COMPARISON / CONTRAST ESSAYS To write academic texts, you need to master certain skills. In this chapter, you will learn to: * Analyze a comparison / contrast essay © Construct a thesis statement for a comparison / contrast essay * Organize a comparison / contrast essay * Use comparison signals to connect similar ideas * Use contrast signals to connect different ideas © Write, revise, and edit a comparison / contrast essay about culture The world is full of diverse cultures.Toa TON Ina comparison / contrast essay, you explain the similarities and differences between two or more items. You can compare and contrast people, objects, ideas, countries, traditions, or just about anything else that makes sense. Comparison and contrast is a very common organizational pattern in most academic fields. Itis also a common type of essay test prompt. You might encounter prompts such as these: oumicat science Compare the forms of government of Great Britain and the United States. sawentean urenarune Compare the characters of Uncle Melik and his nephew in William Saroyan's short story “The Pomegranate Trees.” susiness Compare and contrast methods for promoting a new business, product, or service. »xrmmorocoay Compare the methods of childrearing in two different societies. At the end of this chapter, you will write a comparison / contrast essay about a topic related to culture. ANALYZING THE MODEL The writing model is a comparison / contrast essay that describes some of the similarities and differences between Russia and the United States. Read the model. Then answer the questions. # Writing Model The United States of America and the United Kingdom: Differences and Similarities 1 The histories of the United States of America (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) are closely linked. In fact, before the American Revolution of the late 18th century, they were part of the same country. Both are English-speaking countries, although the writer George Bernard Shaw noted that they are “two countries separated by the same language,” a clever remark that indicates both similarity and difference. Indeed, while these two Western nations have obvious differences, they also resemble each other in some surprising ways. One difference can be found in their governmental structures. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was founded in 1922. However, under different names, its history extends back into the Middle Ages, when kings and queens ruled with absolute power. Today, the UK is still a kind of monarchy, but the power of the king ‘or queen is strictly limited. Most of the political power is now held by the parliament and other democratic institutions. The US, on the other hand, since its founding in 1776, has never had a king or queen. It was established as a republic, and its constitution established three branches of government, each designed to make sure the other two do not abuse their power. 134 CHAPTER7Although the UK is only 1/40 the size of the US, in some areas, its power is similar or second only to that of the US. For example, both countries have seats on the United Nations Security Council; therefore, either nation has the power to veto any significant action by that organization. Furthermore, New York was recently rated the most important financial center in the world, with London a close second, although London has often been rated number one (Reid). Regarding military influence, both countries have military bases overseas, and in 2019, they were the world’s top two arms exporters (Sabbagh). Significant differences again become apparent when we look at the approach to health care in each country. In the UK, nearly all health services are managed by the government through the National Health Service, whereas the US relies mainly on private companies to provide these services. A further difference is that health services are free in the UK, aside from minor charges, while most Americans must pay for such services, either through private insurance or with their own money. This can get expensive: a recent survey showed that the average total health care costs per person in the US were over $10,000 per person, which is more than twice the average per- person costs in the UK (OECD). With regard to the entertainment industry, there is an evident similarity: both countries are exporters of entertainment products. No doubt, this is partly due to English being an international language. First on the list of all-time best-selling novels is The DaVinci Code by the American Dan Brown, while second place is occupied by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by the British author J. K. Rowling (The Guardian). Furthermore, UK and American artists such as the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, and Elton John are always near the top of the all-time music sales charts. Finally, although the three most popular movies ever, Avengers: Endgame, Avatar, and Titanic, are all American-made, the fourth-place movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, qualifies as a UK film since it was mostly filmed there and has a mostly British cast (Rotten Tomatoes). In the working world, we again encounter differences between the US and the UK. In the area of work benefits, UK employers are legally required to give their employees 5.6 weeks of paid vacation, whereas there is no law regarding vacation days in the US. Ifa female employee must leave her job to have a baby, UK law requires that employers pay her 90% of her salary for the first six weeks, while there is currently no law requiring US. ‘companies to give new