Anker Susan. Real Essays with Readings with 2009 MLA Update

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WRITING ESSAYS

Chapter 16 • Comparison and Contrast 257

Read and Analyze Comparison

and Contrast

Before writing a comparison and contrast essay, read the following three

examples — from college, the workplace, and everyday life — and answer

the questions that accompany them.

Comparison and Contrast in College

The following is an excerpt from a college textbook.

VOCABULARY

The following words are italicized in the excerpt: disorders, spectrum,

distorted, excessive, laxatives, optimal, hallmark, emaciated, purge,

enemas, conceal, consumption, and genetic. If you don’t know their

meanings, look them up in a dictionary.

WHEN THE REGULATION OF

EATING BEHAVIOR FAILS:

ANOREXIA AND BULIMIA

1 Two life-threatening eating disorders are common, especially among

females, and while they may have similar psychological causes, the be-

haviors themselves are quite different. Both of these disorders lie at the

opposite end of the spectrum from obesity.

2 Anorexia nervosa is a potentially life-threatening psychological

disorder that involves near self-starvation. This psychological disorder

has three key symptoms: The individual refuses to maintain a minimally

normal body weight, is extremely afraid of gaining weight or becoming

fat, and has a distorted perception of the size of his or her body. Approxi-

mately 90 percent of cases of anorexia nervosa occur in adolescent or

young adult females (American Psychiatric Association, 1994).

3 It is rare for a person with anorexia to lose her appetite completely.

Rather, she places herself on a very restricted diet that may be limited

to just a few foods. Weight loss is also often accomplished by excessive

exercise, fasting, self-induced vomiting, or the misuse of laxatives. By

reducing total food intake, individuals with anorexia drop 15 percent

■ ESL: Ask both ESL

and non-ESL students

to compare and con-

trast written and

spoken language in

their native culture.

■

TEACHING TIP

Point out how text-

books often put key

terms and deﬁ nitions in

bold. Refer students to

Chapter 2 for more on

reading textbooks.

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WRITING ESSAYS

258 Part Two • Writing Different Kinds of Essays

or more below their optimal body weight. Depression, social with-

drawal, insomnia, and failure to menstruate frequently accompany the

disorder.

4 A hallmark of anorexia is distorted self-perception. Despite her ema-

ciated appearance, the person with anorexia looks in the mirror and

sees herself as still overweight. Or she expresses displeasure with certain

parts of her body, such as her abdomen or thighs, that are “too fat.”

Weight loss is viewed with pride and regarded as an act of extraordinary

self-discipline. Approximately 10 percent of people with anorexia ner-

vosa die from starvation, suicide, or physical complications of extreme

weight loss (American Psychiatric Association, 1994).

5 In contrast, people with bulimia nervosa are within their normal

weight range and may even be slightly overweight. People with bulimia

engage in binge eating and then purge themselves of the excessive food

consumption by self-induced vomiting. Less often, they may use laxa-

tives or enemas to purge themselves of the food.

6 People suffering from bulimia usually conceal their eating problems

from others. Episodes of binge eating typically occur in secrecy. A binge

usually includes the consumption of high-caloric, sweet foods that can be

swallowed quickly, such as ice cream, cake, and candy. Once they begin

eating, people with bulimia often feel as though they cannot control

their food intake. Sometimes consuming as much as 50,000 calories

at one time, they eat until they are uncomfortably, even painfully, full

(American Psychiatric Association, 1994; Johnson, Stuckey, Lewis, &

Schwartz, 1982).

7 Diverse cultural, psychological, social, and genetic factors seem to be

in volved in both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa (North, Gowers, &

Byram, 1995; Steinhausen, 1994). There is strong cultural pressure,

especially for young Western women, to achieve the thinness ideal. The

higher incidence of eating disorders among women may be related to

their greater dissatisfaction with their appearance. Women are much

more likely to have a poor body image than are men of the same age

(Feingold & Mazzella, 1998).

PAUSE: Summarize

the behaviors of

anorexia.

PAUSE: Summarize

the behaviors of

bulimia.

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WRITING ESSAYS

Chapter 16 • Comparison and Contrast 259

References

American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual

of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric

Association.

Feingold, A., & Mazzella, R. (1998). Gender differences in body image

are increasing. Psychological Science, 9, 190–195.

Johnson, C. L., Stuckey, M. K., Lewis, L. D., & Schwartz, D. M. (1982).

Bulimia: A descriptive survey of 316 cases. International Journal of

Eating Disorders, 2, 3–16.

North, C., Gowers, S., & Byram, V. (1995). Family functioning in

adolescent anorexia nervosa. British Journal of Psychiatry, 151,

82–88.

