COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

Another useful organizational pattern is comparison and contrast. At the outset a clarification of these terms is important. If your teacher says to write a contrast paragraph or theme, he is obviously asking you to discuss the dissimilarities of two (usually, though there may be more) people, things, objects, etc. But, if your teacher asks for a comparison of two (usually, though there may be more) people or things, he does not necessarily mean to find only similarities. Comparison and contrast are broad terms which indicate you are to judge two people or objects or institutions or whatever against a set of principles.

One of the best ways to learn how to use comparison and contrast is to learn what not to do. First, make sure your components are comparable. Comparing Jimmy Carter and Charles Manson would be as foolish as comparing baseballs and house cats. Comparing the former President of the United States, former Governor of Georgia, Annapolis graduate, and dedicated Christian to a convicted murderer would be futile except in a sociology class. Comparing Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon or Charles Manson and Richard Speck would be more productive. Even a contrast of Carter and Manson would be difficult, since outside of being male humans, they have nothing in common. In both comparison and contrast, there must be some relation, some common ground between the two elements.

The Comparison/Contrast Paragraph

There are two methods for organizing a comparison/contrast paragraph: The consecutive method and the simultaneous method.

7. The Consecutive Method:

In the consecutive method, you present your information on one of the subjects you are comparing and then, introduced by an appropriate transition word or phrase (such as similarly or on the other hand), you present the corresponding information for the second component of the comparison. For example, if you were comparing SUV's and compact cars using as criteria gas mileage, handling, and passenger space, your consecutively developed comparison paragraph might look something like this:

When the average American family goes to buy a new car, it is faced with a difficult decision because of the variety of automobiles. After weeding out the impossibilities, most families have to choose between the SUV and the compact, both of which have good and bad features. The compact gets excellent gas mileage, from thirty to forty miles per gallon. With the price of gasoline climbing toward $2.00 per gallon, this is no small consideration. Handling is another positive factor of a compact car. Its size almost guarantees excellent maneuverability and the ability to squeeze into those half spaces in the parking lot. Space for people and cargo, however, is limited. For the large family, the car pool, or the long vacation, these cars are not ideal. The SUV, on the other hand, would be excellent for these types of families and activities. It has plenty of room to seat six adults with space left over for luggage, the family dog, or more people. Obviously this large size means handling is somewhat awkward. Also, owing to its largeness, the SUV does not get the gas mileage a compact does, and the owner can count on more frequent and more expensive stops at the pump. The family buying a new car should certainly consider these two and carefully weigh the characteristics of each. Part one of this comparison—the compact car—is more fully developed than part two—the SUV. There are six sentences about the compact and only four about the station wagon. In the consecutive method, giving a fuller development of the first member is necessary to set forth the grounds of the comparison clearly. The two sentences about the compact's gas mileage give definite mileage figures and point out the irrevocable rise in petroleum prices. The discussion of the SUV's mileage can be much shorter, implying that it gets considerably fewer miles per gallon in a time when gas is costly. This method for developing a

comparison/contrast is clear and effective as well as time saving.

The points covered in each part of consecutive organization may follow the same order (A 1, 2, 3 + B 1, 2, 3 ) or they may follow an inverted order as in the model paragraph above (A 1, 2, 3 +B 3, 2, 1): compact (gas mileage, handling, passenger space); transition; station wagon (passenger space, handling, gas mileage).

2. The Simultaneous Method:

The other means of organizing a comparison, the simultaneous method, uses a point by point comparison and is, perhaps, more suited to a full length theme although an effective paragraph can be written in this manner. A paragraph comparing the same two types of automobiles using the simultaneous method of organization might look something like this:

When the average American family goes to buy a new car, it is faced with a difficult decision because of the variety of automobiles. After weeding out the impossibilities, most families have to choose between the SUV and the compact, both of which have good and bad features. The compact gets excellent gas mileage, from thirty to forty miles per gallon. With the price of gasoline climbing toward $2.00 per gallon, this is no small consideration. On the other hand, the SUV, because of its largeness, does not get such good mileage, and the owner can expect to make more frequent and more expensive stops at the pump. Handling is another positive feature of the compact. Its size almost guarantees excellent maneuverability and the ability to squeeze into those half spaces in the parking lot. Since at least one compact car would fit into an SUV, it is easy to see that handling this larger vehicle is going to be somewhat awkward. For the large family, the car pool, or the long vacation, a compact car is not ideal. The SUV, conversely, would be excellent for these types of families and activities. It has plenty of room to seat six adults with space left over for luggage, the family dogs and cats, or other people. The family buying a new car should certainly consider these two kinds of automobiles carefully and weigh the characteristics of each.

