Notes on a Compare and Contrast Essay

I. Prewriting

A. Take Effective Notes

i. As you read take notes of...

a) characters

b) events

c) interactions

B. Choosing a Subject:

i. Is this character/situation important to the story? Why?

ii. What specific details can I give about this character/situation?

iii. Are there clear similarities and differences between the two chosen subjects?

C. Compare and Contrast Subjects

i. Think about the multiple aspects of the character/situation:

a) What does the character look like?

b) How does the character interact with other characters?

c) How do the order-of-events affect the subjects?

d) Are there any significant omissions?

ii. Use a Venn diagram to brainstorm the similarities and differences between the subjects.

a) After choosing a character/situation, list all their differences on the outer parts of the diagram.

b) Then list their similarities in the middle, overlapping portion of the diagram

D. Standards for Writing

i. A successful compare and contrast essay will…

a) Clearly identify the subjects that are being compared and contrasted.

b) Include specific, relevant, and concrete details.

c) Follow a clear plan of organization dealing with the same features of both subjects under discussion.

d) Use language and details appropriate to the audience.

e) Use transitional words and phrases to clarify similarities and differences.

E. Consider How You will organize Your Essay

i. Feature-by-feature organization

a) Both characters posses some feature (or both characters differ on a feature); make your comparison (or contrast) based on that feature.

b) If you use this organization strategy you will recognize a feature and discuss how both character posses that feature (or discuss how one character possess that feature and how the other character contrasts with it).

c) Example: Both women want something that they cannot afford:

Subject A. Mathilde of “The Necklace”: new dress and fancy jewelry to go to the ball.

Subject B. Della of “The Gift of the Magi”: special Christmas present for her husband.

ii. Subject-by-subject organization

a) This organization strategy has you write about one subject at a time, noting specific features. After you have finished discussing one subject, you will move on to the next subject and discuss the same features for this subject as you used with the previous subject.

b) Example: Mathilde of “The Necklace” goes first; Della of “The Gift of the Magi” goes second.

Feature 1. Wish: new dress and fancy jewelry to go to a ball

Feature 2. Ironic sacrifice: works for years to replace a necklace that turns out to be a cheap imitation.

Feature 1. Wish: special Christmas present for her husband

Feature 2. Ironic sacrifice: sells her hair to by a watch chain, but her husband has sold his watch.

F. Remember to use the Jane Shaffer one-chunk paragraph model when writing.

i. Samples:

Topic Sentence	or	TS	or	TS
Concrete Detail		CD1		CD1
Commentary 1		CD2		CM1.1
Commentary 2		CM		CM1.2
Conclusion/Closing Sentence		CS		CD2
				CM2.1
				CM2.1
				CS

I. Writing

a. Introduction

i. Begin with an engaging opening, hook.

a) note the situation or character of comparison

b) anecdote

c) question

ii. Introduce subjects and features you will compare and contrast.

iii. State your thesis clearly.

b. Body

i. Make your method of organization clear: Feature-by-feature or subject-by-subject.

ii. Discuss the similarities and differences between the two characters/situations.

iii. Provide support for each point of comparison.

c. Conclusion

i. Remind readers of your thesis.

ii. Mention factors that might account for the differences you found.

iii. Make a final pain, or leave readers with an idea to think about.