Which One Do I Choose? Comparing and Contrasting

Which One Do I Choose? Comparing and Contrasting Eng 050

Comparing and Contrasting • Whether or not you realize this, you compare and contrast things all of the time when making decisions. • Which class do I take? • Which candidate to vote for? • Which pair of shoes do I buy? • What do I have for dinner—burgers or pizza? • Comparing and contrasting allows us to compare and contrast the behavior of one subject to another by putting them next to each other.

Comparing and Contrasting • Comparing—this method examines only the similarities • Contrasting---this method examines only the differences • Generally both are done in the same paper, but you can choose one or the other • Let’s read paragraph on page 198. • What was the author’s purpose? • Notice how she was able to both compare and contrast in one paragraph. That’s because she narrowed down her topic in a very precise manner.

Comparing and Contrasting • Let’s read a few more examples and discuss; specifically, we’ll read and discuss the paragraphs on page 199 and 200. • Let’s examine Deborah Tannen’s paragraphs specifically. • To give some background information, Tannen is a linguist who has written several books about the difference in communication between men and women. • Notice that she compares two subjects that have a basis for comparison—specifically boys and girls.

Comparing and Contrasting • Let’s look at the points she made. • Overall topic: boys and girls socialize differently • Specific examples regarding girls • Play in small groups or pairs • Focus on best friend • Can make and break friendships with secrets • Socialize in tight groups and have equal status

Comparing and Contrasting • Specific examples regarding boys • Play in larger groups, usually outdoors • Do things rather than talk • Have open groups and unequal status • Talk about competition • How did she organize this---by specific points (where she compared how girls play, then how boys play, then the size of girl’s social groups, then the size of boy’s social groups, etc)? Or by general topics (all the ways girls socialize, then all the ways boys socialize?) • You can choose either method • Generally you choose general topics when the subject is straightforward

Comparing and Contrasting • With compare and contrast, doing some prewriting work is very vital, because your end result has to be balanced • In other words, you need to have the same amount of points for each comparison. • Say you are comparing pizza to burgers. You need to think of the general points of discussion (i.e., how each is made, how each tastes, the purchasing convenience, etc.), and give equal amounts of your time to both topics so that you don’t end up with six sentences on pizza, and only two on burgers. • Making up a list helps prevent this from happening. • Note: If you do some prewriting, and still don’t have a balance of topics, it’s time to choose something else to compare.

Comparing and Contrasting • When choosing your topic, you need to ensure that you are comparing two items that warrant a comparison. • For example, comparing pizza and burgers---both of which are “fast foods”---is a fair comparison. But comparing pizza to the U.S. political system makes no sense. • Here’s some straightforward suggestions • Pat’s Steaks vsGeno’s Steaks • Lady Gaga and Madonna

Comparing and Contrasting Let’s go back to the example paragraph on page 198. If we picked apart this paragraph, the brainstorming list might look like this. Note how there’s an equal amount of points, and that they are arranged in order in each section. • Pre-teenager • Cheerful • Communicates with parents • Loves school • No emotional problems • Responsible at home • Looks forward to getting up • Teenager • Sullen • Avoids, talks with friends • Hates school, won’t do homework • Bursts into tears without warning • Avoids chores at home • Hates to get out of bed

Comparing and Contrasting • Using some of the same examples, let’s talk about how you arrange your paragraph • General topics • This is how both Brownlee and Tannen’s paragraph are arranged—general topic. • Brownlee talks about preteens, and then teens • Tannen talks first about how girls socialize, and then how boys socialize

Comparing and Contrasting • The structure could look different if you decided to do it point by point. Using the same examples, here’s what Brownlee’s paragraph would look like. • Emotions • Preteen emotions • Teen emotions • Chores • Preteen chores • Teen chores • Mornings • Preteen mornings • Teen mornings

Comparing and Contrasting • Here’s what Tannen’s paragraph would look like. • Play • How girls play • How boys play • Friendships • How girls form relationships • How boys form relationships • Communication • How girls talk to each other and communicate • How boys talk to each other and communicate

Comparing and Contrasting • So now it’s time to write a draft. Let’s go through our usual brainstorming to choose a topic. • Coach handbags versus Lucky brand handbags • I’ve never worked at Lucky, so I probably don’t know enough about Lucky bags to write about this • Dressing for summer vs. dressing for winter • This is workable, and is something we can all relate to. But is there enough to it to work? • The works of Shakespeare vs. the works of Ben Jonson---huh? Snoozer! And way too large a topic. You need to keep your topic limited.

