Compare/Contrast
A comparison-contrast
paragraph
Purpose/Function
Explain: The differences between
African and Indian Elephants
Persuade: The advantages
of legalizing abortion compared
to not allowing abortions
Analyze: How men and women
regard conversation differently.
Evaluate: The pizza at school is
tasty because it is similar to New York
style pizza.
First Things First: How to choose a
topic
• Subjects you compare must
have some common ground
but must not be the same
A golfer to a car
An apple to an apple
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Topic sentence
• Follows the rules of all topic
sentences:
Third person
Specific (not too broad or too narrow)
Objective
A complete sentence
Not an announcement
Summarizes main point
Topic sentence
• Makes a specific judgment about two
items; Focuses on compare or
contrast; states the purpose
There are many similarities between
Martin Luther King Jr. King and Henry
David Thoreau.
Although Martin Luther King Jr. was more
politically active, he and Henry David
Thoreau strongly supported the idea of civil
disobedience.
Development (Subject-by-subject)
Topic Sentence
• Claim (first aspect of the first subject)
• Detail (example/quote of one point applied to one
subject)
• Detail: (example/quote of second point applied to
first subject)
• Detail: (example/quote of third point applied to
first subject)
• Claim (first aspect of the second subject)
• Detail/commentary: (example/quote of one point
applied to second subject)
• Detail/commentary: (example/quote of second
point applied to second subject)
• Detail/commentary: (example/quote of third point
applied to second subject)
• Topic sentence: Even though baseball and football
are enjoyable to watch, the sports are extremely
different because football is more aggressive.
• Claim: football’s action and language is hostile
• Detail: level of violence – object is to tackle the
opponent
• Detail: language - “crush,” “blitz,” “sudden death”
• Detail: pace – played against the clock
• Claim: baseball’s action and language is more
peaceful
• Detail/Commentary: level of violence – if a player gets
hurts, it’s usually because of an accident
• Detail/commentary: language – “bunt,” pop up,” “slide”
• Detail/commentary: pace – complete all nine innings
Even though I enjoy watching baseball and football,
the sports are extremely different because football is more
aggressive. The action and language in football is more
hostile than in baseball. The object of the game is to
tackle the opponent so they can’t score. Players hit hard
to stop each other from moving down the field. The players
are trying to score against a clock which makes the action
more fast paced. Even the language used to describe this
fast-paced, violent game is brutal. People use words like
“crush,” “blitz,” and “sudden death” to describe what the
players are doing to each other and overtime. On the
other hand, baseball is much more peaceful. It’s action
and language is not as brutal. If a player gets hurts, it’s
usually because of an accident. Unlike football where
players try to harm each other, players in baseball
occasionally run into each other when going for the ball or
a base. The pace in baseball contrasts to the pace in
Comparison Transitions
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As
In the same way
Either . . . Or
Than
Likewise
Neither . . .nor
Similarly
Also
Contrast Transitions
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•
•
•
•
•
•
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Yet
Unlike
On the contrary
But
In contrast
On the other hand
However
Instead
Stay Focused!!!!!
• Develop a SINGLE idea
per paragraph
• Arrange the paragraphs in
LOGICAL order
• Use TRANSITIONS to link
paragraphs
• Focus mostly on compare
or contrast