Am. Lit – Compare & Contrast Essay
Choose two characters from The Crucible to compare and contrast.
Possibilities: Rev. Hale & Rev. Parris, Abigail & Elizabeth, John & Elizabeth, Hathorne
& Danforth, Mary Warren & Abigail, Putnam & Parris, Parris & Danforth, Corey &
Proctor.
Once you have chosen the two characters you are going to compare and contrast, create
a Venn diagram to help you brainstorm.
From your Venn diagram, formulate three points of comparison/contrast. Points to
consider: reputation, personality, opinion of witch hunt, type of character, motivation,
conflict.
Develop a thesis. Your thesis is what you are going to prove in the paper.
o Be specific.
o Answer the question – “So what?”
o Make sure your essay supports your thesis with evidence and reasoning.
Sample thesis: Thomas Putnam and Rev. Parris are alike in many ways and different in others.
o
o
This thesis does not answer the question, “So what?”
Add more detail, expand, interpret, give a reason
Revised thesis: While both Thomas Putnam and Rev. Parris contribute to the hysteria of the
witch hunt, Rev. Parris attempts to save the lives of the condemned while Putnam
remains focused on obtaining more land.
Gather evidence to support your 3 main points of comparison/contrast. Evidence could
be direct quotes from the text or a summary/paraphrase of the text.
Choose a structure in which to write your paper – block or point-by-point.
Block method – discusses all the relevant features of one subject in a block of text, then
discusses the same features for another subject.
o Example:
Subject 1 – Thomas Putnam



Point 1 – adds to hysteria
Point 2 – reputation
Point 3 – motivation
Subject 2 - Rev. Parris



Point 1 – adds to hysteria
Point 2 – reputation
Point 3 – motivation
Point-by-Point method – discusses one relevant feature for one subject and then the
same feature for another subject.
o Example:



Point 1 – adds to hysteria
Subject 1 – Thomas Putnam
Subject 2 – Rev. Parris
Point 2 – reputation
Subject 1 – Thomas Putnam
Subject 2 – Rev. Parris
Point 3 – motivation
Subject 1 – Thomas Putnam
Subject 2 – Rev. Parris
Remember that when you compare and contrast you are discussing both similarities
and differences of the two subjects.
Now create an outline for your essay. What your outline looks like is going to be
determined by the method of comparison you choose. Type your outline using the
examples below as a guide.
Sample Outline: Block Method
I.
Introduction –
A. First sentence is your attention getter. (complete sentence in outline)
B. The next couple sentences give background information and lead into the thesis.
(complete sentences in outline)
C. The last sentence in the introduction is the thesis. (complete sentence in outline)
II.
Body –
A. Subject 1
1. Point 1 – state point (complete sentence in outline), give a minimum of two
evidences from the text (list in outline), explain how your suppporting
evidence helps prove your point and your thesis (complete sentence in
outline)
2. Point 2 – state point (complete sentence in outline), give a minimum of two
evidences from the text (list in outline), explain how your evidence helps
prove your point and your thesis (complete sentence in outline)
3. Point 3 – state point (complete sentence in outline) , give a minimum of two
evidences from the text (list in outline), explain how your evidence helps
prove your point and your thesis (complete sentence in outline)
B. Subject 2
1. Point 1 – state point , (complete sentence in outline) give a minimum of two
evidences from the text (list in outline), explain how your evidence helps
prove your point and your thesis (complete sentence in outline)
2. Point 2 – state point(complete sentence in outline), give a minimum of two
evidences from the text (list in outline), explain how your evidence helps
prove your point and your thesis (complete sentence in outline)
3. Point 3 – state point (complete sentence in outline), give a minimum of two
evidences from the text (list in outline), explain how your evidence helps
prove your point and your thesis (complete sentence in outline)
III.
Conclusion
A. Summary of points/evidence for thesis (complete sentence in outline)
B. Final impression (complete sentence in outline)
Sample Outline Point-by-Point Method
I.
Introduction –
A. First sentence is your attention getter. (complete sentence in outline)
B. The next couple sentences give background information and lead up to the
thesis. (complete sentence in outline)
C. The last sentence in the introduction is the thesis. (complete sentence in outline)
II.
Body
A. Point 1
1. state point regarding subject 1 (complete sentence in outline), give a minimum of
two evidences from the text (list in outline), explain how your evidence helps prove
your point and your thesis (complete sentence in outline)
2. state point regarding subject 2(complete sentence in outline), give a minimum of two
evidences from the text (list in outline), explain how your evidence helps prove your
point and your thesis (complete sentence in outline)
B.
Point 2
1. state point regarding subject 1 (complete sentence in outline), give a minimum of
two evidences from the text (list in outline), explain how your evidence helps prove
your point and your thesis (complete sentence in outline)
2. state point regarding subject 2 (complete sentence in outline , give a minimum of
two evidences from the text (list in outline), explain how your evidence helps prove
your point and your thesis (complete sentence in outline)
C. Point 3
1. state point regarding subject 1 (complete sentence in outline), give a minimum of
two evidences from the text (list in outline), explain how your evidence helps prove
your point and your thesis (complete sentence in outline)
2. state point regarding subject 2 (complete sentence in outline), give a minimum of
two evidences from the text (list in outline), explain how your evidence helps prove
your point and your thesis (complete sentence in outline)
III.
Conclusion
A. Summary of points/evidence for thesis (complete sentence in outline)
B. Final impression (complete sentence in outline)