mothers any paid time off. Things look better in the US, however, for senior managers, where their salaries are significantly higher than in the UK. ‘Commuters in the US also have an advantage. The average commute in the US is only 23 minutes, compared to one hour and 38 minutes for commuters in the UK (Ionescu). To conclude, in considering these similarities and differences, it’s useful to remember the countries’ historical origins and ties. It is also interesting to note that, although the US is many times larger, the UK is still a major player on the world stage that can even challenge the US in certain areas. Indeed, the two countries’ contributions to the world in terms of art and entertainment seem equally impressive. Finally, highlighting the differences in health care, the workplace, and other areas seems helpful as such comparisons provide the opportunity for countries to assess their practices and could lead to positive change. Sources: 1. Reid, David. New York stretches lead over London as the world’s tp financial center. CNBC Sabbagih, Dan. UK reclaims place as world’ second largest arms exporter. The Guardian orcD, Best Selling Books of All Time, The Guardian Highest Grossing Movies of Al Time. Rotten Tomatoes Tonescu, Miruna Eliza, Similarities and Differences of the Work Culture in the United Kingdom vs America Foothold America ‘Comparison / Contrast Essays 135Questions about the Model 1, Whats the thesis statement of this article? Underline it. 2. What differences between the countries are discussed in paragraph 2? 3. What are two other differences between the countries? In which paragraphs are these differences discussed? 4, In which paragraph(s) are similarities discussed? 5. What is the function of the first sentence in paragraph 3? # Noticing Vocabulary: Antonyms In Chapters 2 and 3, you learned about using synonyms, or words that mean the same thing. In this chapter, you will learn to enrich your vocabulary by using antonyms, or words that have opposite meanings. Just as synonyms can help connect similar ideas, antonyms are particularly useful when describing contrasting ideas. And just as a thesaurus is a useful tool for finding synonyms, it will also point you toward one or more antonyms for words you look up. HEREIN) Noticing Antonyms @ Find these words and their antonyms in the model. Write the antonyms. 1. differences (paragraph 1) 2. low (paragraph 3) 3. less (paragraph 4) 4, minority (paragraph 5) 5. reduced (paragraph 6). @ These words are also in the model. Write one or two antonyms for each word. Use a dictionary or thesaurus as needed. 1. distant (paragraph 1) 2, rise (paragraph 1) 3. adds (paragraph 3) 4, preceded (paragraph 6) 5. together (paragraph 7) 136 CHAPTER7‘The first key to writing a successful comparison / contrast essay is to organize it carefully. In order to structure your essay, you need to select which things you are going to compare. Then you need to choose the specific points of comparison, or factors, that you will use to explain the similarities and differences you identify. POINTS OF COMPARISON ‘Suppose, for example, that you want to compare family life in two cultures. There are many different aspects of this topic that you could examine. Which points of comparison will be your focus? Before deciding how to organize your essay, you can list the points of comparison that you want to examine in each culture. After listing these points, you can make a chart that shows how they are similar or different in each culture. Comparison / Contrast Chart Point of Comparison Culture X Culture Y Same or Different Number of children 12 56 Different Living arrangements Each set of parents Grandparents, Different and small children aunts, uncles, lives separately cousins, children live in separate buildings on the same property Financial support Both parents work Both parents work Same outside the home _ outside the home Role of grandparents Occasional visits Primary childcare —_Diifferent provider Age of adulthood When they get When they get Same married married Once you have decided on the particular points of comparison you want to use for your essay, you are ready to decide how you want to organize it. There are two methods for organizing a comparison / contrast essay: point-by-point and block, Comparison / Contrast Essays 137POINT-BY-POINT ORGANIZATION In point-by-point organization, each point of comparison becomes the topic of a paragraph. As you discuss individual points, you describe both similarities and differences. You can put the paragraphs in any order you wish—perhaps in order of importance. Point-by-Point Outline If you decided to use point-by-point organization for an essay based on the chart on page 137, your outline might look like this: 1, Introduction Thesis statement: It’s possible to better understand Culture X and Culture Y by comparing several important aspects of family life in both cultures. IL. Body (Points of Comparison) A. Number of children 1. 1-2inX 2.5-6 inY B. Living arrangements 1. Separately in X 2, Extended families together in Y C. Financial support 1, Parents work in both countries 2. Willing to work outside home D. Role of grandparents 1. Occasional visits in X 2. Primary caregivers in Y E, Age of adulthood 1. At marriage in both cultures 2. Specific ages III, Conclusion BLOCK ORGANIZATION The other way to organize a comparison / contrast essay is to arrange all the similarities together in one block and all the differences in another. The writing model on pages 134-135 uses this type of organization. In block organization, you can discuss either the similarities first or the differences first. Of course, you could discuss only similarities or only differences. The number of paragraphs in each block depends on the topic. For some topics, you might write about all the similarities in a single paragraph; for other topics, you might need to discuss each similarity in a separate paragraph. The same is true of differences. Of course, some topics may have one paragraph of similarities and several paragraphs of differences, or vice versa. 