Order instructions 

When you use comparison and/or contrast, you are looking at the similarities and/or differences of multiple works. Your purpose is to interpret the texts that you have chosen and persuade me of your interpretation using primary sources (your short stories from the Blackboard folder) and credible secondary sources (from the library’s databases).

I would determine first if you want to write how two or more works compare or contrast because doing both in one paper is often tricky. Treat your works in a balanced manner, and make sure that you are not just giving me a list of similarities or differences. Remember, that your similarities or differences must be relevant to the essay’s purpose and thesis.

I would also suggest doing a point-by-point comparison/contrast essay simply because you will be discussing the works simultaneously rather than separately. This means that the organization of the body paragraphs should have an overall topic sentence that connects the two works and then discusses them both in the same paragraph. (For example: Both authors of “The Three Little Pigs” and “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs” give us a villain to dislike; however, because of the perspective of the stories, the villains change from that of the traditional wolf in Jacobs’ piece to that of the pig in Scieszka’s tale. —In the actual paragraph, I will go through and use the primary texts and my secondary texts to make my point.)

Remember, to discuss your subjects in the same order for each point, use a separate point for each aspect of comparison or contrast, and arrange them carefully. Move from the least important to the most important point. You also want to remember that your secondary sources are just that—secondary. They should back you up, not you back them up. So, I should see more of your original thought than your secondary sources.