Mrs. DeweyEnglish 7/8

Compare/ Contrast Essay The how-to’s

Mrs. DeweyEnglish 7/8

Step Two Brainstorm how they’re the same !

On this page, write everything you can that describes how the two things are similar or the same. Don’t worry about spelling or writing complete sentences, but be sure you can understand what you write.

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Mrs. DeweyEnglish 7/8

Step Three Write a paragraph from your notes. !Use the list of notes from page 2 to write a paragraph that

describes how the two things are similar, or the same. Write this paragraph below.

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Mrs. DeweyEnglish 7/8

Step Four Brainstorm how they’re different. !

On this page, write everything you can that describes how the two things are different. Don’t worry about writing complete sentences, but be sure to understand what you write.

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Mrs. DeweyEnglish 7/8

Step Five Write a paragraph from your notes. !Use the list of notes from page 4 to write a paragraph that

describes how the two things are different.

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Mrs. DeweyEnglish 7/8

Step Six Write summary sentence #1. !

Write one sentence that describes the second thing.

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Step Seven Write summary sentence #2. !

Write one sentence that describes the second thing.

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Mrs. DeweyEnglish 7/8

Step Eight When comparing literature’s themes, write

a common theme statement. !What is one thing that we can learn from both the story and the movie “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”?

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Step Nine Write a personal preference statement. !

Which did you like better? Why? Describe in one sentence.

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Mrs. DeweyEnglish 7/8

Step Ten Piecing it all together. !

Now, you will use the ideas you’ve brainstormed in the last pages to create a 4-paragraph compare/contrast essay, comparing and contrasting the details of James Thurber’s short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” to the 2013 movie by the same title.

Paragraph 1: Introduce the two stories, and briefly explain how they both present a common theme.

Thesis (last sentence of intro):

In both ________________________________________________ by __________________________

and _____________________________, a 2013 film rendition, we learn that __________________

____________________________________________________________________________________,

yet we do so with different _______________________________.

!Paragraph 2: Explain how the short story highlights this theme, explaining its major methods of delivery.

Topic sentence: First….

2+ examples with thorough explanation For example….

Concluding/ summarizing sentence It can be seen, then, that….

!Paragraph 3: Explain how the movie highlights this theme, explaining its major methods of delivery.

Topic sentence, using a transition: Even so, ….

2+ examples with thorough explanation Specifically, this can be seen when….

Mrs. DeweyEnglish 7/8

Concluding/ summarizing sentence: Therefore, …..

!Paragraph 4: If not done already, highlight additional similarities and interests.

Topic Sentence

Explanation of similarities: Despite such contrasts, so many additional similarities occur between the story and the movie.

Explanation of differences For example,….

The reason why some things are different (concluding sentence of paragraph): It can be easily deduced that the film maker made these changes because ….

Paragraph 5: Conclusion: Rephrase thesis idea, summarize your main points, and explain which one you liked better, and why.

Reworded thesis (take thesis from intro and reward here)

2 sentence summary of what you’ve already described

An explanation as to which version you liked better, and why.

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Your specific assignment

You are required to write a 5- sentence compare/ contrast essay, with 4-5

sentences for the intro, 8 sentences for each of the three body paragraphs, and 4-5

sentences for the conclusion. !

Mrs. DeweyEnglish 7/8

Helpful Tip: Transition words !

LIST OF COMMON TRANSITION WORDS/PHRASES: Addition:also, again, as well as, besides, coupled with, furthermore, in addition, likewise, moreover, similarly Consequence:accordingly, as a result, consequently, for this reason, for this purpose, hence, otherwise, so then, subsequently, therefore, thus, thereupon, wherefore Generalizing:as a rule, as usual, for the most part, generally, generally speaking, ordinarily, usually Exemplifying:chiefly, especially, for instance, in particular, markedly, namely, particularly, including, specifically, such as Illustration:for example, for instance, for one thing, as an illustration, illustrated with, as an example, in this case Emphasis above all, chiefly, with attention to, especially, particularly, singularly Similarity: comparatively, coupled with, correspondingly, identically, likewise, similar, moreover, together withException: aside from, barring, besides, except, excepting, excluding, exclusive of, other than, outside of, saveRestatement:in essence, in other words, namely, that is, that is to say, in short, in brief, to put it differently Contrast and Comparison:contrast, by the same token, conversely, instead, likewise, on one hand, on the other hand, on the contrary, rather, similarly, yet, but, however, still, nevertheless, in contrast Sequence:

Mrs. DeweyEnglish 7/8

at first, first of all, to begin with, in the first place, at the same time, for now, for the time being, the next step, in time, in turn, later on, meanwhile, next, then, soon, the meantime, later, while, earlier, simultaneously, afterward, in conclusion, with this in mind, Summarizing:after all, all in all, all things considered, briefly, by and large, in any case, in any event, in brief, in conclusion, on the whole, in short, in summary, in the final analysis, in the long run, on balance, to sum up, to summarize, finally Diversion:by the way, incidentally Direction:here, there, over there, beyond, nearly, opposite, under, above, to the left, to the right, in the distance

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Mrs. DeweyEnglish 7/8

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Step One Write both things !

What are the two things you are comparing and contrasting?