Comparing and Contrasting

What this handout is about

This handout will help you first to determine whether a particular assignment is asking for comparison/contrast and then to generate a list of similarities and differences, decide which similarities and differences to focus on, and organize your paper so that it will be clear and effective. It will also explain how you can (and why you should) develop a thesis that goes beyond "Thing A and Thing B are similar in many ways but different in others."

Introduction

In your career as a student, you'll encounter many different kinds of writing assignments, each with its own requirements. One of the most common is the comparison/contrast essay, in which you focus on the ways in which certain things or ideas—usually two of them—are similar to (this is the comparison) and/or different from (this is the contrast) one another. By assigning such essays, your instructors are encouraging you to make connections between texts or ideas, engage in critical thinking, and go beyond mere description or summary to generate interesting analysis: when you reflect on similarities and differences, you gain a deeper understanding of the items you are comparing, their relationship to each other, and what is most important about them.

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Recognizing comparison/contrast in assignments

Some assignments use words—like compare, contrast, similarities, and differences—that make it easy for you to see that they are asking you to compare and/or contrast. Here are a few hypothetical examples:

• Compare and contrast Frye's and Bartky's accounts of oppression.
• Compare WWI to WWII, identifying similarities in the causes, development, and outcomes of the wars.
• Contrast Wordsworth and Coleridge; what are the major differences in their poetry?

Notice that some topics ask only for comparison, others only for contrast, and others for both.

But it's not always so easy to tell whether an assignment is asking you to include comparison/contrast. And in some cases, comparison/contrast is only part of the essay—you begin by comparing and/or contrasting two or more things and then use what you've learned to construct an argument or evaluation. Consider these examples, noticing the language that is used to ask for the comparison/contrast and whether the comparison/contrast is only one part of a larger assignment:

• Choose a particular idea or theme, such as romantic love, death, or nature, and consider how it is treated in two Romantic poems.
• How do the different authors we have studied so far define and describe oppression?
• Compare Frye's and Bartky's accounts of oppression. What does each imply about women's collusion in their own oppression? Which is more accurate?
• In the texts we've studied, soldiers who served in different wars offer differing accounts of their experiences and feelings both during and after the fighting. What commonalities are there in these accounts? What factors do you think are responsible for their differences?

You may want to check out our handout on understanding assignments for additional tips.

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Using comparison/contrast for all kinds of writing projects

Sometimes you may want to use comparison/contrast techniques in your own pre-writing work to get ideas that you can later use for an argument, even if comparison/contrast isn't an official requirement for the paper you're writing. For example, if you wanted to argue that Frye's account of oppression is better than both de Beauvoir's and Bartky's, comparing and contrasting the main arguments of those three authors might help you construct your evaluation—even though the topic may not have asked for comparison/contrast and the lists of similarities and differences you generate may not appear anywhere in the final draft of your paper.

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Discovering similarities and differences

Making a Venn diagram or a chart can help you quickly and efficiently compare and contrast two or more things or ideas. To make a Venn diagram, simply draw some overlapping circles, one circle for each item you're considering. In the central area where they overlap, list the traits the two items have in common. Assign each one of the areas that doesn't overlap; in those areas, you can list the traits that make the things different. Here's a very simple example, using two pizza places:

http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/comparison_contrast.html

Comparison Conjunctions In the above paragraphs you will see various conjunctions that contribute to paragraph coherence. We can look at the above paragraphs again to see how the conjunctions are used:

My hometown and my college town have several things in common. First, both are small rural communities. For example, my hometown, Gridlock, has a population of only about 10,000 people. Similarly, my college town, Subnormal, consists of about 11,000 local residents. This population swells to 15,000 people when the college students are attending classes. A second way in which these two towns are similar is that they are both located in rural areas. Gridlock is surrounded by many acres of farmland which is devoted mainly to growing corn and soybeans. In the same way, Subnormal lies in the center of farmland which is used to raise hogs and cattle. Thirdly, these towns are similar in that they contain college campuses. Gridlock, for example, is home to Neutron College, which is famous for its Agricultural Economics program as well as for its annual Corn-Watching Festival. Likewise, the town of Subnormal boasts the beautiful campus of Quark College, which is well known for its Agricultural Engineering department and also for its yearly Hog-Calling Contest.

