Comparison and Contrast

In practice

Build the pattern in order. First, choose subjects with a meaningful common thread: comparing two things with nothing in common, or two things plainly alike, says little. Second, find the basis of comparison, the shared features you will examine. Third, decide whether the point is mainly similarity, difference or both. Fourth, choose an arrangement, by subject or by point, covered next. Fifth, use signal words such as similarly, likewise, in contrast and however to mark each move. The anchor's model compares Romantic-period poetry and rap music, which seem different on the surface, through their shared aim of a new approach to their art.