comparison-and-contrast

Comparison&ContrastWarm-upactivity:Pleasefindoutthesimilaritiesanddifferencesinthefollowingtwopictures:Ifyouarefiguringoutthesimilarities,youaremakingacomparisonofthesetwopictures.Ifyouarefiguringoutthedifferences,youaremakingacontrastofthesetwopictures.Comparisonorcontrastparagraphsareusedtoshowsimilaritiesordifferencesbetweentwothings.Acomparisonparagraphfocusesonsimilarities,whileacontrastparagraphondifferences.Comparisonandcontrastarefrequentlycombinedtogiveafulltreatmentofatopic.However,Aparagraphusuallyconcentratesonlyonsimilaritiesordifferences,notbothatthesametime.ThoughonthesurfacethereseemtobesomeslightdifferencesbetweentheRussianworkmanandtheAmericanlabor,basicallytheyaremuchalike.Tobesure,theonespeaksRussianandtheotherspeaksEnglish;theonemostlikelylivesinagovernmenthousingunitwhiletheothermayownhisownhome;theonelikesborschtandtheotherprefersmeatandpotatoesandgravy.Buttheirsimilaritiesfaroutweighanydifferencesyoumaynotice.Bothfallinlovewiththegirloftheirdreams;bothcelebrateaweddingashilariouslyastheycanafford;bothrejoiceatthebirthofasonordaughter;bothworryabouttheirlittleoneswhentheyaresick;bothgrievewhendeathentersthefamily.Inthesefundamentalissuesoflifetheyareessentiallythesame.Andsoitisthat,regardlessoftheofficialpoliciesoftheirgovernments,whenyoucomerightdowntoit,bothsincerelyanddearlywantpeacetoprevail.ThepurposesofComparisonandContrastWithcomparisonandcontrast,thepurposeisnotjusttopointoutsimilaritiesanddifferencesoradvantagesanddisadvantages,buttopresentinformationaboutsomethingunfamiliarbycomparingitwithsomethingfamiliar;toshowthesuperiorityofonethingbycontrastingitwithanother;toshowthesimilaritiesordifferencesoftwothingstohelpthereaderevaluatethem.ThesignalwordsofcomparisonThewordsthatindicatesimilarityinmeaning,suchas“like”,“alike”,“similarto”andsoon.Thewordsthatexpressparallelinstructure,suchas“either…or…”,“notonly…butalso…”,“both…and…”andsoon.Somesampleexpressions:ThereareseveralsimilaritiesbetweenAandB.AandBhavethesameviewoftheworld.AandBhavealotincommon.IncommonwithA,Bprefersmeattofish.AresemblesBinthatAisalsointerestedincollectingstamps.JustasAlikestobequiet,Blikestostayalone.LikeA,Blikesoutdoorsports.Alikesswimming.ThesamewithA,Balsolikesswimming.AandBarethesameinthattheybothlikeswimminginthesea.AandBhavethesameinterests.Alikesswimminginapond;similarly,Blikesswimminginthesea.BothAandBhavelonghair.Alikesfishing.Blikesfishing,too.Alikesswimming,sodoesB.ThesignalwordsofcontrastThewordsthatexpress“difference”inmeaning,suchas“bedifferentfrom”,“differfrom”andsoon.Thewordsthatpresentcomparativedegree,suchas“faster…than”,“taller…than”andsoon.Thewordsthatindicateaturningorconcession,suchas“though”,“but”andsoon.Somesampleexpressions:UnlikeA,Blikesoutdoorsports.IncontrasttoA,Blikesoutdoorsports.DifferentfromA,Blikesoutdoorsports.ContrarytoA,Blikesoutdoorsports.AsopposedtoA,Blikesoutdoorsports.AisdifferentfromBinthatBlikesoutdoorsports.AdiffersfromBinthatBlikesoutdoorsports.AcontrastswithBinthatBlikesoutdoorsports.Alikesindooractivities;however/incontrast/bycontrast/ontheotherhand,Blikesoutdoorsports.Alikesindooractivities;B,however,likesoutdoorsports.Alikesindooractivities,butBlikesoutdoorsports.Alikesindooractivities,whereas/whileBlikesoutdoorsports.AisnotasactiveasB.Aismore/lessactivethanB.HowtowriteaparagraphbycomparisonandcontrastThetopicsentenceInacomparisonorcontrastparagraph,usually,thetopicsentenceintroducesthetwothingstobecomparedorcontrastedandthecontrollingidea---pointsofcomparisonorcontrast.Thetopicsentenceshouldalsoindicatetheemphasisoftheparagraph,eithersimilaritiesordifferences.Comparethefollowingtwotopicsentencesandseewhichoneisbetter.1)Althoughbothourpetcatslooklovely,theirdifferencesintemperamentisconstantsourceofamusement.2)Ourtwopetcatsarequitedifferent.Topicsentence2istoogeneraltobedevelopedinoneparagraph.itdoesnotrestrictthecontrollingideasastowhatpointsofthetwocatstocontrast.Topicsentence1notonlyindicatesthepointtobecontrastedbutalsorevealsthatthepurposeofthewriterisnotjusttoshowthedifferencebuttorevealasourceofamusement.Topicsentence1acknowledgestheobvioussimilarityofthetwopetcats,andthenindicatesthedifferencesasthefocusoftheparagraph.ThesupportingsentencesTherearetwobasicpatternsforthestructureofthesupportingsentencesinacomparisonandcontrastparagraph.Thealternatingpattern(point-to-point)Theblockpattern(side-to-side)examiningonethingthoroughlyandthenstarttheotherexaminingtwothingsatthesametime,discussingthempointbypointSupposewearetocomparetwocars:carXandcarY.Thepointstobecomparedmightbe:1)thecostofmaintenance2)performance3)comfortThealternatingpatternTopicsentence:XisabettercarthanYintermsofthecostofmaintenance,performanceandcomfort.Supportingsentences:point1:Costofmaintenancepoint2:Performancepoint3:ComfortCarXCarYCarXCarXCarYCarYThesamequalitiesthatmakepeoplegoodhouseguestsmakethemgoodhospitalpatients.Goodhouseguestscanexpectareasonableamountofserviceandeffortontheirbehalf,andhospitalpatientscanalso.Guestshavetoadjusttowhati