Comparison and Contrast Essay Information

The two primary methods are Point by Point and
Block.

• Point by point -- both topics are compared and contrasted in each paragraph
• Block -- first one topic is discussed alone in a paragraph, then the other topic is juxtaposed in a following paragraph with the similarities and differences made evident.
• Either style can work. Most chose point-by-point it turns out. Both styles
  require information be organized by order of importance.
• Point-by-Point requires the use of key transition words and sequences of
  similarities and differences:
• Examples: likewise, also, both, similarly; whereas, while, unlike, only
  Block requires the use of parallel structure in the ideas presented and
  parallel sentence design.
• Parallel means sequence of events and sentence structure are mirrored
• It's not enough to create a list of similarities and differences and then
  simply rattle them off in paragraph form. Concepts chosen for analysis must
  be selective and significant and presented in order of importance.
• We're not looking for irrelevant tidbits, like they all wore shoes or Boo and Tom are both men.  I suggest students look for similarities of theme and conflict and character.
  
  Elements of a novel for analysis:
  theme, plot, conflict, character, point of view, tone, setting
  Pick a few and do c/c on them. It's better to go deeply into a few central
  ideas than to skip across a vast list of sim/diff.
  
• Always in the essay be comparing and contrasting. Always in the essay be
  comparing and contrasting.  Always in the essay be comparing and
  contrasting. Always in the essay be comparing and contrasting. 
• Don't say anything about one story than you don't juxtapose with the other.