When you read assignments, certain key words and phrases - compare and contrast, similarities and differences, relative merits, advantages and disadvantages - indicate that you should use a comparison-and-contrast pattern to organize your essay. A subject-by-subject comparison is, in effect, two separate essays about the same subject. Of course, the essays are linked with a transition and cover the same points. For example, to compare and contrast dogs and cats, you might organize your information in the following way: There are two forms of comparison/contrast papers. Each form has its own characteristics that are useful for different types of paper formats. Here is a description of each of those two forms: Subject-by-subject comparisons work best for short papers that cover simple subjects. Introduction: Thesis statement - Even though dogs and cats are both popular pets, they have vastly different characteristics that require owners to deal with them in different ways. Eagerness to please If your assignment asks you to take a position or develop a claim about a subject, you may need to convey that position or claim in a thesis statement near the beginning of your draft. The assignment may not explicitly state that you need a thesis statement because your instructor may assume you will include one. When in doubt, ask your instructor if the assignment requires a thesis statement. When an assignment asks you to analyze, to interpret, to compare and contrast, to demonstrate cause and effect, or to take a stand on an issue, it is likely that you are being asked to develop a thesis and to support it persuasively. (Check out our handout on understanding assignments for more information.) This weak thesis restates the question without providing any additional information. It does not tell the reader where you are heading. A reader of this weak thesis might think “What reasons? How are they the same? How are they different?” Ask yourself these same questions and begin to compare Northern and Southern attitudes (perhaps you first think “The South believed slavery was right, and the North thought slavery was wrong”). Now, push your comparison toward an interpretation—why did one side think slavery was right and the other side think it was wrong? You look again at the evidence, and you decide that you are going to argue that the North believed slavery was immoral while the South believed it upheld the Southern way of life. You write: The North and South fought the Civil War for many reasons, some of which were the same and some different. Lunsford, Andrea A. The St. Martin’s Handbook. 7th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. Let’s look at another example. Suppose your literature professor hands out the following assignment in a class on the American novel: Write an analysis of some aspect of Mark Twain’s novel Huckleberry Finn. “This will be easy,” you think. “I loved Huckleberry Finn !” You grab a pad of paper and write: Why is this thesis weak? Think about what the reader would expect from the essay that follows: most likely a general essay about drugs and alcohol, appreciative summary of Twain’s novel. But the question did not ask you to summarize; it asked you to analyze. Your professor is probably not interested in your opinion of the novel; instead, she wants you to think about why it’s such a great novel—what do Huck’s adventures tell us about life, about America, about coming of age, about race, etc. First, the question asks you to pick an aspect of the novel that you think is important to its structure or meaning—for example, the role of storytelling road accident essay, the contrasting scenes between the shore and the river, or the relationships between adults and children. Ramage, John D. John C. Bean, and June Johnson. The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 2014. Here’s a working thesis with potential: you have highlighted an important aspect of the novel for investigation. However, it’s still not clear what your analysis will reveal. Your reader is intrigued but is still thinking, “So what? What’s the point of this contrast? What does it signify?” Perhaps you are not sure yet, either. That’s fine—begin to work on comparing scenes from the book and see what you discover. Free write, make lists critical thinking in science teaching, jot down Huck’s actions and reactions. Eventually you will be able to clarify for yourself, and then for the reader, why this contrast matters. After examining the evidence and considering your own insights, you write: Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain’s Huckleberry Finn suggests that to find the true expression of American democratic ideals, one must leave “civilized” society and go back to nature. Remember that at its most basic, functional level, a thesis only really needs to do ONE THING: to tell your reader what argument you will be making. You don’t need to list three reasons why your argument is true. You may not even have three worthwhile reasons to write about. So what should you do instead? Predictability and formula can work well in some cases, but they often completely ruin certain things. One of those certain things is your essays. And this is why you should