This paragraph, of course, is organized according to similarities. Notice how the ORDER of the similarities is the same throughout the paragraph. That is, at each similar point, the paragraph first discusses Gridlock and then it discusses Subnormal. Keeping the same order throughout the paragraph prevents the reader from getting confused. Also notice how the conjunctions (for example, similarly, and ...X are similar in that...) are placed near each similar point. Now examine the following paragraph, which is organized by subtopic:

My hometown and my college town are similar in several ways. First, my hometown, Gridlock, is a small town. It has a population of only about 10,000 people. Located in a rural area, Gridlock is surrounded by many acres of farmland which are devoted mainly to growing corn and soybeans. Gridlock also contains a college campus, Neutron College, which is famous for its Agricultural Economics program as well as for its annual Corn-Watching Festival. As for my college town, Subnormal, it too is small, having a population of about 11,000 local residents, which swells to 15,000 people when students from the nearby college are attending classes. Like Gridlock, Subnormal lies in the center of farmland which is used to raise hogs and cattle. Finally, Subnormal is similar to Gridlock in that it also boasts a beautiful college campus, called Quark College. This college is well known for its Agricultural Engineering department and also for its yearly Hog-Calling Contest.

These are not the only ways to give coherence to a comparison paragraph. There are other conjunctions, too. Here is a list of comparison conjunctions you can use:

Short Conjunctions	Longer Expressions
Similarly, Likewise, ...the same... ...the same as... ...also... ..., too. both	In the same way, X is similar to Y in that (they)... X and Y are similar in that (they)... Like X, Y [verb]... In like manner, One way in which X is similar to Y is (that)... Another way in which X is similar to Y is (that)...

Contrast Paragraphs As mentioned above, a contrast paragraph discusses the differences between (at least) two things. You can organize contrast paragraphs in much the same way that you can organize comparison paragraphs. That is, you can organize them either according to points of similarity or according to subtopic. Here is an example of such a paragraph organized by subtopic. Notice the contrastive expressions in bold letters:

Even though Arizona and Rhode Island are both states of the U.S., they are strikingly different in many ways. For example, the physical size of each state is different. Arizona is large, having an area of 114,000 square miles, whereas Rhode Island is only about a tenth the size, having an area of only 1,214 square miles. Another difference is in the size of the population of each state. Arizona has about four million people living in it, but Rhode Island has less than one million. The two states also differ in the kinds of natural environments that each has. For example, Arizona is a very dry state, consisting of large desert areas that do not receive much rainfall every year. However, Rhode Island is located in a temperate zone and receives an average of 44 inches of rain per year. In addition, while Arizona is a landlocked state and thus has no seashore, Rhode Island lies on the Atlantic Ocean and does have a significant coastline.

Here are some contrast conjunctions that you can use:

Short Conjunctions	Subordinating Conjunctions
However, In contrast, By contrast, ..., but ..., yet	On the other hand, even though + [sentence] although + [sentence] whereas + [sentence] unlike + [sentence] while + [sentence] nevertheless,

http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/fwalters/compcont.html#conj

TRANSITION WORDS AND PHRASES: COMPARISON (Palabras y frases de transición: Comparación)

Definición: Son palabras y frases que ayudan a establecer ideas y relaciones de comparación entre oraciones.

Ejemplo/s: again, also, in the same way, likewise, once more, similarly... ()

TRANSITION WORDS AND PHRASES: CONCESSION (Palabras y frases de transición: Concesión)

Definición: Son palabras y frases que ayudan a establecer ideas y relaciones de concesión entre oraciones.

Ejemplo/s: although it is true that, granted that, I admit that, it may appear that, naturally, of course... ()

TRANSITION WORDS AND PHRASES: CONCLUSION (Palabras y frases de transición: Conclusión)

Definición: Son palabras y frases que ayudan a establecer ideas y relaciones de conclusión entre oraciones.

