Part One: Discussion

The pairs below are things that seem very similar. With a partner or group, brainstorm the ways in which these things are different.

  • Nike and Adidas
  • Canada and the US
  • Reading a paperback and Reading an e-book

Part Two: Writing

One of the most common academic writing tasks is the "Compare and/or Contrast" composition. The key to an interesting comparison is to avoid the obvious; if two subjects appear similar, focusing on the differences will result in more interesting and unexpected ideas. In this unit, you will write a single paragraph comparing/contrasting two subjects. The paragraph should follow the basic structure covered in Unit One:

Paragraph Structure

Topic Sentence

  • contains the main idea of the paragraph. In this case, you introduce the two subjects and clearly state whether the focus is on similarities, differences, or both.

Supporting Sentences

  • develop the main idea in the topic sentence with specific points to compare and/or contrast. Because a single paragraph is a short composition, you might want to focus on only the similarities or differences between the two subjects.
  • are presented in a logical order.

Concluding Sentence

  • makes a final statement, perhaps suggesting your overall opinion of the two subjects, which of the two is superior, etc.

Exercise

Please click the Exercise link to continue.

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