AVOID writing a 3-point thesis for your ACT essay. Better Thesis: “Although students might enjoy watching movies made about the books they read for school, they should avoid watching them until long after they finish the course because watching films made about books inevitably corrupts they’re understanding of that book’s content and message.” It’s not will someone write my papers, however, just a simple comparison – that’d be too easy, right? To introduce your main topic, you ideally want to start with a hook sentence and then detail the specifics of the topic itself. Whew! The introduction is often the toughest part. It’s where you’ll lay out the structure of your essay. (For this reason, it’s usually a good idea to write the introduction last.) Since that’s done, we’ll move on to Part B, the body paragraphs. 2. Specific subjects to compare and contrast The introduction has three key elements. I’ll go through each separately. In the simplest terms, a compare and contrast essay takes two subjects (i.e. objects, events, people, or places)—closely related or vastly different—and focuses on what about them is the same or what’s different or focuses on a combination of similarities and differences. Now that you have the basic structure down, let’s break down the components using my two favorite four-legged beasts: Molly and Morgan. In this post, I’ll show you how to develop a compare and contrast essay outline that lets you kick writer’s block to the curb and craft a structurally sound essay about anything. It’s typically easier for readers to follow this structure. It provides a clear, easy-to-follow structure. To keep things simple, I’ll use a 5-paragraph essay structure to create a compare and contrast essay outline. Each paragraph will have a topic sentence focused on the aspect you’re comparing and contrasting. Each paragraph will also have two details about each subject as they relate to the aspect: It’s paralyzing. Moving forward seems impossible, and self-doubt creeps in. You feel like a lost puppy, unsure of what to do next. Have your own compare and contrast essay to write? Make the process easier assignment help experts, and banish writer’s block by downloading this compare and contrast essay outline in MS Word or PDF format to get started. When writer’s block strikes, it can be doggone demoralizing. But the good news is that an outline is your best friend for getting organized and ready to write . You could write paragraphs in your sleep now, right? No? Okay critical thinking practice test questions, let’s do the same thing for the second and third body paragraphs. See how easy crafting a paragraph is when you break it down? Still struggling? Try reading some completed example compare and contrast essays. If that doesn’t work or you’re still feeling a bit unsure, read more about this type of essay . Now we’ll look at my third body paragraph. The final body paragraph wraps up the last aspect identified in the thesis. Mine might be constructed something like this: “In conclusion outline for argument essay paper, these three aspects clearly show how Molly and Morgan go about their doggy lives in different ways. While Molly likes to accessorize with baseball caps toefl essay samples writing, cuddle with stuffed animals, and sit around looking bored, Morgan prefers rawhide bones, relaxing solo, and sleeping contently whenever she can.” Write on write application letter for university, and best of luck! “In some ways, the differences parallel their personalities—Molly as a brute and Morgan as a sweetheart. The differences also show how both dogs sometimes stray from their normal behavior, notably through how they interact with their favorite toys. Taken collectively, however, their differences don’t stop the law of attraction from coming into play. Though they like a different look, like to play with different toys, and like to relax differently, they adore each other and cuddle up together at every opportunity.” This is where you show the greater purpose of your topic. Your conclusion should answer one question: What does it all mean? Come up with three points that support your main argument. With a three-point thesis, you will need three supporting points. However, make sure you can back up those points with evidence. In the example provided, the three points could be that TomTom GPS navigators are cheaper, easier to use and have more features than Garmin devices. Remember, all of these points need to be backed up by factual evidence in your essay or paper. Very similar to the way you wrote papers in middle school, the 3-point thesis paper consists of three parts: an introduction with a thesis statement, a body which is the bulk of the paper, and a conclusion that wraps everything up. With this method cars cause a lot of air pollution, your thesis statement is king and everything else in your paper serves the king. Working on your bibliography as you gather your research materials will be a time saver when you are writing your paper. Find a topic that interests you. Plan to start early so that you have at least two or three days for revisions. When revising your paper, reading aloud can help you find grammatical errors and confusing wording and language. How