparative forms of modifiers to compare two people, places, ideas, or actions. Some modifiers add the suffix -er to make their comparative forms; others use the word more with the basic form of the adjective or adverb. Be sure to use the proper form.
Writing Your Comparison-and-Contrast Essay
4 Editing and Proofreading