Dr. Judith M. Newman

Writing Patterns in Expository Text

Comparison / Contrast

The comparison / contract pattern is used to elaborate on similarities and differences.


Examples:
Moose Madden

Moose Maddon was as different from Cecil as it is possible for two human beings to be and still stay within the species. He was a big moose of a man, even for a lumber stiff, with a round, flat, unshaven face that looked down angrily and dourly at the world. Cecil on the other hand was hardly taller than an axe handle, and almost as thin. He was about nineteen years old, with the looks of an inquisitive sparrow behind his thick horn-rimmed glasses. He had been sent out to the camp for the summer months by a distant relative who had a connection with head office down in Vancouver.


Signpost Words: as different from, on the other hand...

Diagram: