Comparisons

People make choices: what car to buy, who to vote for, what bend in the river to fish, what song to download, what advice to ignore, who to marry.  The list of choices is long because life requires decisions about what matters and what does not.  Most people have made lists of differences and similarities to guide a decision. That is a practical technique for simple problems.  The bigger choices in life may begin with a simple list, but good comparisons require more than a list. If you learn to make conscious comparisons, you will make better decisions and write more effectively.

In this chapter, you will learn to:

1. •distinguish comparisons from other types of writing
   

2. •identify the key features of comparisons in writing
   

3. •engage in critical thinking while writing a comparison
   

4. •craft a successful comparison by using a set of planning steps
   

Key Features of Comparisons

comparisons, but they have important differences based on the needs of the audience, the objects compared, and the writer’s purpose.

  Simple Comparisons and Complex Comparisons

1. 1. Simple Comparisons: comparisons often solve simple problems -- Coke or Pepsi?  There is no need for new criteria, and the writer does not need to make a complex analysis.  Such comparisons help make simple recommendations. Their emphasis is on the outcome of the comparison.  However, a simple comparison can lead to more complex discoveries.  
   

2. 2.Complex Comparisons: complex comparisons also analyze the beliefs and values behind a criterion.   Such comparisons lead to the choice between medical treatments, the selection of a college major, the design for solar panels, and other high-level decisions.  Understanding the values, beliefs, and assumptions that have created the criteria is typical of the comparisons found in research and scholarship.
   

A Comparison is More Than a List

All comparisons involve activities that are already familiar:

1. 1.Mapping the existing knowledge about the items being compared
   

1. a. Identify key features of each item
   

2. b. Identify the existing criteria for comparisons
   

3. c. Identify the values and beliefs behind the existing criteria
   

2. 
   

2. 2.Discovering the blanks in the existing map
   

1. a.Discover important criteria that are not being used to create a relationship between the things being compared
   

2. b.Identify the values and beliefs that would make these criteria important
   

3. 
   

3. 3.Re-drawing the map:
   

1. a.Apply both the old and the new criteria
   

2. b.State the values and beliefs that have been discovered
   

3. c.Evaluate what the new criteria make important
   

4. d.Apply both the old and the new criteria to create a judgment or insight
   

4. 
   

A good comparison is like any other kind of writing.  It maps what is already known.  It finds the blanks in the map, and then it re-draws the map.  The new map has a new insight that explains how the differences and similarities matter to a specific audience.

  Comparisons Use Values and Beliefs

Good criteria help readers understand what matters. That is why a comparison is more than a list of differences and similarities.  For example, one writer can compare dozens of cars on their technical features.  However, a second writer might have friends who are unemployed automotive workers. This writer will probably pay attention to where each car is built.  A third writer who lives in Los Angeles, Atlanta, or New York may find pollution a major problem.  This writer may judge that the exhaust emissions of a car are important.  Values create the criteria for comparison, and each writer will have a different recommendation.  Stating the values behind the criteria enables the reader to make an independent choice.

  Select from Two Basic Organizational Strategies 

Comparisons can be organized in two basic ways.  One is called point-by-point.  The other is called block.  Each produces a different effect, and each has its advantages and disadvantages. 

Consider the following when choosing a comparison strategy:

1. 1.Point-by-Point: The writer first applies one criterion to one object.  For example, the writer might first discuss the gas mileage of a Prius.  Then, the writer applies the criterion to the other object. For example, the writer then discusses the mileage of a Volt.   The document goes back and forth between the objects being compared. The criteria control the sequence of topics in the paper.  The writer concludes by making judgments and insights about the two cars. 
   

Note: this method can be useful for a longer paper because the reader will need reminders about the other item being compared.  Both items remain in play throughout the document.

2. 2.Block: The second type of organization begins with a complete discussion of only one item.  This section uses all the criteria.  When that is finished, the comparison turns to the other item in the comparison.   This method makes the objects themselves seem most important, and they control the paper.   It works well for short documents. 
   