Steinhausen, H. C. (1994). Anorexia and bulimia nervosa. In M. Rutter,

E. Taylor, & L. Hersov (Eds.), Child and adolescent psychiatry: Modern

approaches. Boston: Blackwell Scientiﬁ c Publications.

— From Don H. Hockenbury and Sandra

Hockenbury, Discovering Psychology,

2nd ed. (New York: Worth, 2001)

1. Double-underline the thesis statement.

2. Underline each topic sentence.

3. Does this piece of writing use point-by-point or whole-to-whole

organization?

Whole-to-whole

4. Circle the transition that the writer uses to move from one subject to

the other.

5. What are two main points of contrast in this piece?

Answers will vary but

should include concepts of severely limited diet versus binge eating and

extreme weight loss and emaciation versus normal weight.

6. Does this excerpt follow the four basics of good comparison and

contrast? Be ready to explain your answer.

7. In what other ways might you characterize the behavior of someone who

is anorexic or bulimic?

Comparison and Contrast at Work

The proﬁ le on page 260 shows how a family-practice physician uses com-

parison and contrast in his work.

■ For a list of the four

basics of good compari-

son and contrast, see

page 252.

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WRITING ESSAYS

260 Part Two • Writing Different Kinds of Essays

Garth’s Comparison and Contrast

The following is excerpted from an article that Dr. Vaz published on the

subject of dyslexia.

VOCABULARY

The following words are italicized in the excerpt: dyslexics, misconcep-

tion, misdiagnoses, abound, deﬁ cient, remediation, diligent, squirm,

ﬁ dget, excessively, blurts, norms, alienates, shun, ostracism, labored,

intervention, and contemporary. If you don’t know their meanings,

look them up in a dictionary.

Garth Vaz

Physician

BACKGROUND:

I was born in Jamaica, and at school, everyone thought

I was lazy because I couldn’t read. I knew I worked hard but didn’t

understand why I had such trouble reading. When it came time to

go to high school, I dropped out and moved to Brooklyn, New York.

Shortly thereafter, I was drafted and served as a medic in the military,

where I got my G.E.D. After completing my service, I went to Central

Florida Community College and transferred to the University of

Florida. I dropped out eventually and worked for a few years as

an orderly.

I was accepted at the University of Florida Medical School but ﬂ unked

out, at which point I ﬁ nally discovered that my reading and writing

problems were caused not by laziness but by dyslexia. I petitioned the

school to return and passed my courses with the help of a note-taking

service. But I failed the medical boards twice before I was allowed

“accommodation” for dyslexia.

Today I am a doctor working at a community health clinic that, in

addition to other medical services, provides care for migrant workers

and their families. I also travel and speak extensively on learning

behaviors, especially dyslexia and attention-deﬁ cit/hyperactivity disorder

(ADHD).

COLLEGES/DEGREES: A.A., Central Florida Community College; M.D.,

University of Florida

EMPLOYER: Community Health Centers of South Central Texas, Inc.

WRITING AT WORK: For work, I write patient reports, speeches, and papers

for publication. As a dyslexic, writing is still very difﬁ cult for me, though

I have learned how to compensate for the difﬁ culty. Because I still make

lots of spelling errors, I have to read very carefully and reread anything I

write to correct the mistakes.

Proﬁ le of Success

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WRITING ESSAYS

Chapter 16 • Comparison and Contrast 261

1 For decades, dyslexics have been one of the most misunderstood

groups in our society. Misconceptions and misdiagnoses abound, as when

dyslexics are mislabeled stupid, retarded, or lazy and placed among the

mentally deﬁ cient. Many dyslexics have been placed in special education

programs along with the slow learners. Later, after appropriate remedia-

tion, these same students have gone on to become educators, lawyers,

and doctors. It is therefore of great importance that we be aware of the

sensitive nature of dealing with these prize products of our society, our

dyslexic students. We must be diligent in our efforts to help them in their

struggle for success.

2 Such misdiagnoses are due to the lack of understanding of dyslexia

and conditions such as attention-deﬁ cit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),

childhood depressive disorder (CDD), central auditory processing deﬁ -

cit (CAPD), and many others that share some similarities with common

symptoms of dyslexia. I will now list, in brief, some of the differences in

behaviors that characterize ADHD and dyslexia in children, particularly

children in the elementary school classroom.

3 A young person with ADHD cannot easily sit still, certainly a prob-

lem in the classroom. He or she often leaves his assigned seat, running

around and attempting to climb on shelves, desks, and the like. When

told ﬁ rmly to remain in his seat, the child will try to obey but will squirm

and ﬁ dget almost constantly, clearly in a state of agitation. He acts as if

he is driven by a motor.

