Advanced Composition : Prewriting: Comparison and Contrast Lesson 7 Overview You actively engage in comparing and contrasting every day

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Advanced Composition : Prewriting: Comparison and Contrast Lesson 7 Overview You actively engage in comparing and contrasting every day. Whether you’re shopping for a pair of sneakers and comparing websites to find the right price or deciding which route to drive to work, you are using compare and contrast to determine the relative advantages and disadvantages of each side. Compare and contrasts asks you to focus on the similarities and differences of subject or topic, and to analyze them for a specific purpose. Because you’ll be using evidence to support your analysis, the essay you write at the end of this lesson will require you to use secondary sources to support your ideas. 7.1 Explain the importance of comparison and contrast Reviewing Comparison and Contrast READING ASSIGNMENT © 2020 Penn Foster Inc. Advanced Composition (v2) : Lesson 7 : Page 1 Read this assignment. Then, read pages 363–378 in your textbook. Introduction Stanley is evil; Livingston is good. That’s sharp contrast. While both Stanley and Livingston enjoy fishing, Stanley ties his own flies and fishes in sparkling mountain streams, while Livingston uses a bamboo pole and earthworms at the local fishing hole. That’s comparison and contrast. To compare is to show similarities; to contrast is to show differences. You make these judgments in your daily life without thinking about it, comparing two people’s personalities or your current television with an older one. We compare the advantages and disadvantages of renting or buying and the nutritional value and cost of one food compared to another. As you study the use of contrast and comparison in a paper, think about how this pattern might be used with other patterns, such as definition. Reading Highlights Pages 363–367 Carefully review the characteristics of comparison or contrast essays. Key points for this pattern of development are A clear purpose A specific basis of comparison A fair appraisal Comparison or contrast makes a point. Why would a writer compare © 2020 Penn Foster Inc. Advanced Composition (v2) : Lesson 7 : Page 2 white pine trees to Douglas fir trees? Perhaps he’s comparing and contrasting their relative virtues as Christmas trees. Why would a writer compare and contrast jogging and walking as aerobic exercise? Perhaps she wants to compare the two with respect to the age and physical condition of people who jog or walk. If a writer is a longdistance runner, he or she might wish to praise the endorphin highs of the three-mile jog as opposed to the milder joys of walking. Details and sensory impressions provide the flavor of any effective comparison or contrast. Pages 367–378 College-level writing has two basic approaches to comparison and contrast. The point-by-point approach is illustrated by “What Kind of H2O Should You Drink?". As you read it, try to locate the points of comparison or contrast. The piece by Sara Rashkin demonstrates the subject-by-subject approach, in which the author compares different types of water. The graphic organizers that follow the essay offer examples of point-by-point and subject-by-subject approaches. Compare and contrast the two samples to see how they’re different. After reading Sara Rashkin's essay, turn to Graphic Organizer 15.3 and study it to see how subjects are framed and presented by the author. Then turn back and study the four tips for integrating comparison and contrast into a paper. Reviewing these key ideas several times is a good way to reinforce them so they become second nature. Are you informing or persuading your audience? Do you need to take a stand on an issue? Be sure that your thesis reflects your purpose and choose the © 2020 Penn Foster Inc. Advanced Composition (v2) : Lesson 7 : Page 3 method of development that would best present your ideas to your audience. Key Points and Links READING ASSIGNMENT Key Points To compare is to show similarities between two ideas, topics, objects, people, and so on. To contrast is to show differences between two ideas, topics, objects, people, and so on. The writer uses comparison and contrast to make a point. Be sure your thesis reflects your purpose and choose the method of development that would be best to present your ideas to your audience. Exercise: Literary Components: Reviewing, Comparing, and Contrasting Respond to the following based on your reading. 1. Complete Exercise 15.3 "Drawing a Graphic Organizer" on page 377. Exercise Answer Key: Exercise: Literary Components: Reviewing, Comparing, and Contrasting © 2020 Penn Foster Inc. Advanced Composition (v2) : Lesson 7 : Page 4 1. Answers will vary, refer to Graphic Organizer 15.3 in your textbook for help. 7.2 Classify the methods of reading effectively and thinking critically Reading Actively and Thinking Critically READING ASSIGNMENT Read this assignment. Then, read pages 378–383 and 387–397 in your textbook. Introduction As a pattern of development, comparison and contrast may be used on its own or in combination with other patterns, such as narration, argument, or definition. First, you must decide the purpose of your essay, and then choose the best approach. By reading the examples and studying the guidelines for writing and the flowchart for revision, you’ll be preparing to write an effective essay of your own. Reading Highlights Pages 378–379 Review the guidelines for actively reading and thinking critically