13.5: Two Example Comparison and Contrast Essays

On the following pages are two student comparison and contrast essays. One of these essays is clearly at a higher level than the other; as you read through these essays, consider where each student employs the concepts discussed in this chapter and compare the two essays. When you are done, answer or discuss the questions that follow the examples.

Please note that these examples are in MLA excepting the lack of page numbers and the font being in 11.5pt font instead of 12pt.

Student Comparison #1

 

Student Name

Teacher Name

Comp 1

12 February 2021

Comparing and Contrasting London and Washington, DC

       Both Washington, DC, and London are capital cities of English-speaking countries, and yet they offer vastly different experiences to their residents

and visitors. Comparing and contrasting the two cities based on their history, their culture, and their residents show how different and similar the two

are.

       London has a history that dates back over two thousand years. It was part of the Roman Empire and known by the similar name, Londinium. It

was not only one of the northernmost points of the Roman Empire but also the epicenter of the British Empire where it held significant global influence

from the early sixteenth century on through the early twentieth century. Washington, DC has only formally existed since the late eighteenth century.

Though Native Americans inhabited the land several thousand years earlier, and settlers inhabited the land as early as the sixteenth century, the city

did not become the capital of the United States until the 1790s. From that point onward to today, however, Washington, DC, has increasingly

maintained significant global influence.

       When I went to Washington D.C., I found out that they had the National Gallery of Art and several other Smithsonian galleries. But when I went

to England, I found that London’s art scene and galleries have a definite edge in this category. From the Tate Modern to the British National Gallery,

London’s art ranks among the world’s best. This difference and advantage has much to do with London and Britain’s historical depth compared to that

of the United States. London has a much richer past than Washington, DC, and consequently has a lot more material to pull from when arranging its

collections. Both cities have thriving theater districts, but again, London wins this comparison, too, both in quantity and quality of theater choices. With

regard to other cultural places like restaurants, pubs, and bars, both cities are very comparable. Both have a wide selection of expensive, elegant

restaurants as well as a similar amount of global and national chains. While London may be better known for its pubs and taste in beer, DC offers a

different bar-going experience. With clubs and pubs that tend to stay open later than their British counterparts, the DC night life tend to be less

reserved overall.

       Both cities also share and differ in cultural diversity and cost of living. Both cities share a very expensive cost of living—both in terms of housing

and shopping. When I visited both cites and found out how expensive it would be to live there, I thought it was crazy! A downtown one-bedroom

apartment in DC can easily cost $1,800 per month, and a similar “flat” in London may double that amount. These high costs create socioeconomic

disparity among the residents. Although both cities’ residents are predominantly wealthy, both have a significantly large population of poor and

homeless. Perhaps the most significant difference between the resident demographics is the racial makeup. Washington, DC, is a “minority majority”

city, which means the majority of its citizens are races other than white. In 2009, according to the US Census, 55 percent of DC residents were

classified as “Black or African American” and 35 percent of its residents were classified as “white.” London, by contrast, has very few minorities—in

2006, 70 percent of its population was “white,” while only 10 percent was “black.”

       Even though Washington, DC, and London are major capital cities of English-speaking countries in the Western world, they have many differences

along with their similarities.

 

Student Comparison #2

 

First Name Last Name

Professor McCaffree

Composition 1

Date

Horror Films Then & Now

       The night is dark and full of rampant rain drops. A lonely woman pulls over and arrives at a mysterious dingy motel. She is greeted by a friendly,

but socially awkward man named Norman Bates. They talk for a while, but then she insists she must head to bed, for she has a long day ahead of her.

She walks into her quiet, dim room that meets her satisfaction for a night’s stay. She then decides to take a shower; she is awed by the drops of water

shimmering down her skin, and it relaxes her. Next her eyes dart open, an old-woman-like character appears with a knife, penetrating her with the

blade over and over again. Although she had fallen and the life has drained out of her, her blood still continues to flown down the drain gently. This is a

scene from the movie Psycho. Horror films have been a popular form of entertainment since the invention of motion pictures in the early 1900’s. The

horror films of the 1960- 1970’s were particularly memorable, but they differ from today’s horror movies in three main ways: setting, special effects,

and plot.

       One of the key parts of any film story is the setting. The setting is a significant part of the movie, whether it’s a common place or an “out of this

world” place. The setting can either make the film or just provide background. In the movies of the 60’sand 70’s: Psycho, Carrie, and The Shining the

setting played a significant part in the development of the story. These three films begin in common places, which turn into places of horror. These

films leave scarred images, because the audience does not expect a home, hotel, or a school to be a destination of everlasting fate.

       Films of today can also take place in common settings, but usually they contain “other worldly” concepts. The movie Saw, for example, has real-

life attributes, but directors took it a step further, emphasizing the unique location. The story takes place in a dimly-lit old warehouse that is filled with

torture devices. People can’t imagine what kind of demented mind could think of a place that horrifying. Another film that can be categorized as far

from people’s imaginations is Insidious. The film took a pleasant home setting, twisted it into a place of darkness. It takes the viewers into a new world

filled with fear, ghosts, and demons. New and older film settings attract different types of horror movie goers. Today’s horror fans seek thrills and new

world dimensions (Saw, Insidious). However, people in the 1960’-70’s searched for some form of reality in the horror films of that day.

