محمد شاهر
مشرف ومراسل السنة الأولى
عدد الرسائل : 1981
الدولة : Syria
الكلية : Faculty of Arts
السـنة الدراسية : second
النشاط : 2739
تاريخ التسجيل : 10/02/2011
 |  موضوع: تعبير و استيعاب part4  2011-05-24, 02:38 | |
| Comparison and Contrast Paragraphs 
Some TOEFL writing
topics will ask you to consider the relationship between two things, for
example, your hometown (that is, the town where you were born or grew up) and
your university town. Such topics may allow you to organize your essay either
around the similarities between these two subtopics (for
example, between your hometown and your university town) or around the differences
between them. If you write about the similarities, the essay will be a comparison essay. On the other hand, if you want to write about the
differences, your essay will be a contrast
essay.
This lesson will show you some ways in which you can structure
sentences to write a comparison or contrast paragraph. We will first look at
comparison paragraphs and then briefly look at contrast paragraphs.
Comparison Paragraphs Organized by Similar Points
Consider the following
paragraph:
My
hometown and my college town have several things in common. First, both are
small rural communities. For example, my hometown, Gridlock, has a
population of only about 10,000 people. Similarly, my college town,
Subnormal, consists of about 11,000 local residents. This population swells
to 15,000 people when the college students are attending classes. A second
way in which these two towns are similar is that they are both located in
rural areas. Gridlock is surrounded by many acres of farmland which is
devoted mainly to growing corn and soybeans. In the same way, Subnormal
lies in the center of farmland which is used to raise hogs and cattle .
. . .
|
(Note: The four
dots [ . . . . ] at the end of this paragraph mean that the paragraph
contains more sentences that are not shown here.)
The passage above is
from a comparison paragraph. that is, a paragraph which discusses the
similarities between two subtopics. Notice how the ideas in this paragraph
are organized. As usual, the topic sentence is at the beginning of the
paragraph. (For more about topic sentences, click here.) After that, the paragraph continues by
discussing one point of similarity between the towns of Gridlock and
Subnormal, namely, their small population. Specific details are given
to support the statment that "both are small rural communities."
(For more about supporting details, click here.) Following this, the paragraph briefly
discusses a second point of similarity between the two towns, that is,
their geographic surroundings. Here, the paragraph also gives supporting
details to illustrate their similarity, namely, that they are "both
located in rural areas."
As you can see, therefore, this comparison paragraph is
structured (organized) according to the points of similarity between
the two towns. This particular paragraph discusses only two points of
similarity, but of course we can imagine a paragraph that gives three, four,
or even more points of similarity. This paragraph, for example, might
continue in this way:
. . . Thirdly, both of these towns are
similar in that both contain college campuses. Gridlock, for example, is
home to Neutron College, which is famous for its Agricultural Economics
program as well as for its annual Corn-Watching Festival. Likewise, the
town of Subnormal boasts the beautiful campus of Quark College, which is
well known for its Agricultural Engineering department and also for its
yearly Hog-Calling Contest.
|
(Note: The three dots [ . . . ] at the
beginning of the above paragraph indicate that the paragraph contains
previous sentences that are not shown here.)
We can place the points of similarity and their supporting
details in a table in order to see more clearly how this short paragraph
is organized:
Comparison
Paragraph -- Organized by Similar Points
TOPIC SENTENCE
|
My (a) hometown and (b)
college town are similar.
|
POINT #1
|
Both are small rural communities.
|
DETAIL
(a)
|
- Gridlock has about
10,000 people.
|
DETAIL
(b)
|
- Subnormal has about
11,000 local residents.
- It has about 4000
college students.
|
POINT #2
|
Both are located in rural areas.
|
DETAILS
(a)
|
- Gridlock is
surrounded by many acres of farmland.
- This farmland is
devoted to growing corn.
- The land is also
used to grow soybeans.
|
DETAILS
(b)
|
- Subnormal is in the
center of land used for raising hogs.
- This land is also
used to raise cattle.
|
POINT #3
|
Both towns contain college campuses.
|
DETAILS
(a)
|
- Gridlock is home to
Neutron College.
- This college is
famous for its Agricultural Economics program.
- It is also famous
for its annual Corn-Watching Festival.
|
DETAILS
(b)
|
- Subnormal contains
Quark College.
- This campus is
famous for its Agricultural Engineering department.