about comparison and contrast essays. Key points for analysis include Understanding the main point © 2020 Penn Foster Inc. Advanced Composition (v2) : Lesson 7 : Page 5 Identifying the basis of comparison and the main points of comparison Questioning the assumptions and opinions of the author Examining the organization and how it affects the presentation of ideas Determining whether important points of comparisons have been omitted Pages 379–383 Look closely at the steps involved in the “Guided Writing Assignment,” as comparison and contrast will be the dominant pattern of organization you’ll be using to write the essay at the end of Lesson 7. Then examine the flowchart for revision shown in Figure 15.1. Pages 387–392 Even if you’ve already read this student essay, “His Marriage and Hers: Childhood Roots” by Daniel Goleman, read it again, this time applying your sharpened skills to reading more critically. Pages 393–397 In the essay by Toby Morris, “On a Plate”, you’ll consider the use of comparison and contrast combined with other patterns of development. Key Points and Links READING ASSIGNMENT Key Points © 2020 Penn Foster Inc. Advanced Composition (v2) : Lesson 7 : Page 6 Key Points Active reading and thinking critically applied to comparison and contrast writing. Remember to understand the main point of the essay, as well as the main point of comparison and the main point of contrast. Exercise: Effective Reading and Critical Thinking Methods Respond to the following based on your reading. Review the essay “Border Bites” by Heather Gianakos, then complete items 1–5. 1. From Gianakos’s concluding paragraph, summarize the contrast she makes between Southwestern and Mexican food. 2. What are the author’s points in paragraphs 1, 3, and 4? 3. What nutrition-oriented information in this comparison could be used for another comparison/contrast approach to this topic? 4. Respond to all 3 questions under "Analyzing the Writer's Technique". 5. Respond to all 4 questions under "Thinking Critically about Comparison and Contrast" Exercise Answer Key: Exercise: Effective Reading and Critical Thinking Methods © 2020 Penn Foster Inc. Advanced Composition (v2) : Lesson 7 : Page 7 1. Southwestern cuisine is heavy on fried or grilled beef, while Mexican food is based on richly seasoned corn and tomato recipes. 2. Paragraph 1: Southwestern and Mexican cuisine overlap, but the differences are due to divergent cultural traditions. Paragraph 3: Corn meal was and is basic to Mexican cuisine, while Anglos made tortillas with wheat flour. Paragraph 4: Meat is included in both Southwestern and Mexican cuisine, but the meats are prepared differently and served in different ways in the two traditions. 3. Given today’s concern with obesity and excess fat in our diets, you could compare and contrast the cooking methods (fried, grilled, or slowcooked), the amount of meat and fat in each style of cooking, and the use of vegetables and seasonings in each type of cooking. 4. "Analyzing the Writer's Technique" 1. The title sounds clever but does not reveal much about the topic. The introduction provides adequate background but only hints at the interrelationships between southwestern and Mexican cuisine, which are developed in the body of the essay. 2. Corn has been a staple in the American Southwest and Mexican cuisine since the time of the Aztecs, so there are no distinct points to compare and contrast. 3. They enhance her credibility and offer sources of further © 2020 Penn Foster Inc. Advanced Composition (v2) : Lesson 7 : Page 8 information. 5. "Thinking Critically about Comparison and Contrast" 1. Tex-Mex cuisine is dropped. This strategy works because Gianakos acknowledges our first thoughts about such cuisine and then chooses two types on which to focus. Readers could feel that Tex-Mex should not be mentioned at all. It may not be clear whether Tex-Mex is distinct from "southwestern" cooking. 2. Gianakos takes a rather scholarly or historical approach to the topic, so the tone is straightforward without humor or irony. Her consistency makes this tone appropriate. 3. The phrase adds a little spice to the diction, playing on the imagery of food. More such phrases might have made the essay more descriptive and less scholarly or historical in tone. 4. Gianakos might have contrasted the fat content, nutritional, or cooking time for southwestern versus Mexican dishes. 7.3 Prepare an outline or graphic organizer for a comparison and contrast essay using a specified topic Graded Project: Prewriting: Comparison and Contrast READING ASSIGNMENT Your project must be submitted as a Word document (.docx, .doc)*. Your project will be individually graded by your instructor and therefore will take up to a few weeks to grade. Be sure that each of your files contains the following © 2020 Penn Foster Inc. Advanced Composition (v2) : Lesson 7 : Page 9 information: Your name Your student ID number The exam number Your email address To submit your graded project, follow these steps: Log in to your student portal. Click on Take Exam next to the lesson you’re working on. Find the exam number for your project at the top of the Project Upload page. Follow the instructions provided to complete your exam. Be sure to keep a backup copy of any files you submit to the school! Comparison and Contrast Prewriting Comparison and contrast involve analyzing similarities (comparison), differences (contrast), or both. You use comparison and contrast every day, for instance, when you’re trying to decide which washer and dryer to buy, or whether