       The next element that sets apart the new and older films is the use of special effects. Special effects have been used in movies since their

beginning. Special effects are used to create depth and help people envision what the film is trying to portray. Older films vary from newer films,

thanks to advancement in technology. Black and white movies like Psycho relied on use of shadows. The shadow placement is a great suspense

technique. The lurking shadow figure would appear, and people could not tell what was going to come next. Another technique can be found in movies

like Carrie and The Shining. These two older movies used many types of angle shots which allowed the audience to feel as they were the characters in

the movie. Another common feature in older films is the use of suspenseful music. The suspenseful music emphasizes the terror and emotion that

words cannot convey.

       Older films did not lack in theatrical blood, they did lack in the special effects that today’s audience expects. Movies today (Saw, Insidious) could

not have been as successful without modern technology. These films cater to an audience that seeks what’s new and exciting. The movies create

places, people, and scenarios viewers could never picture. For example in the movie Saw, people are trapped in devices and tortured in horrific way. In

the movie people are placed in a moral dilemma, and must a decision to sacrifice a limb, hurt themselves or others to escape from the torturous acts.

Insidious, another contemporary film, had great special effects by the creating a demonic creature that attempted to harm a little a little boy, and

pursued him through a paranormal world of darkness.

       Movies today do not have problems showing several intervals of realistic gore because they are more lax about what is projected on the screen.

Movie goers can see blood dripping from decapitated heads, and people’s hands being sliced off like a fresh cut tomato. On the other hand, scenes

back in the 1960’s-70’s were carefully planned and not just thrown in the movie. In the movie Psycho (1960), the murderous shower scene—one of the

most famous scenes in horror film history—w as well executed because 60’s cinema were stricter about the amount of blood, violence, and murder

being shown to the audience. These strict guidelines blocked viewers from seeing open flesh and actual gruesome violence. In the movie, people do

not see her being stab, but they hear the sound effects of a knife gutting her. Special effects are important in any horror movie; they bring feeling of

helplessness and horror whether it’s indirect or jumping right at them.

       The final, but not least important, part of any film is the plot. The plot works cohesively with the setting and special effects. Horror films from the

60’s and 70’s had simple plots. There are plots of a vulnerable high school girl being judged and ridiculed, or plots of a woman or a family visiting a

hotel, not knowing the horrors to come. These plots are easily relatable in actual society because they show the dangers of the world, where people

can be hurt physical or mentally. For example, in Psycho, a woman tries to escape from her troubles, and resides at a dark dingy motel for the night.

Then she is stalked and killed by the creepy owner Norman Bates. Older films like to portray these situations of poor judgment because they can

actually happen; this reality is what scares the audience and keeps them on the edge of their seats. These lessons on judgment and morals can also

be found in another older film The Shining. In this film the family thinks it would be fun to stay in a big empty hotel for the winter. Soon they noticed

the father exhibiting strange behaviors, and watched his isolation lead him to a killing frenzy.

       Today’s films don’t have to focus so much on the reality of the world, but instead let the mind wonder. Insidious really captures the essence of

today’s horror films. The plot starts out simple by a family being haunted, but then takes the audience in a dream-like state where a man must travel

in his sleep to the “other side”, to save his son from the big red demonic creature. The movie Saw has a simple plot; an abductor traps his victims and

places them in gruesome torture devices, yet they must escape in order to survive. Viewers can watch Saw and Insidious to see how much people will

reach out to help one another, or those who just want to get ahead of the game.

       Horror films today are not strictly meant to scare people, but are now a form of entertainment. Horror movies have come a long way from the

60’s-70’s being socially unacceptable and believed to portray negative influences on society’s culture. Today people have a new perspective on horror

films and have created a “sub-culture”, where people can feel at ease talking about their horror movie interests without feeling like its morally wrong.

In the long run horror films will continue to thrive. One can only imagine what is next to be feared. People go to horror movies to feel fear, but many

wonder why people enjoy watching helpless victims be chased, and hours of blood gushing gore. The answer is simple; people want to see things they

can’t see every day. Horror films teach people valuable lessons, about the do’s and don’ts of being in danger. When people watch these helpless

victims, the moviegoers like to put themselves in that situation, and ask themselves what they would do to protect themselves and others. In the end,

not every film is going to be a box office hit, but when they are, people always remember the small details of these movies. Horror films are a great

piece of art and take a lot of time and creativity to master, and without the unique setting, special effects, and plots of both the movies of the 60-70’s

and today, there would be no great horror films. Not just horror movies, but any movie genres. All these elements are imperative and each take

cautious planning to make a successful film.

 

Exercise 13.5: Comparing Two Comparisons

After reading through the example Comparison and Contrast essays, address the questions below by applying the concepts you learned in the chapter to the examples.

1. Identify the thesis statement in each essay. Which essay has the strongest thesis? Why?
2. Look at the body paragraphs in each paragraph. Which essay has the strongest topic sentences and transitions? How do these elements affect the point and organization of each essay?
3. Which paper has the stronger organization? Use evidence to prove your point.
4. Which essay has the strongest evidence? What makes the evidence "strong"? What techniques does the author use to relay this evidence? Do you think there are places where citing a source would help strengthen the student's evidence? What kind of source might they cite?
5. Go back through the essays and identify the transitional words and phrases the students use. How does the use of transitions impact the paper? Find at least two transitions that you think are strong transitions? What about these transitions makes them strong? How could the students strengthen their other transitions?
6. Compare the concluding paragraphs. Which concluding paragraph is stronger? What could the student with the weaker conclusion do to make the conclusion stronger?
7. Tell two observations you have made about writing comparison and contrast essays while comparing these two student examples. Use evidence to show your point.