Compiled by Nguyen X. H. Giang (MA) COMPARISON AND CONTRAST PARAGRAPH WRITING PRACTICE Practice task 1. Comparative structures Use comparative structures (to express similarities) to complete the following sentences 1. The architecture of some modern buildings is __more different than______________ the type of construction used hundreds of years ago. 2. In recent years, new technology such as mobile phones has made life more convenient. Like mobile phone, the Internet has made a wide variety of information available to everyone. 3. _______Like___ the river _,_ the lake are clear and beautiful. 4. The capital city is just __more_____ modern _____than____ the cities in many other countries. Practice task 2. Contrastive structures Use contrastive structures (to express dissimilarities) to complete the following sentences 1. Some tourists enjoy going on organized tours, _________however_ many other tourists prefer travelling on their own. 2. The two books are very different from each other. 3. The cost of studying in a college or university in Britain is very high. ____ however ________, in many other countries, the cost is much lower. 4. Changes in technology are occurring __more___ quickly ____than__ in the past. Practice task 3. Using comparative and Contrastive structures Write 8 sentences about the two objects. 4 sentences are about similarities. 4 sentences are about differences. 1. The two cars are of the same color 2. The two cars have the same production site 3. The two cars have a similar structure 4. ________________________________________________________________________________ 5. The first car is bigger than the second car. 6. The first car has more seats than the second car. 7. The first car has a cabin and the second car does not. 8. The first car is longer than the second car. Compiled by Nguyen X. H. Giang (MA) Practice task 4. Analyse the sample paragraphs Sample 1 Reading a story in a book is often very different from seeing it as a movie, when you read a story, you need to use your imagination. A book usually gives a lot of description about people, places, and things in the story, so you can create pictures in your mind. In addition, the conversations between people are always written with details that describe how the people look or feet while they are talking, when you read, you use a lot of imagination to help "see" the characters in the story. However, when you see a movie, it is a different experience, when you watch a movie, you don't need to use your imagination. The pictures on the screen give all the details about the people, places, and things in the story. The conversations are spoken out loud, so you just listen and watch. The feelings of the people come through their faces, body movements, and voices. Although a book and a movie might tell the same story, reading a book and watching a movie are very different experiences. Outline Topic sentence: _ Reading a story in a book is often very different from seeing it as a movie Subject A: ___ A book ___________________ Supporting points: 1. _ gives a lot of description about people, places, and things in the story, so you can create pictures in your mind 2. _the conversations between people are always written with details that describe how the people look or feet while they are talking, when you read, you use a lot of imagination to help "see" the characters in the story_ Subject B: _________ a movie _____________ Supporting points: 1. _don't need to use your imagination. 2. _The pictures on the screen give all the details about the people, places, and things in the story. The conversations are spoken out loud, so you just listen and watch. The feelings of the people come through their faces, body movements, and voices Concluding sentence: Although a book and a movie might tell the same story, reading a book and watching a movie are very different experiences. Compiled by Nguyen X. H. Giang (MA) Sample paragraph 2 Marilyn Monroe and Princess Diana lived at different times in different countries, but their live had some surprising similarities. First of all, both women had a difficult childhood. Monroe spent many years without parents in an orphanage, and Diana's mother left the family when she was only six. Later in their lives, both women married famous men. Princess Diana married Prince Charles, and Marilyn Monroe married a famous baseball player and later a famous writer. They also had difficult marriages and eventually separated from their husbands. Another similarity between Marilyn Monroe and Princess Diana was that they were both very popular. Diana was called The people's princess" because she was so friendly. Although Monroe was famously sexy, she was well-liked because she seemed very innocent. However, although they both seemed to have very happy lives, both women actually had emotional problems and often felt sad and depressed. Monroe went through serious depression and had to go to a hospital for treatment. Likewise, Diana suffered from an eating problem and was depressed during parts of her marriage. A last similarity between Marilyn Monroe and Princess Plana was their deaths at an early age. In fact, they were both thirty-six years old when they died, Monroe in 1962 and Diana in 1997. Maybe their similar life circumstances and lifestyles explain why Princess Diana and Marilyn Monroe also had similar personalities. Sample paragraph 3 While Istanbul and Ankara are the two biggest and most important cities in Turkey, they are very different in many respects. First of all, the two cities' roles are different. Ankara is the capital of Turkey, and is home to the country's parliament, high court and most of its government buildings. Istanbul, on the other hand, is Turkey's cultural and financial centre. Most of the country's biggest cultural events, such as conferences, concerts and exhibitions are held here. It is also the seat of many national and international companies' Turkish headquarters. Secondly, Istanbul and Ankara have also had very different histories. Before Ataturk designated it the capital of the newly founded Turkish republic in 1923, Ankara was a small, dusty central Anatolian town of little significance. Outline A. First point of comparison: ________________ - _____________________________________ - _____________________________________ B. Second point of comparison: _____________ - _____________________________________ - _____________________________________ C. Third point of comparison: _______________ - _____________________________________ - _____________________________________ D. Fourth point of comparison: ______________ - _____________________________________ - _____________________________________ E. Fifth point of comparison: _______________ - _____________________________________ - _____________________________________ Outline Compiled by Nguyen X. H. Giang (MA) On the other hand, Istanbul was founded by Emperor Constantine in 330 as the capital of the Byzantine Empire, and, after that empires' fall in 1453, continued as the capital of the Ottoman Empire until 1922. Finally, the cities' styles are also very different, and this difference is a direct result of their different roles and histories. Ankara is green, leafy, quiet, organised, and will not hold a casual visitor's attention for very long. In contrast, Istanbul is noisy, chaotic, an intriguing mix of the old and new. To sum up, Istanbul differs from Ankara in many respects such as role, history and style. Questions: 1. How is each paragraph organized? In block or point-to-point organization? 2. Which paragraph(s) mostly compare(s) and which mostly contrast(s)?
