Unlock the Secrets of

Compare-and-Contrast
Writing

Easy-to-use, systematic steps for

junior and senior high students
to learn these essential skills
 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 1

Meet the author Sharon Watson

Sharon Watson is the author of Jump In, Apologia’s easy-to-use
middle school writing curriculum, which appears in Cathy Duffy’s
101 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum. She was forced to
retire from homeschooling after 18 years when she ran out of her
own children but still teaches writing and literature courses in her
local area. Her popular course The Power in Your Hands: Writing
Nonfiction in High School is based on her sought-after writing
classes and is the sequel to Jump In.

Let her practical textbooks teach writing for you:

 Jump In, Apologia’s popular middle school writing curriculum

 The Power in Your Hands: Writing Nonfiction in High School
 Writing Fiction [in High School]

Be the teacher you want to be with Sharon’s Blog, her informative blog for
homeschool moms.
Get FREE writing lessons when you subscribe to her fun Middle School Prompts,
High School Prompts, or Sharon’s Blog.

Connect with her here:

Some of the material for this eBook is taken from The Power in Your Hands: Writing
Nonfiction in High School and Writing Fiction [in High School].

Special thanks to Esther, Alyson, Andrew, and Reuben for the use of their essays in this eBook.
Also, special thanks to SchoolhouseTeachers.com for first posting a version of these lessons on their site.

Copyright © 2012-2014 by Sharon Watson. All right reserved. No part of this eBook may be
copied, reproduced, or in any way transmitted or transmuted without the written permission of the author.

WritingWithSharonWatson.com
Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com
 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 2

Dear Student,

Welcome to a ten-week course on compare-and-contrast writing! You already

know how to compare and contrast when shopping for shoes or mobile devices,
deciding on a college or a job, choosing that first car to buy, and so forth. Now,
this course will teach you how to compare and contrast in writing.

The skill of compare-and-contrast writing is useful in nonfiction settings

like essays and reports, and it also comes in handy in fiction writing. You’ll get
practice in both of these in this course.

Here’s what you’ll learn in these ten lessons:

Lesson One: How to write a loooong compare-and-contrast sentence

Lesson Two: One sure-fire—and colorful—trick to help you organize
Lesson Three: A big mistake in compare-and-contrast writing
Lesson Four: How to make organizing easier
Lesson Five: Dovetailing for fiction writing
Lesson Six: Compare-and-contrast description in fiction writing.
Lesson Seven: The block method of compare-and-contrast essay writing
Lesson Eight: The feature method of compare-and-contrast essay writing
Lesson Nine: The similarities/differences method of compare-and-contrast
essay writing
Lesson Ten: How to decide on your method

The best way to work through these lessons is to do them in order. Each
lesson builds on the former one, adding new compare-and-contrast skills each
week.
When you are given a compare-and-contrast assignment, do you feel
nauseated?

Tremble no more. It’s time to unlock some secrets.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 3

Table of Contents
Lesson 1: A Sentence ...........................................................................................5
 Explore the concept of compare-and-contrast thinking. ...........................5
 Study a lengthy sentence by H. G. Wells................................................... 9
 Persuade someone with a focused compare-and-contrast sentence. ...... 10
Lesson 2: A Paragraph ...................................................................................... 13
 Read about two world leaders. .................................................................. 13
 List similarities and differences. ............................................................... 15
 Use colors to see the pattern. .................................................................... 16
 Prefer one thing over another in a paragraph. ......................................... 17
Lesson 3: Ping-Pongs ........................................................................................ 19
 Cross the International Date Line with Mark Twain. .............................. 19
 Learn about Ping-Pongs. ........................................................................... 21
 Write very badly. ...................................................................................... 22
Lesson 4: Organization Options ...................................................................... 23
 A quick review. ......................................................................................... 23
 Using a new tool to organize your material. ............................................ 24
 Write a compare-and-contrast paragraph. .............................................. 26
Lesson 5: Fiction and Dovetailing ....................................................................27
 Learn what dovetailing is. .........................................................................27
 Shiver in the cemetery with Pip. .............................................................. 29
 Write your own dovetail passage. ............................................................ 30
Lesson 6: Description in Fiction ....................................................................... 31
 Read of apricots, cabins, and tombs. ........................................................ 31
 Write your own compare-and-contrast description. ............................... 34
Lesson 7: The Block Method .............................................................................35
 Read an example of the block method. .....................................................35
 Analyze the example. ................................................................................ 39
 Write a compare-and-contrast essay using the block method. ................ 41
Lesson 8: The Feature Method ........................................................................ 43
 Read an example of the feature method. ................................................. 43
 Analyze the example. ................................................................................ 46
 Write a compare-and-contrast essay using the feature method. ............ 49
Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com
 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 4

Lesson 9: Similarities and Differences ............................................................ 52

 Read about two houses. ............................................................................ 52
 Analyze the example. ................................................................................ 54
 Read about some scary stories. .................................................................55
 Analyze the example. ................................................................................. 57
 Write a compare-and-contrast essay using the similarities/differences
method. ............................................................................................................... 58
Lesson 10: Your Choice of Methods .................................................................. 61
 Review three major methods. ................................................................... 61
 Decide on the topics and method for your essay. .................................... 64
 Write a compare-and-contrast essay of your choice. .............................. 65
Answers ..............................................................................................................67
Don’t miss these helpful resources! .................................................................. 77

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 5

Lesson 1: A Sentence

Here’s what you’ll be doing in this lesson:

 Exploring the concept of compare-and-contrast thinking

 Studying a lengthy sentence by H. G. Wells
 Persuading someone by writing a focused compare-and-contrast sentence

You can check each box after you’ve finished the corresponding section, either in
the list above or in each section below, if you like.

 Explore the concept of compare-and-contrast thinking.

You already know how to compare and contrast—in your head, that is. You
read a book. Then you watch the movie. Automatically you begin to compare the
two versions of the same story. How are the two similar? Where are they
different? How is the movie better or worse than the book? Which do you prefer?
You’ve been comparing and contrasting for years.

?
The skill of comparing is finding the similarities. The skill of contrasting is
finding the differences.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 6

But the compare-and-contrast tool isn’t just for school. Movie critics use it
when they compare two recent movies that feature the same actor or when they
contrast one director’s work with another’s. Remakes are always compared with
their originals, and so are sequels.
Historians naturally compare leaders with each other. When discussing a war,
historians will review the strengths and weaknesses of two generals or will show
the differing effects of two battles. Comparing and contrasting an event gives it
meaning.
Comparing and contrasting is already one of your life skills. Perhaps you are
thinking about your future—career,
college, marriage, or “wait and see.”
This involves examining the advantages
and disadvantages of all your choices,
like these:

 College A has smaller class sizes.

 College B allows freshmen to
have cars on campus.
 College C has a more interesting
male/female ratio.

When you weigh your options, you are comparing and contrasting.

Someday, you might be sitting in a meeting when the boss tells you to get the
information on mobile-device plans for company-wide use. You will call mobile-
device companies; collect data on rates, minutes, features, contracts, and so
forth; and put the information on a handy chart or in a report for your boss to
examine. You will have done the work of comparing and contrasting so the boss
can make an informed decision.

Two tiny, infinitesimal, minuscule facts:

 Compare and contrast is sometimes called comparison and contrast.

 If compare and contrast is used as an adjective, as in compare-and-contrast
essays, hyphenate the words. If compare and contrast is not used as an
adjective, no hyphens are needed.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 7

Now it’s your turn: 1.1

You’ve been comparing and contrasting things for years. Here are few decisions,
large and small, you might have weighed recently:

 What to wear to a special event

 Which fast food restaurant to go to
 What to eat once you got there
 Which school course to take
 Which route to take while driving
 Which article of clothing to buy
 Which organization to send a donation to
 Which activity to participate in
 Which present to give a family member
 Which puppy to buy
 Which mobile device to buy

Underline one of the decisions above you’ve made recently. If none of these
decisions was on your radar, choose a recent or large decision you’ve made in
which there were at least two options and write it in the space below:

There’s more to do on the next page.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 8

Next, fill in the boxes below with the features, qualities, colors, calories, and so
forth that you compared before you made your decision. For instance, when
deciding on a tent for your next hiking trip, were they both lightweight (similarity)
but one had better zippers (a difference)?

What tipped the scales for you? What made you choose one thing over the other?
Write it below:

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 9

 Study a lengthy sentence by H. G. Wells.

You may know H. G. Wells as the writer of The Time Machine and The War of
the Worlds. He’s also the author of Select Conversations with an Uncle published
in 1895 in which a young-adult nephew and his 50-ish uncle schmooze and
discuss life issues.
When the uncle announces his engagement, the young nephew reacts with
the following sentence, contrasting the seemingly happy state of bachelorhood
with the sordid and depressing state of marriage. Here are some words you’ll run
into in this sentence: “Rate-payer” means taxpayer; “pew tenant” means renting a
pew at the local church and attending there; “paterfamilias” means the male head
of a family.

It seemed so dreadful to me that the cheerful, talkative man beside me, my own
father’s little brother, a traveler in distant countries, and a most innocent man,
and with all the inveterate habits of thirty years’ honorable bachelorhood and all
the mellowness of life upon him, should, without consulting me, have taken the
first irrevocable step toward becoming a rate-payer, a pew tenant, paterfamilias,
a fighter with schoolmasters, and the serf of a butler, that I scarcely knew what
to say adequate to the occasion.

Now it’s your turn: 1.2

Use the paragraph by Wells to fill in the lists below. The first ones are done:
Write the positive images here Write the negative images here

Doesn’t Wells make it seem unfair that such a cheerfully innocent man would be tied down to
such a nasty life? It’s easy to see that Wells boosts the idea of bachelorhood with wonderful
words and images, while he loads down the idea of marriage with terribly confining images.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 10

 Persuade someone with a focused compare-and-contrast

sentence.
Here is Wells’ 86-word sentence again, this time with highlight colors to show
where he piles images to support bachelorhood and then attack marriage. Yellow
represents the part of the sentence concerned with bachelorhood; gray represent
the marriage section:

It seemed so dreadful to me that the cheerful, talkative man beside me, my

own father’s little brother, a traveler in distant countries, and a most
innocent man, and with all the inveterate habits of thirty years’ honorable
bachelorhood and all the mellowness of life upon him, should, without
consulting me, have taken the first irrevocable step toward becoming a
rate-payer, a pew tenant, paterfamilias, a fighter with schoolmasters, and
the serf of a butler, that I scarcely knew what to say adequate to the
occasion.
Wells puts marriage last because his negative feelings for marriage are
stronger than his positive feelings for bachelorhood. In other words, in a
compare-and-contrast statement, you will put the most important idea last.
Putting it last emphasizes it in the minds of the readers.