138 CHAPTERTBlock Outline If you decided to use block organization to write an essay based on the chart on page 137, your outline might look like this: I. Introduction Thesis statement: Family life in Culture X and Culture Y is very similar in some ways, but it also shows several key differences. Il. Body A. Similarities 1, Financial support 2. Age of adulthood B. Differences 1. Number of children 2. Living arrangements 3. Role of grandparents IIL. Conclusion Notice that the points of comparison in this outline are the same as the ones in the outline on page 138. However, each point in this outline is used to explain either similarities or differences, instead of being the topic of its own paragraph. Point-by-point is often the best choice when the two things you are comparing have both similarities and differences in all of the areas you are discussing Block is better if there are only similarities in one area or only differences in another area, Transitions in Block Organization In block organization, you often insert a transition sentence or short transition paragraph between the two blocks. Its purpose is to conclude one section and introduce another section. You do not always have to write a whole transition paragraph, but it is helpful when your topic is long and complex. Comparison / Contrast Essays 139(EGGS «(outlining the Model Look at the writing model on pages 134-135. Then complete the outline of the body paragraphs. A. One key difference between the UK and US is government structure 1 ‘The U.K. has a royal family with limited power, power held by parliament 2. a 2. Both have cities that are important financial centers 3. Both have military bases overseas 1 a |. In UK. government runs health care 2. 3 Si 1 a, Health care is almost free in the UK. . Americans pay for health insurance or medical costs ao jmilarities in Entertainment |. Famous books from both countries 2. ———————— 3 a Vacation time is different between the two countries a. In the U.K, employers must give 5.6 weeks of paid vacation b. a b. American senior managers make more money than managers in the UK. . The average commute time is different a, average commute in the U.S. is 23 minutes b. COMPARISON AND CONTRAST SIGNAL WORDS It is important to use comparison and contrast signal words when writing this style of essay. These are words that introduce points of comparison and points of contrast. 140 CHAPTER7Comparison Signal Words ‘The chart lists some of the words and phrases used to discuss similarities. Review the words and how they are used. Transition Words and Phrases similarly likewise also too Subordinators as. just as Coordinators and both... and not only ... but also neither... nor Others like (+ noun) just like (+ noun) similar to (+ noun) (be) like (be) similar (to) (be) the same as (be) the same (be) alike (be) similar (be) compared (to / with) Examples Human workers can detect malfunctions in machinery; similarly, a robot can be programmed to detect equipment malfunctions. Human workers can detect malfunctions in machinery; a robot can also, Human workers can detect malfunctions in machinery; a robot can, 00 Examples: Robots can detect malfunctions in machinery, just as human workers can. Note: Use a comma when as and just as show comparison even when the dependent clause follows the independent clause as in this example, Examples Robots and human workers can detect malfunctions in machinery. Both robots and human workers can detect malfunctions in machinery. Not only robots but also human workers can detect malfunctions in machinery. Neither robots nor human workers are infallible’, Examples Robots, like human workers, can detect malfunctions in machinery. Robots are similar to human workers in their ability to detect malfunctions in machinery. In their ability to detect malfunctions in machinery, robots and human workers Robots and human workers are alike in their ability to detect malfunctions in machinery. Robots can be compared to human workers in their ability to detect malfunctions in machinery. ‘infallible: always right and never making mistakes Comparison / Contrast Essays 141(GG -Pecognizing Signal Words 142 CHAPTER Look at the words in the chart on page 141 and then see how many of them you can find in the writing model on pages 134-135. Using Comparison Signal Words Write one new sentence to combine the information in each item below. Use a different comparison signal word in each sentence. 1. The United States has a democratic form of government. Great Britain has a democratic form of government. “The United States has a democratic form of government, just as Great Britain does. 2. The United States operates under a two-party system. Great Britain operates under a two-party system. 3. The British Parliament has two separate houses, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The United States Congress has two separate houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. 4, The members of the U.S. House of Representatives are elected by district. The members of the British House of Commons are elected by district. 