 Hey there, it's Mr. P. On today's lesson, we're going to learn about compare and contrast essays. So let's get started. Let's review the essay structure first. The first paragraph is your introduction. Your second paragraph, third and fourth, if you have, is your body. And your last paragraph will be the conclusion. This is what it looks like. In your introduction, you're going to put your attention-getter, your hook, then your background information, and then finally your thesis. In your body or bodies, you need to emphasize the main point, your topic. Then you need to connect to the thesis, and then you need to conclude your body paragraph or paragraphs. Your last paragraph would be your conclusion. This is where you restate your thesis, and you summarize your argument. You can close your conclusion by giving an opinion, a suggestion, or a prediction. Now that we reviewed the essay structure, let's start with today's lesson. Let's take a look at the overview first. To compare is to examine how things are similar, while to contrast is to see how they differ. A compare and contrast essay, therefore, looks at the similarities of two or more objects and the differences. So let's look at how a teacher would ask you to write a compare and contrast essay. So this is the first example. Compare and contrast Newton's ideas of gravity with those proposed by Einstein. Here, the teacher asks you to compare and contrast, so that means you need to write a compare and contrast essay. Whereas on the second example, examine how the economies of Spain and China are similar. Here we have the keyword similar, so that means your teacher would like you to write only a compare essay. So now we're going to look at the structure of a compare and contrast essay. We have the block structure and point-by-point structure, so let's look at them separately. Let's look at the block structure first. All of the information about one of the objects being compared or contrasted is given first. And all the information about the other object is listed afterwards. This type of structure is similar to the block structure used for cause and effect and problem solution essays. This structure is easier to write. So it would look something like this. First, paragraph introduction. Then your body. In your body, you have object 1.1, object 1.2, object 1.3. Then you have your transition sentence or transition paragraph. Then you have object 2.1, object 2.2, object 2.3. And then you would have your conclusion, conclusion paragraph. Instead, if you want to write a point-by-point structure, each similarity or difference for one object is followed immediately by the similarity or difference for the other. This structure is generally clearer as it ensures that the similarities or differences are more explicit. So it would look something like this. The first paragraph as always would be your introduction. Then inside your body, you will have your point 1 with object 1, object 2.2, object 1, object 2.3, object 1, object 2. Then you will have your conclusion paragraph. When we need to write a compare and contrast essay, we need to know certain structure words. Compare and contrast structure words are transition signals which show the similarities or differences. Below are some common examples. So for compare, we have similarly, likewise, also, both and, not only but also, neither nor, just like plus noun or noun phrase, similar to plus noun or noun phrase, to be similar to, to be the same as, to be alike and to compare to compare with. Let's look at some examples then. Computers can be used to communicate easily, for example via email. Similarly or likewise, the mobile phone is a convenient tool for communication. Here we have similarly or likewise. So here we compare computers with mobile phones. Our second example. Both computers and mobile phones can be used to communicate easily with other people. Both ends. Again, we are comparing computers and mobile phones. Third example, just like the computer, the mobile phone can be used to communicate easily with other people. Here instead we used just like. On our last example, the computer is similar to the mobile phone in the way it can be used for easy communication. So here we chose to use to be similar to. Now let's look at contrast structure words. So for contrast you would use words such as however, in contrast, in comparison, by comparison, on the other hand, while, whereas, but, to differ from, to be different from, to be the similar to and to be unlike. Let's just take a look at some examples. Computers, although increasingly small, are not always easy to carry from one place to another. However, the mobile phone can be carried with ease. Here we use the structure word however. The second example. Computers are generally not very portable whereas the mobile phone is. So whereas here we used it to contrast computers and mobile phones again. Let's just take a look at the third example. Computers differ from mobile phones in their lack of portability. Here we chose to use differ from. And our last example. Computers are unlike mobile phones in their lack of portability. Here we used to be unlike. Let's just take a look at the criteria for comparison and contrast. When making comparisons or contrasts, it is important to be clear what criteria you are using. Study the following example which contrasts to people. Here the criteria are unclear. Aaron is tall and strong. In contrast, Bruce is handsome and very intelligent. Although this sentence has a contrast transition, in contrast, the criteria for contrasting are not the same. The criteria used for Aaron are height, which is tall, and strength, strong. We would expect similar criteria to be used for Bruce. Maybe he's short and weak. But instead we have a new criteria, namely appearance, handsome, and intelligence. Let's compare the following which has much clearer criteria. Contrast structure words shown in bold and underline. Aaron and Bruce differ in four ways. The first difference is height. Aaron is tall, while Bruce is short. A second difference is strength. Aaron is strong. In contrast, Bruce is weak. A third difference is appearance. Aaron, who is average looking, differs from Bruce, who is handsome. The final difference is intelligence. Aaron is of average intelligence. Bruce, on the other hand, is very intelligent. So in this paragraph you can see how we use contrast structure words to show the differences between Aaron and Bruce. So now your turn. Let's practice. Write if the sentences compares or contrasts. 1. Ella had her hair done in style similar to mine. 2. That bike is the same color as our car. 3. I got an A in math, and I'm doing well in other classes too. 4. I ordered steak. However, I was served chicken. 5. That story resembles one I read a year ago. 6. Hank is 6 feet tall. However, his brother is only 5 feet. 7. I eat meat, whereas my parents are vegetarians. Pause your video and write your answers. So now that you have your answers, here's the key. So number one, we use the word similar. So it compares. Number two, we use the word same. Again, it compares. Number three, we use the word two. It compares again. Number four, we use the word however. Here, instead, it contrasts. Number five, we use the word resembles. Again, it compares. Number six, we use the word although. So here, it contrasts. And number seven, we use the word whereas. And here, the sentence contrasts. So that's it for today. If you have any questions about compare and contrast essay, post your question below this video. If you haven't subscribed to my channel, I suggest you do. If you liked the lesson, hit on the like button, please. And you may share the lesson if you liked it. Thanks for watching. Have a great day, and I see you next time. Take care. Bye-bye.