Comparison Contrast Essay Assignment:

500-700word comparison/contrast essay using ONE (1) of the prompts below. minimum of three articles for this assignment, and one must come from a library database.

Ideas:

1. Find a description of the same news event in three different types of sources--I.E. a website, a newspaper, a magazine. comparison/contrast essay discussing the similarities and differences between the sources.

Make sure that you are comparing the same specific topic for each source. I.E. Compare an article in a liberal newspaper with articles on the same topic in conservative and moderate sources.

Or, compare the writing styles about the same topic across different media. For example, a newspaper article, versus a magazine article, versus an online article.

Do not try to compare things that are not similar. For example, do not try to compare a newspaper article about AIDS in Africa with an article about an AIDS quilt that was created as a memorial for people who have died from the disease. Although the topics are related, they are about totally different things. Likewise, if you want to compare and contrast two vehicles, do not compare and contrast the VW Bug with the Dodge Viper. Although they are automobiles, they are in totally different classes.

2. essay comparing and contrasting two groups that have divergent values--Democrats and Republicans, environmentalists and developers (you will probably need to cite a specific issue) drinkers and teetotalers, or vegans and meat-eaters.

3. Compare and contrast the War in Iraq with the Vietnam War; the Valdez, Alaska Oil spill with the oil spill in the Gulf; or Donald Trump with Joe Biden.

6. Football, basketball, and baseball differ in the way they appeal to fans. Likewise, rock, country, and rap music appeal to different audiences in particular ways. Describe the unique drawing power of each sport or genre of music, but also reach some conclusions about the appeals that these sports or styles of music have in common.

7. The emergence of the two-career family is one of the major phenomena of our culture. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of having both parents work, showing how you feel about such two-career households.

8. Choose a topic of interest and compare it with a similar situation in the past, for example, the Lincoln and Kennedy assassinations, the earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, the Chernobyl and Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disasters, or one consumer product with another.

Please do not write on the topic of Abortion, Capital Punishment, School Prayer, or Euthanasia.

You must strictly adhere to MLA style for this assignment, and you are required to include a separate works cited page; the works cited and header do not count toward your word total.

Please do not use books or E-books without my prior approval. You may use additional sources, but you must have at least one library source. I will know whether you used library sources by the way that you punctuate your works cited. Make sure that you punctuate your works cited correctly. MLA style will account for roughly 1/4 of your essay's grade.

You may not use Wikipedia or encyclopedias for this assignment.

You are allowed to quote no more than 20% of your essay. If you quote more, that percentage will be deducted from the paper's grade. For example, if you quoted 30%, you would lose an additional 10% for having exceeded the 20% threshold.

Also, you may not use personal pronouns on this essay. Therefore, do not use the following words, or any form thereof: (I, me, myself, you, your, our, we, us, let's etc...)Ifa personal pronoun is used in a source that you are quoting, that is acceptable, but you may not use themyourself. Personal pronouns are used infrequently in newspapers, magazines, and formal writing formats. Thus,you must learn how to write without using these words. This why I ask that you learn how to write without them. Pronounsare allowed, but not personal pronouns. For example, you can use he, she, it, and they, as well as any accompanying forms, but not the ones listed previously in red!

Do not ask more than one question in your essay. Since writing is usually one-way communication, it is illogical to ask questions,because you will not hear a reply. Also, students will frequently ask a rhetorical question, and then answer it. Hence, there is no real point in asking the question at all. Finally, some students resort to asking a series of questions that can not be answered, like "What is the meaning of life?" or "Why is there hatred?" As a consequence of these aforementioned faux paus, I limit my students to one question per essay.

Createa thesis statement at the end of your introduction, and support this argument with evidence. This means that you will state yourargument, then you will provide proof which will support your position. Your evidence will be based upon information in the articles that you gather from the library databases. Your thesis statement should not be quoted-- it should be writtenin your own words. The thesis, however, may require a parenthetical reference, if you cite statistical information or the ideas of others, but again, it needs to be written using your own words!

Obviously, it will benecessary for you toquote and/or paraphrase the ideas from your sources.Otherwise, theworks citedwill not bewhat itadvertises itself to be--the works that you cite in your essay.

Remember tounderline your thesis statement, and write word total afterthe last wordof youressay. Do not exceed, or fall below the word-limit requirements. If you exceed or write fewer than the required number of words, that percentage (over or under) will be deducted from your essay grade. For example, if you write 450 words rather than the minimum of 500 words, you will lose 10% from your grade: 450/500= .90; approximately 90% of the word requirement has been met, and you will lose 10% from your essay's grade. I.E. If you earned an 85% on your paper, it would go down to a 75% because it did not meet the length requirements

Sample Comparison/Contrast thesis statement:

For students who are pursuing degrees in Botany, The University of Florida surpasses Florida State because the former offers more scholarships, and its department is recognized as a leader in botanical studies. Further, the Department of Botanyat the University of Florida has more top-notch professorsthan those at Florida State.

The outline for a point-by-point comparison/contrast essay would be as follows:

I. Introduction with Thesis

II. Scholarship Opportunities at UF and FSU

III. Botanical Research Accolades at UF and FSU (down-playing the latter)

IV. Notable Professors at UF and FSU (down-playing the latter)

V. Conclusion with Restatement of the Thesis

A subject-by-subject outline for the former thesis statement would look like this:

I. Introduction with thesis

II. UF Scholarship Opportunities

III. UF Research Accolades for the Department of Botany

IV. Notable Botany Professors at UF

V. FSU Scholarships (down-played)

VI. FSU Research Accolades for the Department of Botany (down-played)

VII. Notable Botany Professors at FSU (down-played)

VIII. Conclusion with a restatement of the thesis

The reason why the FSU opportunities are downplayed is because the writer is arguing that UF has the better department of Botany. I do not want students to lie, omit, or fabricate, but the writer probably should not go on and on about how great FSU is, since he or she has taken the stance that UF is superior.