Compare and Contrast Pattern

Imagine you are going to write an essay comparing or contrasting two things. In my example, I’m focusing
on running and swimming.

Three points you can make about both of these things are: social benefit, and physical benefit, ease of
access to the sport

There are two organizational patterns that can be used for a comparison or contrast paper.

POINT BY POINT PATTERN

Point 1 = ease of access
● swimming

● running

Point 2 = equipment benefit

● swimming

● running

Point 3 = social benefit

● swimming

● running

BLOCK METHOD PATTERN

Block 1 = swimming
● ease of access

● equipment benefit

● social benefit

Block 2 = swimming
● ease of access

● equipment benefit

● social benefit
Block 3 = recommendation
● explain which is recommended

SAMPLE COMPARE/CONTRAST PAPER

Bobbie Martinez

March 22, 2021

ESL 560

The Miles Changed Me

I used to think swimming was the best way to get exercise, but after the closure of the local pool in

my hometown, I was introduced to running. Miles and miles later, I found myself trying to convince

people to run with me. The dollars that I saved in buying less expensive equipment, the ease of accessing

running trails, and the great deal of social connections I made with the people I ran with have all changed

my mind. Running is indeed a better option for working out than swimming.

Due to the many challenges that people face in finding the time and motivation to put toward

exercising, ease of access is an important factor in choosing a workout, and because running is so much

easier to do than swimming, it is a better option. Firstly, to swim, people have to find water within which

to swim. Finding water can be easy to do if people have access to a pool or a lake nearby, but for most

people, this is not the case. Meanwhile, to get a running workout in, people simply have to find a place to

run. A lot of the time, this might just mean taking a step outside of one’s house and starting, and although

there are places that are not ideal for running, like busy city streets, most outdoor surfaces, such as

sidewalks, trails, or open fields work quite well for a good run. Additionally, running is easier to access

because it doesn’t involve any shock factor to start it. To be specific, swimming requires the participants

to go from being outside to submerging their bodies into water. The immediate shock of jumping into the
water, which is usually cold initially, is very unpleasant, whereas with running, the only real shock

involved is going from standing to running. For these reasons, people are more motivated to run than go

swimming.

Similar to ease of access to a workout, the amount of equipment that people are required to have

in order to participate in running or swimming can affect their motivation to participate in one activity

over the other. Swimming requires a bathing suit, a cap, goggles, and a towel and flip flops to wear after

getting out of the water. Competitive swim suits are necessary for doing swim workouts because they do

not create drag in the water or come off the swimmer’s body when diving in. These suits are very

expensive, starting at one hundred dollars, and because of the chlorine in pools, these suits deteriorate

very quickly, requiring the swimmer to spend a great deal of money on them. Goggles are also very pricey

because they are quite technical. In contrast running can be done with minimal equipment. Although a

good pair of running shoes may be the most important piece of equipment for a runner, there are many

runners that do not even wear them, due in part to the barefoot running trend. If a person does choose to

use running shoes, expensive ones do not have to be used. Other than that, a sports bra, a shirt, and some

shorts are the only other pieces of clothing one needs, and these pieces could be used for years and years

without any deterioration.

Most importantly, the social benefits of running outweigh those of the swimming benefits. First of

all, even though a swim workout can be done around others on a team, the only chance that the

swimmers have to talk to one another is when they are on the wall waiting for the coach to call out “ready

go!” There is also a chance for swimmers to talk before and after the workout, but most people are busy

and have to rush to the next activity. On the other hand, running doesn’t require the participants to put

their heads in water, so they can actually talk. Also, because runners, especially endurance runners, train

by running at a steady pace for miles and miles, they can hold a conversation comfortably for a long

period of time. As a result of talking to someone else uninterrupted for such a long time, running

partners tend to find that they have common interests. For example, I met a new running buddy only a

few months ago, but because I get to spend so much time talking to her, I found out that we both like
cooking, so now we share recipes with each other weekly. Without the chance to talk like we do while

running, we wouldn’t have been able to become such good friends.

In the end, these two forms of exercise are advantageous in so many ways, but if there is going to

be a clear winner, running wins the gold medal. It offers more social benefits, is easier to access, and

requires much more affordable equipment. The next time you want to convince yourself to get in a

workout, remember these points.

Comparison Transitions Contrast Transitions

● And ● Although

● Also ● Conversely

● Additionally ● However,

● As well as ● In contrast

● Both ● On the other hand

● In the same way ● Whereas

● Just as . . . . so ● While

● Like ● Meanwhile

● Similarly ● The opposite is true

● Too ● Unlike

● In addition ● yet

● Furthermore