Writing Comparison Essays

Welcome back! I hope you all had a nice Golden Week.

Today you will give Kevin your final draft of Essay #1, My Special Thing. Before you hand it in, check for:

• title
• paragraphs
• one space after a period or comma

Another thing we will think about this week is a style point: writing with specific language instead of vague, general words. Be sure you use specific, descriptive words when writing your essays from now on.

The major topic for today will be Comparison Essays. In a normal comparison essay, you compare the good and bad points about two related topics. In Kevin's version, however, you will emphasize the good points of one thing compared to another. To put it simply, you will explain why one thing is better than another thing. For example, you might explain why you think motorcycles are better than cars, or why baseball is better than soccer. Of course, these examples are opinions, but that's OK. We are often called upon in real life and in business to persuade people that one thing is better than another. Today's essay topic is practice in doing that.

To prepare yourself for the comparison essay, please choose a topic from the list below and think about  why one of the two things is better than the other.

* Backstreet Boys & SMAP
* Yokohama & Tokyo
* Japanese food & Western food
* traveling alone & traveling with a group
* taking the train & driving
* baseball & soccer

Choose one from a pair above (or a different pair) and explain why it's better than the other. For example, if you like SMAP better than the Backstreet Boys, give 3 reasons why you think SMAP is better.

When you write your complete comparison essay (Essay #2), you can choose the same topic or a different one. The complete essay, of course, will be longer. It will have a thesis sentence, and 3 reasons, but each reason will have a paragraph with specific details and supporting examples. Following is a sample of a complete comparison essay, with a thesis sentence followed by 3 paragraphs that support the thesis. I have also posted a complete essay that has an introduction & conclusion (5 paragraphs). The thesis sentence is in the introduction. The easy (3-paragraph) essay is the homework for this week, but if you wish to challenge yourself, you may write the longer (5-paragraph) version.

Motorcycles Are Better Than Cars (Easy Version)
Motorcycles Are Better Than Cars (Version with Introduction & Conclusion)