Comparison / Contrast and
Cause & Effect Essays
For Essay #3 – you will choose one format or the other. You will also need
to use at least one outside source to support your points in the body of
your essay.
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Comparison Contrast
What is Comparison Contrast?
• Comparison means “How things are
similar”
• Contrast means “How things are different”
Setting up your Comparison /
Contrast Paper
• Only focus on 2 things
•
2 people
•
2 places
•
2 things
•
2 ideas
The First Step
• The first step in setting up your paper –
think about ideas to compare and contrast
[brainstorm & make a list]
–2cities
–London
–Paris
–How same?
–How different?
Compare/Contrast Bill and Bob
Bob
55 years old
Economics Prof at SDSU
Fisherman
Married
3 kids
House in Del Mar
Reads Sci Fi Novels
Bill
55 years old
CEO of Gardening Business
Collects Stamps
Not Married
No kids
Condo in Spring Valley
Mountain Biker
Group ideas into points for
comparison & contrast
•
•
•
•
Home [ city, type of house]
Occupation [ job, salary]
Family Life [marriage, children]
Hobbies [fun]
Bob
55 years old
Economics Prof at SDSU
Fisherman
Married
3 kids
House in Del Mar
Reads Sci Fi Novels
Bill
55 years old
CEO Gardening Business
Collects Stamps
Not Married
No kids
Condo in Spring Valley
Mountain Biker
Two Patterns of Comparison
contrast
• Block
• Point by point
Block method
• Bill
– Home
– Family
– Hobbies
• Bob
– Home
– Family
– Hobbies
Point by Point method
• Home
– Bill
– Bob
• Occupation
– Bill
– Bob
• Family life
– Bill
– Bob
• Hobbies
– Bill
– Bob
Thesis for Comparison Contrast
• You must list the two people, places,
things or ideas you are comparing and
contrasting in your thesis.
• You must let us know clearly if you are
comparing, contrasting, or both.
• You must tell us why you are comparing
and contrasting [why does the reader
care?]
Avoiding the “so-what” thesis –
make your reader’s care
• Why should the readers care about your
comparing and contrasting these 2 people,
places, things, or ideas?
– Maybe your readers will care because they need the
information to help them or maybe because the
information is surprising.
• Poor: Bill and Bob are both similar and different.
• Better: Although Bill and Bob were born identical
twins, as adults, their lives are quite different.
Cause and Effect
What is cause & effect?
• Causes : Reasons why something
happens
• Effects : Results of an action
• In car accident,
what is the cause?
what is the effect?
Your Causes Paper
• Choose your paper to be about the cause
of something. Ask yourself a question
about it.
• Ex: What are three main causes of poor
grades for college freshmen?
• Put the effect [poor grades] in your thesis
statement.
• Your causes will be your main points in the
plan of development.
Causes Papers thesis
• If you choose a causes paper – put the
effect into the thesis statement and the
causes will be your plan of development.
• Thesis: Poor grades in college are usually
caused by lack of sleep, poor time
management, and low motivation levels.
• Effect: Poor Grades
• Causes: lack of sleep, poor time
management, and low motivation levels
Your Effects Paper
• Choose your paper topic to be about 3
effects of something. Ask yourself a question
about it.
• Ex: What are the effects on college freshmen
when they don’t get enough sleep?
• Put the cause [lack of sleep] in your thesis
statement.
• Your effects will be the main points in your
plan of development
Effects Paper Thesis
• If you choose an effects paper – put the cause
into the thesis statement and the effects will be
your plan of development.
• Thesis: Not getting enough sleep leads students
to forget assignments, make poor choices on
exams, and not listen during lectures.
• Cause – Not getting enough sleep
• Effects - forget assignments, make poor choices
on exams, not listen during lectures
Avoiding the “so what” thesis
• Why are you explaining the causes and
effects of something?
• Why does the reader care?
• Think about it and put it into your essay
and thesis statement.
So what thesis #2
– EX: Poor grades in college are usually caused by lack
of sleep, poor time management, and low motivation
levels.
• Why do students care about poor grades?
Probably because they want good grades!
• Put the idea of how to get good grades by
avoiding these causes into your paper.
– Better: To succeed in school, students need to avoid
the pitfalls suffered by many college freshmen. Poor
grades in college are usually caused by lack of sleep,
poor time management, and low motivation levels.
Using an outside source
• For this essay you will need to use
information from a book, magazine,
newspaper, or appropriate website to
support your ideas in your body
paragraphs.
• You will either use a quote or paraphrase
method making sure to give credit to the
original author in the essay and on your
works cited page.
Quoting
• To properly quote an idea in the body of
your essay, you’ll need 3 sentences:
– #1 State your points clearly in your own words
– #2 Put the exact phrase you are quoting into
quotation marks and the author’s name and
pg # in brackets
– #3 Explain in your own words how this quote
supports your point in #1
Quote example
Students who learn how to effectively use
quotations go farther in college. A recent
study showed that “students who properly
used citation strategies were 50% more
likely to finish BA degrees.” [Groman 22]
Groman’s study clearly shows that
understanding how to quote helps
students succeed in college.
Paraphrasing
• Definition: Using another person’s
information to write out a sentence in your
own words.
• Even though you are using your own
words, you need to give credit to the
person or place where you got your
information.
• The next slide gives steps in using an
effective paraphrase.
How to Paraphrase
• To properly use a paraphrase in the body
of your essay, you’ll need 3 sentences:
– #1 State your points clearly in your own words
– #2 Using your own words, write the
information you found in a book or magazine
and put the author’s name and pg # in
brackets at the end of your sentence
– #3 Explain in your own words how this quote
supports your point in #1
Paraphrase example
Students who learn how to effectively use
quotations go farther in college. A recent
study showed that knowing how to quote
and paraprhase properly significantly
helped students finish their degrees.
[Groman 22] This study clearly shows that
understanding how to quote helps
students succeed in college.
Works Cited Page
• When you use a quote in your essay, you
must also include a works cited page at
the end to give credit to the author and to
help the reader find the source you used.
• Just so you know: Books, magazines and
newspapers are your best sources.
Internet websites are often POOR. Make
sure you are using a good source.
Example Works Cited page
• In general, your works cited page says Works
Cited as the title.
• Then you list the works in alphabetical order by
author’s last name.
• Then you present the information usually like
this:
– Author last name, first name. Book Title. City where
published: Publisher, year.
– Neylon, Virginia. Psychology and Literature. San
Diego: UC Riverside Publishing, 2000.
Writing your works cited page
• For more detailed information on how to
write your works cited page for books,
magazines,and more, check out the
Website below as it has models you can
use:
• http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/worksh
op/citmla.htm
• Good luck!