V5_term 3_comparative essay writing

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V5 Comparative essay writing - why?

V5 Comparative essay writing - why?

Comparative essay writing is about:

 understanding two contrasting or complementary texts

(understanding common theme + differences in key points) 

rephrasing the key points per text in your own words 

giving your own, well-balanced opinion

Introduction 

(Make a plain reference to the topic of the two texts)

1 st paragraph

Topic sentence + Paraphrase point 1 + Paraphrase point 2 (key points text 1)

2nd paragraph

Topic sentence + Paraphrase point 3 + Paraphrase point 4 (key points text 2)

3rd paragraph

Your opinion

Conclusion

Closing remark – No new ideas.

Comparative essay

1) Intro/1st paragraph: indicate the common topic of both texts

2) Body/2nd and 3rd paragraph:summarize the two key points and paraphrase the original text (use your own words)

     Paragraph 2 = text 1 - 2 key points + add comment (use an adverb - e.g. The writer of text one correctly remarks ...)

     Paragraph 3 = text 2 - 2 key points  + add comment (use an adverb - e.g. In contrast, the author of the second one mistakenly          assumes that ....)

3) Conclusion/4th paragraph: Give your own opinion/ideas on topic of the two texts and finish with a concluding statement

Topic - comparative essay - part 1 - 

Read the two texts and establish the theme both texts have in common

Establish the two key points per text

Text 1 - Teenagers as consumers

It is virtually impossible to escape the influence of the media these days, and particularly if you are a teenager with access not just to television and radio, but also the internet at all times of the day and night. Advertisers look upon teenagers as a blank canvas whose tastes and needs are there to be moulded by them through their advertisements. Advertisers and marketing people have become adept at reading the teenage mind, making young people believe that they need to own certain items in order to be accepted by their peer group, or simply to look cool.

Text 2 - Teenagers: a driving force

Advertising responds to young people’s delight in what is new by developing sophisticated and innovative, often humorous advertisements which can be seen on television and cinema screens and on billboards around our towns and cities. The tastes of this generation of young people have had an impact on advertisers worldwide. However, it is the energy of the young, above all, that has influenced the world of marketing and has kept it on its toes, pushing the creative boundaries to become almost an art form. That is the power of young people.

Topic - comparative essay - part 2 - write a comparative essay, using your own words + own ideas

1) Give the common topic of both texts 

2) Summarize the two key points (paragraph 2 = text 1; paragraph 3 = text 2) + give your opinion per text

3) Give your own ideas on the topic and finish with a concluding statement

Text 1 - Teenagers as consumers

It is virtually impossible to escape the influence of the media these days, and particularly if you are a teenager with access not just to television and radio, but also the internet at all times of the day and night. Advertisers look upon teenagers as a blank canvas whose tastes and needs are there to be moulded by them through their advertisements. Advertisers and marketing people have become adept at reading the teenage mind, making young people believe that they need to own certain items in order to be accepted by their peer group, or simply to look cool.

Text 2 - Teenagers: a driving force

Advertising responds to young people’s delight in what is new by developing sophisticated and innovative, often humorous advertisements which can be seen on television and cinema screens and on billboards around our towns and cities. The tastes of this generation of young people have had an impact on advertisers worldwide. However, it is the energy of the young, above all, that has influenced the world of marketing and has kept it on its toes, pushing the creative boundaries to become almost an art form. That is the power of young people.

Model answer - p.1

These texts both deal with the relationship between teenagers and advertising.

The first one focuses on how advertisers exploit young people, taking advantage both of teenage preoccupation with the media and of their susceptibility to peer pressure combined with a wish to appear ‘cool’. ADD MORE INFO (e.g. Teenagers' opinions can easily be shaped by strong media influence etc.)

The second text is less critical of the relationship between marketing and young people. It presents the young as having a very positive influence on the quality of modern adverts, helping to make them much wittier and more original than ever before. This text maintains that teenagers’ impact on advertising derives partly from their predilection for what is intriguingly new but also, more particularly, from their own creative energy. This energy has been channelled into advertising, raising it arguably to the level of an art form.

While I appreciate the arguments put forward in both texts, I tend to feel more in sympathy with the approach of the first one. I suspect that advertisers are quite cold-heartedly prepared to exploit the youth market, keen to capture the attention – and the cash – of the new generation and well aware of how young people are perhaps more easily influenced than their more cynical elders.

