Resources for Writers: Comparison Writing (2024)

Comparison Writing

In academic writing,comparison and contrast is particularlyvaluablebecause it enables you to see familiar things in new ways. "Commonsense" says that two things are the same, but a careful comparison andcontrast demonstrates their important differences. That same commonsense may say that two things are totally incompatible, but when youcompareand contrast them systematically, you discover their affinities. Makingcomparisons helps student writers make decisions and judgments, both inplanning other papers (see the discussion of synthesis) and in theformingtheses and interpretations of data and ideas. In addition to helpingyou decide which of two or more items is more appropriate or moreuseful,comparison can help you think about the unfamiliar by allowing youtocontrast it with something you already know.

Comparison in Every DayLife

Question: “which team is going towin?” To answer thisquestion you must firstevaluate each team, considering a number of features from the skill andreadinessof the players on each team to the strength of the coaching.You'll probably consider averages, recent performance, healthinformation and a host of other details. Once you've considered theseaspects of each team, you will use them as criteria on which to base acomparison. You'll compare the teams point-by-point to decide which isthe stronger (these two activities often occur simultaneously becausepeople who engage in such discussions generally agree on the criteriafor comparison). Based on this comparison, you will give your answer tothe initial question. In this case the answer is a prediction, but weask and answer similar questions about a host of other topics hundredsof times a day--where to get something to eat,which store to buy supplies from, which candidate to vote for, whattask to do first. Sometimes the sequence is evaluate-compare-predict,at other times it is evaluate-compare-decide, orevaluate-compare-recommend, and even evaluate-compare-and then rejectboth options! The final term in this chain is a claim (this team willwin, we should eat at the diner, we should buy brand X), which inacademic papers tends to be called a thesis. Academic papersoften employ the same analytical sequence and evaluative andcomparatives kills as we use in every day decision-making, and we writethem for the same reason--tohelp us reach a decision about things we are comparing and then explainthat decision to others.

Key Features of aComparison

(1) it allows readers toeasily see similarities anddifferencesbetween two or more sources,
(2) it accurately presents the information from the sources,
(3) it presents the comparison for a purpose (i.e.: it has athesis).

Preparing to Write aPaperusing Comparison

Prewriting for comparison andcontrast papers can be conductedvisually,through charts. Draw vertical lines down the center of a sheet ofnotebook paper, allowing one column for each thing to be compared and asmall margin on the left. If you prefer to work on your computer, makea table using your word processing software or a spread sheet program.List the main points, topics, or features in theleft margin or column and then note how each text responds orrepresents it in therelevant column. You might find it helpful to indicate all of thesimilarities using a highlighter, marks next to each similarity, orsomeother system. This technique will help you identify and keeptrackof the important similarities and differences.

A warning!
When a comparison and contrast assignment asks you to compare yourpersonal experience with something else, it is important not to fallintothe fallacy of using personal experience to evaluate the accuracy oftheother. For example, you might read an essay arguing that thetraditionalimage of family life in which Dad goes off to work and Mom stays athometo take care of the house and the children no longer describes thelivesof the majority of American families. Let us suppose that you areasked to compare your family and the families of your friends with thenew image that the article describes (both parents working, or a singleparent working and raising the children). If your personalexperiencecontrasts with the author's description of how the majority of Americanfamilieslive, that is not sufficient evidence for denying (or, if yourexperienceaccords with her findings, validating) the accuracy of the author'sdescription. The argument "The traditional family in whichI grew up demonstrates how little the author of the article knows aboutAmerican life" makes no sense because you are comparing a specific casewith a generalization based on many cases.Your experience might, however, support a thesis along the line of "Thework patterndescribed in Bergmann's essay might describe general trends, but manyfamilies,like mine, found other ways to respond to the fall in middle-classwagesthat she describes" or "While Barbara Bergmann describes the reasonsthatmany women returned to the workplace in the last decade, my ownexperienceshows that for some women the reasons are harder to isolate andanalyze."

Formulating a ComparativeThesis

Inexperienced academic writersoften get lost when they aretrying todecide on a thesis for a paper that uses comparison and contrast.Assumingthat the purpose of comparison and contrast is to discover similaritiesand differences, they formulate a thesis that says something like "XandY have important similarities and differences" or "X is very similarto/differentfrom Y." For example, "The Republican and Democratic platformsforthe 1960 American presidential election were very similar."Readersof college-level papers with such a thesis might rightly ask "So?" or"Whocares?" because college-level writing requires that you saysomethingabout what you know rather than simply repeating it.

