Eng 089

Comparison Writing

Review the following

pg.

386-387 Practice 4
pg. 387-388 Review Practice 1
pg. 456 Practice 4A
pg. 457 Review Practice 1

Freewrite
Write

a one paragraph summary

about Scott Russell Sanderss
Fidelity. (pg. 329)

Comparison Writing

What are the elements of a

comparison?

Purpose

Selected items

Points of comparison

Organization

Analogy

Ethics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2mhDhB9xkQ

Purpose
Helps

choose between alternatives

Pizza

versus hoagie

Buying
Mac

versus renting

versus PC

Acquaints

us with unfamiliar things

Compare

rugby to football to increase

American understanding of rugby rules

Compare

short story to movie to

explain adaptation process

Item selection
Items must have a common ground

Compare chicken to charcoal

Compare two cars

Appearance,

gas mileage, warranty

Items must have dividing and meaningful differences that relate to

purpose

Compare two workers to determine promotion

Eye

color, hair style, religion irrelevant

Salesmanship,

attendance, leadership qualities are relevant

Points of comparison
Well

chosen points
Help reader grasp meaning and purpose
Are interesting and significant
Must be specific and concrete
Thing versus decaying wooden stairway
Are selective
Only comparisons made relate to purpose

Organization & Arrangement

Block
All

points of comparison for one item and then the other

Works

best for short essays

Reader

Points

can forget details of comparison in longer pieces

of comparison presented in same order for each item

Alternating
Presents

a point about an item then gives corresponding point

about the other

Emphasizes

individual points of comparison more than subject

as a whole
Works

in any length of essay

Organization & Arrangement

Appropriate

order
Closely related points one after the other
(grouping of ideas)
Depends upon purpose
Similarities to differences
Differences to similarities
Least significant to most significant
Most significant to least significant

Analogy
Calls attention to one or more similarities of items
that seem to have nothing in common
Often

explains something unfamiliar by likening it

to something familiar
Earth

to a window

Highlights

unfamiliar in order to illuminate the

familiar
An

unfamiliar mountain guide to the practice of

teaching

Analogy
Readers must be well acquainted with familiar item
Items must have significant similarities
Laser

to cheese

Analogy cannot be overly obvious or offer few

revealing insights
Battle

to an argument

Lengthy analogies overwhelm readers

Multiple

pages comparing heart to a pump

Ethics

Avoid skewing any items in order to ensure a

particular outcome
Altering

findings to make one view seem better

(political ads, product advertising)

Items should be properly matched

Comparing

student essay to professional essay to

point out inadequacies

Analogies must be appropriate and not extreme

Comparing

troopers

immigration officials to Nazi storm

For Wednesday

Read about Parts of Speech (Parts of Speech pg 356)

Looking ahead to Monday

Pg 360 practice 4, pg. 362 practice 7, Pg. 363 practice 10,

Pg. 365 practice 13, Pg. 367 practice 16
Bring a polished rough draft of any freewrite (writing
process, Willy Shakes, Fidelity, Comparison).
Take freewrite. Turn it into outline. Type rough draft.
Print it to bring to class.
Bring colored pencils, markers, crayons, or pens