English 101-101

Prof. Juliana Anselmini

Essay #3: Compare and Contrast

PROMPT: In this assignment you will write a 3 page compare and/or contrast essay on one
of the following prompts. There must be a clear purpose for your essay and you must include
some analysis. In other words, you are not listing or summarizing the similarities or
differences between two subjects but also, showcasing why it matters.
TOPICS:
Traditional v. Modern Woman - Compare roles and behaviors of women today with those
of more traditional upbringing.
Dating: Now and then - A look at dating/relationship dynamics today in comparison to a
specific time period
The Modern Family - How does family in America compare to those of the past? (Choose a
time period for comparison. You may also choose a particular aspect to discuss. i.e family
interaction, time spent together, respect, values, etc. or components of a family changed such
as single parents, same sex parents, stepparents, foster kids, interracial, adopted, etc.)
Community/Communication in the Digital Age - Analyze how the idea of community,
social interactions, or communication have changed
A comparison of lifestyles (City, Suburbs, Country) - How much does where we live
impact how we live? Analyze the impact of living in these different areas.
Comparing Dietary Choices - With so many different ideas of what healthy eating is, it
makes sense that some of us may need a side by side comparison. Choose 2 diets/eating
habits to compare.
High school vs. College
Womens fashion: Then and Now - You may choose to compare any two time periods in
womens clothing. You may also choose to focus on a particular trend (then and now), such
as wedding fashion, prom fashion, athletic gear, punk fashion, clubbing fashion, or everyday
wear.
Large Family vs. Only Child
Football vs. Futbol
Commuting: Public transportation vs Driving
Gym vs. Home Workouts
Warfare: Then and Now
Vaping vs. Smoking
Various forms of schooling: online vs. in person, private vs. public, large vs. small

English 101-101

Prof. Juliana Anselmini

GETTING STARTED:
1. Choose a topic. What are you going to compare and/or contrast?
2. Develop a claim/thesis.
3. Using Venn Diagram or chart, Generate a list of similarities and differences.
4. Next, you must decide which of them are interesting, important, and relevant enough to be
included in your paper. Ask yourself these questions:
Whats relevant to the assignment?
Whats interesting and informative?
What matters to the argument you are going to make?
Whats basic or central (and needs to be mentioned even if obvious)?
Overall, whats more importantthe similarities or the differences?
5. Complete some research on your topic. (Not extensively)
6. Organize your points. You may outline, use post-its, utilize other writing strategies.
REQUIREMENTS:
Rough draft will be submitted in the form of a hard copy. DOES NOT HAVE TO BE
SHARED ON GOOGLE DOCS.
Final draft will be shared with the professor via Google docs and published to your
assignments page on your Weebly.
Rough Draft with a completed peer review form will be submitted on class on final due date.
3 pages in length, 12-pt Times New Roman font, double-spaced, MLA format
DEADLINES:
ENG 101-101:
Thesis, Brainstorm, and start of draft: Tuesday, November 10th
Rough Draft: Thursday, November 12th
The Final Draft: Tuesday, November 17th
*Solicit teacher feedback on Google docs. This is optional.

English 101-101

Prof. Juliana Anselmini

HOW TO ASSESS THE STRENGTH OF YOUR THESIS:

Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose?
If your thesis simply states facts that no one would, or even could, disagree with, its
possible that you are simply providing a summary, rather than making an argument.

Is my thesis statement specific enough?

Thesis statements that are too vague often do not have a strong argument. If your thesis
contains words like good or successful, see if you could be more specific: why is
something good; what specifically makes something successful?

Does my thesis pass the So what? test?

If a readers first response is, So what? then you need to clarify, to forge a
relationship, or to connect to a larger issue.

Does my essay support my thesis specifically and without wandering?

If your thesis and the body of your essay do not seem to go together, one of them has to
change. Its okay to change your working thesis to reflect things you have figured out in
the course of writing your paper.

Does my thesis pass the how and why? test?

If a readers first response is how? or why? your thesis may be too open-ended and
lack guidance for the reader. See what you can add to give the reader a better take on
your position right from the beginning.

ORGANIZING YOUR ESSAY:

There are many different ways to organize a comparison/contrast essay. Here are two:
Subject-by-subject:
Begin by saying everything you have to say about the first subject you are discussing, then
move on and make all the points you want to make about the second subject (and after
that, the third, and so on, if youre comparing/contrasting more than two things).

The danger of this subject-by-subject organization is that your paper will simply be a list of
points: a certain number of points (in my example, three) about one subject, then a certain
number of points about another. This is usually not what college instructors are looking for in a
papergenerally they want you to compare or contrast two or more things very directly, rather
than just listing the traits the things have and leaving it up to the reader to reflect on how those
traits are similar or different and why those similarities or differences matter. Thus, if you use
the subject-by-subject form, you will probably want to have a very strong, analytical thesis and
at least one body paragraph that ties all of your different points together.

A subject-by-subject structure can be a logical choice if you are writing what is sometimes called
a lens comparison, in which you use one subject or item (which isnt really your main topic) to
better understand another item (which is).

English 101-101

Prof. Juliana Anselmini

Point-by-point:
Rather than addressing things one subject at a time, you may wish to talk about one point
of comparison at a time.
- If you have just a little to say, you might, in a single paragraph, discuss how a certain point of
comparison/contrast relates to all the items you are discussing. I might describe, in one
paragraph, what the prices are like at both Peppers and Amante (pizzarias); in the next
paragraph, I might compare the ingredients available; in a third, I might contrast the
atmospheres of the two restaurants.

- If I had more to say about the items I was comparing/contrasting, I might devote a whole
paragraph to how each point relates to each item. For example, I might have a whole
paragraph about the clientele at Peppers, followed by a whole paragraph about the clientele at
Amante; then I would move on and do two more paragraphs discussing my next point of
comparison/contrastlike the ingredients available at each restaurant.

- There are no hard and fast rules about organizing a comparison/contrast paper, of course. Just
be sure that your reader can easily tell whats going on! Be aware, too, of the placement of
your different points. End with your strongest point.