to drive or take public transportation to work. Assignment For this prewriting assignment, you'll prepare a graphic organizer or outline for an 1,800- to 2,000-word essay using the comparison and contrast pattern of development. You’ll choose one of the assigned topics below and begin your research. Four to six secondary sources are required. You are required to use American Psychological Association (APA) citation and documentation format for parenthetical (in-text) citation and your list of references. © 2020 Penn Foster Inc. Advanced Composition (v2) : Lesson 7 : Page 10 Review Comparison and Contrast, Chapter 15 in your textbook, and complete exercises 15.1 and 15.2. These exercises will help you identify the basis of comparison and to draft a thesis statement. Then refer to graphic organizers 15.1 and 15.2 to see the structure of comparison and contrast essays that use point-by-point and subject-by-subject methods of organization. You’ll choose one of these methods to organize your topic. You do not need to use text boxes or create flowcharts for your exam. Refer to the sample graphic organizer included in these exam instructions and type your work in a word-processed document. Topics Choose one of the following topics: Learning a job or skill in a course versus hands-on or experiential learning Communicating in person or face-to-face versus communicating electronically by text, direct message, email, and so on Two approaches to addressing a problem that commonly occurs in your current work or that you'll need to deal with in your future career Research You'll need four to six reputable secondary sources for your comparison and contrast prewriting. Refer to the essay “Alcohol or Marijuana? A © 2020 Penn Foster Inc. Advanced Composition (v2) : Lesson 7 : Page 11 Pediatrician Faces the Question” by Aaron E. Carroll to observe how Carroll uses his secondary sources to support his thesis. Review Chapter 22, “Finding Sources, Taking Notes, and Synthesizing Ideas.” Evaluate your sources to ensure that the information you're using and passing on to your readers is accurate and reliable. Incorporate evidence from your secondary sources into your outline or graphic organizer to plan your essay. You’ll need to use parenthetical citation and include a list of references on the last page of your exam. Refer to the APA style section in your text and the APA style guide in the Writer’s Block (pflibrary.pennfoster.edu/writersblock/citationanddocu mentation/apastyle) . Process Follow steps one to five in the guided writing assignment in Chapter 15. These steps will help you to develop, plan, and organize your ideas. Avoid using text boxes, arrows, lines, or flowcharts for your graphic organizer. Instead, use a basic informal outline for your ideas, like the one you prepared for your illustration essay. You can see the structure of Sara Rashkin’s “What Kind of H2O Should You Drink” in Graphic Organizer 15.3 your textbook, but you'll need to write a more in-depth outline or graphic organizer to create a strong foundation for your 1,800- to 2,000-word essay. Incorporate information from your secondary sources where it will support your characteristics, © 2020 Penn Foster Inc. Advanced Composition (v2) : Lesson 7 : Page 12 and use APA format to include the sources in a parenthetical citation and on your references list. Exam Format Format your prewriting and essay exams according to the following instructions. Refer to the sample APA-style essay in your text. 1. Start with a title page that includes your Title Name Student ID Address Email address 2. Use the header function to insert your page number in the top right margin of your document. You do not need to include your essay title in the header. 3. Begin your document on page 2 after the title page. Start page 2 with your title Do not include abstracts in your essays. Use transitional words, phrases, and sentences to guide your reader through your essay. Do not use headings in your essay. 4. Include your references list on the last page of your document. Do not submit it separately. Grading Rubric © 2020 Penn Foster Inc. Advanced Composition (v2) : Lesson 7 : Page 13 Skill Skill Realized Developing 100-90 89-80 25-23 22-20 20-18 18-0 -Ideas are logically arranged in either subject-by-subject or point-by-point method of organization and help move 25-23 paper forward. 23-21 20-18 18-0 23-21 21-19 18-0 Skill Emerging 79-70 Skill Not Shown 69-0 Thesis, Ideas, and Content -The thesis makes a focused claim that can be sustained in a longer essay. -The outline/organizer provides a detailed plan for the essay and incorporates secondary sources to support thesis and main points. Organization -Each proposed main point is focused on one aspect of the topic and helps support the thesis statement. References -Provided four to six potential secondary sources for research. -Incorporated borrowed information from secondary sources using parenthetical (in-text) citation. 25-23 -Properly formatted using APA guidelines. © 2020 Penn Foster Inc. Advanced Composition (v2) : Lesson 7 : Page 14 Conventions -The outline/organizer has been spellchecked and proofread to check for 15-13 errors in word choice and typos. 13-11 11-9 9-0 8-7 7-6 6-0 -The paper is reasonably free of errors that interfere with a reader’s ability to understand the content. Format -The prewrite is developed as an outline or graphic organizer. 10-8 - It includes all required information in a properly formatted cover page. © 2020 Penn Foster Inc. Advanced Composition (v2) : Lesson 7 : Page 15