English Composition I

3

Unit III

Lesson 2: The Comparative Essay: Choosing a Topic

Introduction

In Lesson 1, we discussed the basic approach one would take when undertaking the writing of a comparative essay. That approach is based upon the idea that you have already been assigned a topic. In some short essay responses, you may be asked to compare and contrast items.

Example: Compare and contrast two battles of the Eastern Theatre of the Civil War that occurred in 1863. Choose from the following: The Battle of Chancellorsville, The Second Battle of Winchester, The Battle of Hanover, or The Battle of Gettysburg.

In an instance like the one above, you have some opportunity to choose which items you compare. Some assignments will be restricted, and others will leave the topic up to you completely.

Choosing Topics to Compare and Contrast

The following topics have been identified as possible topics for you to choose from for your comparative essay assignment. You will choose one pair of topics and decipher the similarities and differences between the two for your essay in order to satisfy the requirements of the assignment. You may also find this list in a handout located in the syllabus.

1. Cash vs. Credit

2. Fracking vs. Solar Power

3. Recycling vs. Landfill

4. Electric Cars vs. Hybrid Cars

5. Renting vs. Owning

6. Online vs. Traditional Education

7. Paper Bags vs. Plastic Bags

8. Friends vs. Family

9. Antique/used vs. New

10. Offense vs. Defense

11. Marriage vs. Civil Unions

12. Baseball vs. Football (or a comparison of two other sports)

13. Vacation vs. Staycation (staying at home)

14. Childhood vs. Adulthood

15. Infatuation vs. Love

16. Talking vs. Texting

17. Parental Influence vs. Peer Influence

18. Toddlers vs. Teenagers

19. Rural Living vs. Urban Living

20. Eating Out vs. Eating at Home

Choosing topics to compare and contrast requires you to consider the following:

· What do I know about each item?

· Can I generate content about each item?

· Do I know a great deal about one item and nothing about the other?

· Will I be able to compare the items successfully?

· Will I be able to contrast the items successfully?

· Will my comparative essay create a new understand of both items?

When you have selected a pair of topics that you believe you can work with, then it is time to move on to the next stage: discovering the meaningful similarities and differences between them.

Discovering Meaningful Similarities and Differences

There are a few strategies that you can employ when determining similarities and differences: (1) listing, (2) visualizing, and (3) tabling. The following examples seek to discover similarities and differences between two fictionalized coffee chains: Elegant Coffee and Coffee-2-Go.

1. Listing: Listing can take several forms, but perhaps the most helpful for an activity like this one is to establish a two-column list in which items are compared and contrasted side-by-side. See the example below:

Elegant Coffee

· The business is known for offering dozens of specialty coffee roasts made by the company.

· The company sells bakery items, hot breakfast items, sandwiches, salads, and yogurt and fruit. Items have a “healthy” choice focus.

· The décor of the restaurants is welcoming with dark green and brown—natural colors to remind customers of coffee and tea. This invites people to stay, talk, and work in the seating area. Dark colors suggest that it is not a fast food restaurant, even though it is.

· The company has a focus on responsibility and sustainability with local people who grow its coffee crops.

Coffee-2-Go

· The company is known for having one flavor of coffee. Its focus has been on the “consistency” of its one coffee flavor and customer loyalty throughout decades of established business.

· The bakery items consist of many different types of donuts, which the company has been making for 70 years, along with several other items such as cookies, Danish rolls, bagels, and more. Most of the food is sweet or fried.

· The colors associated with the restaurant are bright—white, purple, and yellow—suggestive of the donuts that are their specialty and that the restaurant is a fast food establishment.

2. Visualizing: If you are the kind of writer who sketches out all his or her ideas at once and then attempts to make sense of everything later, then visualizing might be for you. Visualizing is a way to make sense of your findings once you have them by drawing out the relationships between items—where they differ and where they overlap.

3. Tabling: When you “table” information, you first establish categories and then attempt to find commonality across both topics. For example, in the below table, you will see that “Coffee selection” is the first category. Then in the following two columns, both Elegant Coffee and Coffee-2-Go are commented on in this area. No analysis of the data is given, but you could add another column to the right to include analysis if you wish. However, the objective of this exercise is to gather the raw materials for analysis only.

		Elegant Coffee	Coffee-2-Go
1.	Coffee selection	The company offers specialty coffee in dozens of different roasts.	The company sells one kind of coffee, a fact upon which the local chain prides itself.
2.	Food selection	The business sells bakery items, hot breakfast items, sandwiches, salads, and yogurt and fruit.	Locations offer bagels, cookies, donuts, muffins, other bakery items, and breakfast sandwiches.
3.	Food type	The food choices lean towards “healthier” choices.	The food choices contain a good deal of sugar and are often fried.
4.	Beverage type	The beverages focus on “crafting” or personalized beverages.	The beverages are standardized, with emphasis on “treating yourself” and fast service.
5.	Restaurant chain theme colors	The chain colors are subdued, darker (mostly green and brown), natural—gives the impression of a café.	The chain colors are bold and bright (white, purple, and yellow)—gives the impression of a fast food restaurant.
6.	Company responsibility	The company places huge emphasis on responsibility and sustainability.	The company has some investment in responsibility practices in the local community.

Review

1. Some comparative writing assignments will ask the writer to compare specific items; others will ask the writer to choose a topic.

2. Topic choice should be made based on the student’s knowledge about the topic and confidence about his or her ability to create a successful juxtaposition of both similarities and differences.

3. Three ways to generate, organize, and understand the similarities and differences between two topics are listing, visualizing, and tabling.

Similarity: Both known for selling popular coffee

Difference: Elegant Coffee offers choice and Coffee-2-Go does not (as far as coffee is concerned)

Elegant Coffee: Offers specialty coffee in dozens of different roasts

Coffee-2-Go: Sells one kind of coffee