CLASS
ESSAY MODE FOCUS:EVALUATIVE COMPARISON/
THE EVALUATIVE COMPARISON/CONTRAST ESSAY
GOAL: MAKE A JUDGMENT ABOUT 2 RELATED ITEMS.
THESIS MAKES A JUDGMENT, BASED ON CRITERIA (ACCEPTED/ACCEPTABLE STANDARDS OF VALUE)
>>> The TONE (Author’s Attitude toward subject matter) of the essay is objective and informed. The reader should get the impression that you have thoroughly considered the items, done whatever research is necessary, and your overall judgment is based on objective consideration, not bias—even if it seems that, in the end, one item is a better choice than the other..
>>Note: The essay is NOT divided by similarities and differences.
>>>YOU WILL CHOOSE THE 5-7 MOST IMPORTANT CRITERIA TO JUDGE YOUR ITEMS
SAMPLE THESIS, WITH ESSAY MAP FOR EVALUATIVE COMPARISON/CONTRAST ESSAY
WALMART and TARGET :
(This topic is off-limits for your essay, but you could write about 2 other stores)
“Both are large, national discount department stores with very high market share; however, overall, Walmart has more locations, larger selection, and lower prices, while Target has better quality items, superior customer service, and a cleaner/safer store environment.”
Note that this thesis has both Comparisons (Similarities) and Contrasts (Differences). It also offers an essay map (A preview of the major points of the essay, in the order they appear).
Based on the above thesis, the paragraph outline would look like the following:
(Note that some criteria could be spread over several paragraphs/ or be distinguished by department, instead of generalized)
*Intro/Thesis
*Size
Walmart
Target
*Locations
Walmart
Target
*Marketshare
Walmart
Target
*Selection
Walmart
Target
*Prices
Walmart
Target
*Quality items
Walmart
Target
*Customer service
Walmart
Target
*Store Environment
Walmart
Target
*Conclusion
BASIC Evaluative Comparison/CONTRAST Essay Structure
An evaluative Comparison/ Contrast essay utilizes Comparisons (similarities) and Contrasts (Differences) as bases to consider and judge related concepts/ideas/situations, etc.
Goal
:
Consider Two Related items, and make a judgment* about them.
(Your thesis
is
this judgment)
Tone (Author’s
attitude
toward subject matter): Objective and informative.
*Your judgment is based on: criteria (accepted/acceptable) standards of value.
>>>>>> You must choose the 5-7 most relevant criteria for your chosen topic.
You may, additionally choose, a few criteria which are personally important.
Of course, criteria will vary significantly, depending on your topic.
For example, judging 2 cars, major criteria might be price, size, warranty, fuel economy, crash-test ratings, maintenance costs, engine and mechanical profile, and researchable criteria—repair history/ true cost to own/ re-sale value / insurance costs…
>>>>But if you have to transport your disabled aunt, and the door has to open 38 inches to get her wheelchair in the car, the door opening size is an ACCEPTABLE CRITERIA—even if it is not a key consideration for most people.
NOTE: THE ESSAY IS
NOT
DIVIDED BY SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES
…
IT IS DIVIDED BY CRITERIA
>>>>>>While sources are not required for this essay, you will almost certainly need sources for any “public” topic
—that is a topic for which extensive data is readily available (i.e. specs about equipment, restaurant/film reviews, economic trends, etc.
You might not need sources if you are writing about something very personal—like comparing your mother’s sense of humor to your father’s sense of humor; or comparing your social life in one city, to your social life in another city… (But even here, it might be good to use research to indicate something about the offerings—bars, museums, coffee shops, concert venues—in the cities…)
>>>
If you do use sources, they must be cited in MLA format in-text citations, and Works cited, and underlined, in the same format as the research paper…
The checklist will include the relevant MLA portions
Again, be very careful to
NARROW YOUR TOPIC.
For example, it would be too broad to compare California and Costa Rica in General.
You might try to narrow it to surfing in California and Costa Rica—but even that is too broad for a 5-page essay.
Much better (more focused) would be comparing surfing in 2 cities:
>>>surfing in Mal Pais, Costa Rica, versus surfing in San Clemente, California…
Another example: Dogs versus cats is too broad. You would be resorting to stereotypes. Much better would be to compare a specific dog to a specific cat. (or compare two specific dogs, or even two
breeds
of dogs… ).
Another example: Comparing/ Contrasting California to Nevada is too broad. Even Comparing/Contrasting Los Angeles to Las Vegas is too broad. But you could compare Theatrical Shows in Los Angeles to Theatrical Shows in Las Vegas—or some other refined consideration.
No topic is necessarily off-limits, but you want to choose topics which can fruitfully be considered, side-by-side. However, if tailored, this could even be a consideration of stereotypes themselves; for example, you could consider stereotypes about doctors in the 1950’s, versus stereotypes about politicians today…
Again, it is best to be specific. So rather than compare all McDonald’s to all Burger Kings, you could compare a specific McDonalds location to a specific Burger King location.
Again, your goal is to pick topics which could be fruitfully compared side-by-side. So you wouldn’t want to compare a McDonald’s to 5-star French Restaurant in Paris. And you wouldn’t want to compare a Ferrari to a skateboard. But you might compare a particular Ferrari to a particular Maserati. Or a Skateboard to Rollerblades…
EXAMPLE
: Compare/Contrast 2 restaurants.
