You are being asked to complete this assignment because college instructors and researchers tend to think about all of the writings about a particular subject like a big, never-ending conversation. At any given time, someone will write an article, a book, etc. that adds a bit more information to an ongoing conversation. Sooner or later, as a student, you will have to consider how new additions to the conversation, which are often referred to as new research, are alike or different than what somebody else has already said about the same topic.
How You Should Read
As you read the three assigned articles, take notes on them (called annotations) to help ensure you:
· Understand what the authors are saying in general
· Understand any unfamiliar terms
· Identify the authors’ main points, which will help you accurately summarize the articles in your essay
· Find common points that are discussed by all of the authors, whether they agree on those points or not
How You Should Write
After you have identified several common points discussed in the three articles, write a comparison essay that:
· Begins with an introduction that mentions all of the authors and the titles of their articles and ends with a comparison contrast thesis statement
· Uses specific examples from the articles to back up claims that you make
· Uses correct MLA in-text citations for the examples from each article and contains a Works Cited page at the end of the paper. The Works Cited page is not counted as one of your three-to-four pages.
· Has paragraphs that focus on one main idea that is addressed in the topic sentence and further explained in the rest of the paragraph
· Remains on topic from beginning to end
· Ends with a conclusion that restates the essay’s main thesis
· Reflects a consistent, comparison contrast essay structure, i.e., point-by-point or block
o Point-by-point (also referred to as alternating pattern or feature-by-feature)
In a point-by-point comparison contrast essay, each paragraphfocuses on how the authors in each article discuss one point. Below is a short sample outline for this comparison contrast essay structure:
Introduction (Paragraph 1)
Point 1 (Paragraph 2):Comparing and contrasting how each author talks about the point
Author/Article A
Author/Article B
Author/Article C
Point 2 (Paragraph 3):Comparing and contrasting how each author talks about the point
Author/Article A
Author/Article B
Author/Article C
Point 3 (Paragraph 4):Comparing and contrasting how each author talks about the point
Author/Article A
Author/Article B
Author/Article C
Conclusion (Paragraph 5)*
*NOTE: You may need more than five paragraphs to complete your essay. To lengthen the essay, discuss more than three points. Additionally, you may need several paragraphs to discuss one point.
o Block (also referred to as whole-by-whole or subject-by-subject)
In a block comparison contrast essay,each paragraphfocuses on how oneauthor/articlediscusses all of the common points. Below is a short sample outline for this comparison contrast essay structure:
Introduction (Paragraph 1)
Author/Article A (Paragraph 2):
Point 1
Point 2
Point 3
Author/Article B (Paragraph 3): Comparing and Contrasting Article B to Article A
Point 1
Point 2
Point 3
Author/Article C (Paragraph 4): Comparing and Contrasting Article C to Articles A and B
Point 1
Point 2
Point 3
Conclusion (Paragraph 5)*
*NOTE: You may need more than five paragraphs to complete your essay. To lengthen the essay, discuss more than three points. Additionally, you may need several paragraphs to discuss one article.
After you have finished writing your essay, make sure you edit it to address sentence-level issues.