to Build a Paper Research Wiki – How using a structured wiki can save you time when writing your research papers. http://calnewport.com/blog/2009/05/11/how-to-build-a-paper-research-wiki/ The bulk of your paper will be the body. In the body, you set upon the task of proving the points made by the thesis. Use quotations, research data, and relevant examples to support each point you are trying to make. The Thesis Statement The first section is the Introduction which includes the thesis statement and points leading up to the thesis statement. Knowing the main points of your thesis statement is very important during this stage because these points will dictate the rest of the paper. When making your outline—and composing your thesis statement—you will want to order the points so that each argument flows into the next. Before you write, you have to research. Base your topic on research or conjecture that has already been developed. Instead of starting from scratch, expand on someone else’s idea or adopt an alternative viewpoint. Not only will this allow you to make new comparisons or arguments for or against a preexisting topic, but will assist you with finding research materials—you can use the same or similar research materials as the person you are basing your argument upon. The bulk of your paper writing schedule will be spent researching your topic. Of course, you will need to decide on your topic before you can start your research. The following tips will help you narrow down your topic choices. The 3-Point Thesis Approach Thesis. The grounds for comparison anticipates the comparative nature of your thesis. As in any argumentative paper, your thesis statement will convey the gist of your argument, which necessarily follows from your frame of reference. But in a compare-and-contrast, the thesis depends on how the two things you've chosen to compare actually relate to one another. Do they extend, corroborate, complicate, contradict, correct, or debate one another? In the most common compare-and-contrast paper—one focusing on differences—you can indicate the precise relationship between A and B by using the word "whereas" in your thesis: Frame of Reference . This is the context within which you place the two things you plan to compare and contrast; it is the umbrella under which you have grouped them. The frame of reference may consist of an idea, theme, question, problem, or theory; a group of similar things from which you extract two for special attention; biographical or historical information. The best frames of reference are constructed from specific sources rather than your own thoughts or observations. Thus, in a paper comparing how two writers redefine social norms of masculinity, you would be better off quoting a sociologist on the topic of masculinity than spinning out potentially banal-sounding theories of your own. Most assignments tell you exactly what the frame of reference should be, and most courses supply sources for constructing it. If you encounter an assignment that fails to provide a frame of reference, you must come up with one on your own. A paper without such a context would have no angle on the material, no focus or frame for the writer to propose a meaningful argument. If you think that B extends A, you'll probably use a text-by-text scheme; if you see A and B engaged in debate, a point-by-point scheme will draw attention to the conflict. Be aware, however, that the point-by- point scheme can come off as a ping-pong game. You can avoid this effect by grouping more than one point together, thereby cutting down on the number of times you alternate from A to B. But no matter which organizational scheme you choose, you need not give equal time to similarities and differences. In fact, your paper will be more interesting if you get to the heart of your argument as quickly as possible. Thus, a paper on two evolutionary theorists' different interpretations of specific archaeological findings might have as few as two or three sentences in the introduction on similarities and at most a paragraph or two to set up the contrast between the theorists' positions. The rest of the paper my favorite restaurant essay, whether organized text- by-text or point-by-point, will treat the two theorists' differences. Grounds for Comparison . Let's say you're writing a paper on global food distribution, and you've chosen to compare apples and oranges. Why these particular fruits? Why not pears and bananas? The rationale behind your choice, the grounds for comparison. lets your reader know why your choice is deliberate and meaningful, not random. For instance, in a paper asking how the "discourse of domesticity" has been used in the abortion debate, the grounds for comparison are obvious; the issue has two conflicting sides, pro-choice and pro-life. In a paper comparing the effects of acid rain on two forest sites, your choice of sites is less obvious. A paper focusing on similarly aged forest stands in Maine and the Catskills will be set up differently from one comparing a new forest stand in the White Mountains with an old forest in the same region. You need to indicate the reasoning behind your choice.
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