4 A child with ADHD often talks excessively and is unable to wait to

be called on: Instead, he blurts out answers and responses. He seems to

just butt into games and conversations, not observing social norms that

require a give-and-take among group members. Such behavior often

alienates other children and frustrates teachers and others who try to

maintain control. Other children may shun the child with ADHD. This

ostracism, in turn, results in further negative effects, such as low self-

esteem and greater isolation.

5 In contrast, a young person with dyslexia can sit still but has trouble

organizing objects, belongings, and letters. She may mix up sounds,

PAUSE: Summarize

the characteristics

of ADHD.

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WRITING ESSAYS

262 Part Two • Writing Different Kinds of Essays

saying, for example, “plain” for “plan” or “seal” for “soul.” She may have

a stutter, furthering the frustration and embarrassment she already feels.

6 A dyslexic child typically reads very poorly, confusing the order of

letters, for example, in words such as “saw” and “was.” Also, she may

confuse words that have similar shapes or start and end with the same

letters, as in “form” and “from” or the words cited in the last paragraph.

While a dyslexic’s reading is labored, his handwriting and spelling are

usually worse. All of these symptoms of dyslexia, while quite different,

often result in the same ostracism and loss of self-esteem. These prob-

lems then cause other behavior problems that are similar to those shown

in children with ADHD and a number of other conditions. This explains

why certain conditions are often confused. In addition, many children

indeed have more than one condition. For example, over 40 percent of

children with dyslexia have ADHD as well.

7 Unfortunately, because of budgeting restrictions, dyslexics are some-

times placed among the wrong group for remediation. In order for any

intervention to succeed, it must be tailored speciﬁ cally for the dyslexic.

There are many improved techniques now being used successfully in read-

ing remediation that are based on the Orton-Gillingham method. Many

of these can be obtained on videocassettes and CDs. Arlene Sonday and

the Scottish Rite Hospital have such programs on the market, and many

other good ones can be located on the Internet (for example, http://www

.interdys.org/, http://www.dys.org/, http://www.kidshealth.org/, and

http://www.ninds.hih.gov/disorders/dyslexia, among many others).

8 There are many successful dyslexics in our society, some contem-

porary and others in the past. Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, and

General George Patton are a few who have made history. Athletes Bruce

Jenner and Nolan Ryan and entertainers Whoopi Goldberg and Cher

are among our contemporaries. Identifying with the successful dyslexic

offers some hope to parents and children alike. The book Succeeding

with LD is a collection of stories of successful dyslexics. The book was

authored by Jill Lauren and published by Free Spirit Publishers. Each

of these stories could make a book by itself but is short enough for the

dyslexic to enjoy reading.

PAUSE: Summarize

the characteristics

of dyslexia.

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WRITING ESSAYS

Chapter 16 • Comparison and Contrast 263

1. What two subjects are compared?

dyslexia and ADHD

2. Does this piece of writing use point-to-point or whole-to-whole

organization?

whole-to-whole

3. Circle the transition that lets you know that the writer is moving from

one subject to the next.

4. Underline two of the ways in which dyslexia and ADHD behaviors

differ.

5. Does the essay have the four basics of good comparison and

contrast? Be ready to explain your answer.

Comparison and Contrast in Everyday Life

VOCABULARY

The following words are italicized in the excerpt: controversial, pref-

erences, dictated, and bandwidth. If you don’t know their meanings,

look them up in a dictionary.

FACEBOOK OR MYSPACE?

Mario Mighlietti

1 Facebook and MySpace are both popular social networking sites

used by millions of people around the world. They both connect people

with other people, and they both offer a variety of interest groups and

ways to meet others with interests like your own. While on the surface

the two sites are similar, a controversial recent research report indicates

that they attract very different kinds of users.

2 Danah Boyd, a researcher at Berkeley, analyzed many proﬁ les of

both Facebook and MySpace users from all over the United States, and

she has interviewed hundreds of users (Boyd 2007). What she has con-

cluded is that, surprisingly, user preferences are deﬁ ned more by social

class than by any other factor.

3 Boyd found that the “good” kids go to Facebook, possibly be-

cause it was ﬁ rst started as a college student networking site and is

still used by large numbers of college students as a way to meet other

college students. Boyd characterizes the typical Facebook user as, “the

goodie two shoes, jocks, athletes, . . . the kids who come from families

PAUSE: Do you ex-

pect a comparison

or a contrast?

PAUSE: What do

you expect the next

paragraph to be

about?

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WRITING ESSAYS

264 Part Two • Writing Different Kinds of Essays

who emphasize education and going to college. . . . They are in honors

classes, looking forward to the prom, and live in a world dictated by

after-school activities” (Boyd).