Note: writers can organize a paper this way so that one item in the comparison serves as a means of understanding the other.  The first item dominates because it is often more familiar to the reader.  Thus, it enables her/him to understand the second item. 

These strategies are similar to the choice of key terms.  They let the reader know that the paper is a comparison.   More important is that the cues and the organization set an expectation that the comparison will provide an insight.

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Readings: complete a TAQ Sheet for each

3. 3.Kate Geiselman: HERE
   

4. 4.Gary Gutting: HERE
   

5. 5.Nate Kreuter: HERE
   

6. 6.Macomb Community College web site
   

7. 7.Pomona College web site
   

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Preparing to Write:  background questions for a successful essay

1. 1.What image(s) does the website feature on its main page? What do these images say about the dominant impression the college wants to promote?
   

2. 2.What are the major links on the main page? What values to they reveal?
   

3. 3.What "value" words are important on the site?
   

4. 4.How difficult/easy is it to find financial aid information on the site?
   

5. 5.How difficult/easy is it to find student life information on the site?
   

6. 6.What kinds of student success stories does the site feature?
   

7. 7.Does the site promote education or job placement?
   

8. 8.What are the qualities or assets that the school does the most to promote?
   

9. 9.How does the school address issues of diversity?
   

10. 10.Based on your observations, what overall claim can you make about the impression that each website want to create?
    

11. 11.What type of student is each school trying to attract?
    

12. 12. Compare the two web sites in terms of the audience at which they are aimed and its view of education?
    

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Paper #2

So Far:

We have looked at the presence of comparisons in both daily life and in academic and work settings. We also looked at the distinction between simple and complex comparisons. We talked about how comparisons can solve problems, illustrate values and beliefs, and create a space for critical thinking.  This assignment emphasizes the use of comparison to illustrate values and beliefs: identifying the kind of student valued by each school.

In the textbook, we have read Geiselman's essay on community college teaching, Gutting's essay on university education, and Kreuter's essay.  We have completed a TAQ sheet for each.

Finally, we produced a rough comparison chart that helps identify differences in the websites that might indicate the audience they hope to attract:

                                         [chart to be inserted upon completion of discussion]

Now:

In an essay of 750-1000 words, do the following:

    Look at the websites for Macomb Community College and Pomona College. What are areas of overlap in how they discuss themselves? In other words, what categories do they highlight in terms of what they can offer students? What categories are present in one website and absent in the other?

    After comparing the two sites for the way they describe themselves, take the next step by addressing the "So what?" Who does each see as its kind of student? Conclude with a "boost" in your conclusion that discuses the value system of each type of education, and how it fits your own values and needs; explain why you would choose one or the other school, but make the following assumption:  you have just won $100 million in a lottery, so you can freely choose.  However, you cannot collect this money until you have graduated. This is the major "I say" section of your paper.

Due:

1. 1.TAQ Sheets for Geiselman, Gutting, and Fish: checked off in class
   

2. 2.TAQ Sheets for the MCC and the Pomona web sites: checked off in class
   

3. 3.P&P Statement: submitted via email
   

4. 4.Prospectus: submitted via email
   

5. 5.Paper: submitted via email
   

1. Other Requirements
   

2. 
   

1. 1.The paper may not use any form of the verb, "to be."  Examples of this verb include "am," "is," "are," "was," "were," "being," "been." Papers using any form of "to be" will receive a zero.
   

2. 2.The paper may not use second person ("you" or "your")  Any paper using second person will receive a zero.
   

3. 3.The paper not use "one" as a substitute for second person. Any paper using "one" in this fashion will receive a zero.
   

4. 4.First person ("I") is acceptable only at the sentences that state your own, most important insight, question, hypothesis, or experience.  Papers making any other use of first person will receive a zero.
   

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