I would accept that advertising can be very creative and I personally often find an advert in a magazine or a TV commercial attractive to look at or enjoyably humorous. It does not seem unreasonable to suggest that many people with artistic talents are attracted to the advertising profession. However, I do not see that as having any direct connection with teenagers. Those who create the most original adverts are certainly likely to be young but in their twenties or early thirties rather than their teens. Moreover, the appeal of the more sophisticated advert is surely just as powerful for the older generation as for teenagers.

Model answer - p.2

While I appreciate the arguments put forward in both texts, I tend to feel more in sympathy with the approach of the first one. I suspect that advertisers are quite cold-heartedly prepared to exploit the youth market, keen to capture the attention – and the cash – of the new generation and well aware of how young people are perhaps more easily influenced than their more cynical elders.

I would accept that advertising can be very creative and I personally often find an advert in a magazine or a TV commercial attractive to look at or enjoyably humorous. It does not seem unreasonable to suggest that many people with artistic talents are attracted to the advertising profession. However, I do not see that as having any direct connection with teenagers. Those who create the most original adverts are certainly likely to be young but in their twenties or early thirties rather than their teens. Moreover, the appeal of the more sophisticated advert is surely just as powerful for the older generation as for teenagers.

Please note the following

NOTE:

Comparative essay writing is about understanding texts and rephrasing them in your own words + giving your opinion

Paraphrase the original text by using your own words/synonyms  - avoid copying sentences from the original texts

Add a comment (adverb) in paragraphs 2 and 3 (e.g. "The writer of text one correctly remarks ....".

Add your own opinion & ideas on the topic in the final/4th paragraph - give a well-balanced opinion (try to take both sides into account)

Use of we and I allowed 

Use formal register/language 

Marking criteria

Language

Language of evaluation, discussion, comparison (between the two texts) narrative (use of a personal anecdote) and speculation (possible results of various schemes). Vocabulary for describing working conditions (e.g. ‘part-time/full-time’, ‘job sharing scheme’, ‘flexible working conditions’, ‘homeworker/homeworking’ etc.) could be used. Does not have to be completely accurate but any errors should be minimal.

Communication

Should be fairly formal as that is consistent with the requirements of an academic essay. The reader would get a clear summary of the two texts along with the writer’s point of view.

Marking criteria

Organization

The essay must be divided into clear paragraphs and these should be linked appropriately. The format should be that of a standard essay, i.e. without headings in the body of the essay

Content

Should include a summary of the key points in each text. The essay should also include an evaluation of these key points including the writer’s own views on the subject.

New Topic - comparative essay 

Read the two texts and establish the theme both texts have in common

Establish the two key points per text

Killing for nothing

Under no circumstances should capital punishment be condoned. It is a barbaric form of punishment, which serves no useful purpose as it obviously does not act as a deterrent. In the USA, for example, the use of capital punishment increased greatly during the eighties and the nineties but with no corresponding effect on the crime rate. Another argument says that it effectively deals with people who are a danger to society. But in any case, they spend years, even decades, on death row while their appeals are used up, and might as well just be sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole.

Innocents die

The system by which people are convicted is simply not as foolproof as some people would have us believe, and the odds against an innocent person being killled are just too high. While the risk of this happening remains a very real possibility, the death sentence is unacceptable. In this age of DNA evidence, many people in

American prisons awaiting execution have been found to be innocent. The other problem is prejudice. Even if a person is found guilty and convicted of a crime, they are likely to get a worse sentence if they are from an ethnic

minority, and disproportionately large numbers of these people are executed every year in the States.

New Topic comparative essay - TASK

Write an essay summarizing and evaluating the key points from both texts. 

Use your own words throughout as far as possible, and include your own ideas in your answers.

Killing for nothing

Under no circumstances should capital punishment be condoned. It is a barbaric form of punishment, which serves no useful purpose as it obviously does not act as a deterrent. In the USA, for example, the use of capital punishment increased greatly during the eighties and the nineties but with no corresponding effect on the crime rate. Another argument says that it effectively deals with people who are a danger to society. But in any case, they spend years, even decades, on death row while their appeals are used up, and might as well just be sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole.

Innocents die

The system by which people are convicted is simply not as foolproof as some people would have us believe, and the odds against an innocent person being killled are just too high. While the risk of this happening remains a very real possibility, the death sentence is unacceptable. In this age of DNA evidence, many people in American prisons awaiting execution have been found to be innocent. The other problem is prejudice. Even if a person is found guilty and convicted of a crime, they are likely to get a worse sentence if they are from an ethnic minority, and disproportionately large numbers of these people are executed every year in the States.

Comparative essay writing

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