Compare/Contrast Essay

Writing a Compare/Contrast Essay 
Here is some general information about writing this type of essay:
• A comparison essay notes either similarities.
• A contrast essay notes only differences.
• The comparison or contrast should make a point or serve a purpose. Often such essays do one of the following: Clarify something unknown or not well understood. Lead to a fresh insight or new way of viewing something. Bring one or both of the subjects into sharper focus. Show that one subject is better than the other. 
• The essay can present the subjects and indicate whether they will be compared, contrasted, or both.
• The same points should be discussed for both subjects; it is not necessary, however to give both subjects the same degree of development.
• Some common organizational structures include: (see note below) Block method (subject by subject) Point by point Comparisons followed by contrasts (or the reverse)
• Use detailed topic sentences and the following connecting words to make the relationship between your subjects clear to your reader:

Connectors That Show Comparison (Similarities)
In addition
Correspondingly
Compared to
Similarly
Just as
As well as
Likewise
Same as
At the same time

Connectors That Show Contrast (Differences)
However
On the contrary
On the other hand
Even though
In contrast
Although
Unlike
Conversely
Meanwhile

Reference: SBCC

Writing Practice:

Consider choosing between a pet dog or a pet cat. Think about the similarities of cats and dogs. Think about the differences. Write a short comparison/contrast paragraph. Use the vocabulary given above when writing your paragraph.

Timed writing:

Other topics for Comparison/Contrast essays:

1. Books vs. Movies

2. Living in the City/Living in the Province (Inaka)

3. Strawberries vs Apples

4. Email vs SMS

5. High School vs College

Timed Writing: 

Class printouts will be from Get Your Message Across, p. 74-79. 

Writing Process Essays Well

How to Write an essay that describes a process. (This type of essay is sometimes called a how-to essay.)

After researching several possible process essay topics, you may decide to write about the process of making popcorn balls.

You will start by writing down all of the steps you have to take while making popcorn balls, but in this first brainstorming stage, you must not worry about writing things in any order. Just "dump" all your thoughts onto a piece of paper.

Hint: To make sure you cover every step, imagine you are explaining the process to an alien who is unfamiliar with earth customs. For example, be sure to include steps like "gather your supplies" and "turn on the stove." An alien wouldn't know that!

After you have written every possible step, you organize those steps into a sensible order with an outline. The organized outline will represent your essay paragraphs.

For example:

"How to Make Popcorn Balls" is your overall message. Your essay will be made up of smaller clumps of ideas or messages called paragraphs. Each paragraph should express a distinct idea. In our example of a how-to essay:

• Your first paragraph will introduce the subject of making popcorn balls. This first paragraph will end with a thesis sentence.

• Your second paragraph will tell the reader to gather a list of supplies.
• Your third paragraph will tell the reader how to begin the process. You might instruct the reader to put butter in the pan, or you might instruct the reader to turn on the stove. You will decide the best first step!
• Transition words/sentences:

To make your essay flow from one thought to another (or one step to another), you must use transition statements. In a how-to essay, the transitions take us from one step to the next. There are many transition words to use to make your essay paragraphs flow. Be sure to use a variety of expressions so your essay doesn't sound repetitive.

Conclusion:

You last paragraph will be a conclusion paragraph. The conclusion can do several things, but its main function is to provide a sense of completion. In the conclusion you restate your main ideas and sum up your answer in a satisfying way.

Reference: http://homeworktips.about.com/od/essaywriting/ss/How-To-Write-An-Essay.htm

Watch this video for more ideas about how to write process essays:

http://youtu.be/32R30EYIW-U

Tips on Writing Cause and Effect Paragraphs

Photo credit: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/cause+and+effect+%232.jpg

Cause and effect papers use analysis to examine the reasons for and the outcomes of situations. They are an attempt to discover either the origins of something, such as an event or a decision, the effects or results that can be properly attributed to it, or both.
Cause and effect papers answer questions like the following ("A" is your topic):

• Why did A happen? (discovering the causes of A)
• What happened as a result of A? (discovering the effects of A)
• What might happen as a result of A? (predicting further effects of A)

Discovering causesBefore you begin writing or even researching, make a list of all the causes of this event you already know about. Ask questions like these:

Why did this happen?
What preconditions existed?
Were the results foreseen?
Could they have been foreseen?

Once you have answered some of these questions, do some research. Identify the important information, and organize your ideas. Focus on what is interesting for you.

As you write, use the transitions, or signal words, that tell readers you are demonstrating causal relationships between your ideas:

• Led to
• Because
• Cause(s)
• Reasons(s)
• Explanation(s)
• So

Discovering effects
If you choose to write about effects, first brainstorm:
Make a list of all the effects you know about, and use this list to direct your research to learn more.
Have the effects had great impact on history, culture, or your own life?
Or have they had a small impact with few results?

Again, be sure you can clearly show the cause-effect relationship.

Do not write too many effects, realize that there is a limit to your essay.

Writing too few effects is also not good.

Make sure you focus on the important information.

Transition words that suggest to the reader that you are discussing effects include the following:

• Therefore
• As a result
• Consequently
• Thus
• Then
• Thanks to 

Predicting results
Cause and effect papers often make predictions based on known facts, trends, and developments.

Prediction tries to answer questions like these:
What are the possible or likely consequences?
Are these results likely to have great impact on my life or the lives of others?
Are these results likely to have great impact on shaping public policy, society, or history?
What preconditions would have to exist before my predictions could come about?

In writing a prediction (as your conclusion), male sure your reasoning is clear, and to the point.

Signal words and verb forms such as these suggest to the reader that you are making the move from observation to prediction:

• If
• When
• After
• As soon as
• Likely that
• Might/May
• Can expect
• Possible that

Reference:
Writing Cause and Effect Paragraphs

Writing Essays

     So far, we have written paragraphs in our class. We wrote a self-introduction paragraph, and we are in the process of writing a narrative paragraph. As we continue, we will be writing more and more paragraphs. When you write four or five paragraphs about a given topic, you are already writing an essay.

     An essay is a collection of paragraphs about a given topic, the paragraphs are divided into introductuion, supporting details and conclusion. Very similar to the parts of a paragraph.

     An essay is a literary composition that expresses a certain idea or topic, followed by supporting statements. It will follow a logical pattern, to include an introductory paragraph, a body (or supporting details paragraph), and a conclusion (summary of statements and support).

                                                                      Figure 1:

     Figure 1 shows the basic structure of an essay. As you can see, an essay often has five (5) paragraphs.

     Remember the hamburger in Parts of a Paragraph? Well, the Parts of an Essay is very much the same:

     Keep in mind that this is a five (5) paragraph essay format. Meaning, there are at least three (3) supporting paragraphs between the Introduction and Conclusion.

    Essay writing is just an extension of paragraph writing, there are many similarities in their structure and format. So, when you are writing paragraphs, you already have the ability to write essays.