33 Module 7 Writing Assignment: Writing a Comparison or Contrast Essay
33 Module 7 Writing Assignment: Writing a Comparison or Contrast Essay
Our final essay assignment requires you to make a choice: do you want to compare two subjects (show how they are similar) or contrast them (show how they are different)? As you read in the module, it is important to remember that for a basic comparison/contrast assignment, although you will consider both the similarities and differences among subjects as you gather your ideas, your essay itself will discuss EITHER the subjects’ similarities OR their differences, not both. You can write about any two subjects you want; just make sure you make an overall point about them. Your essay should ultimately evaluate how the subjects are alike or different, offering some kind of surprising insight about them or helping readers make a choice between the two. Whatever the case, just make sure that your essay makes an intriguing point; don’t just compare two things that are obviously similar or contrast two items that are obviously completely different.
Some possible subjects to consider are:
- two kinds of art or artists
- two products or services
- two movies you’ve seen
- two traveling experiences you’ve had
- a book and its cinematic adaptation
- an original song and a “cover” version of it
- two restaurants
- two fictional characters or real-life celebrities
- two sports teams or athletes
Step 1: Pre-Writing (Questioning, Freewriting, and Mapping)
Any of the prewriting techniques we have discussed so far in the course can be used to generate ideas for this assignment. You might use the reporter’s questions again: ask yourself who, what, when, where, why, and how in relation to the two subjects you want to compare or contrast.
You might also use freewriting (the process of writing freely without worrying about grammar, spelling, and sentence structure) to generate ideas about your subjects, focusing on how they are similar and/or different and what those similarities or differences mean (is one better than the other? are the two surprisingly similar in ways many people don’t expect? are they different than they may initially appear?).
Another possible prewriting choice is mapping, putting the two subjects in a large circle and then connecting other circles to that circle to represent general points of comparison or contrast related to each one. For example, if one subject was heavy metal music and the other was classical music, two music types, you might put “highly technical players,” “passionate and insulated fan bases” and “complex musical arrangements” in these circles. For each of these subcircles, you could draw more lines to more circles that connect to each example (the names of highly technical heavy metal and classical musicians might be attached to the “highly technical players” circle). This kind of exercise can help you break your topic up into points and to discover exactly how to persuade your audience that your thesis is true.
Step 2: Focusing, Outlining, and Drafting
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