By the way, this trick of using colors to highlight your separate topics works
very well. It shows you where you have put your information and how clear your
writing is. You’ll use this trick in “Now it’s your turn: 2.3” on page 16.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 11

Now it’s your turn: 1.3

Give the opposing view to Wells’ sentence. In the boxes below, write negative
words and images for choosing to stay single and positive words and images for
marriage. Make them super slanted, just like H. G. Wells does.

Note: Yes, I know there are legitimate reasons to choose to remain single. In this exercise,
though, you are writing against the state of singleness and for the state of marriage.
Choosing to stay single: negative words and images

Marriage: positive words and images

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 12

Now it’s your turn: 1.4

Write a sentence to express the exact opposite of H. G. Wells’ opinions on
bachelorhood and marriage. In other words, you are going to be against staying
single and for marriage. Use the negative words and images you compiled for
choosing to stay single and the positive words and images you compiled for
choosing to be married. You are writing to persuade a reader to see your point.

After you have written your lengthy sentence, run a highlighter over the staying-
single issue and a highlighter of another color over the getting-married issue. You
can underline your sections with two different colors of pens instead, if you wish.
Then ask yourself these questions:

 Is the staying-single idea in its own section of my sentence?

 Is the getting-married idea in a different section of my
sentence?
 Did I use negatively loaded words and images for the issue of
choosing to stay single?
 Did I use positively loaded words and images for the issue of
marrying?
 Am I trying to persuade a reader to agree with my sentence?

Extra: Do you want to make a stronger statement against staying single or a

stronger statement for getting married? Whichever idea is stronger in your mind,
write about it last.

 Did I end my lengthy sentence with the idea I feel the strongest about?

Next up in lesson three: two famous world leaders!

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 13

Lesson 2: A Paragraph

Here’s what you’ll be doing in this lesson:

 Reading about two world leaders

 Listing similarities and differences
 Using colors to see the pattern
 Preferring one thing over another in a paragraph

You can check each box after you’ve finished the corresponding section, either in
the list above or in each section below, if you like.

 Read about two world leaders.

Remember what you learned in lesson one about comparing and contrasting?

The skill of comparing is finding the similarities. The skill of

contrasting is finding the differences.

In lesson one, you read a lengthy sentence by H. G. Wells in which he wrote

his opinions of bachelorhood and the married state. Today, you’ll read a
paragraph about two important personalities in World War II: United States’
President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister
Winston Churchill.
The paragraph on the following page is part of a lengthy article by Sir Isaiah
Berlin titled “Mr. Churchill.” You can read the whole
article, first published in 1949, by going to Before you read: “Gay”
and “gaiety” mean
www.theatlantic.com.
“happy,” “lighthearted,”
or “blithe.” A “Gordian
Sir Isaiah Berlin compares the men and then knot” is an allusion to a
contrasts them in three sentences. Read the paragraph knot from Greek
mythology that was
on the next page to see how he does it. You’ll notice that impossible untie.
Roosevelt is referred to in the past tense and Churchill in

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 14

the present. At the time this paragraph was written, Roosevelt was dead and
Churchill alive.

Roosevelt, as a public personality, was a spontaneous, optimistic, pleasure-loving

ruler who dismayed his assistants by the gay and apparently heedless abandon
with which he seemed to delight in pursuing two or more totally incompatible
policies, and astonished them even more by the swiftness and ease with which
he managed to throw off the cares of office during the darkest and most
dangerous moments. Churchill too loves pleasure, and he too lacks neither gaiety
nor a capacity for exuberant self-expression, together with the habit of blithely
cutting Gordian knots in a manner which often upset his experts; but he is not a
frivolous man. His nature possesses a dimension of depth – and a corresponding
sense of tragic possibilities, which Roosevelt’s lighthearted genius instinctively
passed by.

U. S. U. K. Prime
President Minister
Franklin D. Winston
Roosevelt Churchill

You will remember from lesson one that when you write in the compare-and-
contrast mode, you save the most important feature for last. Berlin does this by
starting with Roosevelt, moving to Churchill, and then getting a final poke at
Roosevelt, who simply does not measure up to Churchill in Berlin’s eyes.

Now it’s your turn: 2.1

 In one short sentence, sum up what Berlin says about Roosevelt.
 In one short sentence, sum up what Berlin says about Churchill.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 15

 List similarities and differences.

Now it’s your turn: 2.2

Make lists of similarities and differences you find in the paragraph on Roosevelt
and Churchill. Then answer the question at the bottom of the page.

Similarities

Differences

Which one seems more important to the writer? Circle one.

Similarities Differences
Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com
 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 16

 Use colors to see the pattern.

Sometimes it’s hard to read a compare-and-contrast paragraph and keep
things straight. Here’s a hot tip: Use a highlighter to color sentences of one
topic. Then use another highlighter to color sentences of the other topic.

If you don’t have two highlighters of different colors, use two pens.

Now it’s your turn: 2.3

Grab two different colors of highlighters or find two pens of different colors.
Turn back to page 14 and highlight or underline the parts about Roosevelt. Next,
highlight in a different color the parts about Churchill.

You’ll notice that the two men share some qualities. That is, they have some
similarities (gay, lovers of pleasure, clever world leaders). That’s the “compare”
part of the paragraph.

You’ll also notice they are set apart from each other by their differences. That’s
the “contrast” part of this paragraph (Churchill’s deeper personality that can
anticipate dark trouble ahead). To the writer, the “contrast” part is more
important than the “compare” part. Their differences outweigh their similarities.

It won’t always be that way when you are writing a compare-and-contrast

paragraph or essay. It’s up to you to decide which is more important—the
similarities or the differences—or which topic you prefer and then draw
conclusions about your topic.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 17

 Prefer one thing over another in a paragraph.

Now it’s your turn: 2.4

Compare and contrast two things in a paragraph.

Before you write your compare-and-contrast paragraph, think of two real people,
animals, or fictional characters. For this paragraph to work, those people, animals,
or characters must have something in common, as Roosevelt and Churchill did.
The list below will give you some ideas:

 Your parents
 Your brothers or sisters
 Two friends
 Dogs and cats
 Two dogs or horses with very different personalities from one another
 Superman and Iron Man (both superheroes)
 Jane and Elizabeth Bennet (sisters from Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility)
 Bilbo and Frodo Baggins (hobbits from Middle Earth)

When you’ve selected your real or fictional pair, write their names here:

Next, on a separate piece of paper develop two lists: a list of similarities and a list
of differences (like the lighthearted similarities of Roosevelt and Churchill and the
character difference of “dimension of depth”).

Then, decide which you prefer more. For instance, if you are writing about dogs
versus cats but you prefer cats, write about cats last.

End your paragraph by drawing a conclusion about the people, animals, or

characters.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 18

The point of this writing exercise isn’t to keep you off the streets at night. It’s to
develop thinking and communication skills, and to learn to draw important
conclusions from the facts you have gathered. So think. Communicate. And draw
a conclusion.

After you finish your paragraph, print it out and use two different-colored
highlighters or pens to underline each person, as you did in the
Roosevelt/Churchill paragraph. Your marked-up paragraph should look similar to
that one: one block for one person and another block for the other person. If it
doesn’t, reconstruct it until it does.

Next up in lesson three: Ping-Pongs in writing!

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 19

Lesson 3: Ping-Pongs

Here’s what you’ll be doing in this lesson:

 Crossing the International Date Line with Mark Twain

 Learning about Ping-Pongs
 Writing very badly

You can check each box after you’ve finished the corresponding section, either in
the list above or in each section below, if you like.

 Cross the International Date Line with Mark Twain.

Before Mark Twain became famous for writing The Adventures of Tom
Sawyer, he was well known as a travel writer and lecturer (that is, telling stories
on stage). Roughing It chronicles his travels in the American West. The
Innocents Abroad contains travel essays written on his trip through Europe and
the Holy Land.
When he became famous but ran out of money
due to bad business deals, he hit the road again,
but this time it wasn’t a road. It was the open seas,
traveling to countries in the British Empire, places
like Fiji, Australia, Tasmania, and India.
It was on this trip, beginning in Paris and
traveling west, that he crossed the International
Date Line. You can learn more about the
International Date Line and the 180 degree
longitude (or 180 degree meridian) by going to
ehow.com or Wikipedia.com. Essentially, when
moving west across the International Date Line,
roughly configured on the 180 degree longitude,
you jump ahead a day. In Twain’s case, he went
from Sunday to Tuesday.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 20

Here is his humorous account of the phenomenon:

While we were crossing the 180th meridian it was Sunday in the stern of the
ship where my family were, and Tuesday in the bow where I was. They
were there eating the half of a fresh apple on the 8th and I was at the same
time eating the other half of it on the 10th—and I could notice how stale it
was, already. The family were the same age that they were when I had left
them five minutes before, but I was a day older now than I was then. The
day they were living in stretched behind them half way round the globe,
across the Pacific Ocean and America and Europe; the day I was living in
stretched in front of me around the other half to meet it.
It is this same time-jump phenomenon Jules Verne capitalized on when he wrote
Around the World in Eighty Days. Could this scientific fact have been the seed of
early time-travel novels? Hmmm.

Now it’s your turn: 3.1

What are the two topics in Twain’s paragraph? His family on Sunday and himself
on Tuesday (both really the same day as the ship crosses the International Date
Line).

Use one color to highlight or underline the parts of the sentences that are about
his family, and then use another color to highlight or underline the parts about
him.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 21

 Learn about Ping-Pongs.

