The Compare/Contrast Essay
Purpose: The compare and contrast essay format is one of the most useful forms a college student can have in his/her arsenal. Seldom will a student complete college without at some time being asked to compare and contrast something or someone. The structure of compare/contrast can easily he extended into as research paper. The purpose of this assignment is to acquaint students with several structural elements of an essay. The elements that will receive the greatest attention are the introduction paragraph, thesis statements, topic sentences, inter- and intra-paragraph transitions, parallelism, and point of view.
Assignment
Write a 750 to 780- word compare/contrast essay. Each student will compare/contrast the conditions in the U.S. in the years 2007 and 2014. The essay may be organized to discuss the similarities or differences; the similarities and differences; the similarities; or the differences between the two candidates. This assignment will require information from an interview, so a works cited page is required. Also, the completed assignment will be exclusively in third person point of view.
Checklist for the Compare and Contrast Essay
• Ensure that the entire format is correct according to MLA.
• Insure that there is a clear thesis statement.
• Ensure that there are transitions within and between paragraphs.
• Ensure that the point of view in the body paragraphs is in third person point of view.
• Ensure that the documentation is in accordance with MLA.
• Ensure that the outline reflects the thesis statement.
Learning Objectives
1. Reinforce the principles of outlining
2. Two ways of organizing a compare/contrast essay
3. Use transitions effectively
4. The use of third person point of view
Vocabulary
1. Compare means to discuss the similarities of two things.
2. Contrast means to examine the differences
Thesis: When Reginald compares and contrasts his life with his father’s at the age of fifty, it is apparent that Reginald’s life was easier in the areas of education, employment, and family. I. I. I.
I. Education
A. Father’s
1. Academic
2. Empirical
B. Reginald’s
1. Academic
2. Empirical
II. Employment
A. Father’s
1. Income
2. Career
B. Reginald’s
1. Income
2. Career
III. Family
A. Father’s responsibility
B. Reginald’s responsibility
The rain flowed off the brim of his hat like water over Niagara Falls as Reginald’s father stepped onto the front porch of the house. His trek from the bus stop to the house offered no shelter from the storm. Nevertheless,3 he managed as smile as he entered the house. Since he never owned a car,3 he never missed the comfort of driving into a garage. You can’t miss or complain about something you never had. Reginald, 3on the other hand, 3 could not imagine having to brave bad weather coming home from work. He had owned a car since he was twenty years old. So, 3 smiling through the rain was not uncommon. He even prayed for rain to water his thirsty front yard during the hot San Antonio summer. When Reginald compares and contrasts his life with his father’s at the age of fifty,3 it is apparent that Reginald’s life was easier in the areas of education, employment, and family.
To begin,3 there were great differences in Reginald’s father and his education. Reginald’s father did not have a higher school education. Reginald’s father had to drop out of school after completing the seventh grade. The lack of a formal education greatly limited the opportunities afforded Reginald’s father. On the contrary, 3 Reginald not only graduated high school but also earned a master’s degree. When he marched across the stage to receive his MA degree, 3 Reginald remembered a conversation he once had with his father. “Son,5 whenever someone will take the time to try to teach you anything, make the time to learn it. You’ll never know,4” Reginald father said had said,4 “when you might need a piece of education.” At age fifty,6 Reginald realized how valuable his father’s advice had been. But, 3 what Reginald’s father lacked in academic education, 3 he more than made up for in empirical education,7 the education one gets from just dealing with the things life hands out. Reginald’s father taught himself how to fix almost anything. On top of that, 3 his father knew how to relate with all kinds of people to get what he needed for himself and his family. Reginald had learned the lesson of relating to people effectively,1 but he was all thumbs when it came to common tasks like repairing things around the house. He had to pay someone to even change a light bulb.
Far more than in education,3 Reginald’s and his father’s life at age fifty was very different in employment. Reginald’s father never earned more than fifteen thousand dollars a year in his whole life. Even considering inflation,3 there was an ocean of difference in the income of the father compared to his son when they were the same age. The fifty thousand dollars a year that Reginald earned made his father’s income look like peanuts. Much of the difference in their incomes was due to his father having many jobs and Reginald having a career. Compensation for a job is measured by an hourly wage while compensation for a career is measured by a salary. In the jobs Reginald’s father held,3 he had to punch clock. As an educator, 6 Reginald earned the same amount whether he worked forty hours or less. On the other hand,3 if Reginald’s father worked thirty hours, 3 that was all he was paid for. Reginald appreciated the advice his father gave him,4 “Get yourself a career if you can and forget about a job.”
Even though there are obvious differences between Reginald and his father in education and employment, 3 they were very similar when it came to family at age fifty. That similarity was in their dedication to their families. Despite what it took to provide for their wives and children,3 both were willing to do all in their power to provide their families’ needs. Both father and son always provided food, shelter, and clothing. It is true that Reginald’s father only bought him ten-dollar Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers,1 and Reginald bought his son $150 Air Jordan’s. Both sons were also well-fed and clothed by their respective fathers.
When Reginald looks back on his and his father’s life at age fifty, 3 Reginald has even more respect and love for his father. On those few occasions when Reginald finds himself inconvenienced by bad weather and gets soaked to the bone, 3 he manages to put on a smile and get through the rain. Reginald hopes to pass on to his son his grandfather’s attitude about education and employment to deal with the cards life hands you. But most of all, 6 Reginald hopes his son, 8 like his grandfather,8 will pass on the idea of taking care of his family and providing whatever they need.
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