Contrast and Compare Organizers

A comparison is a systematic strategy for analyzing and evaluating the similarities of two or more things. (A contrast is simply a comparison that emphasizes differences rather than similarities.) An effective comparison attempts to demonstrate one of three general purposes: Two things thought to be different are actually similar. Two things thought to be similar are really quite different. Two things, although comparable, are not equal–that is, one is better than the other.

Look for the scale symbol in the lessons to indicate a contrast and compare activity.

Use a table similar to the one below to list attributes of the items or people you want to contrast or compare.

Click here to see how to organize and construct comparison for Contrast Writing.

Explanation from the Contrast and Compare Guide by  http://www.readwritethink.org:

• Comparison and contrast are ways of looking at objects and thinking about how they are alike and different.
• For instance, all of these items are alike because they are kinds of food, but there are many ways that they are different. For instance, they belong to different food groups. Some must be cooked before eating, and some can be eaten raw.
• When you write comparison and contrast, you will pay attention to these kinds of details.

There are two main reasons that people use comparison and contrast:

1. To Explain–You might compare and contrast kinds of food, for instance, to help someone understand which food need to be refrigerated and which can be stored in a cabinet or in a bowl on the counter.
2. To Evaluate–You might compare and contrast kinds of food to show why one kind of food or brand of food is better than another. For example, apples are a better snack than butter.

When you choose items to compare and contrast, make sure that you choose items that have similarities.

You have to choose things that will make sense for comparison and contrast. For instance, it wouldn’t make sense to compare a truck with crayons or crayons with a birdhouse.

Be sure to compare things that belong together. Compare crayons to pencils or pens, or compare trucks and cars.

When you compare items, you look for their similarities–the things that make them the same.

For example:

• Apples and oranges are both fruit.
• They’re both foods.
• Both are made into juice.
• Both grow on trees.

When you contrast items, you look at their differences.

For example:

• Apples are red. Oranges are orange.
• The fruits have different textures.
• Oranges need a warmer place to grow, like Florida. Apples can grow in cooler states, like Washington.

You probably use comparison all the time. Maybe you want to buy some candy, so you go to the store and look at all of the candy that is available.

• You can’t buy all the candy, so you have to narrow down your choices.
• You compare and contrast the different kinds of candy so that you can make your decision.
• You can compare the kinds of candy by looking at the things that makes the candy alike.
• All these kinds of candy are sweet. None of them are sour.
• All these kinds of candy are medium-sized. None are big or small.
• You also look at the things that make the candy different.
• Some of the candy is chocolate. Some is hard candy.
• Some pieces of the candy have a filling, like caramel or cookies. Some do not.
• Some of the candy can be broken into smaller pieces while the others are harder to divide if you want to share.
  Now it’s time to make your decision.
• If you’re in the mood for chocolate, you wouldn’t choose the jelly beans or peppermint candy.
• If you wanted to share the candy, one of the pieces that can be broken into smaller pieces would be better.

So you could decide on the plain chocolate candy, because it was closest to what you wanted.

Contrasting in Writing

Comparison and contrast are used in your writing to organize an individual paragraph as well as to organize entire papers.

For instance, you might write a paper that compares a movie and a book about the same topic. In your paper you can compare and contrast the movie version with the book version.

As you begin to organize your writing, it’s important to make sure that you balance the information about the items that you’re comparing and contrasting.

You need to be sure that you give them equal time in what you write.

If you cover character, setting, and historical accuracy for the book, for instance, you need to be sure that you cover the same elements for the movie.

There are three strategies to organize comparison and contrast papers:

1. Whole-to-Whole, or Block
2. Similarities-to-Differences
3. Point-by-Point

Whole-to-Whole or Block Strategy In this structure, you say everything about one item then everything about the other.

For instance, say everything about the characters, setting, and plot for the book then everything about the characters, setting, and plot for the movie.

Whole-to-Whole

Whole-to-Whole comparison and contrast uses a separate section or paragraph for each item you’re discussing.

For a paper comparing and contrasting a book to a movie, the section for Item #1 would include everything about the book and the section for Item #2 would cover everything about the movie.

The points in each of the sections should be the same and they should be explained in the same order (for instance, you might discuss character, setting, and plot for both, and in that order for both).

Similarities-to-Differences Strategy

In this structure, you explain all the similarities about the items being compared and then you explain all the differences.

For instance, you might explain that the characters and plot were similar in both the book and movie in the one section.

In the next section, you could explain that the settings were different. The book took place during the summer while the movie took place during the winter.

Similarities-to-Differences comparison and contrast uses a separate section or paragraph for similarities and differences.

In other words, the body of your paper would have two large sections: one for similarities, and another for differences.

Point-by-Point Strategy

In this structure, you explain one point of comparison before moving to the next point.

For instance, you would write about the characters in the book and movie in one section; then you would write about the setting in the book and movie in the next section.

Point-by-Point comparison and contrast uses a separate section or paragraph for each point.

Point #1 for your paper could be information about the characters in the book and the movie. You’d begin a section or paragraph for Point #2.

For consistency, begin with the same item in each section of your point-by-point paper. For instance, for each point that you discuss, explain the information about the book first and then about the movie.

More Graphic Organizers

• Contrast and Compare
  
• Venn Diagrams
• Storyboard and Flowcharts
• Cause and Effect

Graphic Organizers: Resources

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