comparative essay

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

Essay Writing 

What types of
writing are there?

Types of Writing

1. Personal Writing;

2. Public Writing;

3. Creative Writing;

4. Social Writing;

5. Study Writing;

6. Institutional Writing:

Ad 1. Personal writing examples

Diaries

Journals

Shopping lists

Reminders for oneself

Packing lists

Recipes

Ad 2. Public Writing Examples

Form filling

Applications (for membership)

Letters of:

- Enquiry

- Motivation

- Complaint

- Application

- Request

- To the editor

Ad 3. Creative Writing

Poems

Short stories

Rhymes

Drama

Songs

Autobiography

Novels

Ad 4. Social Writing

Letters / emails / apps

Invitations

Instructions:

- To friends

- To family

Notes:

- Of condolence

- Of thanks

- Of congratulations

Ad 5. Study Writing

Making notes while reading

Taking notes from lectures

Making a card index

Summaries

Synopses

Reviews

Essays

Bibliographies

Reports of:

- Experiments

- Workshops

- Visits

Ad 6. Institutional Writing

Agendas
Applications

Minutes
Curriculum vitae

Specifications
Memoranda 

Reports

Prescriptions (doctors)

Reviews

Contracts

Business letters

Public notices

Advertisements

Emails

Posters

Instructions

Speeches

What is an essay?

An essay is defined as:

"a short piece of writing that expresses information (as well as the writer's opinion)."

To write an essay, you should generally:

1- Decide what type of essay to write                                                               2-  Brainstorm your topic

3- Research the topic.                                                                                             4-  Develop a thesis

5- Outline your essay                                                                                               6-  Write your essay

7- Edit your writing to check spelling and grammar

What types of Essays are there?

Types of essays 

Narrative essay: telling a story;                                                     

Persuasive essay: to convince the reader; 

Expository essay: academic paper to investigate an idea;

Descriptive essay: to describe something;

Argumentative essay:facts/evidence to support the argument; Compare and contrast essay: analysis of two subjects;

Problem - solution essay: description of problem/solution.

What do you think could be
a definition for
a compare and contrast essay?
Use catchwords!

Compare and Contrast Essay:

Or Comparative Essay

literarydevices.net/comparison-contrast-essay

Definition of Comparison and Contrast Essay:

A comparison and contrast essay compares two similar objects, or contrasts two dissimilar objects, in a way that readers become informed about the advantages and/or disadvantages of both the objects. 

Jot down the components of an essay.

How many sentences should an introduction at least have?

1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4

Why at least 2?

Linked to background info

Reason to oppose or support ideas

Development of an idea

Posed the end of the introduction

Thesis Statement

Argument

Develop a thesis statement

Your thesis statement is the main point of your essay. It is one sentence that states what the essay is about. For example, your thesis statement might be  "The death penalty should be reinstated" or "Witch trials also happen in modern times".

* Use the thesis statement as the basic premise to write your entire essay about; 

* Remember that all of the different points lead back to this one main thesis; 

* State your thesis in your introductory paragraph;

*  Thesis statement should be broad enough.

DO – Pay Attention to Your Introductory Paragraph 

Because this is the first paragraph of your essay it is your opportunity to give the reader the best first impression possible. The introductory paragraph not only gives the reader an idea of what you will talk about but also shows them how you will talk about it. 

Try to introduce by using a "HOOK"

(something a joke, a fact or anything that will grab the reader's attention)

DO NOT – Use Passive Voice or I/My

Active voice, wherein the subjects direct actions rather than let the actions "happen to" them – "he scored a 97%" instead of "he was given a 97%" – is a much more powerful and attention-grabbing way to write. At the same time, unless it is a personal narrative, avoid personal pronouns like I, My, or Me. Try instead to be more general and you will have your reader hooked.

Should each comparative essay have a title?

1. yes
2. no

What different types of titles are there?

Titles

1. Informative Title

2. Creative Title

3. Relevant and readable Title

What should you bear in mind while thinking up a title and writing your comparative essay?

Body of the paragraphs

Body paragraphs: 

• Topic sentence A;   followed by a 
• Supporting sentence;  followed by a
• Supporting sentence; followed by a
• supporting sentence etc. etc.

DO – Tie Things Together

The first sentence – the topic sentence - of your body paragraphs needs to have a lot individual pieces to be truly effective. Not only should it open with a transition that signals the change from one idea to the next but also it should (ideally) also have a common thread which ties all of the body paragraphs together. For example, if you used "first" in the first body paragraph then you should used "secondly" in the second or "on the one hand" and "on the other hand" accordingly.

DO NOT – Be Too General

Examples should be relevant to the thesis and so should the explanatory details you provide for them. It can be hard to summarize the full richness of a given example in just a few lines so make them count. If you are trying to explain why George Washington is a great example of a strong leader, for instance, his childhood adventure with the cherry tree (though interesting in another essay) should probably be skipped over.

Conclusion

Restatement or summary of the main points;

&

a final comment (if appropriate).

DO – Be Powerful

The conclusion paragraph can be a difficult paragraph to write effectively but, as it is your last chance to convince or otherwise impress the reader, it is worth investing some time in. Take this opportunity to restate your thesis with confidence; if you present your argument as "obvious" then the reader might just do the same.

DO NOT – Copy the First Paragraph

Although you can reuse the same key words in the conclusion as you did in the introduction, try not to copy whole phrases word for word. Instead, try to use this last paragraph to really show your skills as a writer by being as artful in your rephrasing as possible.