What do you notice about Twain’s topics?
First, he goes back and forth between them. In every sentence, he writes
about his family and then about himself: two topics in each sentence.
This bad habit—yes, it is a bad habit—is known as Ping-Ponging. This
means going back and forth between your topics too swiftly. It gets its name from
how it feels to watch a Ping-Pong game, your head swiveling left and right as you
follow the bouncing ball.
In humorous writing, as in Twain’s, this is perfectly fine. In fact, the bad form
contributes to the humor.
In serious or formal writing you have to do for
school, this is not good. Ping-Ponging will leave the
reader in dizziness and confusion.
Information about each topic belongs together,
as you discovered by imitating H. G. Wells’ lengthy
sentence in lesson one and the paragraph about
Roosevelt and Churchill in lesson two.
The second thing you may have noticed is that,
in an effort to keep things clear, Twain always writes
about his family first and himself last. This is a good
strategy. He keeps this effective pattern of “them and then me” throughout each
sentence in the paragraph so his readers will have no trouble following along.

Now it’s your turn: 3.2

Take Mark Twain’s paragraph apart and rewrite it by putting all the parts about
his family together. Then put all the parts about Twain together in the last half of
the paragraph. You can do this by hand or on a computer.

What do you notice? Write your answer here:

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 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 22

 Write very badly.

Now it’s your turn: 3.3

Write a short paragraph full of Ping-Pongs! That’s right—break the rules and write
very badly!
Here are some possible topics for your paragraph, but feel free to write on one of
your own choosing:
 Cats and dogs
 A camping vacation versus an amusement-park vacation
 Two people you know who are very different from one another
 Winter and summer
 Weight training versus long-distance running
 Two sports figures
 Two actors
 Two vehicles or two racecar drivers
 Vampires versus zombies
 Facebook versus Instagram

Write your pair of topics here:

Once you have your pair of topics, make a list of four differences between them.
For instance, you might write “independent” for cats and “friendly” for dogs.
After you make your list, write your paragraph of four Ping-Pong sentences, just
as Mark Twain does.

Decide if this kind of bad writing makes your paragraph funny—or just tedious
and hard to read. Write your answer here:

Next lesson: God and Santa Claus!

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 23

Lesson 4: Organization Options

Here’s what you’ll be doing in this lesson:

 A quick review
 Using a new tool to organize your material
 Writing a compare-and-contrast paragraph

You can check each box after you’ve finished the corresponding section, either in
the list above or in each section below, if you like.

 A quick review.
Let’s review what you’ve learned so far in the previous three lessons:

 Comparing means looking at similarities.

 Contrasting means looking at differences.
 Plan out the paragraph before writing it.
 Avoid Ping-Pongs by keeping information about one topic separate from the
other topic.
 Check for Ping-Pongs by using one color to highlight one topic and another color
to highlight the other topic.

In the space below, write anything else you’ve learned about compare-and-
contrast writing in the last three lessons:

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 24

 Using a new tool to organize your material.

Before you write anything, you should organize your material. In this case,
I’m not talking about the dreaded outline. So far, here’s what you’ve used to
organize your material:
 lists of slanted words
 boxes of similarities and differences

I hope you’ve seen how this can make the job of writing
easier for you.
Here’s the thing: You have to think about your topic and
decide which method of organizing will be best for your
paragraph or essay.
The lists of slanted words and phrases worked for your
lengthy sentence. The list of similarities and the list of
differences worked well for your paragraph based on the
Roosevelt/Churchill paragraph. And a list of differences suited the purpose when
you wrote very badly.

Or you might create a chart like the one below that shows the differences
between Goliath and David based on their features (I Samuel 17):

Features Goliath David

Vocation Seasoned warrior Seasoned shepherd, part-time
musician for King Saul
Previously killed Men in battle and other national heroes A lion and a bear
Weaponry Bronze helmet, bronze armor weighing 125 5 smooth stones
lbs., bronze greaves, bronze javelin with a 1 slingshot
point that weighted 15 lbs., shield
Support The whole Philistine army God
King Saul, somewhat
Enemies A fearful Israel army Philistine army
His brothers—harassed and
belittled him, attributed negative
motives to him
Age Adult Teen
Size Giant—over nine feet tall Teen-sized boy
Motivation Glory of Philistia To prove there is a God in Israel
Personal glory and plunder To defend God’s name
Giant-sized ego to uphold

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 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 25

Now it’s your turn: 4.1

Choose one of the pairs below that interests you.

 God and Santa Claus

 Jonah and Pinocchio
 Christmas and Easter

These three pairs share some similarities and some important differences. Write
the pair you chose in the space here:

After choosing your pair, create a chart like the one for David and Goliath.

Fill in your chart with facts about each item in the pair you chose.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 26

 Write a compare-and-contrast paragraph.

Now it’s your turn: 4.2

Write a compare-and-contrast paragraph based on the material you gathered and

organized in the exercise on page 25.
Write about the least important of the pair first and the most important one last.
The first half of your paragraph will be about one topic and the second half about
the other.
Think about how to move from one topic to the next. H. G. Wells moves from
bachelorhood to marriage in lesson one by writing “without consulting me.” In
lesson two, Sir Isaiah Berlin moves from Roosevelt to Churchill with “Churchill too
loves pleasure . . . but . . . .” You might want to use words or phrases such as
“yet,” “however,” “but as important as these similarities are . . .,” “despite all
these differences . . .,” “on the other hand,” and so forth. In other words, move
your readers from one topic to the next with a cleverly placed link of a few words
or even a sentence. This is called a transition.
This isn’t simply an empty exercise in compare-and-contrast. It’s a chance to say
something important about life. What conclusions have you come to? For
instance, would you rather rely on Jonah or on Pinocchio? Which one learned his
lesson? Which one would make a better friend? Which one would you rather be?
And so on.
Giving deep consideration to your conclusions will make your writing more solid
and convincing.
Write your paragraph. Use at least six well-written sentences. Include a transition
from one topic to the next. End with a brilliantly stunning concluding sentence.
For this exercise, don’t worry about a topic sentence. You may include one, but
only if you wish.
Next lesson: Fiction and dovetails!

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 27

Lesson 5: Fiction and Dovetailing

Here’s what you’ll be doing in this lesson:

 Learning what dovetailing is

 Shivering in the cemetery with Pip
 Writing your own dovetailing passage

You can check each box after you’ve finished the corresponding section, either in
the list above or in each section below, if you like.

 Learn what dovetailing is.

In this lesson and the next, you’ll leave the nonfiction writing behind and do
some fiction writing. This lesson focuses on the writer’s device called dovetailing.
So, what is dovetailing?
Most of the fiction books you read have dialogue in them. And they also have
action, descriptions, and other goodies. Too much dialogue can get boring. Too
much story (narrative) without any dialogue can become tiresome.
Dovetailing breaks up the dialogue by layering it with action, descriptions,
and so forth. The author might write a bit of dialogue, add needed description, go
back to some dialogue, and then add some action. This is a healthy back-and-
forth that can break up passages of dialogue or description that are too long,
which can be perceived as boring.
Dovetailing in carpentry joins two boards together by
cleverly cutting the ends of the boards into the shapes of
doves’ tails and then fitting them together so they can’t
come apart very easily, like the image to the right.
Dovetailing in fiction writing (storytelling) cleverly fits
dialogue together with action, descriptions, and narrative
actions. It’s a lot like a cake with many layers: some cake,
some icing, some cake, some icing, and so forth.

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 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 28

I just mentioned narrative actions, but what are they? Dialogue is the words
characters say. Narrative actions are what the characters are doing when they
say their words. Here are two examples that use the same dialogue but very
different narrative actions:

“Look out for that tree,” said my driving instructor as he waved his hand at
the old elm and then looked at the Sale Today sign in front of the hardware
store.

“Look out for that tree,” screamed my mother. She grabbed the armrest,
threw herself back against the seat, and thrust her arm over her closed
eyes.
Just by reading the narrative actions, what each character does, you can tell
which character is calm and which one is not.

Now it’s your turn: 5.1

Find a short story or novel and look for a passage that uses dovetailing; that is, a
passage that goes back and forth between dialogue and description, action, or
narrative action. Write out the passage on a piece of paper or on a computer to
study how the author does this.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 29

 Shiver in the cemetery with Pip.

You might be wondering what dovetailing has to do with compare-and-
contrast writing. We’re getting to that. I promise.
Read the following passage from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. In
it you will find a desperate escaped convict and a very young and scared boy. The
first speaker is the boy, seven-year-old Pip, who is visiting the cemetery where his
parents are buried:

“O! Don’t cut my throat, sir,” I pleaded in terror. “Pray don’t do it,
sir.”
“Tell us your name!” said the man. “Quick!”
Narrative action
“Pip, sir.”
“Once more,” said the man, staring at me. “Give it mouth!”
“Pip. Pip, sir.”
“Show us where you live,” said the man. “Pint [point] out the
place!”
I pointed to where our village lay, on the flat in-shore among the Action and
description
alder-trees and pollards, a mile or more from the church.
The man, after looking at me for a moment, turned me upside
down, and emptied my pockets. There was nothing in them but a
piece of bread. When the church came to itself—for he was so
sudden and strong that he made it go head over heels before me, Action and
and I saw the steeple under my feet—when the church came to reaction
itself, I say, I was seated on a high tombstone, trembling, while he (“trembling”)
ate the bread ravenously.
“You young dog,” said the man, licking his lips, “what fat cheeks
you ha’ got.”
I believe they were fat, though I was at that time undersized, for
my years, and not strong. Narrative action

You get the point: a little bit of dialogue

interspersed with a little bit of action, narrative action,
and description. Cake, icing, cake, icing.

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 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 30

And here’s the compare-and-contrast part: one character is an old, rough

escaped felon and in control of the situation while the other is a young, innocent
lad at the mercy of the other. They are polar opposites in this passage.
Yet, there is one similarity. Both are in danger. The escaped convict is in
danger of being caught and possibly hanged for his escape. The young Pip is in
danger from the convict.

 Write your own dovetail passage.

Now it’s your turn: 5.2

Write your own dovetail passage.

Begin by selecting two real people, fictional characters, or characters you make
up. Make sure the two you select are very different from one another in some
way, like someone who loves art and someone who is very analytical.

Try any of the ideas below or come up with one of your own:

 A male and a female of any age, stuck in an elevator

 Peter Pan and Captain Hook
 Peter Pan and King David (from the Bible)
 A child and a babysitter
 Ebenezer Scrooge and Mother Teresa

Dovetail their words (dialogue) and actions (narrative actions) to show readers
how different they are from one another.

