Comparison essay notes

Comparison EssaysSome problems many students are having:

Problem #1General Statements about People or Things

Use the plural noun with no article OR

a + singular noun

(same meaning)

http://www.govloop.com/forum/topics/do-working-women-in-washington-d-c-receive-equal-opportunities

Nowadays, a woman’s role and position has

changed OR

Nowadays, women’s roles and positions have

changed.

A woman in the 1980’s earned less money, and

a woman now earns more.

ORWomen in the 1980’s

earned less money, and women now earn more.

Problem #2Overstatement!!(Image: http://howtospendit.ft.com/womens-fashion/14641-the-art-of-overstatement)

For example:

“In this century, the breadwinners are women.”

**“In this century, the breadwinners are women.”

This means that ALL breadwinners are now women! (Not true!)

**“In this century, the breadwinners are women.”

It means that NO men have jobs any more! (Not true!)

You mean:In this century, more women are becoming breadwinners.

OR In this century, many women

are breadwinners.OR

In this century, more women are breadwinners than in the

past.

Problem #2Overstatement!!(Image: http://www.realifexhousewife.com)

For example:

“**Women’s role was always equal to housewives.”

NOT TRUE!

Even 100 years ago, when MOST women were housewives, not ALL women were housewives! Left: 19th-century nuns: http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/topic/112134-old-habits-die-hard page-2#.Um10Oxbvw6U. Right: 19th-century prostitutes: http://samanthabvance.wordpress.com/presentation-page/

http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/topic/112134-old-habits-die-hard



You mean:A woman’s role has traditionally been a

housewife.OR

Most women have usually been housewives.

OR A housewife has always been a woman’s traditional

role.

For example:

“Today, most women are highly educated and occupy high-paid jobs.”

Overstatement!!(Image: http://www.bloggernews.net/116430)

**“Most modern women are highly educated and occupy high paid jobs.”

“Most” means 90-95%, or almost all.That is not true!


Today, lot of women are not highly educated.


Today, lot of women occupy low-paid jobs.

You mean:Today, more women are

highly educated and occupy high-paid jobs than in the

past. OR

Today, more and more women are becoming highly

educated and occupying high-paid jobs.

Problem #3:

Don’t “dump” a quotation!Image: http://www.outcropacres.net/autos/dumptruck.htm

“ … wives outearn their

husbands 28% of the tim

e

when both work, up from

16% 25 years ago.”

Your reader needs to know:

Who said this?Why are you quoting it?

Your quote is the filling in a “sandwich”!

Introduction\

Comm

ent

Quotation

For example:

According to Dennis Cauchon, author of a USA Today article

about role-reversal, “ … wives outearn their

husbands 28% of the time when both work, up from 16% 25

years ago.” This figure tells us that American families are

depending more on a wife’s income.

Introduction

Quote

Comment

Normally, we do not begin or end a paragraph

with quotation marks!

Problem #4Be sure that you understand the two things you are comparing!

1953 2013Images (1) : http://social.rollins.edu/wpsites/thirdsight/2013/04/12/support-troops-the-role-of-the-housewife-in-the-1950s/(2) http://www.thejfblogit.co.uk/2011/11/02/making-meetings-work/

http://social.rollins.edu/wpsites/thirdsight/2013/04/12/support-troops-the-role-of-the-housewife-in-the-1950s/

http://social.rollins.edu/wpsites/thirdsight/2013/04/12/support-troops-the-role-of-the-housewife-in-the-1950s/

1983 2013Images (1) http://www.julieanewell.com/schoolsecretary.htm/(2) http://www.thejfblogit.co.uk/2011/11/02/making-meetings-work/

http://www.julieanewell.com/schoolsecretary.htm/(2




1863 2013Images (1) http://www.fashion-era.com/mid-late_victorian_fashion.htm (2) http://www.thejfblogit.co.uk/2011/11/02/making-meetings-work/




A Very Quick History of Women in the U.S. (Similar in Canada,

Europe and Australia)

American women @ 1860

• No vote• Few

property rights

• No good jobs • Few rights to divorce.

American women @ 1860If you were:

Rich Middle Class Poor

Your husband or father decided everything. Your servants did all the work. You wore beautiful clothes and did almost nothing.

You were a housewife. Probably you also helped with your family’s farm or business. The man in your life was boss.

You were a servant, a slave or a prostitute, or maybe a factory worker. Your life was very, very hard.

American women @ 1860 1920

• No vote: trying to get the vote

• Increasing property rights

• A few morejobs

• College education fora few women

• Some rights to divorce.


If you were:

Rich Middle Class

Poor

Your husband or father decided almost everything. Your servants did all the work. Maybe you got some education, but you did not work.

You were a housewife. If your husband or father had a store of business, maybe you helped out. If you were single, you could work as a teacher, nurse or office worker.

You were a servant or a prostitute, or very likely a factory worker. Your life was very hard.

American women1920 1970

• Got the vote in 1920.• Equal property rights.• Education increasingly equal to men.• Lots of jobs, but usually less pay than men.• Divorce became easier and more common.• Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination.


If you were:Rich Middle Class Poor

You could decide most things about your life. Your servants did some of the work. You had an excellent education, but you only had a job if you wanted one.

You finished high school, and often went to college. Before you got married, you probably worked as a teacher, nurse or office worker. After you got married, you were probably a housewife.

You worked at a low-paying job. Your life was hard.

American women1970 Now

• Equal rights under the law.• Education equal or higher than men.• More and more equality in job opportunities.• Equal employment rights under law, but income gap remains.• Divorce becomes very common.• Most married women work outside the home.

American women @ 1970 Now

If you are:Rich Middle Class Poor

You decide everything about your life. You have some paid household help. You have an excellent education and probably a high-paying job—maybe you make more than your husband.

You probably go to college and maybe to graduate school. Your job opportunities are more an more similar to a man’s, but still not completely equal. You probably work after you are married. Maybe you are the breadwinner or make more than your husband.

You work at a low-paying job. Your life is hard (harder than 50 years ago)! Wages for low-level jobs are lower now, adjusted for inflation. If you have a husband, he may be out of work—for poor people, men’s jobs have been hit harder than women’s.

“An American role-reversal: Women the new breadwinners” (2013) is about a

very specific new phenomenon.

Photo: Janice Burton for the U.S. Armyhttp://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/24/female-breadwinners/2015559/

This article describes how the percentage of women who are primary

breadwinners for their families is increasing.


For example, the percentage of families in which the wife is the breadwinner increased from 6% in 1988 to 23% in

2010.


BUT remember that these families are STILL the minority! If the wife is the major breadwinner in

23% of families, that means that in 77% of families, it is still the husband.


Documents

Comparison essay notes