English 101: Essay 5, Comparison

English 101: Composition and Rhetoric
Guidelines for Essay 5: Comparison/Contrast

Dr. Tina L. Hanlon

Associate Professor of English
Ferrum College

Guidelines for Comparison/Contrast Essay (#5)

Bring drafts to individual conferences during week of Nov. 13. Bring a printed draft to class on Nov. 15 and 17.

1. Topics: Compare/contrast two things in any issue(s) of Newsweek. The two "things" or subjects you compare could be articles, ads, covers, political cartoons, or photographs. Be sure to select subjects that will lend themselves to developing significant points of comparison and contrast that support a thesis.

2. Use the subject by subject (also called block) or point by point (alternating) method of organization, depending on which suits your topic. See LBH, p. 97, for sample outlines of each method.

3. Be sure your points of comparison are supporting a precise thesis. The thesis must state the main point of your comparison in specific terms. The introduction should give an overview of your subtopics or points of comparison along with the thesis. If you refer to similarities and/or differences in the introduction, be sure you say what those features are; do NOT just refer vaguely to the fact that X and Y have similarities and/or differences. Be sure your thesis statement is a generalization you can support with evidence from the texts or images in Newsweek, without doing additional research. Here are some suggestions for how to focus a comparison:

Two ads for similar products or services, with focus on a significant similarity or difference(s)
Two ads that use similar persuasive appeals, such as the prestige of expensive cars or high technology possessions, sympathy for bereaved families
Two articles on the same or similar topics
Two columns by the same columnist
Two articles or columns based on similar values, such as appeal for better treatment of service workers or bicylists, or argument against stereotyping
Use of headlines or captions in two articles (or two groups of feature articles on the same subject)
Use of photographs in two articles

Suggestions for types of thesis statements (You develop your own specific wording that suits the subjects you compare and your interpretation of them.)

Both X and Y _________________ [e.g., make a certain kind of persuasive or emotional appeal, provide valuable insights into scientific research]
X is more _________________ than Y.
Although both X and Y ____________, X ____________ while Y _______________.
Although X and Y are quite different in ___________, they both __________________. [Explain major feature they have in common].
X is better at __________________ than Y because _________________.

4. Every paragraph should discuss a specific point of comparison or contrast that supports the thesis, and every point of comparison should be supported by details.

5. Documentation. If you use direct quotation, give a page reference in parentheses, and, if needed, an author's name or title in the parenthetical reference. See LBH, chap. 47a on using in-text parenthetical citations.

You will need two citations at the end of your essay for the two articles or magazine issues or ads being compared. See LBH, chap. 47b on MLA format for documentation. Here are two choices for documenting an advertisement, and below that, an example for a cartoon.

Air Canada. Advertisement. Newsweek 12 Mar. 2004: 45-46.

BlackBerry 7100t by T-Mobile. Advertisement. Newsweek 25 Oct. 2004: 9.

Peters–Dayton Daily News. Cartoon. Newsweek 25 Oct. 2004: 29.

[The cartoons are difficult because Newsweek doesn't give the cartoonist's full name and they are reprinted from other periodicals. For your purposes in this essay, use this format, with the identification that is given on the cartoon in Newsweek.]

Note: The term “comparison” is often used as a general label to refer to points of comparison and/or contrast. Your essay may focus on similarities or differences or both. The most important requirement is that your points of comparison support your thesis.

11/13/2006