Comparison/Contrast Essays

 

In a comparison/contrast essay, you explain the similarities and the differences

between two items.

The other way to organize a comparison/contrast essay is to arrange all the similarities together in a block and all the differences together in a block. You could discuss either the similarities first or the differences first. You often insert a transition paragraph or transition sentence between the two blocks. The model essay comparing Japan and the United States uses block organization.

 

The number of paragraphs in each block depends on the topic. For some topics,

you may write about all the similarities in a single paragraph; for other topics, you

may need to discuss each similarity in a separate paragraph. The same is true for differences.

Of course, some topics may have one paragraph of similarities and several paragraphs of differences, or vice versa.

 

These are the important points.

 

1. Comparison/contrast is a common pattern for writing about similarities and

differences. It is used in all academic fields.

 

2. There are two common ways to organize a comparison/contrast essay.

 

• In point-by-point organization, you discuss each similarity and each difference in some other order-usually order of their importance without grouping them into blocks. In this type of organization, you may discuss a similarity and then a difference, and then a similarity and then a difference.

 

• In block organization, you first discuss all the similarities in a block and then all the differences in another block. (You may, of course, begin with the block of differences.)

 

3. Use comparison and contrast signal words to help your reader understand your points of comparison and contrast.

 

Example

 

Japan and the United States: Different but Alike.

            The culture of a place is an integral part of its society whether that place is a remote Indian village in Brazil or a highly industrialized city in Western Europe. The culture of Japan fascinates people in the United States because, at first glance, it seems so different. Everything that characterizes the United States – newness, racial heterogeneity (variety), vast territory, informality, and an ethic of individualism (belief in the value of the individual person over the group) - is absent in Japan. There, one finds an ancient and homogeneous (characterized by sameness, consistency) society, an ethic that emphasizes the importance of groups, and a tradition of formal behaviour governing every aspect of daily living, from drinking tea to saying hello. On the surface at least, U.S. and Japanese societies seem totally opposite.

            One obvious difference is the people. Japan is a homogenous society of one nationality and a few underrepresented minority groups, such as the ethnic Chinese and Koreans. All areas of government and society are controlled by the Japanese majority. In contrast, although the United States is a country with originally European roots, its liberal immigration policies have resulted in its becoming a heterogeneous society of many ethnicities – Europeans, Africans, Asians, and Latinos. All are represented in all areas of U.S. society, including business, education, and politics.

            Other areas of difference between Japan and the United States involve issues of group interaction and sense of space. Whereas people in the United States pride themselves on individualism and informality, Japanese value groups and formality. People in the United States admire and reward a person who rises above the crowd; in contrast, a Japanese proverb says, “The nail that sticks up gets hammered down.” In addition, while North Americans’ sense of size and scale developed out of the vastness of the continent, Japanese genius lies in the diminutive and miniature (very small). For example, the United States builds airplanes, while Japan produces transistors.

            In spite of these differences, these two apparently opposite cultures share several important experiences.

            Both, for example, have transplanted cultures. Each nation has a “mother” society – China for Japan and Great Britain for the United States – that has influenced the daughter in countless ways: in language, religion, art, literature, social customs, and ways of thinking. Japan, of course, has had more time than the United States to work out its unique interpretation of the older Chinese culture, but both countries reflect their cultural ancestry.

Both societies, moreover, have developed the art and commerce, of buying and selling, of advertising and mass producing, to the highest levels. Few sights are more reassuring to people from the United States than the tens of thousands of busy stores in Japan, especially the beautiful, well-stocked department stores. To U.S. eyes, they seem just like Macy’s or Neiman Marcus at home. In addition, both Japan and the United States are consumer societies. The people of both countries love to shop and are enthusiastic consumers of convenience products and fast food. Vending machines selling everything from fresh flowers to hot coffee are as popular in Japan as they are in the United States, and fast-food noodle shops are as common in Japan as McDonald’s restaurants are in the United States.

            A final similarity is that both Japanese and people in the United States have always emphasized the importance of work, and both are paying penalties for their commitment to it: increasing stress and weakening family bonds. People in the United States, especially those in business and in the professions, regularly put in twelve or more hours a day at their jobs, just as many Japanese executives do. Also, while the normal Japanese workweek is six days, many people in the United States who want to get ahead voluntarily work on Saturday and/or Sunday in addition to their five-day workweek.

            Japan and the United States: different, yet alike. Although the two societies differ in many areas such as racial heterogeneity versus racial homogeneity, individualism versus group cooperation, and informal versus formal forms of behaviour, they share more than one common experience. Furthermore, their differences probably contribute as much as their similarities toward the mutual interest the two countries have in each other. It will be interesting to see where this fascination leads in the future.