You can make this passage as long as you like. Try at least for one page long.

Next lesson: More fiction!

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 31

Lesson 6: Description in Fiction

Here’s what you’ll be doing in this lesson:

 Reading of apricots, cabins, and tombs

 Writing your own compare-and-contrast description

You can check each box after you’ve finished the corresponding section, either in
the list above or in each section below, if you like.

 Read of apricots, cabins, and tombs.

In this week’s lesson, you’ll use description to show how different two
characters are.

The first example is from Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, in which you’ll
find firemen who do not put out fires but who start them to burn books. Guy
Montag, the main character, is meeting the teenage Clarisse for the first time:

The autumn leaves blew over the moonlit pavement in such a way as to
make the girl who was moving there seem fixed to a sliding walk, letting the
motion of the wind and the leaves carry her forward. . . . [Montag and
Clarisse] walked in the warm-cool blowing night on the silvered pavement
and there was the faintest breath of fresh apricots and strawberries in the
air, and he looked around and realized this was quite impossible, so late in
the year.

And here’s Montag a few minutes later, coming home that same night and
looking in on his wife:

His wife stretched on the bed, uncovered and cold, like a body displayed on
the lid of a tomb, her eyes fixed to the ceiling by invisible threads of steel,
immovable.

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 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 32

Here’s an example of how to use the description of a room to show differences

in characters, even without the characters being in the room:

I clomped up the bare wooden steps of the cabin and stood in the doorway,
looking in. I was curious. My other bunkmates had arrived last night, but I
had yet to meet Tamara and Amanda, the twins. They were rumored to
look exactly alike. Tamara’s cot was to the left. The cardboard sign above
her bed had been embellished with flowers and swirls. Her cot was neatly
made, corners tucked in, and her shoes, flip-flops, and hiking boots were
arranged underneath in ascending order of height from left to right. A
flashlight, notebook, pen, first-aid kit, and shower caddy were lined up on
her bedside table like they belonged in an immovable grid. Amanda’s space
was hard to miss. She’d slashed through “Amanda” and written “Mandi”
above it with a black marker. Her bed looked as if she’d opened her luggage
and dumped everything out on it. Even from the doorway, I could see
shoes, necklaces, shorts, shirts, shampoo, batteries, an open bag of chips,
and even a stuffed bear strewn across the cot and the floor near it. These
two girls might look alike, but I guessed they would not like the way they
were listed in the camp directory: “Tammy” and “Amy.”
Even though you haven’t met the twins in person yet, you have a pretty good idea
of some of their personality traits just by looking at their spaces in the cabin.

When describing characters, you can use clothing, vocabulary and sentence
length in dialogue, belongings of the characters, how they walk, how they smell,
how others react to them, and many other things. Be creative.

Now it’s your turn: 6.1

Write in the space below three words or impressions to describe Clarisse (use
Bradbury’s words or your own):

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 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 33

Now write three words or impressions to describe Montag’s wife (use Bradbury’s
words or your own):

These two women and their descriptions are important to Bradbury’s theme of
nature versus technology in Fahrenheit 451. Take a guess as to which woman
represents nature and which represents technology. Write your answer here:

Keep going! There’s one more example.

Now it’s your turn: 6.2

Write three words that describe Tamara:

Write three words that describe Amanda:

Based on what you know about each girl from the descriptions in the cabin, which
would you rather have as a friend?

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 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 34

 Write your own compare-and-contrast description.

Now it’s your turn: 6.3

Write a paragraph or two for a story. You may write the whole story, if you wish!

In these paragraphs, describe two characters, places, or things. You may choose
characters from books or movies, or you may invent two new characters.

If you choose to describe two places or things, you may base them on something
you are familiar with or something completely new, like a place or item from a
new fantasy world or from a distant planet.

Before you write, create lists of similarities and differences, make a chart, or use
another method to organize your ideas.

Next lesson: a pompous detective.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 35

Lesson 7: The Block Method

Here’s what you’ll be doing in this lesson:

 Reading an example of the block method

 Analyzing the example
 Writing a compare-and-contrast essay using the block method

You can check each box after you’ve finished the corresponding section, either in
the list above or in each section below, if you like.

 Read an example of the block method.

By now, you’ve written a lengthy sentence, some paragraphs, and two fiction
assignments using compare and contrast. In this lesson, you’ll get back to
nonfiction writing and write a whole compare and contrast essay. Don’t worry.
I’ll try to make it as painless as possible.
When you use the block method of comparing and contrasting, you write
one block of information about one topic, use a transition statement to move to
your second topic, and then use another block to write about your second topic.
The body of your essay looks something like this:

First Topic

Transition Statement

Second Topic

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 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 36

You may recognize this pattern from the paragraph on Roosevelt and
Churchill in lesson two: Roosevelt, transition, Churchill.
The Roosevelt and Churchill topics were an example of one paragraph. Now
you’re learning how to write a whole essay using the block method. The body of
your essay will look like this: Topic one, transition, topic two.
Use as many paragraphs as you need for your first topic, and then use as
many paragraphs as you need for your second.
It’s very easy to avoid Ping-Pongs when you write with the block method
because you don’t swing back and forth between your two topics. You learned
about the dreaded Ping-Pongs in lesson three. (Ping-Pongs move back and forth
too quickly from one topic to the next.)
The transition statement between topics can be as short the one in the
Roosevelt and Churchill paragraph: “Churchill too loves pleasure . . .; but he is
not a frivolous man.”
If you’re comparing and contrasting World War I and World War II, you
might begin with paragraphs about World War I, end with paragraphs about
World War II, and put this sentence between them to move from one war to the
next:

Although World War II was fought by another generation and on fields

farther from the epicenter, it continued to be focused on the original
problems from the Great War.
Transition statements can appear at the end of topic one’s section or at the
beginning of topic two’s section. Or, if your transition statement is long enough,
you can make it a separate paragraph between the two topics.

The compare-and-contrast essay on the next page is

written in the block method by a real student who’s writing a
character analysis of the fictional detective Inspector Clouseau.
Read it and see if you agree with him.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 37

Inspector Clouseau, the world-renown French detective, always solves

the case and gets his man, and he’s proud of it. He’ll be the first one to tell
how he employed his ingenuity to track down a clever mastermind, using
only his wit and skill. He always wins in the end and gains much popularity
in the process. Clouseau basks in the spotlight of the public as he tells how
he single-handedly apprehended a dangerous criminal by using his
instinct—yes, that’s what it is—his natural detective instinct.

Actually, Inspector Clouseau is one of the biggest bumbling fools on

France’s police force or on anyone’s police force for that matter, but he
never realizes it. No one can ever tell him so because he never stops
bragging about his expertise in the area of the investigative profession.
Most of the general public doesn’t realize that he’s actually an idiot
because he really does always get his man, whether by some inexplicable
mistake or wild circumstance. He eventually stumbles across the culprit,
with or without realizing it. If it weren’t for some strange turn of events, he
would be shown for the inexperienced, wandering, slow-witted idiot that
he actually is. His superiors such as Chief Inspector Dreyfus are driven crazy
by the chaos and destruction that follow in Clouseau’s wake.

Clouseau believes he is an expert inspector, and the longer he goes

bumbling along, the more success he has, which only confirms his claims
that he knows his business of detecting and does it well, although this is as
far from the truth as possible.

Now it’s your turn: 7.1

Answer the following questions about the Clouseau essay:

1. What is this student contrasting?

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 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 38

2. Have you seen any of the Pink Panther movies? If so, do you agree with
this paper?

3. Write one descriptive word that shows what Clouseau thinks of himself.

4. Write one descriptive word to show what he really is.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 39

 Analyze the example.

If you were to use different colors to highlight or underline the two topics, it
would be very clear to you that each topic hangs together in its own paragraph.

Now it’s your turn: 7.2

Inspector Clouseau, the world-renown French detective, always solves

the case and gets his man, and he’s proud of it. He’ll be the first one to tell
First topic in how he employed his ingenuity to track down a clever mastermind, using
its own block
only his wit and skill. He always wins in the end and gains much popularity
in the process. Clouseau basks in the spotlight of the public as he tells how
he single-handedly apprehended a dangerous criminal by using his
instinct—yes, that’s what it is—his natural detective instinct.
Actually, Inspector Clouseau is one of the biggest bumbling fools on
France’s police force or on anyone’s police force for that matter, but he
Second topic never realizes it. No one can ever tell him so because he never stops
in its own
block bragging about his expertise in the area of the investigative profession.
Most of the general public doesn’t realize that he’s actually an idiot
because he really does always get his man, whether by some inexplicable
mistake or wild circumstance. He eventually stumbles across the culprit,
with or without realizing it. If it weren’t for some strange turn of events, he
would be shown for the inexperienced, wandering, slow-witted idiot that
he actually is. His superiors such as Chief Inspector Dreyfus are driven crazy
by the chaos and destruction that follow in Clouseau’s wake.
Clouseau believes he is an expert inspector, and the longer he goes
Conclusion bumbling along, the more success he has, which only confirms his claims
that he knows his business of detecting and does it well, although this is as
far from the truth as possible.
Answer the following questions about the Clouseau essay:

1. What is the topic in paragraph one?

2. What is the topic in paragraph two?

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 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 40

3. Write the transition statement from topic one to topic two here:

4. What conclusions does the student draw in the concluding paragraph?

This essay is missing some parts. First, it is missing an introductory paragraph.

Second, it is missing a main idea or thesis statement, which usually appears at the
end of an introductory paragraph.

Write an introduction of two to four sentences for this essay. You may use the
space below. If you don’t know about thesis statements yet, don’t sweat it. Just
write a fitting introduction:

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 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 41

 Write a compare-and-contrast essay using the block method.

Now it’s your turn: 7.3

Write a compare-and-contrast essay of at least 300 words using the block
method. Here are the parts of the essay you’ll need:

Introduction
Topic one
Transition statement
Topic two
Conclusion

The introduction is a separate paragraph, as is the conclusion. Use at least one

paragraph for topic one. Use at least one paragraph for topic two. Decide
whether to put your transition statement at the end of topic one or at the
beginning of topic two.

