The Comparison and Contrast Essay Teacher: Dinh Thi Phuong Thoa

THE COMPARISON AND CONTRAST ESSAY

Comparison and Contrast Patterns

Point by Point: Present one point about Topic A and then present the same point about Topic B. Keep
following this pattern until you have a few points for each topic. Go back and forth from one side to the
other like tennis players hitting a ball back and forth across a net.

Topic by Topic: Present all of your points about one topic, and then present all of your points about the
second topic. Offer one side and then the other side, just as opposing lawyers would do in the closing
arguments of a court case.

Look at an example.
Thesis Statement: The clothing store is a better place to work than the restaurant.

Point-by-Point Comparison Topic-by-Topic Comparison

Topic sentence: Salaries Topic sentence: Job A
Job A + salary
Job B + hours
Topic sentence: Working hours + working environment
Job A Topic sentence: Job B
Job B + salary
Topic sentence: Working + hours
environments + working environment
Job A
Job B

SAMPLE ESSAY 1
Read the essay, and then answer the questions that follow. As you read, correct any errors that you find,
and make comments in the margins.
GENDER AND TOYS
Ashley Lincoln
1. As a young mother, I try to avoid gender stereotyping my children. I encourage my five-year-old
daughter to play sports, and I bought my son a baby doll when he asked for one. My friends been saying
they have the same concerns about gender roles. But insulating children from male or female role
expectations is almost impossible. Most parents, in spite of their best efforts, reinforce gender
stereotypes every time they shop for toys.

2. Girls' toys reinforce the importance of looks, body image, and fashion. Parents can buy their daughters
makeup sets that include child-friendly lipstick, blush, and eye shadow. Barbies and other fashion dolls
fill store shelves. Hanging next to the dolls are packages with tiny clothing. Of course, none of the dolls
are pudgy, pimply, large-boned, or just plain unattractive. When girls play with these toys, they are
taught that beauty and the right clothes and makeup are very important.

3. If a little girl does not like fashion toys, they will surely enjoy baby dolls with their fake bottles of
milk, soft little blankets, and strollers. Girls' toys encourage nurturing by focusing on the home and the
family. At a very young age, girls learn to be competent mothers when they change the little diapers of
their dolls. Girls can learn to cook with their Easy-Bake ovens, and they learn to shop with tiny shopping
carts and cash registers. My daughter and her friends love playing "house" with one child acting as the
mother. They shop for toy groceries and feed their "babies." Girls learn about the importance of
parenting quicker than boys do.

1
The Comparison and Contrast Essay Teacher: Dinh Thi Phuong Thoa

4. Boys' toys, on the other hand, stress jobs and activities outside the home. My son begged for, and
received, a miniature workshop complete with a plastic saw, drill, screwdriver, and wrench. Lego sets
prepare boys for creative occupations such as architecture and auto design. Computer and video games
prepare boys for jobs in the high-tech industries. Finally, there is a lot of toy cars, trucks, and racetracks
to remind boys that cars are very important to their identities.

5. Toys aimed at young males also permit boys to be the heroes in their fantasy games. In the boys' aisle
of the toy store, there are rows of action figures. The GI Joes fight soldiers from other armies. Batman,
Superman, and the X-Men fight fantasy villains. Curiously, the X-Men figures include female characters
such as Storm, but the toys are not call "X-People." Aimed predominantly at boys, fighting action figures
bolster ideas boys have about rescuing others. In their fantasy lives, boys learn early on that they are the
heroes and the saviors.

6. Some suggest that it is useless to fight against the male and female roles. They point out that girls in
previous centuries made their own dolls out of straw and rags, and boys made weapons out of tin cans
and wood. While that is true, toy stores take the stereotyping to extremes. One solution is to try to buy
gender-neutral toys such as modeling clay, painting supplies, or balls and other sporting equipment.

Revising
1. Highlight the thesis statement.
2. Highlight the topic sentence in each body paragraph.
3. Circe a transitional word or phrase in the topic sentence of paragraph 4. Then add transitional words
or phrases to the other topic sentences.
4. What pattern does the writer use to organize this essay? Circle your response.
a. point by point b. topic by topic
5. The student writer uses the word "reinforce" at the end of the introduction and in the first sentence
of the second paragraph. To avoid repeating the same word, what synonym could the student use?

Editing
6. Underline the verb error in the introduction. Write the correction on the line.
7. Underline and correct the pronoun-antecedent error in paragraph 3.
8. Underline and correct a comparative form error in paragraph 3.
9. Underline and correct the subject-verb agreement error in paragraph 4.
10. Underline and correct the passive verb that has been incorrectly formed in paragraph 5.

SAMPLE ESSAY 2
Title: There have been many advances in technology over the past fifty years. These have revolutionized
the way we communicate with people who are far away. Compare and contrast methods of
communication used today with those which were used in the past.

Before the advent of computers and modern technology, people communicating over long distances
used traditional means such as letters and the telephone. Nowadays we have a vast array of
communication tools which can complete this task, ranging from email to instant messaging and video
calls. While the present and previous means of communication are similar in their general form,
they differ in regard to their speed and the range of tools available.

One similarity between current and previous methods of communication relates to the form of
communication. In the past, both written forms such as letters were frequently used, in addition to oral
forms such as telephone calls. Similarly, people nowadays use both of these forms. Just as in the past,
written forms of communication are prevalent, for example via email and text messaging. In addition,
2
The Comparison and Contrast Essay Teacher: Dinh Thi Phuong Thoa

oral forms are still used, including the telephone, mobile phone, and voice messages via instant
messaging services.

However, there are clearly many differences in the way we communicate over long distances, the most
notable of which is speed. This is most evident in relation to written forms of communication. In the
past, letters would take days to arrive at their destination. In contrast, an email arrives almost
instantaneously and can be read seconds after it was sent. In the past, if it was necessary to send a short
message, for example at work, a memo could be passed around the office, which would take some time
to circulate. This is different from the current situation, in which a text message can be sent immediately.

Another significant difference is the range of communication methods. Fifty years ago, the tools
available for communicating over long distances were primarily the telephone and the letter. By
comparison, there are a vast array of communication methods available today. These include not only
the telephone, letter, email and text messages already mentioned, but also video conferences via software
such as Skype or mobile phone apps such as WeChat, and social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

In conclusion, methods of communication have greatly advanced over the past fifty years. While there
are some similarities, such as the forms of communication, there are significant differences, chiefly in
relation to the speed of communication and the range of communication tools available. There is no
doubt that technology will continue to progress in future, and the advanced tools which we use today
may one day also become outdated

3
The Comparison and Contrast Essay Teacher: Dinh Thi Phuong Thoa

PRACTICE: Write an essay with minimum 250 words on one of the following topics.
1. Some people think that learning online is more efficient. However, according to some other people,
studying from books is still the preferred method. Which is the better method of learning out of the two?
2. Distance education is gaining popularity day by day and more students are enrolling through distance
mode than full-time course in colleges. Make comparison of distance education and full-time course to
find which is better and why.
3. A growing number of people own personal vehicle as they find it a convenient mode of transport in
comparison to public transport. Compare the public and private mode of transportation and state which
is better out of the two.
4. It has been said, "Not everything that is learned is contained in books." Compare and contrast
knowledge gained from experience with knowledge gained from books. In your opinion, which source
is more important? Why?