1. Remember, your detailed outlines are due Wednesday, May 28. Also, per the “How to Write a Comparative Analysis” sheet:
Organizational Scheme. Your introduction will include your frame of reference, grounds for comparison, and thesis. There are two basic ways to organize the body of your paper.
- In text-by-text, you discuss all of A, then all of B.
- In point-by-point, you alternate points about A with comparable points about B.
If you think that B extends A, you’ll probably use a text-by-text scheme; if you see A and B engaged in debate, a point-by-point scheme will draw attention to the conflict. Be aware, however, that the point-by- point scheme can come off as a ping-pong game. You can avoid this effect by grouping more than one point together, thereby cutting down on the number of times you alternate from A to B. But no matter which organizational scheme you choose, you need not give equal time to similarities and differences. In fact, your paper will be more interesting if you get to the heart of your argument as quickly as possible. Thus, a paper on two evolutionary theorists’ different interpretations of specific archaeological findings might have as few as two or three sentences in the introduction on similarities and at most a paragraph or two to set up the contrast between the theorists’ positions. The rest of the paper, whether organized text- by-text or point-by-point, will treat the two theorists’ differences.
You can organize a classic compare-and-contrast paper either text-by-text or point-by-point. But in a “lens” comparison, in which you spend significantly less time on A (the lens) than on B (the focal text), you almost always organize text-by-text. That’s because A and B are not strictly comparable: A is merely a tool for helping you discover whether or not B’s nature is actually what expectations have led you to believe it is.
Linking of A and B. All argumentative papers require you to link each point in the argument back to the thesis. Without such links, your reader will be unable to see how new sections logically and systematically advance your argument. In a compare-and contrast, you also need to make links between A and B in the body of your essay if you want your paper to hold together. To make these links, use transitional expressions of comparison and contrast (similarly, moreover, likewise, on the contrary, conversely, on the other hand) and contrastive vocabulary (in the example below, Southerner/Northerner).
As a girl raised in the faded glory of the Old South, amid mystical tales of magnolias and moonlight, the mother remains part of a dying generation. Surrounded by hard times, racial conflict, and limited opportunities, Julian, on the other hand, feels repelled by the provincial nature of home, and represents a new Southerner, one who sees his native land through a condescending Northerner’s eyes.
Think about which organizational method will best suit the crafting of your argument.
2. Waiting for Godot—Presentations continue this coming week! We should finish Wednesday! Be sure to review the text prior to class as it has been some time since we finished the text. Let’s finish up the year with the most insightful discussions yet!
3. We have 9 class periods left! If you want to share a song and a story, let me know in advance of class. We will spend some of those 9 periods working on our PBAs but I also have some “other things” planned!
4. Some final thoughts:
The first thing was, I learned to forgive myself. Then, I told myself, “Go ahead and do whatever you want, it’s okay by me.”
“If you’re a cowboy and you’re dragging a guy behind your horse, I bet it would really make you mad if you looked back and the guy was reading a magazine.”
“One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my little nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. ‘Oh, no,’ I said. ‘Disneyland burned down.’ He cried and cried, but I think that deep down, he thought it was a pretty good joke. I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late.”
The face of a child can say it all, especially the mouth part of the face.