When you sit down to write your essay, you don’t have to begin with the
introduction. You might want to start by writing about topic one and topic two,
then figuring out a great transition, and then adding an introduction and
conclusion.

This isn’t simply an empty exercise in compare-and-contrast. It’s a chance to say

something important about life. Giving deep consideration to your conclusions
will make your writing more solid and convincing.

Here are some ideas for your essay. Compare and contrast . . .

 A book and its movie

 One movie in a series and another one in
the series (like any of the Lord of the Rings
movies or Star Trek movies)
 Store-bought bread versus homemade

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 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 42

 What the South thought of Abraham Lincoln versus what the North thought of
him during the Civil War
 One place you used to live versus where you live now
 One fairy tale with another fairy tale
 One historical figure with another one
 How pro-lifers view abortion versus how pro-choice folks view abortion
 One food you like to eat at a fast-food restaurant versus another you like to
eat
 One musical group or singer you enjoy versus another one you enjoy
 One car versus another
 Youth versus age

Feel free to use this writing schedule to help you complete the tasks for your
essay:

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6

Decide on Write the body Write a Let my essay Print off my
topics and of my essay: smashing rest a day so I essay and read Hand it in.
check it with topic one and introduction can look at it it out loud.
my topic two. and a with fresh eyes
parent/teacher. thoughtful tomorrow. Proofread it at
Include conclusion. least twice. Fix
Organize my transitions mistakes. Be
material with where as clear and
lists. necessary. concise as
possible.
Get an idea of Research, if
what I want to needed.
say about my
topics.

Next lesson: PC versus Mac

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 43

Lesson 8: The Feature Method

Here’s what you’ll be doing in this lesson:

 Reading an example of the feature method

 Analyzing the example
 Writing a compare-and-contrast essay using the feature method

You can check each box after you’ve finished the corresponding section, either in
the list above or in each section below, if you like.

 Read an example of the feature method.

Last week you learned about the block method of comparing and contrasting.
Now, you’ll learn the feature method.
Features? What are those?
To answer those questions, I’ll give you two different examples of features.
The first example comes from the world of house pets. If you were to compare
and contrast dogs and cats, you could write on these features:

 The personalities of dogs versus the personalities of cats

 The needs of dogs versus the needs of cats
 The dog’s usefulness to society versus the cat’s usefulness to society

Think of one other difference between dogs and cats that would make a good
feature to contrast and write it here:

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 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 44

The second example of features comes from a report on two countries. Let’s
say you have to write a compare-and-contrast report on two South American
countries. What are the features you can contrast with one other?

 The government of one country versus the government of the other

 The founding and history of one country versus the founding and history of
the other
 The business and exports of one country versus the business and exports of
the other
 The geography of one country versus the geography of the other
 The religion of one country versus the religion of the other
 The language of one country versus the language of the other

These features give you a chance to show that the countries are similar in these
areas or different from one another in these areas. And they can make your report
interesting.

The following example of a compare-and-contrast essay is written by a real

student who effectively examines three features. He’s trying to convince readers
to . . . well, read it and find out. It’s all on the next page so you can see the whole
essay at one time.

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 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 45

Computer crashes are bad, but how much worse would it be if your
Introduction computer was chock-full of viruses and just never worked? Wouldn’t you
with clear love it if your computer never had these problems? It is possible, if only
topic you had a Mac.
Windows crashes all the time because it has never had a complete
remake; it is full of old, unstable code from the Seventies. Macs
Feature: (computers made by Apple Inc.), on the other hand, are based on rock-
reliability solid, forty-year-old code that literally can’t crash. The core of Macs
started with that rock-solid code, and the rest was made from scratch.
“Your toaster doesn’t crash. Your kitchen sink doesn’t crash. Why should
your computer?” says Apple. Macs are reliable.
Microsoft didn’t design Windows with security in mind but, instead,
created gaping holes that make it easy for malicious hackers and viruses to
Feature:
walk right in. Because of this, it is really easy for one of the seventy
security
thousand viruses to penetrate Windows’ low defenses and then delete all
of your precious files. Thanks to Apple’s great security, there are no known
viruses that can hurt a Mac.
Try using a camera or other device with Windows, and you’ll have a
Feature: problem. You will have to find the right drivers and software and then try
compatibility to figure it out. Why? Because you have one company making the
hardware and another making the software. Plug any camera into a Mac,
however, and you can instantly import pictures. Apple makes it simple
because it is the only company that makes the hardware and the software.
It is that hand-in-glove fit that makes everything so easy.
Though the icons, windows, and menus are similar, and though many
things can be used on both computers (files, e-mail services, Internet
Conclusion
games, CDs, DVDs, keyboards, etc.), there is no good reason to buy
Windows. Be crash-proof, virus-proof, and frustration-proof. Buy a Mac.

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 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 46

 Analyze the example.

Now it’s your turn: 8.1

Get out your highlighters or colorful pens again; it’s time to mark up the
paragraphs. Below are the paragraphs in the example essay’s body (the
paragraphs about the features). Use one color to mark the parts about the Mac.
Use another color to mark parts about Windows:

While Windows crashes all the time because it has never had a complete
remake; it is full of old, unstable code from the Seventies. Macs (computers
made by Apple Inc.), on the other hand, are based on rock-solid, thirty-year-
old code that literally can’t crash. The core of Macs started with that rock-solid
code, and the rest was made from scratch. “Your toaster doesn’t crash. Your
kitchen sink doesn’t crash. Why should your computer?” says Apple. Macs are
reliable.
Microsoft didn’t design Windows with security in mind but, instead,
created gaping holes that make it easy for malicious hackers and viruses to
walk right in. Because of this, it is really easy for one of the seventy thousand
viruses to penetrate Windows’ low defenses and then delete all of your
precious files. Thanks to Apple’s great security, there are no known viruses
that can hurt a Mac.
Try using a camera with Windows, and you’ll have a problem. You will have
to find the right drivers and software and then try to figure it out. Why?
Because you have one company making the hardware and another making the
software. Plug any camera into a Mac, however, and you can instantly import
pictures. Apple makes it simple because it is the only company that makes the
hardware and the software. It is that hand-in-glove fit that makes everything
so easy.
It’s important in a feature compare-and-contrast essay that you keep a certain
pattern or order to your paragraphs. This makes your essay easy to read and
understand.

Which order does this student use in each paragraph? Check your answer below:
 Windows then Mac
 Mac then Windows

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 47

You’ll notice, due to your illuminating method of coloring the topics, that this
student always writes about the wicked Windows Operating System first and then
the glorious Mac second. Good plan. And it works with other topics as well.

For instance, if you are writing about the differences between cats and dogs—and
you prefer the dogs—you could always begin each paragraph with the topic of
cats and then end with the topic of dogs, like this:

Paragraph one: Personalities of cats and then dogs

Paragraph two: Needs of cats and then dogs
Paragraph three: Usefulness to society of cats and then dogs

You can reverse the order and write about dogs and then cats in each paragraph,
if you wish. Because the student preferred the Mac, he always put it last in each
paragraph. Whatever topic you write about, keep the same pattern or order in
each paragraph.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 48

Now it’s your turn again: 8.2

Before you write a compare-and-contrast essay based on features, it’s a good idea
to create a chart. Here’s a chart used to organize an essay on David and Goliath.
You saw it first in lesson four.

Features Goliath David

Vocation Seasoned warrior Seasoned shepherd, part-time
musician for King Saul
Previously killed Men in battle and other national heroes A lion and a bear
Weaponry Bronze helmet, bronze armor weighing 125 5 smooth stones
lbs., bronze greaves, bronze javelin with a 1 slingshot
point that weighted 15 lbs., shield
Support The whole Philistine army God
King Saul, kind of
Enemies A fearful Israel army Philistine army
His brothers—harassed and
belittled him, attributed negative
motives to him
Age Adult Teen
Size Giant—over nine feet tall Teen-sized boy
Motivation Glory of Philistia To prove there is a God in Israel
Personal glory and plunder To defend God’s name
Giant-sized ego to uphold

Here’s another chart. This one is for the student’s compare-and-contrast essay on
the wicked Microsoft Windows and glorious Mac computer operating systems.
Fill in the empty boxes with information from the student’s essay. Fill in the last
row with another feature:

Features Microsoft Windows Mac

Reliability Unstable code

Gaping holes, low Great security, no known

defenses viruses can attack
Compatibility Makes hardware and
software

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 49

 Write a compare-and-contrast essay using the feature

method.

Now it’s your turn: 8.3

Write a compare-and-contrast essay of at least 300 words using the feature
method.

Here are some possible topics, but feel free to choose your own:

 Islam versus Christianity

 One gaming system versus another
 One amusement park versus another
 Buying a puppy from a pet store versus buying one from
a reputable breeder
 One job opportunity versus another
 One college versus another
 One instrument to play in the band/orchestra versus another
 One pair of shoes or article of clothing decision versus another
 A vacation in an RV versus a vacation in hotels

Plan before you write. How? By making a chart of the features.

Make sure readers can tell which feature you are writing about by using a topic
sentence at the beginning, middle or end of each paragraph.

Keep the same pattern or order in each paragraph of the body. If you begin a
paragraph with one topic, always begin the other paragraphs with that same topic
as well.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 50

Here’s a trick that might help you write about the features: Write only one topic
first. That is, write what you want to say about cats. When you have your features
the way you want them, tack onto each paragraph what you want to say about
dogs. Do this with each feature. Use transitions in each paragraph like “however,”
“you might think,” or “on the other hand.”

Include an introduction and a conclusion. The introduction lets people know your
topic; the conclusion sums up the purpose of the essay and leaves the reader with
something insightful to think about.

The writer of the Microsoft/Mac essay concludes with suggesting readers to buy a
Mac. The writer of a dog/cat essay might want to conclude with a personal story
showing why he or she prefers cats. Writers comparing and contrasting two
colleges might want to finish up with what they want to accomplish at the college
they’ve chosen.

Draw conclusions. Give your readers some food for thought. Make brilliant
insights on your topics.

Here’s what your essay will look like:

Intriguing Introduction
Feature one Features:
 Reliability
Feature two  Security
 Compatibility
Feature three
Thoughtful conclusion

Hint: When writing the first draft of your essay, there’s no need to begin with the
introduction. If you feel more comfortable writing the paragraphs of the body
based on your chart, then begin there. You can add the introduction and
conclusion later.

