English 1A – Compare and Contrast Essay Guidelines

English 1A – Compare and Contrast Essay Guidelines

WRITE about Hybrid and Electric Cars – which is better?

This essay asks that you compare two articles by different authors. The two authors can both agree on the topic or disagree with each other. (Keep in mind that you are not arguing for or against anything right now. That comes later for the argument essay.)

1. Read both articles and re-read them. 2. Annotate both articles 3. Discover who the authors are. Are they well known and trustworthy? 4. Who did each author write his/her article for: the intended audience? (General public, professionals, a specific age group, political group, students, teachers…) 5. What was the purpose the author had in mind for writing his/her article? (To share information? For his/her colleagues? A report for work? A call for action? To entertain?) 6. What is the stance of each author? (Is he/she for or against the topic? Was he/she confident? knowledgeable? professional? friendly? earnest?) 7. What genre did the author’s use? (letter? resume? report? arguing a position?) 8. Did each author bring reliable information to the context of their articles? (graphs? pictures? opinions from other professionals? facts and reliable data?) 9. What media did they use? (a professional journal publication? a website? a book? hard copy or electronic?) Use the words that are underlined and in bold to talk about both articles.

ESSAY STRUCTURE: Your first paragraph is your introduction. Make your thesis the last sentence in your introduction. Prove your thesis in the body. Body paragraphs should open with a topic sentence that supports your thesis. A body paragraph should prove its topic sentence with evidence and examples. Your concluding paragraph should not simply repeat the body; it should go with your introduction and body but take a step out somehow.

1. Use Edited Academic Writing 2. Write in third person point of view. 3. Use a header at the top of your essay. 4. Title your essay with words that suggest what your essay is about, (not what type of essay). 5. Double space your lines. 6. No block paragraphs. Paragraphs should begin with the first line indented so that visually, it looks like a paragraph. 7. Use quotes, summaries, and paraphrases from both articles. 8. Cite quotes, summaries, and paraphrases that you used from both articles. 9. Length needs to be 3 pages long. 10. Create a Reference page (APA) OR a Works Cited page (MLA). I don’t expect anyone to use MLA documentation perfect the first time, or even the second time. This is a learning process so give yourself time to learn how to cite borrowed words. 11. Carefully edit your paper before submitting it.