- It is also famous
for its yearly Hog-Calling Contest.
|
Comparison Paragraphs Organized by Subtopic
Another way of
organizing a comparison is not according to supporting details that are
similar, but according to subtopic. (A subtopic is a main example, or main
supporting idea, that illustrates the topic sentence of a paragraph. For more
about supporting details, click here.) That is, we can organize the paragraph
by first discussing all the relevant points associated to one subtopic, then
discussing those of the second subtopic. Look at the following example, based
on the above paragraph:
My
hometown and my college town have several things in common. First, my hometown,
Gridlock, is a small town. It has a population of only about 10,000 people.
Located in a rural area, Gridlock is surrounded by many acres of farmland
which are devoted mainly to growing corn and soybeans. Gridlock also
contains a college campus, Neutron College, which is famous for its
Agricultural Economics program as well as for its annual Corn-Watching
Festival. As for my college town, Subnormal, it too is small, having a
population of about 11,000 local residents, which swells to 15,000 people
when students from the nearby college are attending classes. Like Gridlock,
Subnormal lies in the center of farmland which is used to raise hogs and
cattle. Finally, Subnormal is similar to Gridlock in that it also boasts a
beautiful college campus, called Quark College. This college is well known
for its Agricultural Engineering department and also for its yearly
Hog-Calling Contest.
|
As you can see, after the topic sentence, this paragraph
first discusses the relevant details about Gridlock and then presents the
details about Subnormal. As with the paragraph above, we can illustrate this
paragraph's structure in the following way:
Comparison Paragraph -- Organized by
Subtopic
TOPIC SENTENCE
|
My hometown
and college town are similar.
|
SUBTOPIC
#1:
|
GRIDLOCK
|
DETAILS
ABOUT GRIDLOCK:
|
- Gridlock is a small
town.
- It
has about 10,000 people.
Gridlock is in a
rural area.
It
is surrounded by many acres of farmland.
This
farmland is devoted to growing corn.
The
land is also used to grow soybeans.
Gridlock is home to
Neutron College.
This
college is famous for its Agricultural Economics program.
It
is also famous for its annual Corn-Watching Festival.
|
SUBTOPIC#2:
|
SUBNORMAL
|
DETAILS
ABOUT SUBNORMAL:
|
- Subnormal is a
small town.
- Subnormal
has about 4000 college students.
- It
has about 11,000 local residents.
Subnormal is in a
rural area.
Subnormal
is in the center of land used for raising hogs.
This
land is also used to raise cattle.
Subnormal contains
Quark College.
This
campus is famous for its Agricultural Engineering department.
It
is also famous for its yearly Hog-Calling Contest.
|
Return to Top
Comparison Conjunctions
In the above paragraphs you
will see various conjunctions that contribute to paragraph coherence. (For
more on coherence, click here.) We can look at the above paragraphs
again to see how the conjunctions are used:
My
hometown and my college town have several things in common. First, both
are small rural communities. For example, my hometown, Gridlock, has a
population of only about 10,000 people. Similarly, my college town,
Subnormal, consists of about 11,000 local residents. This population swells
to 15,000 people when the college students are attending classes. A
second way in which these two towns are similar is that they are both
located in rural areas. Gridlock is surrounded by many acres of farmland
which is devoted mainly to growing corn and soybeans. In the same way,
Subnormal lies in the center of farmland which is used to raise hogs and
cattle. Thirdly, these towns are similar in that they contain
college campuses. Gridlock, for example, is home to Neutron College, which
is famous for its Agricultural Economics program as well as for its annual
Corn-Watching Festival. Likewise, the town of Subnormal boasts the
beautiful campus of Quark College, which is well known for its Agricultural
Engineering department and also for its yearly Hog-Calling Contest.
|
This paragraph, of course, is organized according to
similarities. Notice how the ORDER of the similarities is the same
throughout the paragraph. That is, at each similar point, the paragraph first
discusses Gridlock and then it discusses Subnormal. Keeping the same
order throughout the paragraph prevents the reader from getting confused.
Also notice how the conjunctions (for example, similarly, and ...X
are similar in that...) are placed near each similar point. Now
examine the following paragraph, which is organized by subtopic:
My
hometown and my college town are similar in several ways. First, my
hometown, Gridlock, is a small town. It has a population of only about
10,000 people. Located in a rural area, Gridlock is surrounded by many
acres of farmland which are devoted mainly to growing corn and soybeans.
