Paper #3, Comnparison/Contrast

100 points
Normal Formatting Guidelines apply
2-6 pages
2 Outside sources minimum; all sources must be cited (see below)


Comparisons (how things are the same) and contrasts (how things are different) are useful techniques to use when trying to come to conclusions about something. It is possible to concentrate on just the similarities, just the differences, or both similarities and differences between two things.
This assignment asks you to gather information, synthesize it into a useful whole, come to conclusions about it, and then present those conclusions in an effective manner. To do this, you will have two options: you can consider the difference between perception (the way we see or feel about something) and reality (the way things really are). Sometimes our perceptions are a close match to the reality of a situation; other times they are way off. Alternatively, you can make a choice between two options by weighing pros (positives) and cons (negatives) of each choice.
Regardless of which type of paper you choose, you need to keep a few things in mind:
This paper is two full pages minimum, no more than six maximum.
This paper follows all style sheet guidelines.
You can use “I” in this paper, but only if you are writing about a subject that involves you personally (generally when you are discussing your own perceptions).
While it is certainly possible to compare more than two things to each other, for purposes of this assignment I want you to compare ONLY TWO THINGS.
In order for this paper to work, you must have some sort of basis for comparison—that is, there must be enough similarities between the two things you are comparing to make the comparison worthwhile. You can’t compare a doorknob to an elephant fairly, for example, as these two things have nothing in common with each other. You could compare an elephant to a cat, however, as both are animals. You also want to make sure that you are not comparing apples to oranges—that is, that you are comparing like to like. It isn’t fair to compare a subcompact vehicle that only costs fifteen thousand to a Ferrari in terms of performance—they are not meant for the same people. The same thing applies to comparing a motorcycle to a pickup truck—they are meant for very different purposes. It is possible to compare seemingly unlike things, but you must have a clear reason in mind that connects them. Comparing two colleges is very different than comparing college to joining the military, for example. You could compare either of these sets of things, but you would do so for different reasons. When comparing two colleges, you will be looking for which school fits you and your educational needs better, while comparing school to the military would be considering which option better fit your overall career goals.
Your introduction should lay out exactly what you are trying to prove—that your perceptions were different from reality.
When it comes to actually listing your points for comparison and contrast, there are two basic ways to organize them: Chapter eight in your text lists them as subject-by-subject and point-by-point. They are also known as A/B and a/b a/b a/b. Subject-by-subject puts everything you know about your first subject into one paragraph or set of related paragraphs, and then follows that with a second section about your other subject. In other words, first you give everything you know about subject A, and then you do the same with subject B. This works well if you have a limited number of elements to compare. Point-by-point has you alternate back and forth between your two subjects. First you tell something about A, then you discuss the same point about B. Then another point about A, followed up with more about the same point with B, and back and forth and back and forth. This works well if you have many different points to discuss.
You must remember to always list your points in the SAME ORDER for each subject, regardless of which type of comparison you are doing.
Keep the subject-by-subject and point-by-point structures in mind. Remember that the more points you have to compare, the more likely it is that you will need to go to a point-by-point strategy. Also try to present your points in a logical fashion. If you are comparing two jobs, for example, keep everything about pay and benefits together in one group, everything about your coworkers in another group, and so on.
If you are comparing perception to reality, you will need to bring in outside information to help prove that the reality you are describing is in fact the way things really are. You can get this information from a variety of sources—the internet, book, magazines, and other media, and through personal interviews. Remember that you need to be a careful and thoughtful researcher, as not every source is equally reliable.
If you do the pro/con paper, you will need to reach some sort of conclusion—you must choose one option over the other for a given reason. Be careful not to simply say that one is better than the other, without first clearly defining what you mean by better. A sports car is better than a pickup truck in terms of acceleration, but it is not as good for hauling cargo. You need to make sure it is clear to your reader what your basis for comparison is. This can be very personal, and that is fine, as long as it is clear. Like the perception/reality paper, you will need outside sources to provide evidence to support your conclusions.
If you copy something word for word, this is called a direct quotation, Direct quotations must go in quotation marks! If you take something that someone else has written or said, and rewrite it into your own words (to make it shorter, more specific, or easier to understand), that is called a paraphrase. If you paraphrase something, you do NOT put it in quotation marks. For both direct quotes and paraphrases, you DO need to tell your reader where the information came from. You do this by including a parenthetical citation. This means simply that after each quote or paraphrase (and paraphrases can be entire paragraphs long, so you would wait until the entire thing is done) you must have a set of parentheses ( ). Inside those parentheses, you put two things: the last name of the person who said or wrote what you are quoting or paraphrasing, and the page number of the article or book where you can find the quote or paraphrase source. If you get the source from the internet or an interview, you simply say Internet or Interview rather than putting in a page number. If you don’t know the author of the quote, just put in the title (if it is short) or a word or two from the title (if it is long)
You will also need to use signal phrases—phrases that show your reader that you are about to quote or paraphrase something. This can be as simple as saying According to Dr. Bob Smith, “quote quote quote quote”. You don’t need a signal phrase for every quote, but you should use one every once in a while, and you should definitely use one the first time you introduce a source. If you put a person’s name into a signal phrase, you do NOT have to put the name into your parenthetical citation as well; the name or title goes in either one or the other, never both.
Your conclusion needs to make it clear to the reader what you learned through this change in your perception, and how this change affects you (and how it should affect others like the reader).
We will discuss more specifics for this assignment in class, and you will have the opportunity to work in the library to gather information for your paper. This is one of the more challenging papers we have worked on, and it is also the first time we have really worked with formal citation. As such, please see me if you have any questions or confusion about anything!
If you choose the perception/reality style paper, you have two basic avenues you can take for this assignment: you can talk about a personal experience, or you can talk about a cultural/social issue. A personal experience is just that—something that you felt one way about, and then changed your mind about as you learned more. The cultural issue is a larger concern—something that many people feel or believe that isn’t always true. Stereotypes are good examples of this: all jocks are dumb, every politician is corrupt, and so on. You might write about how you thought that all old people were boring fossils who play shuffleboard and watched Matlock, until you spent time with your great grandmother, who at age 94 still jogs every day, has a wicked sense of humor, and likes Hip Hop music! Please be careful to be sensitive to the feelings and beliefs of other if you choose this topic, as it is easy to write about controversial (racist, sexist, etc.) material here. While I will not disallow such a topic, be aware that you need to be very careful to treat such material with tact and maturity.
You can also discuss issues of history (people think such-and-such happened for this reason, but it was really for another reason entirely), technology (this gadget might seem very complex, but it is actually very simple), and other general issues (superstitions might seem silly, but they may come from legitimate occurrences; for example, Friday the 13th being unlucky). Generally, it is easier to find outside material on cultural topics than personal, though it is certainly possible to find material on those as well—you will simply need to be more resourceful.
If you choose the pro/con option, your choices are limited only by the fact that you must have a solid basis for comparison, and enough material to make the page length. You could compare stores, cars, systems of government, sports teams, pretty much anything. As always, please see me with any concerns, problems or questions you might have.