Ms. Maniscalco
ENC 1101 ESSAY ASSIGNMENT #3
Comparison/Contrast Essay
Assignment:
Please compare OR contrast two items or ideas in a fully developed essay. One classic example
would be to present points of contrast between a movie and a book. In this case, you would write
about the differences between the two (the book and its movie adaptation) offering specific
examples from the book that are different than the movie AND offering specific examples from
the movie that are portrayed differently than in the book. As another idea, you might want to
compare OR contrast a viewpoint about a topic, but you should keep in mind that this is NOT an
argumentative/persuasive paper; yet, there can be viewpoints that can be compared and/or
contrasted, and these can be written about in a logical and clearly presented way. For example,
you might want to contrast viewpoints about the war in Iraq, or compare the U.S. economic
agenda under President Obama with that of a former president; additionally, you might want to
compare the educational system in the United States with the educational system in some other
country in the world. Students might want to compare or contrast two or more perspectives about
a certain topic, but the topic may NOT be one of these: abortion, euthanasia, cloning, stem cell
research, legalizing drugs, legalizing marijuana, athletes and steroids, death penalty, gun laws—
we’ll save controversial topics like these for your research paper—never fear—that’s next .
Essay assignment requirements
This essay should be 1000 words, TNR, 12pt font, 1inch margins all around, and it must be clear
in the introduction as to which items or ideas you are comparing or contrasting. A minimum of
two sources should be used and cited correctly in MLA format. You may NOT both compare and
contrast. Choose one or the other and make certain that you consistently develop the points of
comparison OR contrast throughout the essay.
Grading Criteria
 Thesis clarity and logical organization and presentation of the topic that the student
compares or contrasts (20 points).
 Parenthetical documentation or source material in MLA format (20 points)
 Smooth integration of quotes into the paper’s syntax (20 points)
 Mastery of grammar, punctuation, and spelling i.e properly formatted paper, including
spacing, heading, page numbers, font style and size, and properly edited paper, including
grammar, punctuation, and spelling (20 points)
 Style/ Flow of essay. (20 points).
Rough Draft due 11/2
Final draft due 11/10