5. The method of choosing cabinet members in the United States = the method of choosing cabinet members in Great Britain, (Lise the comparison signal the same.) 6. In Great Britain, the prime minister appoints the cabinet. The U.S. president appoints the cabinet. 7. The British monarch has the right to veto any law passed by Parliament. ‘The US. president has the right to veto any law passed by Congress.EGA «on a separate sheet of paper, write five sentences of your own, comparing ‘two things you are familiar with. Use a different comparison signal word in each sentence, and remember to focus on the things that are the same. Some possible topics include: The culture of a local high school compared to that of a large university ‘ The culture of a small town compared to a big city # Aspects of culture in two different societies Contrast Signal Words Contrast signal words fall into two main groups according to their meaning. The words in the first group show a relationship that is called concession. The words in the second group show an opposition relationship. Concession (Unexpected Result) Concession signal words indicate that the information in one clause is not the result you expect from the information given in the other clause. Although | studied all night, failed the exam, Failing the exam is not the result you might expect from the information in the first clause I studied all night. Transition Words and Phrases Examples however Millions of people go on diets every year; however, arate very few succeed in losing weight. nonetheless still Subordinators Examples although Although most dieters initially lose a few pounds, even though most gain them back again within a few weeks. though Coordinators Examples but Doctors say that “fad” diets do not work, yet many yet people still try them. Others Examples despite (+ noun) ‘Despite ten years of dieting, I am still overweight. in spite of (+ noun) Comparison / Contrast Essays 143BEES Fe STEP 1: Brainstorm about the topic. # Collect information and generate ideas about your topic. One tool you can use is a Venn diagram. A Venn diagram is a brainstorming tool that uses overlapping circles to show the similarities and differences between two or more ideas. © Draw two circles that are partly overlapping. © Write one thing that you are comparing in one circle and the other thing in the other circle. © Then write the similarities between the two things in the overlapping part of the circle, and the differences between them in the separate areas of the circle. Brainstorm as many ideas as you can. You can decide which ideas to include later. United States 4. Daily homework very important Country X 4. Only exam is important—it doesn't Both 4. Attendance, required , matter if you come to acne sometnes | Students class with homework expected cass 3, Students expected to erated ask questions in class hes 2, Students stand when & contribute without aoa professor enters being called on ots rooms 4, Eating and drinking available, 3. Students wear more formal clothes 4, Usually larger classes: allowed outside of class This Vern diagram could help generate and organize ideas for an essay comparing university culture in the United States with that of another country. (poreariz®> STEP 2: Organize your ideas. # Review the comparison / contrast chart on page 137. Create your own chart, using the most important points from your Venn diagram. Which points of comparison will you examine in your essay? Once you have listed them on your chart, note whether there are more similarities or differences. ‘* Use your chart to decide whether you will use point-by-point or block organization. Write a preliminary thesis statement that indicates a comparison / contrast essay. 148 CHAPTER7* You may want to make an outline based on your chart. Follow the type of organization you chose. Put your thesis at the top. Then for letters A, B, and C, write the sentences that will form the topic sentences of your body paragraphs. (Ba step 3: write the tirst dratt. * Begin writing your first draft. Remember to use comparison / contrast transitions in your body paragraphs. * Don’t worry if you think of new ideas that are not in your outline as you write. You can add or delete ideas later. Just be sure that your new ideas support your thesis, |BZkaise> step 4: Revise the draft. # Review the content and organization of your draft. Do not try to correct errors in format, mechanics (capitalization, punctuation, and spelling), grammar, and sentence structure at this stage. You will do this in Step 5. * Begin by reading over your paragraph to get a general overview. ‘As you read, check to make sure that © your essay has a thesis statement that is appropriate for a ‘comparison / contrast essay; © you have organized information clearly; © and you have used appropriate comparison / contrast transition signals. * Make notes in the margin about anything you want to improve. * Aska classmate to read and give you feedback on your first draft using the Chapter 7 Peer Review on page 333. * Discuss your classmate’s suggestions and decide which ones to take. (GiiProotiead> STEP 5: Edit and proofread the draft. Make sure that you have identified all of the changes you want to make in content and organization. Then review your essay for errors in format, mechanics, grammar, and sentence structure. Use the Chapter 7 Writer’s Self-Check on page 334 to help you. (Bette step 6: write a new draft. # In your new draft, include the changes you identified in Steps 4 and 5 * Proofread your new draft again carefully. Make sure it is neat and error free. * Hand in your essay to your teacher. Comparison / Contrast Essays 149