Comparison and Contrast Essay

Description

Comparison and Contrast Essay (The Obligation to Endure – Rachel Carson & The Sacred Balance Rediscovering Our Place in Nature – David Suzuki) —————————————– Instructions A complete draft of this assignment is required. Although you will only receive a grade on the revision and not on the draft, you will be given credit for the draft: if you do not submit a draft, then your grade on the revision will be lowered by one letter grade. Write a comparison and contrast essay of about 600 words (two double-spaced pages) that compares and contrasts two of the first eleven assigned readings (excluding the Introduction) from the book Sustainability. See the schedule for the titles and page numbers of the assigned readings from which to choose. As Successful College Composition states, the purpose of this mode of writing “is not to state the obvious but rather to illuminate subtle differences or unexpected similarities” (Bost et al.). Your essay should be four paragraphs: The introductory paragraph should engage your readers and state your thesis. Successful College Composition gives the following advice. “[B]egin with an engaging statement devised to provoke your readers’ interest. In the next few sentences, introduce them to your topic by stating general facts or ideas about the subject. As you move deeper into your introduction, you gradually narrow the focus, moving closer to your thesis” (Bost et al.). The thesis “could lean more toward comparing, contrasting, or both” (Bost et al.). The thesis must state the specific ways in which the two sources are similar and different. Next, develop two body paragraphs supporting your thesis by comparing and contrasting details from the sources. You may organize these paragraphs by subject (source) or by point of comparison or contrast. Finally, develop a concluding paragraph that reiterates your thesis, “reviews your main points[,] and emphasizes the importance of the topic” (Bost et al.). After a paraphrase of your thesis, the concluding paragraph’s “sentences should progressively broaden the focus of your thesis and maneuver your readers out of the essay” (Bost et al.). When incorporating source material into your essay, represent the source accurately, and use a signal phrase to attribute the material to its author or speaker. When you paraphrase and summarize sources, clearly distinguish their language from your own. Follow the guidelines for quotations at the OWL at Purdue. Your Comparison and Contrast Essay should have: a heading in MLA style (your name, instructor’s name, course, and due date); in the header, your surname and page numbers aligned right; 1-inch margins on all sides; 12-point, legible font; double (2.0) line spaces throughout the entire document; a title that reflects your thesis, centered after your heading; ½-inch, first-line indentations of all paragraphs; an introductory paragraph that includes your thesis; two body paragraphs, organized by subject or by point; transitions between examples, ideas, and paragraphs; signal phrases or in-text citations of sources that you reference; a concluding paragraph; a Works Cited page with ½-inch, hanging-indented citations of the two sources in MLA style; follow the format for citing a “Work in an Anthology” under MLA Works Cited Page: Books in the OWL at Purdue’s MLA Guide.