COMPARE/CONTRAST

ESSAY OUTLINE
Unlock - UNIT 1
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
 INTRODUCING POINTS

Firstly It is worth mentioning that…

Firstly It is worth considering that…

Firstly To start with,...

Secondly It is also worth considering that…

Thirdly Furthermore… Another point worth mentioning…
 PRESENTING IDEAS & EXAMPLES

For Example For Instance,

For Example When it comes to(noun/gerund),...

For Example In terms of(noun/gerund),...

For Example Regarding (noun/gerund)...

AndIdeas
Adding In addition, …. Additionally,… Moreover,…
GRAMMAR REVIEW
 COMBINING IDEAS

and …to join two ideas or list ideas

High school students have fewer responsibilities and homework assignments to complete.

University students have several opportunities to learn, grow and achieve success.

or
..and …we can use “or” to make it negative
High school students are not always independent. High school students are not always motivated.

High school students are not always independent or motivated.

 COMPARING/CONTRASTING TWO IDEAS

but …to show contrast or opposite idea

High school students have fewer academic responsibilities, but attend many hours of class.

University students attend fewer daily classes but they have more academic responsibilities.

…but
whereas …we can also use “whereas” to contrast ideas
High school students are not always independent. University students are usually independent.

High school students are not always independent, whereas university students
tend to be more independent and motivated.
 COMPARING/CONTRASTING TWO DIFFERENT IDEAS

both …when two things have the same characteristics

Both high school students and university students need to be responsible for their education.

Both high school and university students should participate in school activities.

…but
neither …when two things do not have a particular characteristic

Neither university nor high school students have a lot of free time outside of school.

Neither university students nor high school students enjoy doing homework.
COMPARE/CONTRAST
ESSAY
COMPARE CONTRAST ESSAY
ENG 030 - UNIT 1
ESSAY STRUCTURE
1- introduction

2- body 1

3- body 2

4- conclusion
HOW MANY SENTENCES EACH?
•Introduction = 5-6 sentences

•Body 1 = 8 sentences

•Body 2 = 8 sentences

•Conclusion = 5-6 sentences

WRITING
Sentence 1 =
Hook- interesting fact
OR a general statement

Sentence 2 =
Background information
(similarities but general)
Body 1
Sentence 3 =
Background information The whale shark and tiger shark are very different in their physical
(similarities but specific characteristics and diet.
with details) Body 2
In addition, these two types of shark differ in their behavior and
Sentence 4 = conservation status.
Thesis statement listing
4 differences!
 Name_ENG 030-989_Compare Contrast Practice Essay
INTRODUCTION
1. Hook: interesting fact OR a general statement about the
topic
2. Background information: similarities but in a general
statement
3. Background information: similarities but in a specific
statement
4. Thesis statement: 4 differences
You can write 4 sentences ONLY if you have compound and
complex sentences in your introduction otherwise you need
to write 6 sentences to avoid marks deduction.
 WHAT IS A THESIS STATEMENT ?
• Thesis statement is the last sentence in the introduction
• Informs the reader about the essay content

• Possible transitions: Transition words help

us move from one idea
○ On the other hand to the next.
○ However
○ Despite their similarities
○ Although they have some similarities

On the other hand, grey squirrels and red squirrels are different
in their appearance, their habitat, their aggressiveness, and their
ability to survive.
EXAMPLE THESIS STATEMENT
On the other hand, grey squirrels and red squirrels are
different in their appearance, their habitat, their
aggressiveness, and their ability to survive. How do we
select the
points of
comparison?
Even though Riyadh and Jeddah have some
similarities, they differ in their architecture, roads,
weather and entertainment facilities.

Despite their similarities, traveling to Dammam by plane

or by car differ in comfort, time, pleasure, and safety.
 ESSAY STRUCTURE - Points of Comparison
Selecting Differences

People Places Things Idea

-physical characteristics -location -quality -quality

- behavior -habitat -cost -effectiveness
- attitude -design -effectiveness -influence
- lifestyle -safety -trustworthiness -types of people
-habits -weather -comfort
- _____prefernces -population -features
-environment
BODY 1 - COMPARE/CONTRAST ESSAY
Topic sentence (Subject + 2 differences)
Supporting detail for difference # 1
Example & explanation for detail 1
Example & explanation for detail 2
Supporting detail for difference # 2
Example & explanation for detail 1
Example & explanation for detail 2
Concluding/ending sentence (restate the topic sentence)
 On the other hand, grey squirrels and red squirrels are
BODY 1 different in their appearance, their habitat, their aggressiveness,
and their ability to survive.

1. Topic sentence (Subject + 2 differences) Grey and red squirrels are different in their appearance and habitat.
2. Supporting detail for difference # 1 Grey squirrels have long tails, whereas red squirrels have shorter
tails.
3. Example & explanation for detail 1 Example & explanation for detail 1
4. Example & explanation for detail 2 Example & explanation for detail 2

5. Supporting detail for difference # 2 Red squirrels live in the trees, whereas grey squirrels can live on the
ground.
6. Example & explanation for detail 1 Example & explanation for detail 1
7. Example & explanation for detail 2 Example & explanation for detail 2

8. Concluding/ending sentence (restate It is clear that red and grey squirrels have differences in their
the topic sentence) appearance and habitat, which make them unique to their
environments.
BODY 2 - COMPARE/CONTRAST ESSAY
Topic sentence (Subject + 2 differences)
Supporting detail for difference # 3
Example & explanation for detail 1
Example & explanation for detail 2
Supporting detail for difference # 4
Example & explanation for detail 1
Example & explanation for detail 2
Concluding/ending sentence (restate the topic sentence)
CONCLUSION
1. Restate thesis statement

2. Summarize body 1 (2 sentences)

3. Summarize body 2 (2 sentences)

4. S.O.A.P. (Suggestion, Opinion, Advice, Prediction)

 CONCLUSION
To conclude,
Restate thesis statement In conclusion,
To summarize,
In summary,
Thesis statement Overall,
from introduction
paragraph

On the other hand, grey squirrels and red squirrels are different
in their appearance, their habitat, their aggressiveness, and
their ability to survive.

In summary, appearance, habitat, aggressiveness and ability to survive,

are the major differences between a grey and red squirrel.
CONCLUSION
1. Restate thesis statement ✔
2. Summarize body 1 in one or 2 sentences
3. Summarize body 2 •In summary, appearance, habitat, aggressiveness and ability to survive, are

Summarize Both grey

the major differences between a grey and red squirrel.

● State the 2 differences squirrels and red squirrels have long

tails.However, grey squirrels can live
from each Body on the ground. whereas red squirrels
paragraph live in trees. Both squirrels tend to be
● State the significant aggressive,but differ in their ability to
survive. Grey squirrels are better at
example from Body
surviving in different environments
paragraph than red squirrels.
 CONCLUSION
1. Restate thesis statement ✔
2. Summarize body 1 in one or 2 sentences ✔
3. Summarize body 2 ✔
4. Comment/prediction/solution/ interesting idea .. etc.
Select 2 S.O.A.P. (Suggestion, Opinion, Advice, Prediction)
EXAMPLE: O, P
Many people believe that the conservation of red squirrels
is important because they are a major part of the natural
environment. In the future, red squirrels could become
endangered if we are not careful.