4.4  Methods of Development: Comparing and Contrasting

Let's come back to the paper you were writing. Your first and main idea about the time capsule was this:

Opinion: I think we should bury a set of three pictures: one of our old building, one of our new building, and one of the plaque with our school mission statement on it.

Now we're going to add detail to that general idea with a method of development, comparing and contrasting. Here is the idea developed into full paragraphs.

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    I think we should bury in the time capsule a set of three pictures: one of our old building, one of our new building, and one of the plaque with our school mission statement on it. The picture of the old school would be one taken from the street in front of the building. That picture would show cracked windows, chipped red brick, discolored plaster, peeling white paint, and sad bushes that look more like tumbleweed than landscaping. It would also show a cracked sidewalk, with grass growing in the cracks, leading up to doors so badly rusted that you can't read what it says on them.
    The picture of the new building would also be taken from out in front, but it would show a very different scene. This picture would show a perfect front of clean gray stone with tall shining windows as big as doors. This picture would show the beautiful curve of the two-story entry hall topped by a dark green roof. It would show a trimmed green lawn landscaped with trees, bushes and flowers. It would show a glistening blacktop driveway leading to a traffic circle, and then a concrete walkway forty feet wide leading to the eight metal and glass entry doors.
    The third picture, the picture of our mission statement, would show just words. It would show in the school colors, black words on a gold background, that our school includes students, teachers, counselors, nurses, administrators, custodians, secretaries, cafeteria workers, parents, board members, and members of the community. This picture would show no building.

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Comparing and contrasting develops ideas by showing similarities, differences, or both. The passage you just saw shows mostly differences. Notice that the old school is contrasted with the new one, and that the mission statement is contrasted with both pictures of buildings. The third picture is about the people who make up the school.

Most of the details included in the passage are facts or descriptions, but it is the way they are organized or developed that makes the reader see the differences.

When you write, you almost always have to tell the reader some things. However, you can always show the reader, too, and showing is often more powerful and effective than telling. If you just wanted to tell the story of the sinking of the ship The Titanic, one sentence could do the job: The unsinkable ship hit an iceberg and sank, causing the deaths of hundreds of passengers.

That's what happened, but it doesn't make much of a movie, does it? What about the details?

Activity: Comparison/Contrast

Now, it's your turn. Write two paragraphs to compare and contrast elementary school with middle school. You might be writing about similarities and differences. Use the Venn Diagram to help you sort out the details you want to use. That will be your prewriting. Then, in a paragraph or two, write a draft of the comparison/contrast.

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