Compare and contrast effectively.docx

Compare and contrast effectively.docx

《Compare and contrast effectively.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《Compare and contrast effectively.docx（7页珍藏版）》请在冰豆网上搜索。

Compareandcontrasteffectively

ArgumentativeWriting

●CauseandEffect

●ProblemandSolution

●CompareandContrast

WritingEffectiveComparisonorContrastEssays

AComparisonorContrastessayisanessayinwhichyoueithercomparesomethingorcontrastsomething. Acomparisonessayisanessayinwhichyouemphasizethesimilarities,andacontrastessayisanessayinwhichyouemphasizethedifferences. Weusecomparisonandcontrastthinkingwhendecidingwhichuniversitytoattend,whichcartobuy,orwhethertodriveacarortakeabusoranairplanetoavacationsite.

Inthissection,twoclassicorganizationalpatternsofacomparisonorcontrastessaywillbediscussed. Oneiscalledblockarrangement（subjectbysubject）ofideas;theotheriscalledpoint-by-pointoralternatingarrangementofideas. Supposeyouareinterestedinshowingthedifferencesbetweenvacationinginthemountainsandvacationingatthebeach. Youwillthenwriteacontrastcomposition.Onewaytoarrangeyourmaterialistousetheblockarrangementwhichistowriteaboutvacationinginthemountainsinoneparagraphandvacationingatthebeachinthenext. Ifyoumentionaparticularpointinthemountainsparagraph,youmustmentionthesamepointinthebeachparagraph,andinthesameorder. Studythefollowingoutline,whichshowsthiskindoforganization. Theintroductoryparagraphisfollowedbythemountainsparagraph,thebeachparagraph,thentheconclusion;thefullydevelopedessayisjustfourparagraphs.

BlockArrangement（fourparagraphs）

I.

Introductioninwhichyoustateyourpurposewhichistodiscussthedifferencesbetweenvacationinginthemountainsoratthebeach

II.

Mountain

A. Climate

B. TypesofActivities 

C. Location 

III.

Beach

A. Climate

B. TypesofActivities 

C. Location 

IV.

Conclusion

Asecondwaytoorganizethismaterialistodiscussaparticularpointaboutvacationinginthemountainsandthenimmediatelytodiscussthesamepointaboutvacationingatthebeach. Thisiscalledpoint-by-pointoralternatingarrangement. Anoutlineofthisorganizationfollows.

Point-by-PointorAlternatingArrangement（fiveparagraphs）

I.

Introductioninwhichyoustateyourpurposewhichistodiscussdifferencesbetweenvacationinginthemountainsoratthebeach

II.

Firstdifferencebetweenmountainsandbeachesisclimate

A. Mountains

B. Beach

III.

Seconddifferencebetweenmountainsandbeachesaretypesofactivities

A. Mountains

B. Beach

IV.

Thirddifferencebetweenmountainsandbeachesisthelocation

A. Mountains

B. Beach

V.

Conclusion

Application:

 BlockorPoint-by-Point

Examinethecomparisonorcontrastessaysthatfollow,anddecidewhethertheauthorsusedblockarrangementorpoint-by-point（oralternating）arrangement. Noticehowotherauthorsstructuretheiressays. Fiveparagraphsorfour?

 Blockarrangementorpoint-by-pointarrangement?

 Noticingthesethingswillhelpyoubecomeabetter,moreconsciousreaderandwriter. 

VacationingattheBeachorintheMountains

Peoplearealwayslookingforwardtotheirvacationperiod.Therearemanyoptionswheretochoose.Ithinkthatthetwomostcommonplacespeoplechoosefortakingavacationarethebeachesandthemountains.Bothplacesofferavarietyoffunactivities.Thebeachoffersactivitiesthatthemountaincannotofferandviceversa.Themountainandthebeacharetotallydifferent.Thepurposeofthisessayistocontrasttheclimate,typesofactivitiesandlocationsofbeachesandmountains.

I’mgoingtodiscussmountainsfirst.ThethreeaspectsI’mgoingtodiscussareclimate,typesofactivitiesandlocation.Climateisalwaysimportantinordertoenjoyvacations.Ifapersondislikescoldweather,heorshemighthaveahardtimeinthemountains.Thecoldclimateinthemountainsisthefirstbarriertoenjoyingthem,buttheclimateandthetemperatureofthesezonesalsodeterminethetypesofactivitiestheyoffer.Snowboarding,mountainclimbing,mountainbiking,hiking,andskiingaresomeactivitiespeoplecanenjoywhengoingtothemountains.Therearemanyregionsthathavemountainswherepeoplecangoandhaveagreatvacation.CanadaisacountrylocatedinNorthAmericaandcontainsmanymountainvacationsiteswherepeoplecangoandhavefun.

I’mgoingtodiscussthebeachsecond.ThethreeaspectsI’mgoingtodiscussareclimate,typesofactivitiesandlocation.Warmclimateisoneofthemostimportantfeaturesthatthebeachhas.Sunandfunaretwowordsthatdescribethebeach.Thetemperatureinthoseplacesisalwayshot.Theseaandthewarmclimatedeterminetheactivitiesthatareavailableatthebeach.Peoplecanswim,playvolleyball,playsoccer,andridewaterbikes.Inmostcoastalsites,therearediscosandrestaurantswherepeoplecandanceorpartythroughoutthenight.Mexicooffersmanyamazingcoastalsitestovisit.AcapulcoandCancunaretwoofthemostbeautifulandfamousbeachesintheword.