Comparing and Contrasting Lightweight to keep cool Fun activity clothing like swimsuits Freedom, don’t have to worry about coats Warm sweaters and hoodies Jeans! Uggs • I think dressing for summer vs. dressing for winter is workable. Let’s do some brainstorming and ensure there’s enough to work with. • Visually, using two separate lists works best to ensure you aren’t missing anything. • I don’t feel like there’s enough here to work with…back to the drawing board

Comparing and Contrasting • Okay, more topics… • Going to plays vs. going to movies • Same basic material, totally different experiences • Pizza vs. burgers • Two classic American foods (with origins from other countries) • Two and a Half Men with Charlie Sheen vs Two and a Half Men with Ashton Kutcher • With this there’s no comparison…the new version isn’t funny

Comparing and Contrasting • Before we begin, we need to make a list. Let’s explore the similarities. • Both can be dressed up or dressed down • McDonald’s/Pizza Hut • $100 Kobe beef burger/$150 pizza with lobster and truffles • Both can be made in a variety of ways • Vegetarian or with turkey (Burgers) • Many different toppings (Burgers and Pizza) • Convenient • Eaten in car, with one-hand, take out • Classic American foods with origins in other countries • Germany for burgers, and Italy for pizza • Americans made these foods their own

Now the differences… Pizza Burgers With very few exceptions made with real meat, and so not vegetarian friendly Easy to make at home Popular everywhere in the US More likely to be found in chain restaurants More likely to be consumed with side dishes (French fries) • More vegetarian friendly • More difficult to make at home • More popular in certain parts of the US than others • More likely to be found in specialty restaurants • Mostly eaten on its own (just pizza)

Comparing and Contrasting • Are we comfortable with these lists? Assuming we are, let’s start writing. We can always revise. When considering which delicious but bad-for-me-food with which to cheat on my diet, hamburgers and pizza are two that come to mind. They are both tasty and quick to eat, with interesting culinary histories that can be traced to Europe (Germany and Italy, respectively). Better yet, they can both be consumed in the car, making them very convenient for me as I race from one destination to another. However, often pizza gets the edge. It’s a little tougher to find, because there’s many more chain restaurants devoted to burgers than pizza. But there’s something about the delicious combination of tomato sauce and cheese that wins me over every time. Plus there’s no extra temptation of French fries to eat, which always increases the cholesterol, calorie, and carbohydrate count. Hamburgers are a food dear to my heart, but pizza remains my first food love.

Comparing and Contrasting • Are we happy with this paragraph? We need to go over to make sure each aspect is covered evenly (did I use more points about one food than the other? • When considering which delicious but bad-for-me-food with which to cheat on my diet, hamburgers and pizza are two that come to mind. They are both tasty and quick to eat, with interesting culinary histories that can be traced to Europe (Germany and Italy, respectively). Better yet, they can both be consumed in the car, making them very convenient for me as I race from one destination to another. However, often pizza gets the edge. It’s a little tougher to find, because there’s many more chain restaurants devoted to burgers than pizza. But there’s something about the delicious combination of tomato sauce and cheese that wins me over every time. Plus there’s no extra temptation of French fries to eat, which always increases the cholesterol, calorie, and carbohydrate count. Hamburgers are a food dear to my heart, but pizza remains my first food love.

Comparing and Contrasting • Note too that we didn’t use every point. That’s okay as long as we covered it evenly. The lists are there to help you gather your thoughts. • Now let’s do an exercise of our own, shall we?

Comparing and Contrasting • Let’s look at the following two images. To the left is “The Starry Night” by Vincent Van Gogh. To the right is a painting by Jackson Pollock (title unknown). We’re going to look at each painting separately and take some notes.

Comparing and Contrasting • Now that we’ve take some notes, let’s do a compare and contrast paragraph in class.

Comparing and Contrasting • And let’s not forget our checklist: • Subjects and verbs • Does each sentence have one of each of these? And do the tenses of the sentence and verb “agree”? • Pronouns • Do your pronouns “agree” with each other? • Modifier Errors • Are your modifiers as close as possible to the words they modify? More on that later.

Comparing and Contrasting • Checklist continued • Punctuation and mechanics • Are your sentences punctuated correctly? • Are your words capitalized when necessary (and not capitalized when not necessary)? • Word choice and Spelling • Did you choose the correct words? Remember, when it doubt look them up, or use another word. • Spelling—Again, look up words you aren’t sure of.

Which One Do I Choose? Comparing and Contrasting