ADMC HD Common Year English

Writing: Compare & Contrast

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Compare & Contrast

In this part of the course, you have to compare and contrast two places, people, things or ideas. Note that you will be expected to do this at a higher level than in Foundations -  simple comparison of things (e.g. two phones, two cars, two televisions) is not enough.

You will be expected to write about the similarities and differences. You will be also asked to give your opinion or preference and give reasons.

• Introduction to Compare and Contrast.
• Topics: Download in Word
• Model answer: Fast food & Home Cooking
• Model answer: Football and Basketball
• Maids or Mothers? Have a look here, and do TJ's gapfill exercise
• PowerPoint presentation: Comparing forms of transport, or version 2
• Structures for Compare and Contrast.
• Vocabulary for Compare and Contrast.
• Blank Answer Sheet for Compare & Contrast essays and Partner Checklist -  PDF or Word
• Online or Paper Portfolios? ways to write the introduction. New!
• What the World Eats: ways to write the introduction. New!

 

Compare and contrast electronic portfolios with paper portfolios.

Compare Traditional and Modern Families: an exercise by Frankie Sutton: based on Chapter 6 of the Cambridge Academic Writing text Families in Transition (PDF file - 1.6mb). Includes three student essays. You can start with some of the introductions here

 

What the world eats: Look at the 16 pictures in this Time photogallery. Compare and contrast what each family eats, what it costs, and  discuss the reasons for their choices.

Compare two supercars: Research Database activity by James McLaughlin

Compare and Contrast: Love Marriages and Arranged Marriages. Gapfill exercise and essay. From TJ Everest.

Three Ways to Organize Your Essay: Should Boys and Girls Be Educated Together?

Six new model essays from TJ Everest:

1. A Brother and Sister
2. Emirati and Korean students
3. The UAE 30 Years Ago and Now
4. The UAE and Oman
5. Hotels and Motels: Differences and Similarities
6. Camels and Llamas

Teachers can download an activity for these six essays here (Microsoft Word, 75kb, Right-click and save)

 

Football in Brazil and in the UAE: How Different are They? Essay.

See these two (unedited) examples from Abdullah Saeed and Abdulrahman Ahmed in CRC

Compare Contrast Tables

These tables were prepared by students in TJ's classes during Independent Learning Week.

• Sports Cars 1: Saif Al Rumaithi and Mobarak Saif.
• Cars 2: Mohammed Al Sayegh, Mohammed Al Menhali, and Omar Al Kourwe
• American SUVs: Ali Khalifa Shaheen, Abdulla Yousif Al Shammari and Tariq Ahmed Al Hameli
• SUVs 1: Ahmed Ateeq, Hamed Al Qubaisi
• SUVs 2: Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Mohamed Almansoori, Saif Al Rumaithi, and Faisal Aljiefri
• Phones (with suggested answer, by Sultan Mohammed, Mashal Saleh, and Ateeq B.)

Note: these tables are also very good for graphs. Click to go the graphs page.

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1. Compare Contrast Essays: a series of exercises on different topics -  travel, studying here or abroad, shopping, etc. Includes a model essay on Group Work In College and In a Company, and a reading about How Men and Women Cope with Stress. Teachers: download this series of exercises as a zip file. From TJ new!
2. An article from Business Week about Women vs Men as Leaders. Important vocab is highlighted. Short version - 1000 words PDF or Word. (Longer version - 2300 words -PDF or Word). From Frankie Sutton. new!
3. Maids or Mothers? A Compare & Contrast essay. From TJ.
4. Studying in Australia versus the US. Model essay - insert/match extra details. From TJ. new!
5. An article about Group Work, with activities. Compare and Contrast. From TJ. PDF or Word
6. Love or Arranged Marriages? Read the Gulf News letters to the editor here, then do the activity (PDF or Word). From Molly Kirk
7. Gapfill Hot Potatoes exercise: Helicopters and Planes
8. Chess and Cards: Writing activity.
9. PETCO and OILCO: Writing activity comparing two oil companies. Also has a good gapfill exercise.
10. Studying in the UAE or abroad? Writing activity with sentences.
11. Write an essay comparing two processes: Canning and Freezing
12. Horse Riding and Camel Riding: Writing Activity.
13. Abu Dhabi and Al Ain: Writing Activity.
14. Read this comparison of Al-Ain in the UAE and Yaku in Japan, written by Japanese and Emirati students.
15. Try this reading and writing exercise comparing Miami and Seattle.
16. Read Level 1 student Omar Ahmed Bani Hashim's model answer comparing Miami and Seattle.
17. Unscramble the Sentences: Football and Basketball
18. Correct the errors in these compare/contrast sentences.
19. Compare and contrast: Culture Capsules. Eight essays, including some by UAE students. From Michael Krause's website at Lewis and Clark College.

 

Australia and New Zealand

• Writing Activity: Compare and Contrast Australia and New Zealand based on information from the table.
   
• Gapfill Exercise: Compare and Contrast Australia and New Zealand

Compare & Contrast: Readings

Which do you prefer -  Malls or Small Stores? Scroll down to read the essay Shopping in America. From Dr Charles Darling's site at Capital Community College, Connecticut.(850 words)

Malaysia and Britain: model essay.

Layout of Compare and Contrast Essays, from Literacy Education Online at St Cloud State University. Cloud State University http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/comparcontrast.html

Examples of two layouts for the same topic: Renting or Buying a House.

• http://www.efl.arts.gla.ac.uk/CampusOnly/essays/15web.htm
• http://www.efl.arts.gla.ac.uk/CampusOnly/essays/16WEB.htm

Grammar for Compare and Contrast

1. Vocabulary for comparison. Halifax and Vancouver, from the Writing Den
    
2. Try Exercises 3 and 4 on page 25 of Focus on First Certificate English (Sue O'Connell), Exercises 1-3 on page 160, and Exercise 2 on page 168.
    
3. Easy quiz on comparative and superlatives from Vera Mello
    
4. Grammar Gapfill Exercise from TJ Everest -  Comparatives and Superlatives.
    
5. Try these two quizzes from BetterEnglish.com: http://www.better-english.com/grammar/comp2.htm
     and
6. http://english-zone.com/grammar/compare1.html
     
7. A good exercise from a4esl.org: http://a4esl.org/q/j/ck/fb-comparisons.html
    
8. Superlatives: A fun geography quiz from FactMonster.com: the biggest, driest, wettest, hottest places in the world.
    
9. Compare twins Cindy and Carol, at the English Corner Shop 
    
10. Advanced grammar quiz on complete and incomplete comparisons from Central Washington University.
     
11. Good Flash quiz on comparisons. From a4esl.org http://a4esl.org/q/f/z/zz66fck.htm
     
12. Compare and Contrast quiz (with additional questions at the bottom of the page).

 

PowerPoint Presentations

Review how to write a compare/contrast essay here. (Select "Open" if asked.)

Two model PowerPoint presentations. Study abroad versus in your own country by TJ and Alternative versus fossil fuel by Rashid Abdulrahman. Note-taking sheet for audience (pdf). new

Other Links

1. Good tutorials and examples about Eastern and Western business styles here from the English Language Center of Hong Kong Polytechnic University. new!
2. Loads of links here at eslflow.com new!
3. Cars and Minivans: from Collin County Community College, Texas.
4. More good advice from the same source:
5. Click for compare and contrast exercises on www.writefix.com.

 

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