Feel free to use the schedule on the next page for all your writing tasks or devise
your own.
Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com
 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 51

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6

Decide on a Write the body Write a Let my essay Print off my
topic and check of my essay. smashing rest a day so I essay and read Hand it in.
it with my introduction can look at it it out loud.
parent/teacher. Include and a with fresh eyes
transitions thoughtful tomorrow. Proofread it at
Organize my where conclusion. least twice. Fix
material with a necessary. mistakes. Be
chart for as clear and
features. Research, if concise as
needed. possible.
Get an idea of
what I want to
say about my
topics.

Next lesson: houses and scary stories!

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 52

Lesson 9: Similarities and Differences

Here’s what you’ll be doing in this lesson:

 Reading about two houses

 Analyzing an example
 Writing a compare-and-contrast essay using the
similarities/differences method

 Reading about some scary stories

 Analyzing an example
 Writing a compare-and-contrast essay using the
similarities/differences method

You can check each box after you’ve finished the corresponding section, either in
the list above or in each section below, if you like.

 Read about two houses.

If you are in junior high or are a beginning writer, please read the
example on the next page, written by a student.

If you are in high school or are an experienced writer, please skip the
following essay and go directly to the high school lesson on page 55.

You’ve come a long way from writing one compare-and-contrast sentence!

In lesson seven, you learned the block method of writing a compare-and-
contrast essay. In lesson eight, you learned the feature method. This week, you’ll
learn and practice the similarities/differences method.

Remember: Compare means finding similarities. Contrast means looking at

differences.

Read the essay on the next page based on differences and similarities.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 53

I have a house. I like it. My friend has a house, and I like hers, too.
Anyone looking at these two houses would think they are not at all alike.
Or are they?
My house is in the country and has a long driveway and plenty of trees
in a yard that looks like a park. I like the pink carpet in my bedroom and
the walls painted yellow with a bathroom between my bedroom and my
brother’s. The large, sunny back porch is the perfect place to eat lunch.
My friend’s house is a big old mansion in the city. She doesn’t have a
driveway; she has a parking lot. There’s one pretty birch tree between the
parking lot and her house, and a huge magnolia tree spreads out over the
front lawn and the sidewalk. The floor in her bedroom is beautiful wood.
Instead of a bathroom between her bedroom and her brother’s, she has a
closet. Instead of a back porch, she has this wonderfully dramatic balcony
off her room on the second floor.
Even though there are many differences between her house and mine,
there is one thing in common that makes me like them both. This similarity
makes me feel at home in her house and she in mine. It’s what transforms
a house into a home. It is love. Both her parents and mine have loved
Jesus Christ for a long time. They’ve built their homes on what He taught
to so many people while He was on earth—loving kindness for one
another. When you walk into either one of our homes, we will greet you at
the door and welcome you in with good old-fashioned hospitality. I can
remember many times when I’d come into my friend’s house and she’d
say, “Are you thirsty? Could I get you something to drink? Here, let me
take your coat.” At dinner in either of our homes, the conversation is lively
and not forced. We’re happy to be together. This is the same in both of
our homes because of the love of Jesus.
I’m glad our homes are this way and that I can feel at home in either
house. And when I get a home of my own, I’ll try to make it just as loving
as the one I’m in now.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 54

 Analyze the example.

Now it’s your turn: 9.1

What’s the best way to organize your ideas in a compare-and-contrast essay
based on similarities and differences? Make lists! Make one list of similarities and
another of differences.

1. List two differences between the houses:

2. What is the similarity?

3. How does this student avoid Ping-Pongs in her paragraphs on differences? (For
a quick review of Ping-Pongs, visit lesson three.)

4. This writer puts the differences first and the similarities last. Why do you think
she does this?

5. Underline the transition that moves her essay from differences to similarities.
6. What point does she make in her conclusion?

When you’ve finished answering these questions, skip the next two sections and
go to the very last section in this week’s lesson.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 55

 Read about some scary stories.

This section is for high school students or for students who are experienced
writers.

You’ve come a long way from writing one compare-and-contrast sentence!

In lesson seven, you learned the block method of writing a compare-and-
contrast essay. In lesson eight, you learned the feature method. This week, you’ll
learn and practice the similarities/differences method.

Remember: Compare means finding similarities. Contrast means looking at

differences.

The essay on the next page is written by a student who compares and
contrasts two short stories by Washington Irving. Read it and be ready to analyze
it.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 56

In “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “The Devil and Tom Walker,” Washington
Irving weaves tales of suspense and fright for his readers. Though both stories touch
on the supernatural, they have little else in common.
Their women are their one point of commonality. Both of these women use
their men to get what they want, whether by flattery or force. Ichabod, in “The
Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” is smitten with Katrina Van Tassel, who at first seems like
a very sweet girl. However, the sweetness soon melts away to reveal the real
Katrina. It becomes clear that she is just using poor Ichabod to make Brom Bones
jealous. Even the narrator laments Ichabod’s fate: “Oh these women! These
women! Could that girl have been playing off any of her coquettish tricks?” Old
Tom’s wife in “The Devil and Tom Walker” is also far from sweet. Tom has lived
with his wife, who is “fierce of temper, loud of tongue, and strong of arm,” for so
many years that he no longer fears the devil. For some strange reason, Tom enjoys
her argumentative demeanor and forceful attitude. In spite of how their men view
them, neither of these women is beneficial to their male counterparts.
Though the women are similar, the protagonists of each story couldn’t be more
different from each other. Living in Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod Crane is the unfortunate
victim of a ghost story come to life. He is a likeable character though obviously not
for his looks. Ichabod possesses “narrow shoulders, long arms and legs, hands that
dangled a mile out of his sleeves, feet that might have served for shovels, and [a]
whole frame most loosely hung together.” Clearly, this man needs help, and
readers feel empathy toward him. Tom Walker, on the other hand, is not likeable in
the least. He is greedy and mean. He squeezed “his customers closer and closer;
and then set them out at length, dry as a sponge from his door.” Both men differ in
how they view the supernatural too. While Ichabod enjoys scaring himself, Tom is
pragmatic and sees no sense in being superstitious.
As in the case of the protagonists, the antagonists also differ from each other.
One is a figment of the imagination brought to life by Brom Bones. Bones takes the
role of the Headless Horseman and then chases Ichabod down a country lane late at
night. The other is the devil, who, going by several names, buys Tom’s soul in
exchange for great riches. As real now as when “The Devil and Tom Walker” was
written, the devil is more than a figment of an excitable imagination prompted by
old ghost stories. He is quite real.
Both stories are enjoyable. They have the power to hold the reader’s attention
and even give some shivers during late-night reading. But because “The Legend of
Sleepy Hollow” has a protagonist that is more of an underdog and is likeable, it is the
more enjoyable of the two.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 57

 Analyze the example.

Now it’s your turn: 9.2

Please answer the following questions about the Washington Irving essay:

1. List two similarities between “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “The Devil and
Tom Walker” mentioned in this essay:

2. List two differences between the stories, according to the student:

3. In order to keep the information clear for the reader, this student always uses
the same pattern in each paragraph. Check the box next to the order she uses:

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” “The Devil and Tom Walker”

“The Devil and Tom Walker” “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”

4. Underline the transition from similarities to differences and the transition from
one difference to the next.

5. This student writes about one similarity first and two differences last. Why do
you think she uses this order?

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 58

 Write a compare-and-contrast essay using the

similarities/differences method.
This section is for all students.

Here’s an interesting thing about the similarities/differences method.

Sometimes you put the similarities first, as in the high school essay about two
short stories. And sometimes you put the differences first, as in the junior high
essay about two houses.
How will you know which order to put your topics in when you write your
own essay?

First, when you choose your two topics, make two lists: one for similarities
and one for differences.

Second, think about your topics and lists. What

conclusions do you want to draw? What important thing
do you want to say about your two topics? For instance,
if you were comparing and contrasting Jonah and
Pinocchio, you might want to say that even though
Jonah was a real prophet of God, you admire Pinocchio
more because he became a better person through his
troubles.
Which are more important to you: the similarities or the differences?

Third, now that you’ve chosen your topics, made your lists, and thought
about them, put the most important section last, just before your conclusion. In
the case of the above example of Jonah and Pinocchio, you would begin with the
similarities between them and then end with the differences because it is the
differences in that essay that set them apart.
This compare-and-contrast stuff isn’t just to keep you from watching your
favorite reruns. It gives you a chance to make a point. So make a point!

What point will you make?

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 59

Now it’s your turn: 9.3

Write a compare-and-contrast essay of at least 300 words. Use the

similarities/differences method. Along with your essay, hand in your lists of
similarities and differences to your parent and/or teacher.

Here are a few suggestions for topics, but feel free to choose one of your own:

 The sidekick Robin versus the sidekick Pepper Potts

 Traveling by car versus traveling by bicycle (or by train)
 The Disney version of Pinocchio versus the original book by Collodi
 Any movie versus its original book
 The character of Ebenezer Scrooge versus the character of Peter Pan
 The Ford F-150 pick-up versus the Dodge Ram
 Jazz dancing versus ballet
 Andrew Luck versus Robert Griffin III (RG3)
 One brother or sister versus another brother or sister
 Christmas versus Easter
 Laura Ingalls Wilder of the Little House series versus Anne Shirley of Anne of
Green Gables
 The reality show Survivor versus American Idol
 How women are treated in Islam-controlled countries versus how they are
treated in your own country
 Organically grown foods versus GMOs (genetically modified organisms)
 Research involving fetal stem cells versus adult stem cell research

Ask yourself these questions as you think, plan, and write:

 Did I choose two topics that make sense when they are compared and
contrasted?
 Did I make a list of similarities and a list of differences?
 If the most important aspect of my two topics is their similarities, did I put the
similarities last, just before the concluding paragraph?
 If the most important aspect of my two topics is their differences, did I put
the differences last, just before the concluding paragraph?