4 In contrast, Boyd describes the more typical proﬁ le of a MySpace

user in the following terms: “MySpace is still home for Latino/Hispanic

teens, immigrant teens, ‘burnouts,’ ‘alternative kids,’ ‘art fags,’ punks,

Goths, gangstas, queer kids. These are the kids whose parents didn’t go

to college, who are expected to get a job when they ﬁ nish high school.

These are the teens who plan to go into the military after high school”

(Boyd).

5 Apparently, the military also believes that Facebook and MySpace

are very different sites with different purposes and users. In 2007, the

military banned soldiers from using MySpace and other networking

sites, while saying nothing about Facebook. The reasons given were

national security and amount of bandwidth available (McMichael).

6 It seems that both Boyd and military commanders consider Facebook

and MySpace to be fundamentally different. I disagree. Many people I

know belong to both and do the same kinds of things on both. My

friends agree that there is very little difference. When I read about what

Boyd says and about the military ban, I wonder what information these

people have that I don’t. More than surprised, I ﬁ nd myself insulted.

Their conclusions seem to be just another example of older people mak-

ing a big thing out of what younger people are doing because they don’t

really understand.

Works Cited

Boyd, Danah. “Viewing American Class Divisions through Facebook

and MySpace.” Apophenia Blog Essay. N.p., 24 June 2007. Web.

5 Jan. 2008.

McMichael, William H. “YouTube, MySpace Banned on DoD

Computers.” Army Times. Army Times, 15 May 2007. Web.

6 Jan. 2008.

PAUSE: Do you

agree with Boyd’s

ﬁ ndings?

PAUSE: Why ban

MySpace and not

Facebook?

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WRITING ESSAYS

Chapter 16 • Comparison and Contrast 265

1. Double-underline the thesis statement.

2. What two subjects are contrasted?

Facebook users and MySpace users

3. Circle the transition that the writer uses to move from one subject to

the next.

4. Does the essay have the four basics of good comparison and

contrast? Be ready to explain your answer.

5. From what you know of Facebook and MySpace, do you agree with

Boyd’s ﬁ ndings?

Critical Reading and Writing: Key College Skills

1. Summary. Brieﬂ y summarize each of the three selections, including

the subjects being compared and contrasted in each.

2. Analysis. Review the three selections. Do they use point-by-point

or whole-to-whole organization?

whole-to-whole

Try changing the organization to the one that was not used in the

original. Does it work as well?

3. Synthesis. Review “When the Regulation of Eating Behavior Fails:

Anorexia and Bulimia” (p. 257) and “Facebook or MySpace?” (p. 263).

Both relate to people’s images of themselves. Discuss how physical

appearance plays a role in social networking, drawing from each of the

selections and your own experience.

4. Evaluation. Using the four basics of good comparison and con-

trast as a measure, which of the selections in this chapter is the best

example of a comparison or contrast? Give speciﬁ c examples to support

your choice. Is your choice different from the one you ﬁ nd most inter-

esting? If so, why?

Write a Comparison and Contrast Essay

In this section, you will write your own comparison and contrast essay

based on one of the following assignments. Before you begin to write,

review the four basics of good comparison and contrast on page 252.

Also, read the Tips for Tackling Comparison and Contrast in the box that

follows.

■ TEACHING TIP

The Critical Reading

and Writing prompts

can be used either

for discussion or as

writing assignments.

If students write in

response to an assign-

ment and refer to the

selections, ask them to

use in-text citation

(see Chapter 21).

■ Use the diagram on

page 256 to help you

organize.

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WRITING ESSAYS

266 Part Two • Writing Different Kinds of Essays

ASSIGNMENT 1 WRITING ABOUT COLLEGE, WORK,

AND EVERYDAY LIFE

Write a comparison and contrast essay on one of the following topics or on a

topic of your own choice.

COLLEGE

• Two professors

• Two courses you are taking or have taken

• Being an older, returning student versus coming right from high school

WORK

• Two jobs you have had

• Two companies you have worked for

• A job and a career

EVERYDAY LIFE

• Two places you have lived

• Good customer service and bad customer service

• Two of your friends or relatives

TIPS FOR TACKLING COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

Read the assignment carefully, highlighting key words. An

assignment that uses comparison and contrast might actually

use the words compare or contrast, but it might also use words

such as how are ___________ and ___________ similar (or differ-

ent)?, discuss the similarities or differences of ___________ , or

which ___________ is more ___________ and why?

2. Choose the two or more subjects that you need to compare or

contrast.

3. List the points of comparison and contrast.

4. Decide whether to use point-by-point or whole-to-whole

organization.

■ TEAMWORK

Have students bring in

advertisements from

magazines, newspa-

pers, or the Web that

use comparison or con-

trast. Working in small

groups, students can

identify the subjects

being compared or

contrasted, the points

of comparison or con-

trast, and the purpose.

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