Ejemplo/s: as a result, as has been noted, as I have said, as we have seen, as mentioned earlier ... ()

TRANSITION WORDS AND PHRASES: CONTRAST (Palabras y frases de transición: Contraste)

Definición: Son palabras y frases que ayudan a establecer ideas y relaciones de contraste entre oraciones.

Ejemplo/s: although, but, despite, even though, however, in contrast, in spite of, instead, nevertheless... ()

TRANSITION WORDS AND PHRASES: EXAMPLE (Palabras y frases de transición: Ejemplo)

Definición: Son palabras y frases que ayudan a establecer ideas y relaciones de ejemplo entre oraciones.

Ejemplo/s: after all, even, for example, for instance, indeed, in fact, of course, specifically, such as ... ()

TRANSITION WORDS AND PHRASES: PLACE (Palabras y frases de transición: Lugar)

Definición: Son palabras y frases que ayudan a establecer ideas y relaciones de lugar entre oraciones.

Ejemplo/s: above, adjacent to, below, beyond, closer to, elsewhere, far, farther on, here, near, nearby... ()

TRANSITION WORDS AND PHRASES: SEQUENCE (Palabras y frases de transición: Secuencia)

Definición: Son palabras y frases que ayudan a establecer ideas y relaciones de secuencia entre oraciones.

Ejemplo/s: again, also, and, and then, besides, finally, first...second...third, furthermore, last... ()

TRANSITION WORDS AND PHRASES: TIME (Palabras y frases de transición: Tiempo)

Definición: Son palabras y frases que ayudan a establecer ideas y relaciones de tiempo entre oraciones.

Ejemplo/s: after a bit, after a few days, after a while, afterward, as long as, as soon as, at last... ()

http://www.e-aprender-ingles.com/index2.php?go=gramatica&letra=t

Podemos agrupar las conjunciones en COORDINATIVAS y SUBORDINATIVAS, entendiendo por coordinativas aquéllas que unen palabras u oraciones de la misma categoría y subordinativas, las que unen una oración principal y una subordinada.

COORDINATIVAS

http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/omgrammar/conjunciones.htm

El inglés tiene dos tipos de sustantivos verbales, el infinitivo (con o sin "to") y el gerundio (la terminación -ing). La mayoría de los verbos que toman un sustantivo verbal pueden estar seguidos de uno u otro (un gerundio o un infinitivo, pero no ambos). Sin embargo, existen determinados verbos a los que puede seguirle indistintamente un gerundio o un infinitivo. A ellos nos referiremos aquí...

Verbos modales

Los verbos modales en Inglés son:
can, could, may, might, will, would, should and must .

Características de los verbos modales

• Se usan antes de los infinitivos de otros verbos y muestran el grado de seguridad, obligación, etc. de las acciones que se llevan a cabo.
• No llevan 's' en la 3º persona del singular.
  Ej. She must help me ( Ella debe de ayudarme )
• después del verbo modal usamos el infinitivo sin el 'to'.
  Ej. You must go to the doctor (Debes ir al médico )
• Se usan para describir el grado de certeza: seguro, probable, posible o imposible y para expresar la obligación y la libertad de acción.

Grados de Certeza:

• Certeza total: must, mustn't, will, won't, can, can't.
• Probabilidad, posibilidad: Should, shouldn't, may, may not
• Débil probabilidad o posibilidad: might, might not, could, couldn't
• Condicionalidad o posibilidad: Would, wouldn't, could, couldn't.

Grados de obligación:

• Obligación fuerte: must
• Prohibición: must not, can't
• Obligación débil: should, might, may
• Voluntad, insistencia y ofrecimientos: will, would
• Permiso: can, may, might
• Habilidad: can

Ought to (debería). Se usa de forma similar al should

Affirmative: ought to	Negative: ought not to	Inte: Ought + S + to ...?
I ought to study more Debería estudiar más	He ought not to drink Él no debería beber	Ought I to be here early? ¿Debería estar aquí temprano?
We ought to finish this now Deberíamos termionar esto ahora	They oughtn't to play at work Ellos no deberían jugar en el trabajo	Ought we to leave now? ¿Deberíamos irnos ahora?