Assignment: Comparison/Contrast Essay
Choose two stories/poems/plays that we have read this semester to compare and contrast. You
might, for example choose texts that treat a similar theme. How does the plot, point of view,
character, symbol, or setting relate to the theme you have chosen? Or you might choose two poems. How does the imagery, tone or diction relate to the theme you have chosen? Here is a list of suggested themes for some of the texts we have read this semester:
Fathers and Sons:
“Those Winter Sundays” Robert Hayden “My Papa’s Waltz” Theodore Roethke
Love :
“So Much Happiness” by Mary Oliver
“Where You Go When She Sleeps” T.R. Hummer
Life:
“God’s Grandeur” by Gerard Manley Hopkins
“Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver
“The World is Too Much With Us” William Wordsworth
Marriage:
“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
Communication:
“Cathedral” by Raymond Carver
“Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
OR: You might choose to compare characters in a story or play:
Louise Mallard from “The Story of an Hour” Jane in “The Yellow Wallpaper”
Remember, that when comparing and contrasting you must do more than just note what is similar and different. You need to analyze the texts for what is significant about the comparison. Use one text as a lens to better see the other and explain how the differences or similarities work together to create new meaning.
Once you have chosen the two texts, reread and annotate both texts. Mark relevant passages that you can quote from to support your argument. Be sure to find common ground for the comparison and create an outline of points you will discuss. Remember, your thesis must clearly state the purpose for the comparison/contrast.
Use the writing process to write this essay. Freewrite until you have a thesis. Then outline your reasons why thesis is true. Hunt for quotes. Write draft 1. Get your ideas down. Then fix it – the big ideas, development and support of points you make, organization and cohesion (Draft 2). Finally, revise for the small details: spelling/grammar, MLA formatting. That’s the “dental draft” – Draft 3. Post to link on Moodle.