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 60

 Did I know that tiny mites live in some imported cheeses, burrowing holes and
giving the cheeses flavor (!), and that it’s okay with the Food and Drug
Administration, according to newsoftheweird.com? Ewww!
 Did I draw some insightful conclusions or give the reader some food for
thought in my concluding paragraph?
 What point did I make? Write my point here:

Here’s the pattern of paragraphs for your essay:

Introduction Introduction
Similarities OR Differences
Transition Transition
Differences Similarities
Conclusion Conclusion
As you learned from reading your example essay, your similarities or your
differences can be more than one paragraph long. In this case, the differences
were two paragraphs long in each example. It just depends on what you want to
say and how much you want to say.
Use this writing schedule to break down the tasks, if you wish:
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6
Decide on a Write the body Write a Let my essay Print off my
topic and check of my essay. smashing rest a day so I essay and read Hand it in.
it with my introduction can look at it it out loud.
parent/teacher. Include a and a with fresh eyes
transition to thoughtful tomorrow. Proofread it at
Organize my
material with
tie the conclusion. least twice. Fix
lists of similarities to mistakes. Be
similarities and the as clear and
differences. differences. concise as
possible.
Get an idea of Research, if
what I want to needed.
say about my
topics.

Next lesson: the absolutely, positively, no-question-about-it last lesson.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 61

Lesson 10: Your Choice of Methods

Here’s what you’ll be doing in this lesson:

 Reviewing three major methods

 Deciding on the topics and method for your compare-and-contrast essay
 Writing a compare-and-contrast essay
You can check each box after you’ve finished the corresponding section, either in
the list above or in each section below, if you like.

 Review three major methods.

Comparing and contrasting is an important skill in life, a skill you already
use. When you have the choice of where to go for vacation, which team to join,
which Lego® set to buy, or which friend to invite over,
you compare and contrast automatically in your head—
and you do it rather quickly.
Writing a compare-and-contrast essay, however,
takes a little thought and some organization, something
you’ve learned in these lessons.
Teachers do not assign compare-and-contrast
essays to give you nightmares. They assign them so you can think intelligently
about two topics and make a point.
If you compare and contrast Christmas to Easter, you will totally bore your
reader if you write a dry essay only on what is similar and what is different about
those two events. The point of it all is to make a point!
Draw some conclusions. Share intriguing insights. Write something
meaningful about your two topics. Why make someone read another yawn-
inducing essay? And why bore yourself?

In lesson seven, you learned the block method of writing a compare-and-

contrast essay. In lesson eight, you learned the feature method, and in lesson

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 62

nine, you learned the similarities/differences method. Let’s review them here
quickly.

With the block method, you put all the information about one topic
together in one paragraph and then all the information about the other topic in a
second paragraph. It looks something like this in an essay:

Inspiring Introduction
Topic One
Transition
Topic Two
Insightful Conclusion
Topic one or two can use more than one paragraph if you have more
information than will fit well into one. Use a chart or a list of similarities and one
of differences to organize your material. Decide which topic to put last by
deciding which is more important to you. Link the two topics with a transition.
If you were writing the Christmas/Easter essay, you would keep all the
information about Christmas in one paragraph and then put all the material
about Easter in another one. After you decide which of those topics helps to make
your point, you would put it last, just before the conclusion. Your transition
would move readers from one topic to the next.

With the feature method, you consider which features are worth
examining. Each feature will appear in its own paragraph. Every paragraph will
follow an order: first one topic and then the next. It looks something like this:

Clever Introduction
Feature One
Feature Two
Feature Three
Feature Four
Thoughtful Conclusion
Feel free to use more than one paragraph for any feature that needs more.
Make a chart of all the features to organize your thoughts and material. You
might want to save the most important feature for last.
Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com
 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 63

For the Christmas/Easter topics, you might consider features such as the
purpose of the event, length of celebration, traditions, history, and so forth.

With the similarities/differences method, you consider how the topics

are similar and how they are different. Keep the similarities together in their own
paragraphs and keep the differences in their own paragraphs. It looks something
like this:

Introduction Introduction
Similarities Differences
Transition OR Transition
Differences Similarities
Conclusion Conclusion

Similarities can use more than one paragraph, if needed, and so can the
differences. Use a list of similarities and a list of differences to help you think
clearly and organize your material. If you believe the similarities are what set the
topics apart from each other, put the similarities last, just before the conclusion.
If you believe the differences are the most important part, put the differences last,
just before the conclusion.
In the case of the Christmas/Easter topics, you would write
about the similarities of the two and the differences. Then you
would decide which—similarities or differences—is more important
and arrange it last, just before the conclusion, with a transition
between the topics. The transition moving the essay from
similarities to differences could be something like this: “Though
both celebrations are important in the Christian calendar, each has
very different origins.”

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 64

 Decide on the topics and method for your essay.

Now it’s your turn: 10.1

This is the thinking and planning phase of your essay.

Any of the topics below can be used in a compare-and-contrast essay. Run your
peepers over this list:
 Coniferous trees versus deciduous trees
 Playing a real piano versus playing an electric keyboard
 A human baby one hour before it is born versus one hour after it is born
 Big Mac® versus Whopper®
 Store-bought bread versus homemade bread
 What the Romans gave the world versus what the Greeks gave the world
 Kindle® versus NOOK®
 One religion versus another
 The American Revolution versus the French Revolution
 Halloween versus Mardi Gras
 The Old Testament versus the New Testament
 Buying things online versus buying them locally from brick-and-mortar stores

Put a check next to the pair of topics you would like to write
about. Or devise your own set of topics and check them with
your parent/teacher. If you choose a new idea, write it here:

Then think about your set of topics and what you would like to say about them.
Play around with the three methods and decide which one will work best. Write it
here:

Now create your lists of similarities and differences, your chart, or other
organizational device. Fill it in with everything you can think of, even the goofy
stuff. Writing down everything (which is called brainstorming) helps capture
some great ideas.
Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com
 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 65

 Write a compare-and-contrast essay of your choice.

Now it’s your turn: 10.2

You’ve chosen a set of topics, decided on a method, and made your lists or charts.

It’s time to get writing!

Write a compare-and-contrast essay of your choice based on one of the three

methods reviewed in this lesson. Use at least 300 words.

Write the name of the method on the back of your essay so the person grading
the essay can tell if you hit the mark.

When you hand in your polished essay (not a first draft), also hand in the
organizing tool you used (lists, charts, and so forth).

Ask yourself these questions before you hand in your essay:

 Am I writing about two things that make sense being compared and
contrasted?
 Did I choose a method that works well with the set of topics?
 Did I organize my material with a chart, list, or other method before I wrote?
 Did I follow the pattern for the method I chose?
 Did I write the name of the method on the back of my paper?
 Did I think deeply about the two topics and make a brilliant, moving,
noteworthy, or thought-provoking point in the conclusion?

You might want to use the schedule on the next page to help you write your
essay, or feel free to make one of your own.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 66

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6

Decide on a Write the body Write a Let my essay Print off my
pair of topics of my essay. smashing rest a day so I essay and read Hand it in.
and play Include introduction can come back it out loud to
around with transitions and a to it tomorrow catch
which method where thoughtful with fresh mistakes.
to use. necessary. conclusion. eyes.
Proofread my
Check my Research, if whole essay at
topics and needed. least twice. Fix
method with mistakes. Be
my as clear and
parent/teacher. concise as
possible.
Organize my
material with a
chart, lists, or
other method.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 67

Answers

Now it’s your turn: 1.1

Answers will vary.

Now it’s your turn: 1.2

Use the paragraph by Wells to fill in the lists below. The first ones are done:
Write the positive images here Write the negative images here
little brother (connotes protection) irrevocable (connotes negative idea of “can’t get out of”)
cheerful, talkative tax payer, going to church and paying the rent on the pew
honorable head of a family
mellow fighting with schoolmasters
innocent a servant to his butler
well-traveled nephew can’t think of a reply

Now it’s your turn: 1.3

Answers will vary.

Now it’s your turn: 1.4

Answers will vary.

Now it’s your turn: 2.1

Sum up each man’s attributes in one sentence:
Roosevelt was a lighthearted and clever leader.
Churchill was could be lighthearted, too, but his nature was deeper than
Roosevelt’s and, therefore, more meaningful.

Now it’s your turn: 2.2

Similarities: public personalities, lovers of pleasure, exuberant self-expression
that others sometimes question, able to handle troubles
Differences: Churchill has a depth to him and an understanding of “tragic
possibilities” that Roosevelt does not possess
Which one seems more important to the writer? Circle one. Differences.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 68

Now it’s your turn: 2.3

The parts about Roosevelt are highlighted in yellow. The parts about Churchill are
highlighted in gray.

Roosevelt, as a public personality, was a spontaneous, optimistic, pleasure-loving ruler who

dismayed his assistants by the gay and apparently heedless abandon with which he seemed to
delight in pursuing two or more totally incompatible policies, and astonished them even more
by the swiftness and ease with which he managed to throw off the cares of office during the
darkest and most dangerous moments. Churchill too loves pleasure, and he too lacks neither
gaiety nor a capacity for exuberant self-expression, together with the habit of blithely cutting
Gordian knots in a manner which often upset his experts; but he is not a frivolous man. His
nature possesses a dimension of depth—and a corresponding sense of tragic possibilities,
which Roosevelt’s lighthearted genius instinctively passed by.

Now it’s your turn: 2.4

Compare and contrast two things in a paragraph. Answers will vary.

Now it’s your turn: 3.1

While we were crossing the 180th meridian it was Sunday in the stern of the ship
where my family were, and Tuesday in the bow where I was. They were there
eating the half of a fresh apple on the 8th and I was at the same time eating the
other half of it on the 10th—and I could notice how stale it was, already. The
family were the same age that they were when I had left them five minutes
before, but I was a day older now than I was then. The day they were living in
stretched behind them half way round the globe, across the Pacific Ocean and
America and Europe; the day I was living in stretched in front of me around the
other half to meet it.

Now it’s your turn: 3.2

It’s not funny anymore!

Now it’s your turn: 3.3

Write a short paragraph full of Ping-Pongs. Break the rules and write very badly.
Answers will vary.

Does it make your writing funny or just tedious? Answers will vary.
Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com
 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 69

Now it’s your turn: 4.1

Choose a pair of topics from this list. Make a chart and fill it in. Answers will vary.

Now it’s your turn: 4.2

Write a paragraph based on your chart. Answers will vary.

Now it’s your turn: 5.1

Find and write out a passage in a story that uses dovetailing. Study it. Answers will
vary.