Example of Criteria Comparing 2 Restaurants:
1) Quality of Food (flavor, freshness, amount, organic);
2) Service (Greeting, promptness, dress, friendly, clean);
3) Atmosphere (Music, Cleanliness, Air Quality);
4) Price;
5) Location.
[YOU COULD ADD ANOTHER, PERSONAL CRITERIA, IF IMPORTANT TO YOU, SUCH AS VEGAN FOOD OFFERINGS…]
THESIS
The thesis makes a generalized overall judgment presented as a “snapshot” of the essay content
,
such as the following:
“ Overall, Taco Ole has better quality food, more personalized service, and a more intimate atmosphere;
however, Ramos has bigger portions, lower prices, and a more convenient location.”
>>>>This
“snapshot” formula
also provides and essay map—a preview of the major criterial in your essay in the order you will discuss them
Note that your judgment does
not
have the goal of indicating which item/situation/product is
better
or
worse—although your conclusion and analyses within the essay may address or imply such valuations.
Devote a single paragraph or (if the criterion requires very in-depth analysis, 2-3 paragraphs) to each specific criterion, which makes a “mini-judgment” about that criterion—which is often the topic sentence in that paragraph.
For example, in the following outline (As well as the guide above), The Topic Sentence of the first body paragraph might be the following: “Overall, Ramos has more authentic and higher-quality food, but Taco Ole serves larger portions with numerous free side dishes.” That paragraph would go on to make various comparisons/contrasts about the food in the two establishments.
CRITERION BY CRITERION COMPARISON/ CONTRAST
Essay Structure
Note: Discuss your items in the same order.
In the example below, the author always discusses Ramos
first, then Taco Ole—otherwise, the reader is ping-ponged back and forth and may lose track of which is which…
>>>>You choose which item to apply a criterion to first, and which to apply the criterion to second. KEEP THAT ORDER.
Paragraph by paragraph, the criterion are applied to each item/situation systematically, keeping the same order. So in the example below, after the topic sentence, each paragraph applies the criterion first to Ramos, then to Taco Ole.
- Intro:
Hook (Gets readers attention about topic)
Thesis
– makes overall judgment
“ Overall, Taco Ole has better quality food, more personalized service, and a more intimate atmosphere;
however, Ramos has bigger portions, lower prices, and a more convenient location.”
Body paragraphs
I. Quality of Food
--Ramos
--Taco Ole
II. Price
--Ramos
--Taco Ole
III. Service
--Ramos
--Taco Ole
IV. Atmosphere
--Ramos
--Taco Ole
V. Location
--Ramos
--Taco Ole
.CONCLUSION --restates your overall judgment with a final comment, prediction, or point of view.
Notes about Body Paragraphs in Comparison/Contrast Essay
A good way to think about the structure of each body paragraph which addresses a criterion, is to make a “mini-judgment for each criterian. In that case, you conclusion is the summation of the mini-judgment.
For example, in the above restaurant example, here are the mini-judgments,
*Better quality food: Taco Ole
*More personalized service: Taco Ole
*More intimate atmosphere: Taco Ole
*Bigger portions: Ramos
*Lower prices: Ramos
*More convenient location: Ramos
When you add these together (in the order you want to discuss them), your thesis becomes the cumulation (Sum) of the mini-judgments:
“ Overall, Taco Ole has better quality food, more personalized service, and a more intimate atmosphere;
however, Ramos has bigger portions, lower prices, and a more convenient location.”
>>>>As a general formula, your evaluative thesis is a
cumulation
of the mini-judgments for each criterion, artfully compressed into a single sentence. Again, note that such a thesis has an essay map.
Mental test to check your criteria
To determine if you have a criteria, you could conduct a mental experiment and see if your criteria can be “measured” by adding the phrase “the extent to which” to the topic IN YOUR MIND. DON’T WRITE THIS PHRASE IN EVERY PARAGRAPH…
For Example,
A) “the extent to which the restaurants have good food”: This is true to a larger extent at Taco Ole, which overall has better food…
B) “the extent to which the restaurants have a convenient location”: This is true to a larger extent at Ramos, which overall has better, more convenient location…
TOPICS FOR THE COMPARISON CONTRAST ESSAY WHICH ARE OFF LIMITS
YOU CAN PIC ANY TOPICS FOR COMPARISON CONTRAST ESSAY—EXCEPT
DISNEYLAND AND DISNEY WORLD (You could compare any 2 other parks);
Toyota Camry vs. Honda Accord
Kia Soul vs Fiat 500 Abarth (You could compare any other 2 cars);
iphone 11 and Galaxy Note 10 (You could compare any 2 other devices);
Breastfeeding versus formula;
millennials and Generation Z,
Walmart and Target (you could compare any 2 other stores)
Doritos versus Nolan’s Cheese (you could compare any 2 other food products)
Guide Dog Versus Guide Horse
Coach Versus First Class Airline Tickets
The movie “Alien” versus the movie “Aliens”
(You could compare two other movies—or better yet, focus your topic:
And Compare special effects in two different movies, or acting in two movies)
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