Developing a good thesis for acollege-level comparison andcontrastpaper involves your looking at those similarities and differences andaskingyourself the crucial question, "So what?"

• What do you learn from having discovered similarities anddifferences?
• How does it affect your point of view?

Organizing a Paper usingComparison

Once you have figured out athesis statement, or at leastsomethingthat you can work with temporarily (remember, you can always revise orreplace your thesis once your paper is underway), you can begindrafting.

Two general structural patternsare available for papers thatuse comparison and contrast. Some papers adopt one or the other,but many actually blend these two patterns together in various ways.Beingaware of the two basic patterns will help you make wise rhetoricalchoicesas you draft your paper. The structures are thepoint-by-point pattern and the block pattern:

The point-by-point pattern:
When you use this structure, you work back and forth between thesourcesyou consider in your paper discussing one point of similarity ordifferenceat a time. Each paragraph takes one feature or point ofsimilarityor difference and discusses each source in relation to it. Forexample,a paper comparing three paintings might contain one paragraphdiscussingthe similarities and differences in the use of light and shade in thethreepaintings, another discussing how each painting uses color, and soon.A more complex paper might only focus on the use of color, with severalparagraphs each discussing one color in the three paintings.

The point-by-point pattern isessential if your material iscomplicatedor if your paper is a long one. It is also a standard pattern foracademiccomparison and contrast essays. Most of your college professorswillexpect you to follow this pattern.

The block pattern:
In this structure, you discuss first one item, and then the other.A comparison paper written using this pattern discusses all of theimportantfeatures of one item and then, turning to the second item discusses allof its important features, explaining how they compare or contrast withthose of the first item. Some very simple block comparisonsdescribeone item and then the second and then compare them. This methodrarelyworks for papers over three pages in length because readers do notrememberthe salient features of the first item once they have moved to thesecond(and third).

The block pattern is a goodapproach for a short paper(five pagesor less) and may be familiar from high school comparison papers. Youshouldalso consider this approach if you're not feeling too confident of youranalysis of one of the two items. Using the principle ofNestorianorder, you can begin the essay with what you consider to be your lesseranalysis, and then place your more convincing analysis toward the endofthe essay, where it will make a favorable impression on your readers.

The combination:
As with all writing, there is no simple formula for a paper that usescomparison.You will read some professionally written comparisons that use acombinationof these two methods, and you may find that a combination makes senseforyour own papers as well. Some longer papers may begin with a fewparagraphs using the block pattern and then move on to point-by-pointpattern.This may be especially useful if the paper is comparing three or morearticlesand you want to provide a brief overview of each before you beginthe comparison.

Once you have selected anorganizational pattern for yourpaper, youmay find it helpful to make a rough outline of what will be includedwhereand then to ask a peer to review it to see if it makessense.

Checking your own writingorthat ofyour peers

1. What do you like best about this comparison? (Why?How/wheremight the writer repeat it?)
2. Is it clear what is being compared? (Did the writer listthe source,andcite it correctly?)
3. Is it clear why these things are being compared? (Is thereathesis?Write it out.)
4. What is the organizational structure of the extract?(Sketch out asimple plan/diagram)
5. Do you think the organization is effective? (Wouldanotherstructurehave been more effective, Why? Map out that structure.)
6. Does the writer include sufficient evidence to support thethesis?(Regardless of whether or not you are convinced by the thesis, pleaseevaluate evidence tosupport it. Is it appropriate? If not, what other evidence might bemore useful?)
7. Are the introduction and conclusion effective? (Ifso, how?If not, why not? How could they be improved?)
8. Were there any points in the comparison where you were lostbecause atransitionwas missing? (If so, where and how might it be fixed?)
9. Were there any points where you were lost because someinformationseemsto have been omitted? (If so, where, and what seems to be missing?Why do you think it might be important?)
10. If you have read the original sources, do you find thecomparison fair?(If not, why?)
11. Was there a mechanical, grammatical, or spelling error thatannoyed youas you read the paper? (If so, how could the author fix it?Did you notice this error occurring more than once?) Do notcommenton every typographical or other error you see. It is a waste oftimeto carefully edit a paper before it is revised!
12. What other advice do you have for the author of this paper?