Notice that each point of comparison appears with each component being compared simultaneously: gas mileage, compact/SUV; handling, compact/SUV; passenger space, compact/SUV. A diagram of this kind of development looks like this: A/B 1 + A/B 2 + A/B 3.

A Hazard to Avoid: inadequate development

The writer needs to be sure that he has valid bases for comparison; however, detailed development is also very important. With these two detailed comparison paragraphs in mind, let's look at one, on the same topic, which would not be adequately developed Families going to buy a new car face a tough decision. After the completely unsuitable cars have been weeded out, the choice will be between a compact car and an SUV. The compact is a nice car for a small family or as a second car. It gets good gas mileage and would be excellent to let the teenager take out on a date so that he wouldn't use up too much of his money on fuel. The SUV is quite large and would be a good car to take on a vacation because the entire family and all their gear could fit in easily. One of these two cars would be a good choice for any family.

This paragraph is not a comparison or contrast. In fact, it is not much of anything. There is no organizational plan—short of having the discussion of compacts come before the discussion of SUVs. There are no bases for a comparison (such as gas mileage, space, etc.). This paragraph is a collection of bits of information on two types of cars, but the bits have no relation to one another.

The Comparison/Contrast Essay

Writing a comparison essay, like writing a classification essay, involves a little more development than does the paragraph. To turn the consecutive sample comparison paragraph into an essay requires expanding the introductory sentences into a paragraph, expanding the discussion of compacts to a paragraph, expanding the discussion of SUV's to a paragraph, and expanding the concluding sentence to a paragraph. In addition to these expansions, you also have to supply transition from one topic of your comparison to the other. The result might look like this:

THESIS (A + B) (A)

When the average American family goes to buy a new car, it is faced with a difficult decision because of the variety of automobiles. Not all, however, are suitable for the \"average\" family, with its middle income and 2.3 children. The flashy sports car and the luxury limousine are not practical in this instance. After weeding out the impossibilities, most families have to choose between the SUV and the compact, both of which have good and bad features.

(B)

The compact gets excellent gas mileage, (from thirty to forty miles per gallon), and with the price of gasoline climbing rapidly toward $2.00 per gallon, this is no small consideration. For this reason the compact would make an excellent second car to use on those around town errands without spending a fortune on gas. It would also make a good car for a teenager to take out on a date because he could spend his money on his girl rather than on gas. Handling is another positive factor. The compact's size almost guarantees maneuverability in traffic and the ability to squeeze into those half spaces in the parking lot. Any city driver can appreciate easy handling in rush hour traffic. Lack of interior space is somewhat of a drawback. For the large family, the car pool, or the long vacation this car is not ideal. Four adults can fit in a compact—if they are not too tall. As for luggage, well, the owner had better plan to travel light.

The SUV, on the other hand, would be excellent for the large family, the car pool, or the long vacation. It has plenty of room to seat six adults with room left over for luggage, the family dogs, or sundries. For the family that needs plenty of space in a car, the SUV would be ideal. Obviously this large size means handling is somewhat awkward. For scooting around town or finding a parking space at the ball game, this large car is a liability. Also owing to its size, the SUV does not get the gas mileage a compact does and the owner can expect to make more frequent trips to the pump. This factor would be a drawback in using this car as a second car for running around town in, and the poor teenager who has to take this car on a date had better find a girl satisfied with watching cars go through the Robowash and a burger afterwards.

ENDING (A + B)

Choosing between these two cars is a matter of what the family members want. If they want good mileage and handling but don't need much interior space, then the compact is ideal. If the family is more concerned with the amount of room inside the car than with the other two

factors, then the SUV is the car for them.

A comparison contrast essay can also be organized on a point by point basis, the simultaneous method. After the introductory paragraph, you would have a paragraph discussing the gas mileage of both cars (A/B{), then a paragraph discussing the handling of both cars (A/B2), and finally a paragraph discussing the passenger space in both cars (A/B3). After that, of course, comes the concluding paragraph.

Sometimes, in organizing a comparison you may want to alter your theme structure by saving your most striking comparison or contrast until last so that your points are arranged in ascending order of importance or climatic order. In the sample theme on cars, the climactic order would be interior space, then handling, then mileage, as cost of operation is probably the main factor to the average family. This arrangement allows you to conclude your theme in the last body paragraph—with appropriate concluding comments—and forego a concluding paragraph altogether.