Itdoesntmatterwhatplaceapersondecidestochoose.Thefunis100%guaranteed.Peopleoftenchooseoneofthesetwooptionstospendtheirvacations.Dependingonwhatthepersonlikesiswhatheorshewillchoose.Ilikethebeachbetterthanthemountains,butsometimesitisbettertotakeariskandtryadifferentplacetoenjoy. （399words）

Istheessayaboveorganizedusingblockorpoint-by-pointarrangementofdetails?

 Notefirsttheessayisfourparagraphs,

（1）anintroduction,

（2）aparagraphaboutvacationinginthemountains,（3）aparagraphaboutvacationingatthebeach,and（4）aconclusion. Thisistheblockarrangement,thefirstblockcontaininginformationaboutmountainsandthesecondblockcontaininginformationaboutthebeach.   

Thefollowingessaycontrastseatingfreshfoodsandcannedfoods. Isitsorganizationblockorpoint-by-point?

 Howmanyparagraphsdoesitcontain?

 Howmany"differences"betweenfreshfoodsandcannedfoodsdoestheauthordiscuss?

ConsumingFreshFoodsInsteadofCannedFoods

Eatingisanactivitythatweashumansdoatleasttwotimesaday.Weliveinaworldwherethevarietyoffoodisimmense,andweareresponsibleforwhatweeat.Wedecidewhatweareabouttoeatandhowitwillaffectourbodies.Thepurposeofthisessayistocompareandcontrastthedifferencesbetweeneatingfreshfoodsandeatingcannedfoods.Thethreemaindifferencesareflavor,healthbenefits,andcost.

Themostnotabledifferencebetweenthesetwokindsoffoodsistheirflavor.Freshfoodshavegreatflavorandtastebecausetheykeepalltheirnaturalconditions.Cannedfoodshowever,lackalotofitsflavorcharacteristicsbecausetherearesomeotherchemicalproductsaddedtothenaturalfoods.Itislogicalthatthefreshfoodswillhaveagreatertasteandflavorwhenconsumedjustbecauseofthetimeinwhichtheyhavebeenprepared.

Comparingbothtypesoffoodswenoticeanotherdifference.Thereisahealthfactorthataffectsbothofthem.Cannedfoodslosesomeoftheoriginalfreshfoodnutrientswhenstored,andalsoithastobetinnedwithmanyconservativesandchemicalfactorsthatprolongtheshelflifeandapparentfreshnessofthefoodbutcouldalsobecometoxicifconsumedtoooften.

Yetanotherdifferencebetweenthesetwotypesoffoodsisthecost.Cannedfoodsaremuchmoreexpensivethanfreshfoods.Herethebenefitofbuyingtinnedfoodsisthattheyareeasiertofind,forexample,inasupermarketinsteadofthemarketlikethefreshfoods,andtheyrequirelessworktopreparethanfreshfoods,justopenandserve.

Herearethemainthreedifferencesbetweenbuyingfreshfoodsandbuyingcannedfoods.Aswecanseeitcomesdowntoapersonalchoice,basedonthetimeeachpersonhas,themoneyandtheimportancehe/shegivestohis/hernutritionandhealth.Thereforeitisimportantthatyouconsideryourpossibilitiesandchoosethebesttypeoffoodsforyourconvenienceandlifestyle.（347words）

Theessayaboveisthe"classic"fiveparagraphessaythatallnon-nativespeakersofEnglishshouldlearntowrite. Thisessayalsocontainsthe"classic"point-by-pointorganization,eachpointstatedanddevelopedinasingleparagraph. Theessaycontainsfiveparagraphsthatcontrastthreedifferencesbetweenfreshandcannedfoods. Theessayincludes

（1）anintroduction,

（2）thedevelopmentofthefirstdifference（flavor）,（3）thedevelopmentoftheseconddifference（healthbenefits）,（4）thedevelopmentofthethirddifference（cost）,and（5）aconclusion. Inthetrueclassictradition,thethreemaindifferencesinthiscontrastessay:

flavor,healthbenefits,andcostarestatedbothintheintroductionandtheconclusionaswell. Myownobservationisthis:

 USkidsaretaughttoorganizeandwritefiveparagraphessayslikethisfromearlychildhood,buttheyrarelyattainthedegreeofperfectionoftheessayabove.

Thisendsthefirstpartofthispage,theexplanationofthedifferencesbetweentheclassicorganizationalstylesofcomparisonandcontrastessays,

（1）blockand

（2）point-by-pointoralternatingarrangement. 

HowtoSupportYourPointofViewthoughComparisonandContrast

Itwasstatedinthefirstpartofthispaperthatweusecomparisonorcontrastinnearlyeverythingwedo. Whendecidingwhattoeat,forexample,weoftenchoosebetweenfreshfoodsorcannedfoods,exactlyasthewriterabovedescribed. However,doyouknowthepreferenceofthepreviousauthor?

 Didhestateitdirectly?

 Whyorwhynot?

 Whatotherwayscouldthisessayhaveended?

Animportantpointtorememberwhenwritingcomparisonorcontrastessaysisthatmanytimeswritersusecomparisonorcontrasttosupportapersonalpointofview. W