Now it’s your turn: 5.2

Write your own dovetail passage. Answers will vary.

Now it’s your turn: 6.1

Use 3 words or impressions to describe Clarisse. Any of these will do: lively,
moving, scents of nature follow her, fresh-scented, movement, at home with
nature, living, breathing, interesting soul, sliding

Use 3 words or impressions to describe Montag’s wife. Any of these will do: dead
or deathly pale, cold, unmoving, fixed, feeling of death, uncomfortable, unnatural

Which woman represents nature and which technology? Clarisse represents

nature; the wife represents technology and its failure.

Now it’s your turn: 6.2

Use 3 words to describe Tamara. Any of these will do: neat, neat freak, orderly,
creative, prepared, possibly stuffy

Use 3 words to describe Amanda (Mandi). Any of these will do: sloppy, impetuous,
disorderly, impatient, possibly fun

Which would you rather have as a friend? Answers will vary.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 70

Now it’s your turn: 6.3

Write a scene to describe two characters, places, or things, as though it were part
of a story.

Now it’s your turn: 7.1

1. What is this student contrasting? What Inspector Clouseau thinks of himself

versus what he really is.
2. Have you seen any of the Pink Panther movies? If so, do you agree with
this paper? Student opinion.
3. Write one descriptive word that shows what Clouseau thinks of himself.
Phenomenal, gifted, skilled, witty, ingenious, and so forth.
4. Write one descriptive word to show what he really is. Bumbling, foolish,
braggadocios, slow-witted, inexperienced, and so on.

Now it’s your turn: 7.2

1. What is the topic in paragraph one? How Clouseau views himself.

2. What is the topic in paragraph two? What Clouseau is truly like.
3. Write the transition statement from topic one to topic two here: “Actually,
Inspector Clouseau is one of the biggest bumbling fools on France’s police
force or on anyone’s police force for that matter, but he never realizes it.”
The word “Actually” moves the essay from topic one to topic two.
4. What conclusions does the student draw in the concluding paragraph?
Clouseau’s bumbling successes make him blind to what he really is.

Write an introduction of two to four sentences for this essay. Here’s an example
introduction:
“Make it thy business to know thyself, which is the most difficult lesson in the world.”
Miguel de Cervantes says this, and he ought to know. He’s the author of Don Quixote, a man
who believes himself to be a knight on a quest while the rest of the world sees him as a fool.
This discrepancy between perception and reality can lend itself to serious fiction, as with Don
Quixote, or to very humorous situations, as is the case with the main character in the Pink
Panther movies, Inspector Clouseau.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 71

Now it’s your turn: 7.3

Write a compare-and-contrast essay of at least 300 words using the block

method. Answers will vary.

Feel free to use this writing schedule to help you complete your tasks:
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6
Decide on Write the body Write a Let my essay Print off my
topics and of my essay: smashing rest a day so I essay and read Hand it in.
check it with topic one and introduction can look at it it out loud.
my topic two. and a with fresh eyes
parent/teacher. thoughtful tomorrow. Proofread it at
Include conclusion. least twice. Fix
Organize my transitions mistakes. Be
material with where as clear and
lists. necessary. concise as
possible.
Get an idea of Research, if
what I want to needed.
say about my
topics.

Now it’s your turn: 8.1

Highlight or underline Windows in one color, Mac in another: (Windows is in

yellow and Mac is in gray)

While Windows crashes all the time because it has never had a complete
remake; it is full of old, unstable code from the Seventies. Macs (computers
made by Apple Inc.), on the other hand, are based on rock-solid, thirty-year-
old code that literally can’t crash. The core of Macs started with that rock-solid
code, and the rest was made from scratch. “Your toaster doesn’t crash. Your
kitchen sink doesn’t crash. Why should your computer?” says Apple. Macs are
reliable.
Microsoft didn’t design Windows with security in mind but, instead,
created gaping holes that make it easy for malicious hackers and viruses to
walk right in. Because of this, it is really easy for one of the seventy thousand
viruses to penetrate Windows’ low defenses and then delete all of your

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 72

precious files. Thanks to Apple’s great security, there are no known viruses
that can hurt a Mac.
Try using a camera with Windows, and you’ll have a problem. You will have
to find the right drivers and software and then try to figure it out. Why?
Because you have one company making the hardware and another making the
software. Plug any camera into a Mac, however, and you can instantly import
pictures. Apple makes it simple because it is the only company that makes the
hardware and the software. It is that hand-in-glove fit that makes everything
so easy.

Does this student keep the same pattern of topics in each paragraph? Yes.
Windows first and then Macs.

Now it’s your turn: 8.2

Fill in the chart based on the Windows/Mac essay. Add another feature of your
choice in the last line and fill it in as well. Answers are in bold.

Features Microsoft Windows Mac

Reliability Unstable code Rock-solid code

Security Gaping holes, low Great security, no known

defenses viruses can attack
Compatibility One company makes the Makes hardware and
hardware; another the software
software. Ill-fitting.
Perception Can be used by the Cool, intelligent users
common user who
doesn’t care about
image.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 73

Now it’s your turn: 8.3

Write a compare-and-contrast essay of at least 300 words using the feature

method. Answers will vary.

Feel free to use this writing schedule to help you complete your tasks:

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6

Decide on a Write the body Write a Let my essay Print off my
topic and check of my essay. smashing rest a day so I essay and read Hand it in.
it with my introduction can look at it it out loud.
parent/teacher. Include and a with fresh eyes
transitions thoughtful tomorrow. Proofread it at
Organize my where conclusion. least twice. Fix
material with a necessary. mistakes. Be
chart for as clear and
features. Research, if concise as
needed. possible.
Get an idea of
what I want to
say about my
topics.

Now it’s your turn: 9.1

1. List two differences between the houses: location, trees, size of lot,
driveway/parking lot, bedroom flooring, bathroom/closet, and so forth.

2. What is the similarity? Love in the home, as expressed with hospitality and lively
discussions.

3. How does this student avoid Ping-Pongs in her paragraphs on differences? (For
a quick review of Ping-Pongs, visit lesson three.) In the “differences” section, the
items for one house are bunched together and the items for the other house are
bunched together in their own paragraph. That way, she doesn’t go back and
forth between “my house--her house--my house--her house.”

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 74

4. This writer puts the differences first and the similarities last. Why do you think
she does this? The similarities are more important to her, so she puts them last to
emphasize them.

5. Underline the transition that moves her essay from differences to similarities.
Even though there are many differences between her house and mine, there is
one thing in common that makes me like them both.

6. What point does she make in her conclusion? When she gets the chance to
have a home of her own, she’s going to be just as loving in her new home as she
has experienced in her old one. This also implies that it would be a good thing for
readers to do as well.

Now it’s your turn: 9.2

1. List two similarities between “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “The Devil and
Tom Walker.” Both touch on the supernatural, and both have unkind women.

2. List two differences between the stories. The male protagonists (main
characters) have widely differing personalities, and one loves to scare himself but
the other is pragmatic; the antagonists differ in that one is a man in a costume
and one is real.

3. In order to keep the information clear to the reader, this student always uses
the same pattern in each paragraph. Check the box next to the order she uses:

“TheX Legend of Sleepy Hollow” “The Devil and Tom Walker”

“The Devil and Tom Walker” “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”

4. Underline the transition from similarities to differences (Though the women

are similar, the protagonists of each story couldn’t be more different from each
other) and the transition from one difference to the next (As in the case of the
protagonists, the antagonists also differ from each other).

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 75

5. This student writes about one similarity first and two differences last. Why do
you think she uses this order? To her, the differences are more important than the
similarities; therefore, she writes about the differences last so she can emphasize
them.
Now it’s your turn: 9.3

Write a compare-and-contrast essay of at least 300 words using the

similarities/differences method. Use this checklist before you hand in your paper:
 Did I choose two topics that make sense when they are compared and
contrasted?
 Did I make a list of similarities and a list of differences?
 If the most important aspect of my two topics is their similarities, did I put the
similarities last, just before the concluding paragraph?
 If the most important aspect of my two topics is their differences, did I put
the differences last, just before the concluding paragraph?
 Did I know that tiny mites live in some imported cheeses, burrowing holes and
giving the cheeses flavor (!), and that it’s okay with the Food and Drug
Administration, according to newsoftheweird.com? Ewww!
 Did I draw some insightful conclusions or give the reader some food for
thought in my concluding paragraph?
 What point did I make? Write my point here: Answers will vary.

Feel free to use this writing schedule to help you complete your tasks:
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6
Decide on a Write the body Write a Let my essay Print off my
topic and check of my essay. smashing rest a day so I essay and read Hand it in.
it with my introduction can look at it it out loud.
parent/teacher. Include a and a with fresh eyes
transition to thoughtful tomorrow. Proofread it at
Organize my
material with
tie the conclusion. least twice. Fix
lists of similarities to mistakes. Be
similarities and the as clear and
differences. differences. concise as
possible.
Get an idea of Research, if
what I want to needed.
say about my
topics.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 76

Now it’s your turn: 10.1

Decide on a topic and method for your compare-and-contrast essay.

Now it’s your turn: 10.2

Write a compare-and-contrast essay of your choice of topic and method. Use this
checklist:
 Am I writing about two things that make sense being compared and
contrasted?
 Did I choose a method that works well with the set of topics?
 Did I organize my material with a chart, list, or other method before I wrote?
 Did I follow the pattern for the method I chose?
 Did I write the name of the method on the back of my paper?
 Did I think deeply about the two topics and make a brilliant, moving,
noteworthy, or thought-provoking point in the conclusion?

Feel free to use this writing schedule to complete your tasks:

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6

Decide on a Write the body Write a Let my essay Print off my
pair of topics of my essay. smashing rest a day so I essay and read Hand it in.
and play Include introduction can come back it out loud to
around with transitions and a to it tomorrow catch
which method where thoughtful with fresh mistakes.
to use. necessary. conclusion. eyes.
Proofread my
Check my Research, if whole essay at
topics and needed. least twice. Fix
method with mistakes. Be
my as clear and
parent/teacher. concise as
possible.
Organize my
material with a
chart, lists, or
other method.

Copyright © 2011-2014 by Sharon Watson, WritingWithSharonWatson.com

 Unlock the Secrets of Compare-and-Contrast Writing 77

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