Gridlock also contains a college campus, Neutron College, which is famous
for its Agricultural Economics program as well as for its annual
Corn-Watching Festival. As for my college town, Subnormal, it too is
small, having a population of about 11,000 local residents, which swells to
15,000 people when students from the nearby college are attending classes. Like
Gridlock, Subnormal lies in the center of farmland which is used to
raise hogs and cattle. Finally, Subnormal is similar to Gridlock in that
it also boasts a beautiful college campus, called Quark College.
This college is well known for its Agricultural Engineering department and
also for its yearly Hog-Calling Contest.
|
These are not the only ways to give coherence to a
comparison paragraph. There are other conjunctions, too. Here is a list of
comparison conjunctions you can use:
Short
Conjunctions
|
Longer
Expressions
|
Similarly,
Likewise,
...the
same...
...the
same as...
...also...
...,
too.
both
|
In the
same way,
X is
similar to Y in that (they)...
X and Y
are similar in that (they)...
Like X,
Y [verb]...
In like
manner,
One way
in which X is similar to Y is (that)...
Another
way in which X is similar to Y is (that)...
|
Return to Top
Contrast Paragraphs
As mentioned above, a contrast
paragraph discusses the differences between (at least) two things. You
can organize contrast paragraphs in much the same way that you can organize
comparison paragraphs. That is, you can organize them either according to
points of similarity or according to subtopic. Here is an example of such a
paragraph organized by subtopic. Notice the contrastive expressions in bold
letters:
Even though Arizona and Rhode Island are both states of the U.S., they are
strikingly different in many ways. For example, the physical size of
each state is different. Arizona is large, having an area of 114,000
square miles, whereas Rhode Island is only about a tenth the size,
having an area of only 1,214 square miles. Another difference is in
the size of the population of each state. Arizona has about four million
people living in it, but Rhode Island has less than one million. The
two states also differ in the kinds of natural environments that
each has. For example, Arizona is a very dry state, consisting of large
desert areas that do not receive much rainfall every year. However,
Rhode Island is located in a temperate zone and receives an average of 44
inches of rain per year. In addition, while Arizona is a landlocked
state and thus has no seashore, Rhode Island lies on the Atlantic Ocean and
does have a significant coastline.
|
Here are some contrast conjunctions
that you can use:
Short Conjunctions
|
Subordinating Conjunctions
|
However,
In contrast,
By contrast,
..., but
..., yet
|
On the other hand,
even though + [sentence]
although + [sentence]
whereas + [sentence]
unlike + [sentence]
while + [sentence]
nevertheless,
|
Return to Top
Click
here to go on to the Exercises.
Click here to see your homework.
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محمد شاهر
مشرف ومراسل السنة الأولى
عدد الرسائل : 1981
الدولة : Syria
الكلية : Faculty of Arts
السـنة الدراسية : second
النشاط : 2739
تاريخ التسجيل : 10/02/2011
| | موضوع: رد: تعبير و استيعاب part4 2011-06-02, 11:52 | |
| d]] افادة عن المقالة المتوقعة بالامتحان :
Advantages and disadvantages of modern technology
Technology can be defined as science applied to practical purposes. Nowadays, when the rapidness of development and research is so impressive, it is easy to think about the advantages of modern technology. Nevertheless some people argue that science can destroy mankind. It is also obvious that we are close on an era where technology is limited only by our imagination. Therefore the most frequently asked question is: Does technology go the right way and will it save or ruin our civilization?
It can be argued that modern technology makes life easier and more dignified for most of people. The first and the major advantage is that medical science is very progressive and vastly available. Without the needed technology a lot of people would struggle with their health. In addition it saves many innocent lives. The point is to spread it and reach with medicine help to the poor nations of the Third World. Secondly, the technology improves industry by making it more effective and, what is vital today, safer for environment. Moreover when we look at TV, personal computer, mobile phone or internet for instance is quite obvious that all this inventions have been made in the last 20 years. Thus the speed of improvement is huge and unpredictable.
On the minus side there is weaponry which is the inseparable issue of the new technologies. Hence the main problem is the proper use of this knowledge. Nevertheless, weapon engineering propels and provides a huge advance. Also, the industry despite highly developed machinery pollutes the globe. On the other hand while many people live in horrible conditions and famine governments spend a lot of money on developing weapon industry. Is it the right way? Maybe the modern technology should either stop or prevent social disproportions. Lastly, do new technologies make us happier? It is not an easy question and each person should consider it.
In conclusion it is certain...
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